In a Nutshell:
Surprisingly comfortable, versatile little chair, offered for a song. Aurora Petite Mesh Office Chair is recommended for any shorter, smaller person on a budget, looking for a decent office chair.
Value for the Money
Comfort
Brand Reliability*
Aesthetic Flexibility**
Overall Rating
3.6/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Any shorter, smaller person on a budget, looking for a decent office chair.
Are you relatively small in stature?
Has that fact frustrated you in finding the right office chair?
If you answered yes to either of those questions, you’ll be pleased to read our in-depth review of the Aurora Petite Mesh Office Chair, sold by cubicles.com. It’s a chair built with petite folks in mind!
If you’ve been looking for the right office chair for any length of time, you know the unfortunate truth. Most office chairs are built for people taller than you. The problem with that is that a chair that doesn’t fit you well will wreak havoc on your back and/or legs. Here’s why:
If the chair you’re using is too wide, you have to sit so far back that your feet don’t touch the floor to get lumbar and mid-back support. If you spend any amount of time in the chair, your legs will cramp.
On the other hand, if you sit far enough forward to keep your feet on the floor, you’ll lose any back support the chair might provide. Neither is a happy situation.
There’s good news, though! You don’t have to settle for a chair that’s anything less than a perfect fit for you, and the Aurora petite might be just what you’re looking for.
Although this model only received a modest final ranking, if you look at the breakdown of that ranking, you’ll see that the biggest hits came from the fact that it’s not the most attractive chair you can find and that it’s offered by a relatively unknown brand.
In terms of value (bang for your buck) and basic functionality, it’s a solid contender. If those things matter more to you than post-sales support and looks, this could be the chair you’ve been searching for.
In the sections that follow, we’ll cover everything the Aurora has to offer and make sure you know about its various limitations so you’ll have everything you need to decide for yourself. If that sounds good to you, let’s jump right in and see what the Aurora can do!
Key Features of the Aurora Petite Mesh Office Chair
The most common reaction people seem to have the first time they see the Aurora Petite Mesh Office Chair is, “How cute!” And it’s true; it’s a fun, stylish hybrid design that utilizes a mix of mesh in the seatback and fabric upholstery stretched over block foam padding in the seat. Even better, the Aurora is offered in a variety of colors, so ordering one that will blend in seamlessly with your existing home or office décor is a snap.
The colors you can choose from include:
Of course, stylish design and fun colors don’t make for a great chair, so next, let’s examine the chair dimensions and specifications this model offers.
Chair Specifications
Not only is the chair itself delightfully compact, but its seat width, depth, and height adjustment range support this. All three are geared specifically to cater to shorter, smaller people, as is the maximum supported weight limit. So, we added it to our top picks for shorter users; click here to see our roundup review.
These things, however, also serve as limitations for the chair, defining this model as a niche product. If you’re not petite, this chair is almost sure to be too small for you, so it pays to take careful measurements. Try this model out if you can find one in a showroom somewhere to be sure it fits you like a glove.
Adjustability and Comfort
As cute and stylish as this model is, it’s unfortunately not all that adjustable. In fact, the only thing you can adjust is the seat-to-floor height range. The Aurora Petite Low Back Mesh Office Chair doesn’t offer a tilt and lock or recline feature, although it does rock back and forth slightly.
Similarly, it only brings one ergonomic feature to the table: solid lumbar support. It’s a powerful feature, but we found it to be underwhelming.
It would have also been incredibly easy to offer ergonomically sculpted (and possibly adjustable) armrests and a waterfall-style seat. Then again, at the price the Aurora is being sold at, we can’t count too many points off for the absence of those features.
The seat padding is adequate but not outstanding, and that, combined with the fact that cubicles.com opted to use a nylon base, marks this chair as best suited for light to moderate daily use.
Although the mesh seatback lends itself well to heavy daily usage, the rest of the chair doesn’t. So, if you’re looking for something you can use for 8+ hours daily, this model isn’t the one you want.
Does Not Come Assembled
As is the case with almost all furniture offered for sale in the value segment of the market, the Aurora Petite Office Chair does not come assembled. It will arrive at your doorstep in several pieces in a box.
Fortunately, the assembly process isn’t complicated and is made easier because since it’s a smallish chair, to begin with, each of the individual pieces is also smaller and, thus, easier to handle.
Expect the assembly process to take about 20-30 minutes; if you have an assistant to lend a hand (or two), you can likely cut that in half.
Pros and Cons of Aurora Petite Mesh Office Chair
In our Aurora Petite Mesh Office Chair review, we say that for the money, we like just about everything about this chair.
Sure, it’s not terribly adjustable or overly comfortable, and the company opted to use low-end materials in its construction. That’s all true, but those were conscious design decisions made to keep the price as low as possible.
Cubicles office chairs succeeded wildly in that regard. However, if you start adding more ergonomic features and adjustability or using better materials, the price will necessarily increase, so we don’t have any issues with the feature set on offer here.
On the flip side, it’s an incredibly cute chair and well-designed for the segment of the market it targets. There’s a lot to be said for that.
To summarize, here are the biggest pros and cons the chair has to offer:
PROS
CONS
Aurora Petite Low Back Mesh Chair Review Conclusion
So where does that leave us?
Well, in our view, the limitations of the Aurora Petite Mesh Office Chair are canceled out by its low price, which means we have to look elsewhere to come to a conclusion about this model.
Given that this is a niche product specifically designed for short people, we provisionally recommend it. If you’re petite, don’t weigh more than 250 pounds, and don’t need a chair bristling with ergonomic features, this is a good option.
If the above doesn’t describe you, this model won’t fit well.
Recommended Reading
Space Seating Professional AirGrid Review
Our Space Seating Professional AirGrid chair review explores why it’s perfect for tall users.
REFERENCES & RESOURCES:
- Cubicles.com, Official Brand Website.
- Office Chairs for Small Adults, Staples.
- Proper Office Chair Adjustments for Your Posture, Office Chairs Unlimited.
- Best Office Chairs for Short People, KMark.
- 5 Ways to De-Stress from Your Office Chair, The Chopra Center.