In a Nutshell:
The Catnapper Cloud 12 Rocker Recliner is a superb manual rocker and recliner you’re sure to love. Recommended for anyone who has the space for it. This chair is awesome.
Value for the Money
Comfort
Brand Reliability*
Aesthetic Flexibility**
Overall Rating
4.4/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Anyone who has the space for it. This chair is awesome.
Are you in the market for a versatile, comfortable recliner you can put to a variety of uses?
If so, then you’re going to love our review of the Catnapper Cloud 12 Rocker Recliner. Catnapper is one of the most respected companies selling recliners in the US market today. They make fantastic furniture and have a reputation for excellence when it comes to post-sales service and support.
The Cloud 12 is an excellent example of the company’s work and would be an excellent choice for a few possible uses including:
In short, whether you want something for lounging, TV watching, rocking a newborn baby, or sleeping through the night, this one chair has you covered and does it all.
In the sections that follow, we’ll take a closer look at the details and particulars so you can decide for yourself if this is the model you’ve been looking for. If that sounds good to you, let’s jump right in!
An Overview of the Catnapper Cloud 12 Fabric Recliner
Let’s begin by reviewing the core stats that define the Catnapper Cloud 12 Rocker Recliner:
As you can see, this is a big chair. In addition to being a sizeable piece of furniture, you’ll need to place the chair about 16” from whatever wall you set it near, because it doesn’t incorporate “Wall Hugger” technology into its design.
Given that, if you live in a smaller home or apartment, or if you’re a little cramped for space, the Catnapper Cloud 12 Fabric Recliner is probably not the chair you want. Assuming you’re okay with the size, the seat dimensions and weight limit are a good fit for you; you’ll find a lot to like about this chair.
It’s an American made piece of furniture with a steel reclining mechanism and a hardwood frame. Note that there is a bit of confusion surrounding this model, with some vendors claiming that it’s a power recliner. It is not. It’s strictly manual.
If you decide you want to order one, you can get it in your choice of either Camel, Chocolate, or Sage. That, combined with the fact that it’s a good-looking chair, to begin with, makes it incredibly easy for you to blend the new addition into your existing home décor scheme.
Adjustability
In terms of adjustability, you’ve got four options: As we mentioned in the previous section here in our Catnapper Cloud 12 Rocker Recliner review, this is a rocking recliner, so if you’ve always wanted a big, padded recliner that rocks, this is a great option. Note, however, that although there are a couple of models on the market today that can rock while reclining, this isn’t one of them.
That’s not a deal-breaker by any means, as it is the norm. Only a handful of rocking recliners can pull off that feat!
In addition to that, it’s also a standard, three-position recliner, so you can choose to either sit fully upright, recline back to “TV Position” or lay the recliner almost completely flat. In other words, you’ve got options.
Note too that you can recline back in the chair without engaging the footrest at your option. It’s a small thing, but it’s one more element of versatility offered by the design.
Comfort
Where comfort is concerned, it’s hard to beat the Catnapper Cloud 12 Recliner. In addition to delightfully soft, comfortable fabric, it features a blend of block foam and poly fiberfill, supported by more than fifty individually wrapped comfort coil springs in the seat.
It would be overselling it to describe the comfort as next level; it lacks memory foam or other advanced materials on that front, but it is still an amazingly comfortable chair. In fact, when you’re reclining it to sleep in it, the presence of the comfort coils makes the chair feel like a proper mattress, and that’s a very good thing.
About the Catnapper Cloud 12 Power Lay Flat Chaise Recliner
Note that if you prefer a powered version of this chair, one is available. The power recliner Catnapper recliner has all the same features, including lay-flat capabilities, except one: The manual version of the chair rocks, while the power version does not.
Also note that the Catnapper Cloud 12 powered version shares one small weakness with most power recliners that are not also lift chairs, that it does not offer a battery backup. More than 90% of the time, that won’t be an issue, but should you find yourself in the chair when the power fails, you’ll have to climb awkwardly out of it because you’ll have no way to return it to its upright position until the lights come back on.
Ultimately then, it comes down to what your tastes, preferences and needs are. If you want a rocking recliner, the manual version is for you. If you prefer power recliners, don’t need the rocking function, and love the Cloud, then the company has you covered.
You can order your Catnapper Cloud 12 Power Chaise Recliner here.
Storage & Extras
This will be a short section. As good as the Catnapper 6541 Cloud 12 is, it doesn’t offer any type of onboard storage, and there are no extras on offer. What you see is what you get.
We would love to have seen at least a simple storage pocket on the side, but you seldom get that on recliners made today. If you want storage, you almost have to upgrade to a lift recliner. That’s a pity, but it’s the current standard in this part of the furniture market.
Some Assembly Required
The bad news is that if you order one of these, it will arrive in a giant box in pieces. You’ll need to unbox it and attach the seatback to the rest of the chair to get it ready for first use. It’s not a complicated process, but if you suffer from some type of mobility issue, you’ll almost certainly want to have an assistant on hand to help with that part of it.
Alternatively, if you’d rather not be bothered by it, you can pay a little extra and get White Glove service, which will see the delivery folks come in, put the Catnapper Cloud 12 Manual Chaise Rocker Recliner chair where you want it and set it up for you. The hands-free convenience is nice and generally well worth the extra money, especially if getting the chair put together seems like a daunting task.
Pros & Cons of the Catnapper Cloud 12 Recliner
By this point, we think you’ll agree that this is a great chair. It’s both comfortable and versatile and well-suited to a variety of purposes.
In our view, the Catnapper 6541 Cloud 12 doesn’t really have any weaknesses, but it is a rather self-selecting chair. If you don’t have the space for it, or if the dimensions of the seat aren’t a good fit, you’re going to give it a pass, no matter how awesome it is.
The good news on that front is the fact that the chair was designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of the market, so just about everyone will be able to use and enjoy it.
While not really a weakness per se, about the only things we’d like to see added to the mix the next time the company updates the model would be:
Catnapper Cloud 12 Rocker Recliner Review Conclusion
The Catnapper Cloud 12 Rocker Recliner is a phenomenal piece of furniture. Sure, it’s lacking when it comes to bells and whistles, but that’s not the end of the world, and honestly, it’s very good at what it does. If you need a rocker, this is the chair you want.
If you need something that looks great in your living room and gives you a comfy place to curl up and watch TV, the Cloud 12 can be that chair. If you suffer from some type of mobility issue, but it’s not so severe that you need a lift chair to help get your feet back under you, again, the Cloud 12 is a solid pick.
It’s also great for new or expectant mothers (provided you’ve got space in the nursery for a chair of this size), and it’s an excellent choice for people who suffer from sleep apnea or need a comfortable chair to recover in just after surgery.
While it would be overselling it to say that this is a “universally appealing” rocking recliner, it comes pretty close to that. An excellent piece of furniture, offered at a fair price, by one of the most respected companies in the industry. We love it, and we’re pretty sure you will too. We recommend the Cloud 12 without reservation.
References & Resources
- Jackson Furniture Catnapper, Official Brand Website.
- How to Fix Your Squeaky Recliner, SFGATE.
- How to Make a Rocker Recliner Not Rock, Hunker.
- Power Recliner Gaining Popularity, Furniture Today.
- Recliners, Rockers and Chaise Loungers, Oh My! 8 Key Differences Between Your Favorite Pieces of Furniture, Southern Motion.