In a Nutshell:
The smaller cousin of the Hercules Mesh Executive Chair, this is a great choice as a backup, or for moderate daily use. Recommended for anyone who doesn’t have a lot of money to spend and is looking for a low-priced, durable chair for moderate to periodic heavy use.
Value for the Money
Comfort
Brand Reliability*
Aesthetic Flexibility**
Overall Rating
3.6/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Anyone who doesn’t have a lot of money to spend and is looking for a low-priced, durable chair for moderate to periodic heavy use.
Is money tight at your house? Are you in the market for a decent chair designed for big and tall folks that won’t cost you an arm and a leg?
If you answered yes to either of those questions, the Flash Furniture Hercules Mesh Executive Swivel Task Chair might be just what you’ve been looking for. Note that we said ‘might,’ and we’ll quickly add that this chair isn’t for everyone. For the right user, however, it’s an absolute godsend.
Are you that user?
There’s only one way to find out. If you are, there’s no need to spend more than you have to to get a chair that works for you and does the job. Sure, there are office chairs that cost hundreds of dollars, but honestly, if you can find something durable and workable for a fraction of that, why wouldn’t you? Office chairs by Flash Furniture usually check off a lot of boxes.
The following sections will tell you about the Hercules Task Chair and what makes it so good. If you find yourself nodding in agreement as we review the chair’s features and thinking, ‘Yep—that’s exactly what I need from an office chair,’ you’ll know you’ve found your next perfect chair.
Even if you don’t reach that conclusion, we think you’ll agree by the end of this review. This handy task chair is perfect for the right person. Are you ready to see if you’re the person this chair was designed for?
Let’s jump right in!
Flash Furniture Hercules Mesh Executive Swivel Task Chair Key Features
Okay, there’s just no good way to say it; the Flash Furniture Hercules Mesh Executive Swivel Task chair isn’t going to win any beauty contests. It’s not outright ugly, but the mesh seat back doesn’t do this design any favors, making it look a bit industrial.
It will fit right in if you have a home or office space with an industrial design aesthetic. Otherwise, it’s going to stick out a bit. That’s not necessarily bad, but it’s what you tend to notice when you see the chair for the first time.
If you’re okay with its industrial aesthetic, then the rest of the chair comes into focus, and what you see is a big, sturdy, capable task chair. As to how big, sturdy and durable, let’s look at the stats defining it.
Chair Specifications
A couple of things to make a note of right off the bat. It’s a substantial piece of furniture, weighing as many full-blown executive chairs, and supports a generous amount of weight.
In addition, it has a seat height adjustment range right in the sweet spot for big and tall chairs. Short people, sorry, this chair isn’t for you. Taller folks, step right up.
There’s a bit of a catch, though. Notice that the seat width and depth only barely meet our qualifications for a big and tall chair. This model caters more toward taller, big-boned people than shorter, heavy-set folks, making it a niche product. Even so, if you fall into that niche, you’re probably already thinking of the different ways you might be able to use it. Check this review for chairs for big and tall users.
To help with that, let’s move from raw statistics to the actual features the chair offers.
No Armrests
You’ll first notice that as a task chair, the Flash Furniture Hercules Executive Mesh Swivel Task Chair doesn’t have armrests.
That’s not a deal breaker by any means. Many people don’t like or often use the arms of their office chairs. If you’re a musician looking for a chair to practice in, even if you get a chair with arms, you almost always gravitate to ones with arms that flip up so you can get them out of the way as needed.
Mesh Back & Lumbar Support
Since the seat back is mesh, your eye can’t help but be drawn to the support band that runs through the middle. This is supposed to be the chair’s lumbar support, but it’s too high to serve that purpose. What lumbar support you get comes from the struts descending below it, while the band does an admirable job supporting your mid-back.
In any case, there’s no mechanism to adjust the tension, so there’s no way to tweak the level of support you get. Again, that’s not a deal breaker, and in fact, it is the norm for office furniture offered at this price, but hold on. Take a closer look at how that support bar is attached to the edges of the seat back.
Lumbar Support Adjustment
Notice the grooves on either side? They allow you to reposition the band, and at its lowest point, they provide dedicated lumbar support. Unfortunately, that’s mentioned precisely nowhere in the assembly instructions or anywhere else, and many people overlook it, saying that the chair’s lumbar support is below average.
It isn’t, but the company doesn’t clarify how to utilize it best.
This implementation has one problem: Over time, the band will loosen in its groove and tend to slide to the lowest position. It’s not a huge deal because, again, at its lowest position, it’s providing lumbar support. Still, if you require support higher up on your back, over the long haul, you’ll find yourself irritated at the little band and ultimately have to resort to a DIY solution to make it stay where you want it.
Tilt Function
Other than the seat height adjustment we mentioned at the start, there’s only one other feature: the tilt limiter, which allows you to recline back in the chair at 120 degrees.
This is a bit of a problem, and here’s why: Most tilt limiters have specific settings: 90 Degrees, 95 Degrees, 100 Degrees, and so on. These settings allow you to fine-tune the angle of your recline.
The Hercules Mesh doesn’t bother with that. The tilt limiter is binary. You’re either sitting up straight or reclining back to 120 degrees. There’s no in-between choice.
Your only other option is to use the muscles in your back to “sort of recline,” which gets tiresome quickly. Given that, in practice, most people who buy the chair either opt to leave it locked at 90 degrees or leave it unlocked and live with it. Few switch back and forth between the two modes.
Comfort
Now, let’s talk about comfort. One thing you’ll notice when you read reviews of this model is that a significant minority of people complain that the chair isn’t as well padded as they’d like, and it’s true. The Hercules Mesh Task Chair doesn’t sport a copious amount of padding.
That’s by design, and we sense that the people making this complaint are trying to use the chair for something other than what it was intended for. This is not the chair you want to buy if you plan to spend several hours every day sitting in it, working at your computer, or gaming.
This is a task chair. It was designed for people to have a reasonably comfortable perch to do a short—to medium-duration task, then get up to do other stuff, returning to the chair at periodic intervals to sit for short periods.
In other words, this would make a terrible office chair, but it’s a great chair for someone with an active job that also requires periodic intervals of sitting. That’s why there aren’t tons of padding.
If you’re only sitting in the chair for an hour or two at a stretch, you won’t notice, so there’s no need to spend extra money on padding you’re not using.
Conversely, executive chairs boast more padding because the people sitting in them tend to stay in their chairs for several hours at a stretch. Over those hours, block foam padding continues to compress. Without lots of padding, you’d reach a point where you’d feel as though you were sitting on the metal seat pan, which is unpleasant.
The point is to ensure you get a chair aligning with your activities and how you’ll use it. If you’re active but need a chair to sit in for short periods off and on throughout the day, this model is perfect and is being offered for a song.
On the other hand, if you’re a power gamer looking for something to sit in for twelve hours at a stretch while you’re playing World of Warcraft, this chair is a terrible choice.
Minimal Assembly Required
If you decide this is the chair you want, there’s good news on the assembly front. Although the Flash Furniture Hercules Series Big and Tall Mesh Swivel Task chair does come in pieces, it comes in exactly four pieces, so putting it together will only take you about ten minutes.
Even better, since the seat doesn’t attach directly to the back, you can easily perform the job independently. There’s no need and no advantage to enlist the aid of a second person here. The instructions are clear, and setup is a breeze.
Pros & Cons – Flash Furniture Hercules Mesh Swivel Task Chair
We feel as though this chair gets an unfairly bad rap. A significant minority complain about the lack of lumbar support and the chair’s relative lack of padding.
We disagree on both counts. Granted, the implementation of the lumbar support could have been cleaner, and Flash could have taken some steps to explain how to use its little support bar. Still, in our view, complaints stem from a lack of communication and a general misunderstanding. The feature is present; it’s just that its use isn’t all that obvious.
We also disagree with the people who say this chair lacks sufficient padding. The padding is perfectly adequate, provided the chair is used for the purpose it was designed for. Again, though, if you buy this chair to spend six, eight, ten, or twelve hours at a time, no. You’re going to be miserable. That’s not this chair’s function.
Flash Furniture Hercules Executive Mesh Swivel Task Chair Review Conclusion
We don’t love this model, but we do like it. The Flash Furniture Hercules Executive Mesh Swivel Task Chair is very good at what it does, and it would be a superb chair for any active individual who needs a perch to sit on for short periods throughout the day for an hour or two at a time. It would also make a stellar backup chair, and it’s cheap enough to make that a genuine possibility.
If the dimensions and purpose the chair was designed around work for you, you’ll get a lot of value for your money. It’s not one of Flash Furniture’s best models, but it’s better than it gets credit for being. On that basis, we provisionally recommend it.
Recommended Reading
Flash Furniture Hercules Mesh Executive Office Chair Review
Our Flash Furniture Hercules Mesh Executive Chair review explores the ergonomic features of this gigantic chair.
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
- Flash Furniture, Official Brand Website.
- The Hidden Cost of Office Chairs, Safety Solutions.
- Why We Still Haven’t Found the Perfect Office Chair, LifeHacker.