In a Nutshell:
A good-looking, wooden rolling(!) kneeling chair that suffers from some serious shortcomings. Flash Furniture Mobile Ergonomic Kneeling Chair is recommended for anyone who likes the aesthetic and only needs a kneeling chair for light daily use.
Value for the Money
Comfort
Brand Reliability*
Aesthetic Flexibility**
Overall Rating
2.9/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Anyone who likes the aesthetic and only needs a kneeling chair for light daily use.
Are you in the market for a great-looking kneeling chair for your home or office? Are you interested in trying one out, but don’t want to break the bank to do it? Do you only need a kneeling chair for light daily use?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, and you’ve been considering the Flash Furniture Mobile Ergonomic Kneeling Chair, we urge you to read this review before committing to your purchase.
We’re big fans of Flash Furniture, and think that in general, they make outstanding furniture, but we regard this particular model as more of a miss than a hit.
Having said that, it still may be the right chair for you, but only if you’re a particular kind of user. The design does have its strengths, after all, but those strengths are very specific, and if you’re not a very specific kind of user (which we’ll talk more about later on), then this one will probably leave you feeling underwhelmed and unimpressed.
Not to worry, we’ll tell you all about it, and how and why we reached our conclusion in the sections that follow so, you’ll be able to decide for yourself if you want to take a chance on this model or if other Flash Furniture kneeling chairs suit you better. Let’s jump right in and take a closer look.
Flash Furniture Adjustable Kneeling Chair Key Features
It’s a sharp-looking chair.
That’s probably one of the first things that will spring into your mind the first time you lay eyes on the Flash Furniture Mobile Ergonomic Kneeling Chair, and it’s a refreshing surprise. Kneeling chairs aren’t known for their good looks, which makes Flash Furniture’s offering a pleasant change of pace.
Unfortunately, looks will only take you so far. That’s as true for office furniture as it is for people. In this case, as fond as we are of Flash Furniture in general, some weaknesses in this particular design become readily apparent the moment you look past the shiny exterior. Let’s start by taking a look at the basic stats:
Chair Specifications
At first glance, nothing may appear out of the ordinary, but check out that tiny seat depth and skimpy maximum allowed weight.
Most office chairs and kneeling chairs support at least forty or fifty pounds more than this. So, right off the bat, this chair will only appeal to a relatively narrow market segment. It’s just unable to support the same weight as the other chairs it competes with.
We know that’s not because the frame is wood. After all, there are all sorts of wood-framed furniture on the market today that support much more weight than this model can – ultimately, it comes down to the fact that this model is lightly constructed.
Of course, that has advantages and disadvantages. For instance, since the chair folds flat, you can take it with you when you travel—IF you’re light enough that your weight won’t cause it to collapse under you.
Rolling Casters
Another thing worth mentioning in this section of the review is that this model is one of only a few kneeling chairs with rolling casters. That’s huge on paper because one of the most significant drawbacks of kneeling chairs is that most workspaces are built with conventional office chairs in mind.
As such, you need to be able to pivot, turn, and roll to reach the various pieces of equipment you use for work on an average day, which puts most kneeling chairs at a distinct disadvantage.
The presence of casters on this chair would seem to counter that disadvantage. Unfortunately, the casters are quite small, and if you’re close to the chair’s modest weight limit and using this model on a carpet, you’ll find the wheels virtually useless.
It gets worse, though, because even if you’re using this chair on a hardwood, tile, or linoleum floor, these still aren’t the casters you want, as they’ll scuff your floor. If you buy this chair, be prepared to use it on a flat, hard flooring surface, and also be ready to spend about twenty bucks to buy better casters.
Adjustability and Comfort
Things don’t get much better on this front. The chair is only moderately comfortable, given that the seat and knee pads feature a modest two inches of block foam padding stretched over low-quality fabric.
That’s not enough padding for heavy or moderate daily usage, and the low-quality fabric won’t stand up to the punishment. If you use the chair for 8+ hours a day, you can expect the fabric to start giving and ultimately splitting after just a few months.
This is unfortunate and unavoidable because Flash Furniture makes fabric-upholstered products designed for heavy daily use, like the mighty Hercules 24/7 Office Chair. Thus, we know the company is capable of making furniture that can withstand the punishment of heavy use.
The chair has a good height adjustment range, and like all kneeling chairs, it is an ergonomic wonder. However, that lack of padding will take its toll on your shins if you try to use it for too many hours at a stretch.
Does Not Come Assembled
Flash Furniture’s kneeling chair is not pre-assembled, but the design is relatively intuitive, and it should not take more than twenty minutes to assemble it. Even better, this isn’t a chair you’ll need any help with, as the individual pieces are smallish in size and reasonably light.
Pros and Cons of the Flash Furniture Ergonomic Kneeling Chair
Flash Furniture got some things right with this model, but sadly, in our view, they got more things wrong. We’ll summarize below.
Here are the things we think you’ll like best about this chair:
Unfortunately, the chair suffers from some major negatives, the biggest of which are:
While none of the negatives are deal breakers individually, taken together, they point to serious deficiencies in the model’s overall design, which we found disappointing, especially since Flash Furniture generally produces strong designs.
Flash Furniture Mobile Ergonomic Kneeling Chair Review Conclusion
As much as we admire the company as a whole, we have to regard the Flash Furniture Mobile Ergonomic Kneeling Chair as a swing and a miss, and our opinion is reflected in the final score we gave to this model. While it’s certainly a fun, attractive design, it’s just got too many flaws for us to make a strong recommendation.
We do provisionally recommend it, but the ideal user for this chair is going to be somewhat rare.
In our view, it would be a good fit if you…
If you’re the person described above, we recommend this model. If even one of those bullet points doesn’t describe you, then we’re sorry to say, this isn’t the chair you’re looking for.
References & Resources
- Flash Furniture, Official Brand Website.
- What Are the Benefits of a Kneeling Stool?, Posture People.
- Kneeling Chair Benefits – Pros and Cons Revealed, Ergonomic Trends.
- Kneeling Chair Pros & Cons, Health by Design.
- Effect of a kneeling chair on lumbar curvature in patients with low back pain and healthy controls: A pilot study, Academia.
- Kneeling Chairs – Advantages and Disadvantages, EzineArticles.