MacMotion Recliner Chairs Review

MacMotion is not that company.  Their product line is a mess – all over the map, really. It’s like comparing a well-run Roman fort with Dodge City.  MacMotion is Dodge City.

That said, even though their product line is all over the map, once you spend some time sifting through the options, they really do have some surprisingly good products for the money.  Let’s take a closer look at their three product groupings to see what’s what:

The Oslo Collection

Stylistically, the chairs that make up the Oslo collection look and feel a lot like Fjords and ScanSit chairs, complete with the distinctive “C-Frame” design.  Quality control isn’t as good and the materials aren’t of the same quality, but the look and feel are the same. Although, we’ll be quick to note that these chairs don’t tend to stand up as well over time, and they don’t come with the advanced finishing options like Fjords chairs do.

Then again, they cost a lot less money, and that’s the tradeoff you’d expect.

The Comfort Line

These chairs are a step down from the ones offered in the Oslo Collection.  They’re decent pieces of furniture, but don’t expect them to last a lifetime, even if you treat them with the greatest of care.

Even so, they offer solid value for the money and are full-featured ergonomic designs, with a few pleasant surprises on offer, to boot.

The Budget Line

These chairs are about what you’d expect.  They don’t cost much, are made with cheaper materials, but still manage to provide decent value for the money.  If you don’t have a lot to spend, but really want to get away from poorly designed living room furniture, the chairs on offer in the budget line make a lot of sense.

Having said that, if you can afford to delay your purchase a bit, you’d probably be better served saving your money and getting something from the Comfort line, or even better, the Oslo Collection.  If you’ve just gotta have something right now though, and you’ve got a smallish budget, these chairs will get the job done.

Adjustability & Comfort, Storage & Extras

We’re combining these two sections here in our MacMotion recliners review because there’s not much to say on this front, at least not in general terms.

Because MacMotion’s furniture is all over the map in terms of both design and capability, there really isn’t much to say here.  Again, if you look at the Fjords brand review, it was possible to talk about the features of the brand as a whole because all their chairs have the same basic capabilities.  That’s just not the case with the MacMotion brand, so we’ll address these issues product by product in the detailed view below.

Assembly

A few of MacMotion’s chairs come fully assembled in the box.  Just take them out and sit down.  We like that and wish the company would standardize around this practice.

Sadly, not much that MacMotion does is standardized, and many of their chairs do require assembly.  The process isn’t long or complicated, but their quality control gets in their way sometimes, and you’ll find that pieces don’t always line up as they should.  This isn’t an insurmountable problem, but it will cost you time.

Overall, the assembly process (where required) will take less than an hour, and it’ll go faster and be easier if you have an assistant to provide an extra pair of hands.

Unfortunately, their massage function falls flat.  Again, if you’re going to get a massage chair, then spend a little extra and get a good one.  Don’t settle for stuff like this that vaguely makes you feel as though someone is pushing on your back.

Note that this chair does require some assembly, so be prepared to spend an hour or so on it before you can sit down.  We’d rate it as a good effort, but ultimately a failed one.  As such, cool features aside, we don’t recommend this model.

This is the exact same recliner as the leather-upholstered ones we’ll talk about next.  Literally, the only difference is the upholstery material, but for some reason, these are treated as separate products by MacMotion.  Yeah, we don’t completely understand either.

In any case, everything we have to say about the leather covered recliners (next) applies here too.  If you prefer a lounge chair upholstered with fabric, these are the ones you want.

In our view, these chairs represent the best overall value in the MacMotion product line.  Based on the C-Frame Fjords recliner designs, these are good looking chairs, upholstered in top-grain leather.  They’re well-padded and comfortable and offer excellent lumbar and upper back/head support.

The flip side is that the leather isn’t treated or protected, so it’s not as resistant to wear or the harmful effects of the sun’s rays, and as with MacMotion’s other products, the construction material isn’t top of the line.  If you buy one, it’ll look great for a couple years, and then start showing its age.  For the price, that’s not bad, and if you treat your chair with kid gloves, it’ll serve you pretty well.

Note that some assembly is required.