Merax Deluxe Series Office Chair Review 2024

Are you a bigger, taller individual?

Are you looking for a decent office chair for home use that’s not an eyesore and doesn’t cost a ton of money?

If you answered yes to either of those questions, then the Merax Deluxe Series Office Chair might be the right choice for you.

We’ll be quick to point out that Merax’s big and tall chair isn’t perfect, but its strengths outweigh its weaknesses by a substantial market, and it’s offered for a song, which makes it a solid choice.

In the sections that follow in this review, we’ll take a deep dive, highlighting its best and worst attributes so you’ll have all the information you need to make an informed purchasing decision.

The value segment of the office furniture market is a crowded, bustling place and there are lots of chairs to choose from, so the Merax Deluxe has plenty of competition. While it’s not the final word in big and tall office chairs, it does offer solid value for the money. Let’s jump right in and take a closer look!

Key Features of the Merax Deluxe Series Office Chair

Unobtrusive.

That’s the first word that came to mind when we first saw the Merax Deluxe Series Office Chair. It’s a big piece of furniture, which you’d expect for a big and tall chair, but it’s designed along fairly conventional lines. It’s not flashy, showy, or particularly elegant, but it does blend in well with most home décor schemes, and that’s a good thing.

Chair Specifications

Where basic stats are concerned, here’s a quick rundown of the Deluxe:

We like that the height adjustment range and the maximum weight limit of the chair both support the basic design premise of the model: it is geared toward bigger and taller folk. Those elements also synergize well with the seat height and width, so the Merax Deluxe has the basics well covered.

The steel base is the primary element that allows the chair to accommodate the added weight load, and while we applaud it, we’ll also note that other big and tall chairs on the market can support even more weight. For example, Flash Furniture’s Hercules 24/7 is comparably priced (slightly more expensive) and can support an additional 100 pounds of user weight.

Overall, the first impression the chair leaves you with is that while it won’t win any beauty contests, it is sturdy, comfortable, and functional — all good things.

Adjustability

The Merax Deluxe doesn’t win high marks in terms of adjustability. While well-suited for bigger, taller people, the height adjustment range is slightly less than the 4” range you find on most office chairs.

Also, this model doesn’t have a tilt and lock feature, so you can’t lean back in it to relax, although it does have a small range of rocking motion, which is something. Still, tilt-and-lock is a basic functionality, and we’d have expected to see at least something on that front.

Comfortable Padding

Despite the relative lack of adjustability, it is a comfortable, well-padded chair, utilizing generous amounts of standard block foam with PU stretched over it.

Double-Stitched

Although we can’t say we’re impressed with the upholstery choice, it’s incredibly common in chairs offered at this price range. To the company’s credit, though, they made some effort on this front by incorporating double stitching on the armrests, seatback, seat, and headrest pillow. It’s a nice touch that proves Merax knows what they’re doing.

Lumbar Support

Where ergonomic features are concerned, the Deluxe is about the middle of the road. You’ll find four elements here, all of them moderately well-implemented. The chair’s lumbar support is the best of the bunch. Although it’s not at all adjustable, it does add to the chair’s overall comfort, and the vast majority of users will be pleased.

Head and Neck Support

Many Merax Deluxe Series Office Chair reviews agree that the head and neck support is the second most robust ergonomic feature, and the built-in headrest pillow is surprisingly comfortable. However, this is something of a missed opportunity, given the lack of a recline feature, which blunts the effectiveness of the feature.

Leg Support

The seat design is adequate and does provide some leg support, which will help improve circulation while sitting in the chair. However, it falls short of being a true waterfall-edge design. The armrests are both padded and ergonomically shaped but lack any means of height adjustment. Overall, then, it’s a mixed bag with decent feature implementations that fall short of excellence.

There’s a bit of a disconnect between the durability of the base and the quality of the materials used in the construction of the rest of the chair, including the upholstery. While the base and lift mechanism can stand up to heavy daily use rigors, the upholstery can’t take it. It’ll start breaking down a lot sooner than you wish it would.

Breathable Mesh

The upshot is that Merax understands office furniture and the biggest drawback of leather (even faux leather) upholstery: the relative lack of breathability. Merax took some steps to counter this limitation. Along the side of the seat and seatback, they incorporated mesh fabric, which helps some with the breathability front.

Even so, the low-quality leather doesn’t lend itself well to heavy daily use, which limits this design.

Does Not Come Assembled

As you might expect, when this chair arrives at your door, it will come in a large box containing several pieces. Merax does a better-than-average job with assembly instructions. While the production quality of their Merax office chairs isn’t top-tier, it’s good enough that you won’t have any trouble with the holes lining up correctly.

If you’re doing it solo, expect the assembly process to take the better part of an hour. The most challenging part is attaching the seat back to the seat itself via the stationary arms. If you have an assistant handy, you can shave ten to fifteen minutes off the total assembly time.

Pros and Cons of Merax Deluxe Series Office Chair

The Merax Deluxe is undoubtedly an above-average chair and could be an excellent choice for the right user. However, it falls well short of excellence, with a mixed bag of average and above-average feature implementations and a few serious shortcomings.

As we see it, here are the best features the model has to offer:

The main negatives of the Deluxe are as follows:

Perhaps our biggest frustration with the Merax Deluxe is that we’ve seen outstanding models from the company and know what they’re capable of. While this chair offers good feature synergy in some areas, it fails in others.

With its rugged base, this model would have been an ideal candidate for durable fabric upholstery, which would have made the addition of the mesh fabric pockets unnecessary and made the chair much more able to withstand the rigors of heavy daily use.

Pair that with a properly designed waterfall-edge style seat and incorporate a tilt and lock function to fully utilize the comfortable headrest pillow, and this chair could have been a top-tier contender.

Merax Deluxe Series Office Chair Review Conclusion

At the end of the day, we regard the Merax Deluxe Series Office Chair as an above average chair that would be a good fit for big and tall users looking for a reasonably-priced chair for light to moderate daily use. While it’s true that there are better chairs on the market, these tend to cost at least a little more.

We provisionally recommend the model, and we hope that Merax will work to improve it. With a few changes, this chair would have scored significantly higher.

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Official Manufacturer Support

References & Resources

• Merax, Official Brand Site.
• Extend the Life of Your Office Chair with These Easy Steps, Beyond The Office Door.
• How to Clean an Office Chair, WikiHow.
• 6 Ways to Counteract Hours of Sitting, Working Mother.
• What to Look for in A Heavy-Duty/Durable Office Chair, Concept Seating.