Office Star Big Man’s Executive Mesh Chair Review 2024

Are you on a budget?

Have you been frustrated in your search for a modestly priced office chair that was decent quality and versatile, with a variety of well-implemented ergonomic features? 

If so, then you’re going to enjoy learning more about the Office Star Big Man’s Executive Mesh Chair.

There are so many office chairs on the market today offered by such a vast array of companies that potential buyers can often suffer from a bit of analysis paralysis as they try to wade through dozens of different options. After a while, they all begin to look and feel the same.

We’ll be the first to admit that it’s not perfect and has its share of limitations, but given the price the company is selling it for, that’s understood and to be expected. The reality is that this is a great chair that left us pleasantly surprised and we think you’ll be impressed as well.

In the sections that follow, we’ll go over everything this chair has to offer, and we won’t pull any punches when describing its drawbacks and limitations, so you’ll have all the information you need to decide whether or not this is the chair you’ve been looking for. If that sounds good to you, let’s jump right in and see what the Office Star Executive Chair has to offer.

Office Star Big Man’s Executive Mesh Chair Overview

The first thing you’ll notice about the Office Star Big Man’s Executive Mesh chair is that the company took no chances with its design. This model is entirely conventional and unobtrusive. 

That’s not a bad thing at all. On the contrary, it works in the model’s favor because it means that it has an easy time blending in seamlessly with just about any home or office décor scheme. Besides, when most people buy an office chair, they’re purchasing a utility device, not a work of art. It’s got a job to do. As long as it does that job well and isn’t outright ugly, most people are perfectly happy with it.

It is a fairly sizeable piece of furniture and heavier than you might expect. But again, its unobtrusive design serves it well, enabling it to fade nicely to the background in spite of its impressive size.

Chair Specifications

As to the basic statistics that drive and define the model, here are a few:

Although the company markets this as a “big man’s chair,” given the above, it’s actually well suited to both average sized and larger folk.

The height adjustment range is impressive, spanning five inches where the industry standard is four, and the band is definitely attractive to taller people. The maximum supported weight limit is decent, but given the above, and the 19” seat depth, the tallest and heaviest users in the market will find this chair a shade too cramped for their liking. What that means though, is that this is a great, versatile chair that will appeal to all but the very shortest and the very tallest, and that’s a very good thing in our view.

Adjustability & Comfort

In terms of adjustability, the Office Star Worksmart Big and Tall Mesh Executive Chair has the basics covered. It swivels, tilts—reclining back to a maximum angle of 120 degrees, and has a tilt lock mechanism for those times when you don’t want to lean back.

Where comfort is concerned, this chair has a surprising number of things going for it.

Upholstery

First, although it’s technically upholstered in fabric, it’s a kind of fabric/mesh blend, so it offers the best of both worlds. At first, or even second glance, it appears to be fabric, so it doesn’t suffer from the hit to aesthetics that so many of the pure mesh chairs do, but it’s also more breathable than conventional fabric. Kudos to Office Star for taking that approach!

Padding

Second, padding. Although this chair relies on conventional block foam padding, there’s a lot of it, and it offers a delightfully comfortable seating experience.

Ergonomic Features

Third, let’s talk about ergonomic features! On that front, the Office Star “Big Man” chair has the following on offer:

Given the price, we were amazed to find four ergonomic features on this chair, which again, speaks very highly of the Office Star design team. There’s a catch, however. The company’s implementation of its lumbar support is somewhat lacking.

Lumbar Support

We don’t mean to say that it’s bad; it isn’t. It’s just not as well-implemented as you’ll find on some similarly priced models. Some users have complained that it doesn’t offer the level of support they were expecting, and unfortunately, the lumbar support isn’t adjustable in any way. This is probably not a deal breaker, and every person is different so your mileage may vary, but it’s something to be mindful of.

Head and Neck Support

In a similar vein, the head and neck support is good but falls short of greatness. It gets the job done, and if you lean back to stretch and relax, you’ll be comfortable enough, but there are plenty of other chairs on the market that do as good a job on this front, if not better.

Waterfall Edge Style Seat

On the other hand, the waterfall-edge style seat is very well done, and if you spend extended periods each day in the chair, you’ll be thankful for it. You won’t have to worry about the chair cutting off circulation in your legs, giving you that unpleasant tingling sensation when you stand up for a much-needed break.

Armrests

In our view, however, it’s the ergonomic armrests that steal the show. Not only are they well-padded and comfortable, but you can also adjust their height (independently, of course), allowing you some ability to customize your seating experience in the chair.

That’s huge. We’re not really sure why more chairs don’t offer this feature, but it’s hit or miss. Some low-end models offer it; most don’t. Less than half of the chairs offered at the mid-range offer the feature. 

You’ve got to go to the high end of the market to find it regularly, and that’s a pity. It’s a valuable addition to any chair that doesn’t add significantly to the cost. We view this as a great decision by Office Star, proving that they know their way around the office furniture market.

Arrives at Your Door Unassembled

This probably comes as no surprise, and we won’t spend much time on it, but like most office furniture, the Office Star Executive Big Man’s Chair arrives at your door unassembled and in a giant box. The production quality is high, but the materials used in construction are a step or two down from being best in class in a bid to keep the price as low as possible.

Even so, the pieces all fit together well, and the weld quality is above average to good. As with the quality of the materials, the instructions aren’t best in class, but they’re not awful either. Expect to spend about thirty minutes putting the chair together if you’re doing it solo and deduct about ten minutes from that if you have an extra pair of hands to assist you.

Pros & Cons of the Office Star Executive Big Man’s Chair

By this point, we think you’ll agree. The Office Star Executive Office Chair is a solid design. While it falls short of greatness, it is a very good model, and what it lacks in advanced features it makes up for in sheer versatility.

In our view, the armrests stand out as the chair’s best feature, being both ergonomically designed and height adjustable, with the weakest point of the chair being the lumbar support, which isn’t bad but also isn’t stellar.

Office Star Worksmart Big and Tall Mesh Executive Chair Review Conclusion

We like the Office Star Big Man’s Executive Mesh chair more than its total score would indicate. The main thing dragging down its overall rating is the fact that Office Star doesn’t have the same brand heft as say, Herman Miller or Steelcase. If you’re not especially brand conscious and that doesn’t matter to you, taking the brand dimension out of the ranking equation would give this chair an overall score of 4.3, which is impressive.

The thing we like best about this design is that although it’s being marketed as a “Big Man’s Chair,” it’s actually incredibly versatile and would be a good fit for all but the very tallest and very shortest people on the market. On top of that, it’s durable enough to stand up well to the rigors of heavy daily use and comfortable enough that you’ll enjoy sitting in it for several hours every day. This one comes highly recommended.

---

Official Manufacturer Support

References & Resources

• Office S​​tar Products, Official Brand Website.
• How to Clean a Mesh Office Chair, Hunker.
• Effects of Differences in Office Chair Controls, Seat and Backrest Angle Design in Relation to Tasks, Researchgate.