In a Nutshell:

Varier’s flagship model for this part of their product line. An exceptional chair created by a world class designer. Varier Wing Balans Chair is the gold standard of kneeling chairs. Recommended for anyone who can afford one.

Value for the Money
Comfort
Brand Reliability*
Aesthetic Flexibility**

Overall Rating

4.3/5
* Brand Reliability is a measure of the strength and longevity of the brand, which by extension, is a measure of the level of support you can expect. ** While aesthetics is a matter of taste, Aesthetic Flexibility is a measure of how easily a given design would fit into a wide range of home or office décor schemes.

Benefits

  • Well-designed
  • Comfortable
  • Made of good quality materials
  • One-year warranty
  • Good value for money

Drawbacks

  • Upholstered in bonded leather
Varier Wing Balans Chair
4.3

Recommended For: Anyone who can afford one. This is the gold standard of kneeling chairs.

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Does your current office chair leave more than a little to be desired? Do you find yourself wincing in pain after a long day’s work, confined to your chair?

If you answered yes to either of those questions and if you’re willing to step away from the world of traditional office furniture on a quest to find something better, then you’re going to love our in-depth review of the Varier Wing Balans Chair.

Designed by the legendary Norwegian designer Peter Opsvik in 1984, this is the sequel to the chair that essentially launched the ergonomic furniture movement and to this day, remains the flagship model of Varier’s kneeling chair designs. It is superb and simply put, is the standard by which all other kneeling chairs are measured.

While conventional office chairs are a lot more comfortable than they were in eras past and come with a variety of cutting-edge ergonomic features, they’re still conventionally designed and as such, suffer from the same basic limitations all conventional chairs do.

The kneeling chair is something altogether different, working with the shape and mechanical structure of your body to provide a seating experience quite unlike anything you’ve ever experienced if you’ve never had the pleasure of sitting in one.

Granted, they’re a little unusual looking, and as such, they’re not for everyone, but as you’ll see in this Varier Wing Balans review, these are amazing chairs that have a lot to offer the right person.

In the sections that follow, we’ll go over everything this amazing chair can do and tell you the reasons you may want to consider it, along with pointing out the reasons it might not be right for you. Even if you opt to go in some other direction, we think you’ll agree; this is an amazing chair, well deserving of the many awards it has won. Let’s jump right in and take a closer look!

An Overview of the Varier Wing Balans

A side pose of Varier Wing Balans in black color

Let’s start by talking about aesthetics. You’re either going to like the look of this type of chair enough to give it a try, or not. If you’re not a fan of the aesthetic, then this review is unlikely to change your mind.

If you do like it, or if you’re on the fence and willing to consider something a bit off the beaten path, you’ll find this model to be very much to your liking indeed.

As mentioned above, this is not a new design, but it’s still cutting edge. To this day, it’s the standard that every other kneeling chair on the market tries to live up to. Most of them fail, which is why the Varier Wing Balans kneeling chair is worth every penny, even if it is a bit on the pricey side.

Chair Specifications

In terms of the basic statistics that define the model, here’s what you’re looking at:

  • Overall Product Dimensions: 22.8” x 22.8” x 20.4” – 28.3”
  • Product Weight: 21.7 pounds
  • Seat Height Adjustment Range: 20.4” to 28.3”
  • Knee Height Adjustment Range: 11” to 20”
  • Maximum Supported Weight: 250 pounds

As you can see then, this is an incredibly versatile chair, but it gets better. Every Wing is handcrafted, using laminated ash, sustainably harvested from forests in Norway. The five-point polyurethane base is high density, and the casters are well suited for ease of movement on everything but plush carpet.

Features of the Varier Wing Balans Chair

Upholstery

An image of man sitting in a Varier Wing Balans Chair in Blue color

The Varier Wing Balans is incredibly well-designed and easy to adjust. Even better, Varier did not skimp in terms of upholstery, offering a variety of options:

  • Revive: 100% recycled polyester for those looking for a budget option
  • Fame: 88% New Zealand Wool, blended with 12% Polyamide
  • Leather: High quality, supple semi-aniline with a light finish
  • Breeze Fusion: 88% New Zealand Wool, combined with 12% Polyamide (more breathable than Fame)
  • Halingdal: 70% New Zealand Wool, blended with 30% Viscost
  • Dinamica: 88% polyester blended with 12% polyurethane
  •  Steelcut Trio 3: 95% New Zealand Wool, blended with 5% Nylon
  • Dolce: 100% Rayon (another less expensive upholstery option)

The company offers their various finishes in a variety of colors which you can select when you place your order. All of them are exceptional, so it mostly comes down to personal preference. Whatever you pick, your chosen upholstery will be stretched over generous amounts of padding.

Comfort

Comfort has many dimensions, and the Wing chair gives you the best of all worlds. Although it does take some getting used to, sitting in a Wing chair is a delight. Quite comfortable and offering superb ergonomic benefits.

The padding is generous, and while you’re sitting in the chair, it feels as though you’re floating on clouds, and this model, unlike many other kneeling chairs, doesn’t force you to sacrifice ease of mobility. Since it has casters just like a conventional office chair, you can move about freely.

This Chair Does Not Come Assembled

An image of Varier Wing Balans Chair in blue color

As with most office furniture, and especially given that this chair will be arriving from Europe, it probably comes as no surprise that when you get it, it will arrive at your door in a large box and in several pieces.

We’d say here in our Varier Wing Balans Kneeling Chair review that if you’ve never assembled a kneeling chair before, there will be some head scratching as you work out exactly how the pieces fit together, but again, Varier is exceptional on this front. The assembly instructions are clear, and the production quality is amazing. It goes together quickly and easily and won’t require much in the way of maintenance once you’ve got it assembled.

Pros and Cons of the Varier Wing Balans

So, where does that leave us? Varier is a legend in the industry, well known for the quality of their products and their world-class post-sales service and support. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better company when it comes to those things, and on top of that, Peter Opsvik is one of the best designers in the business.

The Wing Chair is proof of that, given that it has survived the test of time and is still, decades later, the standard by which other chairs of its type are measured against.

Having said that, not everyone is a fan of kneeling chairs; it’s just that simple. If you don’t like them, and can’t see yourself sitting in one, then none of the other stuff matters. You’re just not going to take the plunge and spend hundreds of dollars on something you don’t connect with.

We’d rate that as the Wing Chair’s only real weakness.

Final Thoughts on Varier Wing Balans Review

If you suffer from back or leg pain of any kind, and especially if you suffer from coccyx pain, we recommend the Varier Wing Balans Chair without reservation. The only proviso is, of course, that you’re willing to buck convention and buy a chair that’s designed along very different lines. 

If you do decide to go with a kneeling chair, Varier is the company you want to do business with. In this segment of the market, there’s Varier, and then there’s everybody else. The difference really is that big. Decades later, everybody else selling kneeling chairs is still trying to catch up with Peter Opsvik.


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