In a Nutshell:
The Muvman is a fun home or office stool that’s perfect for both home and office use. It’s well constructed, full-featured, and offered in a variety of colors. In other words, it’s awesome. Via Muvman Stool is recommended for anyone 265 pounds or less, looking for an alternative to conventional office seating.
Value for the Money
Comfort
Brand Reliability*
Aesthetic Flexibility**
Overall Rating
3.9/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Anyone weighing 265 pounds or less, looking for an alternative to conventional office seating. It’s well constructed, full-featured, and offered in a variety of colors.
Is the office chair you’re currently sitting in not getting it done for you? At the end of a typical workday, do you find that your aches and pains are worse than they were when the day began?
Have you been on the hunt for some type of alternative seating option designed to help make it easier to get through the day? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re going to love what you read in this review.
Via Seating is a great company offering an assortment of well-designed office furniture, including one of the most innovative office furniture designs we’ve ever seen, the Swopper. If you’re not interested in cutting edge innovation but still want to think a bit outside the box, then the Via Muvman Stool is an amazing choice.
In the sections that follow, we’ll tell you all about what it gets right, and let you know about its limitations and shortcomings, so you’ll have all the information you need to decide if this is the alternative office seating option you’ve been looking for. If that sounds good to you, let’s dive right in and see what the mighty Muvman has to offer.
An Overview of the Via Muvman Sit-Stand Stool
Aesthetics & Design
It looks like it belongs on the set of The Jetsons. That, or something like it, will probably be the first thing you think of when you see the Via Muvman Stool for the first time. It’s an accurate assessment. The stool has a vaguely futuristic look but also manages to look a bit retro, like a vision someone from the sixties might have of what the future would look like. That, in a nutshell, is the Muvman.
It was designed by award-winning designer Henner Jahns, founder and lead designer of Gecco Vision, a small design company specializing in creating tailor-made office furniture. As a matter of fact, the Muvman has received prestigious international prizes for its functional and attractive design.
As interesting as the aesthetic is, it may not appeal to everyone. Even if it doesn’t, it’s not such an outlandish design that it will stick out in the typical American home or office. It’ll blend into the background pretty easily, which adds to its versatility.
The stool measures 13” x 13” x 27” and weighs just 19.7 pounds, which makes it a trivial matter to simply pick it up and tote it somewhere else as your needs change throughout the day.
That brings us to an important point. While this stool could be used comfortably for 3-4 hours at a stretch, this isn’t the seating solution you’re looking for if your job keeps you tied to your desk for 8+ hours a day.
It was designed for people who have more active jobs that see them sitting for short-ish periods, then on their feet and moving around a bit before finding their way back to their perch for another short stint in the stool.
If you can reorganize your day to reflect that kind of work schedule, then you’ll be very pleased with the Muvman. If you really need something optimized for power users and you just don’t get up and move around a lot throughout a typical workday, then this isn’t the stool you’re looking for.
Lower Back Support
Another interesting thing to note about the design of the Via Muvman Seating Stool is the seatback. It has one, albeit a very small one that only rises far enough from the stool cushion to support your lower back. What makes it super intriguing though is that the seatback pulls double duty as a handle, giving you a convenient place to grab it when you’re toting it from one place to another.
Customization Options
If you decide you want one, when you place your order, you’ll be able to select the gas lift you want so you can get the seat height adjustment range you’re looking for. The two options are standard, which has a range that starts at 20” high and goes up to 33”, and tall, which starts at 23.5” and goes up to 36.”
In addition to that, the Muvman is available in either black vinyl upholstery or microfiber. If you order microfiber, you can select from a variety of fabric colors, including:
Finally, you can order the base in either matte black or matte grey. In short, there are enough options here that you’ll be able to customize and personalize the stool to your liking, and to ensure that it will blend seamlessly into whatever environment you decide to put it in.
Adjustability
We touched on both of these in the last section, but we’ll give them both another mention here. There’s only one adjustable feature to talk about where the Via Muvman Sit-Stand Stool is concerned, and that’s the height adjustment range.
Given that you can select from your choice of gas lifts when you place your order, you’ll want to take a couple of careful measurements before deciding which one is the best fit for you. You’ll need to measure the length of your legs, but you’ll also want to take into account the type of desk you’re using.
In general, though, you can bet that most of the time, the standard height will be a good match with a conventional office desk, while the taller model will be a good fit for people who work from standing desks or drafting tables.
Comfort
Comfort-wise, as we said earlier, the Muvman is decent but certainly not exceptional. The padding is conventional block foam, and there’s enough of it to make it comfortable for short to medium periods of up to perhaps three hours – four at the most. Sit on the stool for longer than that, though, and you’ll find yourself increasingly uncomfortable.
Active Seating
So, if the stool only has one adjustable feature and is only moderately comfortable, why would anyone want one?
The answer lies in the fact that the Muvman offers ergonomically excellent, active seating. It moves with you as you move, allowing you to shift and move without getting up while keeping your spine properly aligned. That’s a boon for anyone who suffers from chronic back pain, especially if it’s caused by spinal compression.
In addition to that, sitting on a stool like this is great for the circulation in your legs and will give you a very subtle, low-intensity core muscles that will help you burn more calories over the day and achieve whatever fitness goals you’ve set for yourself.
No Assembly Required
While the vast majority of office furniture being sold today doesn’t come assembled, the Muvman is a rare exception to this rule. When your stool arrives, it will show up on your doorstep in a box but fully assembled. Just put it where you want it and have a seat. That’s all there is to it.
Pros and Cons
In no particular order, here are the things we think you’ll like best about the Via Seating Muvman:
There really aren’t any downsides to speak of, other than the fact that it’s a little on the pricey side. That’s to be expected, though.
Aside from the fact that Via Seating offers this stool with vinyl upholstery, which is out of character with the rest of the stool, everything about it is exceptionally high quality.
Via Muvman Stool Review Conclusion
This kind of unconventional office seating is almost entirely self-selecting. You’re either interested in considering alternatives to your current office chair or not. If you are, then the Via Muvman Stool is an excellent option. If you’re not, then no matter how cool and awesome the stool is, it’s not going to be cool enough to change your mind.
One thing we will note is this: Most of these types of stools have a maximum supported weight limit of 250 pounds. This one will support up to 265 pounds. No, that’s not a huge extra amount of weight, but it’s something, and if you’re very close to the upper side of the limit, every little bit helps.
Given all of the above, we provisionally recommend it.
Recommended Reading
Varier Move Ergonomic Stool Review
Our assessment focuses on the Varier Move Ergonomic Stool, an excellent option for unconventional office furniture.
Kore Wobble Office Chair Review
Our review centers on the Kore Wobble Office Chair, a fun and versatile seating for modern offices or homes.
References & Resources:
- Via Seating, Official Brand Website
- 5 Advantages of Using Sit-Stand Seating for Office Work, Topaz Furniture
- Burn Your Desk Chair: 9 Radical Alternatives to Office Seating, Fast Company
- Six Alternative Seating Options in the Classroom for a Child with Special Needs, Friendship Circle
- The Effect of Active Sitting on Trunk Motion, ScienceDirect.