In a Nutshell:
The Via Seating Proform is a great, tremendously customizable task chair. Recommended for anyone weighing up to 300 pounds who are specifically looking for a task chair. This is probably a better fit for corporate buyers who are looking for conference room chairs, but there’s no reason an individual couldn’t pick one up.
Value for the Money
Comfort
Brand Reliability*
Aesthetic Flexibility**
Overall Rating
4.1/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: This is probably a better fit for corporate buyers who are looking for conference room chairs, but there’s no reason an individual couldn’t pick one up.
Is your old office chair ready for retirement? Has that fact prompted you to start searching for a replacement? If you answered yes to those two questions, you might find the details in this—our in-depth Via Proform chair review—very much to your liking.
Maybe.
Unlike many of the other chairs offered by Via Seating, this one has a more narrowly focused target market, which means that it won’t be for everyone. Having said that, the “right” user will find a lot to like here, and the Proform chair is a surprisingly versatile design.
Haven’t heard of Via Seating? If not, you’re certainly not alone. Although the company isn’t exactly a household name, they are an incredibly well-respected brand in the office furniture world. They have a reputation for both exceptional quality and outstanding post-sales support, making them a superb company to buy from.
If you’re interested in the Proform and curious to know more, read on, and we’ll take a closer look!
Via Seating Proform Office Chair Key Features
The Proform sports a sleek, modern design and is offered in several variants.
This is true of most of Via Seating’s products. The Proform can best be understood as not a single model but rather a group of models that exist together under the Proform umbrella.
Highly Customizable
As is the case with almost every chair Via Seating makes, this one is highly customizable, giving you tremendous freedom to get exactly the chair you want.
This is something of a two-edged sword. If you want a task chair and don’t want to be burdened by making half a dozen different decisions, your best bet is to order one from Amazon.
There, the vendors that sell the Via Seating Proform have made all the decisions for you and offer a modest selection of preconfigured chairs, so it’s as easy as picking the one you like best and hitting “add to cart.”
On the other hand, that robs the potential buyer of any chance to customize and personalize. You’ll want to order from the manufacturer’s website to preserve that. Given that the process is somewhat involved, we’ll walk you through it and discuss the different options you’ll have available at each step along the way.
Seatback, Stitch Pattern and Mesh Options
For now, let’s start by talking about the very first decision you’ll need to make if you decide you want one of these. As we mentioned, there are several variants you can choose from. These are:
In summary, then, you can order your Via Seating Proform office chair with either a mid-back or a high-back, and with a variety of stitch pattern configurations, or with a mesh back if you prefer that.
There’s no “right” answer here, and mostly, this will come down to personal preference. Some people like the look of one particular stitch pattern over the others, and while some claim that it makes a difference in terms of overall comfort, if there is a difference, it is an extremely marginal one.
They all offer the same level of comfort, which is decent (especially for a task chair) but not what one would call luxurious.
That makes sense because, remember, these are task chairs. They weren’t really designed for all-day, everyday use. They were designed for occasional office seating, say, 2-4 hours daily. If you’re looking for a chair you can work in all day, this probably won’t be a great fit for you.
Ultimately, these are the kinds of chairs you’d see arranged around a conference table at a company. People come in and sit down for a meeting that might last an hour or two, and then they’re off to do something else.
The Proform is perfect for that, so at the end of the day, it comes down to how (and how long at a stretch) you plan to be sitting in the chair.
Generally speaking, the high back will provide additional comfort and support to allow for longer periods of sitting, but even then, you’ll probably start getting uncomfortable after more than 4 hours or so.
Comfortable Padding
Having said that, Via Seating does a great job where padding is concerned. They use a proprietary cold-cured injection system to create the foam padding used in their products, which is not only more comfortable than average but also longer-lasting, which is why Via has such a good warranty.
Granted, their warranty isn’t the best in class, but this chair does offer an impressive 12-year warranty on the padding, which is at the top end.
The best way to describe the other features on offer (or potentially on offer) is to walk you through the buying process on the company’s website, so we’ll do that next.
How to Order A Proform Office Chair
This is really the heart and soul of our Via Proform chair review because as you step through the ordering process, you’ll be introduced to just about every aspect of the chair.
This section, then, will not only give you a good idea about what to expect but also introduce you to Proform’s major features. Let’s take a look!
The ordering process starts here.
Mid-back or High-back
This is where you select whether you want the mid-back or high-back version of the chair and what stitch pattern you prefer. Once you’ve made that initial selection, you’re taken to the customization page.
The first option on this new page allows you to change your mind about the base model you want.
Fixed Back Option
Assuming you’re good with your initial selection, you can skip this and move on to the next, which asks you whether or not you want a fixed back. Neither option adds anything to the cost, so in general, we recommend not going with the fixed back.
That way, you can lean back if you want to and lock it if you don’t. It gives you the best of both worlds.
Control Mechanism
After that, there’s a question about what type of control mechanism you want, and here, you’ve got four choices. The basic controls don’t cost extra and give you the standard “stuff” you find on most office chairs.
Select this option and you’ll be able to adjust the height of the seat within a 4.8” range, and you’ll have access to a tilt and lock adjustment (just one position available) and a back/recline tension adjustment control.
All of the other options cost between $74 and slightly over $100 more, but each offers something slightly different. If you select the basic option with seat depth adjustment, you’ll get everything above plus a 2” slider to make the seat deeper. This is a good option if the chair will be used by multiple people of different heights and body shapes.
The quick-adjust advanced synchro control mechanism gives you access to all the features of the basic controls plus an ergonomic forward tilt option and five different tilt and lock positions, instead of just one. The auto-adjust balance option gives you everything the basic controls do plus a three-position tilt and lock option.
The main questions, then, are how adjustable do you want the chair to be, and how many people will be using it? The answers to those two questions will define your choice here.
Armrest Option
Once you make that decision, you can choose to add armrests if you want. On the surface, that sounds great, but we regard the optional armrests as a weak point in the chair’s design. About half of the options are basic, fixed position cantilever arms, which aren’t adjustable in any way and, thus, are of limited utility.
The other half of the choices are better, and the 8-way adjustable armrest option is amazing. But if you’re going to spend another $100-$200 on fancy armrests for your task chair, then you may as well just buy a chair where they come standard because it will inevitably offer other features that the task chair simply lacks.
Chair Base
Moving on from there, you’ll make a choice about the kind of base you want. Three options here: a standard black 5-point nylon base (no extra charge), a polished aluminum base, or a brushed aluminum base—both of which are more expensive additions.
Casters
Then, you’re presented with a really interesting choice. You have three options for casters: a standard black carpet caster, a rubberized caster suitable for use with any flooring surface, or black all-floor glides.
You almost never see an office chair without wheels, so we think it’s cool that Via Seating Proform offers glides as an option. We wouldn’t add them to our chairs, but some people might, and it’s nice that they have the option. We recommend the rubberized glides for anyone with hardwood floors to protect, but in most other cases, the standard casters should be fine.
Safety Brakes
Once you’ve made your selection there, you’ll be asked if you want to add safety brakes for the casters. These are useful, especially if you’re doing precision work that requires you to be stationary or if you have pets or small children that may be moving around your chair while you’re working.
If none of those apply, you probably don’t need them, but if you think you might, it’s better to get them as they don’t add much to the total price of the chair.
Optional Emphasized Stitch
After that, you’ll get to choose whether or not you want the “optional emphasized stitch.” Whatever you pick here, it won’t cost you any extra, and this is purely an aesthetics thing. It will enhance the “look” of your chair. Pick something you like, or simply don’t make a selection here, as you prefer.
Single or Two-Tone Upholstery
Moving on from that, you’ll get to choose whether you want a single upholstery layout or if you prefer two-tone upholstery. Again, no matter which you choose, it won’t increase the price of the chair, so have some fun here.
Fabric Color and Custom Options
When you’ve made that choice, you’ll get to the really good stuff—textiles. There are a ton of different color options to choose from, so no matter what the color scheme is in your office, you’ll be able to match it or create a pleasing contrast.
In addition to simply picking the color of the fabric, you’ll also be able to select the material type, grade, manufacturer, and pattern, which gives you virtually unlimited freedom to really put your own stamp on the chair you ultimately get.
This is probably the most fun and engaging part of the whole process, and more than anything else, this segment is the reason this is the strongest component of our Via Proform chair review.
Shipping Condition
The last choice you’ll need to make before completing your order has to do with the condition the chair is shipped in. You can either order it blanket-wrapped or not, and either fully or partially assembled.
The blanket-wrapped option is only for large quantity orders and is almost certain not to apply to someone buying a chair for their home (unless you’re planning on buying 150 or more!), and we recommend choosing the partially assembled over the fully assembled option.
The chair comes 95% assembled when you choose partial, and they’ll tack on almost an extra hundred bucks to put the five pieces together. Not worth it, in our view, but if you disagree, you’ve absolutely got the option to get yours 100% assembled if you want to.
Make that final selection, and then you’ll be ready to check out and have your chair shipped to your door!
Pros and Cons of The Proform
We like this chair, but we don’t love it. It’s expensive for one thing, especially for a task chair. In our minds, that is probably the biggest strike against it.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more expensive chair designed only for light to moderate daily use.
On the other hand, its greatest strength is its enormous customizability. You can tweak and change just about every aspect of this chair, which is awesome. Unfortunately, that’s also the main reason it’s so expensive!
Via Proform Chair Review Conclusion
In our view, this is a good chair, but it falls short of greatness and is not one of Via’s strongest designs. It’s a very expensive task chair, and while it may be a good fit for someone interested in acquiring a set of highly customizable conference room chairs for a company for individual consumers, there are better options out there.
If you disagree, though, and you decide you just have to have one of these, you will find a lot to like here.
Just bear in mind that what you’re getting is a task chair, not an office or executive chair, and it was ultimately designed for light to moderate daily use. As long as you’re okay with that, you’ll be happy with this model.
On that basis, we provisionally recommend it.
Other Options To Consider
If you’ve read to the end of this Via Seating Proform office chair review and you’ve decided that this isn’t the chair you’re looking for, here are a couple of other options you may want to consider:
Recommended For: Anyone who weighs up to 300 pounds, especially if you love customizing every detail about your chair.
Consider this to be the office chair version of the Proform. It’s every bit as customizable, great-looking, and pound for pound more versatile than the chair we just talked about.
Recommended For: Anyone weighing up to 400 pounds who loves mixed media chairs (mesh/vinyl or mesh/fabric). Fair warning, though—this is a one-owner chair!
If you love the modularity and versatility of Via Seating’s products, but the Run II just doesn’t tickle your fancy, the Genie just might. It’s an amazing design and, if anything, even more versatile than the Run II!
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
- Via Seating, Official Brand Website.
- Via Seating Proform Office Chair User Manuals.
- Workspaces That Move People, Harvard Business Review.
- Creative Office-Seating Options That Boost Productivity, We Work.
- A Comparison of Psychological and Work Outcomes in Open-Plan and Cellular Office Designs: A Systematic Review, SAGE Journals.