7/10
Open rating explainerInformationWIREDA breathable mesh-back chair with an integrated headrest and cushioned seat. Easy assembly. Adjustable lumbar support. Comfortable, whether while working or leaning back.TIREDArmrests could be softer. The width of the armrests can't be adjusted. Might be too roomy for petite people. More functional than beautiful.An office chair is perhaps not the most appropriate place to fall asleep. But I am pretty sure I could conk out in the new mesh-backed Align chair, released in March by standing-desk pioneer Vari. I've tested this hypothesis by leaning back and closing my eyes during the midafternoon doldrums—and nearly missed a scheduled phone call as a result. For a mesh-back office chair, this level of comfort is an achievement.
Like its predecessor, the Vari Task Chair, the new Align offers an impressive degree of both comfort and customizability for under $500. It is not the most beautiful chair I've ever seen, and the five-year warranty is about average for its price point. But what the Align chair excels in, both literally and figuratively, is balance. Its simple design belies a fair bit of adjustability, making the Align well-suited for a wide range of body types.
To Mesh or Not to Mesh
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Photograph: Matthew KorfhageThe debate over the best chair often hinges over whether one prefers mesh or fabric upholstery. Like WIRED's top office chair pick, the Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro ($449), the Vari Align takes a “why not both?” approach, pairing a mesh back with a fabric seat cushion.
Mesh chairs are prized for their breathability and flexibility, but some mesh fabrics can feel abrasive, especially if they're pulled too taut. And because mesh must be wrapped around a rigid frame to maintain its shape, the hard scaffolding often feels obtrusive, especially when maneuvering around or sitting unconventionally.
The Align avoids the first pitfall with a soft mesh that has an easy give—like a tight-pulled hammock—while still offering decent support. It solves the second by cleverly integrating its headrest into the chair, forming a single sinuous curve that avoids hard edges. It's a thoughtful design, one that had me feeling around the outline of the chair's form to figure out how they did it. Looping the mesh around in a swoop also has the added benefit of disguising the hard plastic frame.
Meanwhile, the fabric-cushioned bottom, rated for up to 250 pounds, avoids the sinking effect of fully mesh chairs, which some find can hinder leg circulation after long periods sitting. It's a best-of-both-worlds approach that works without compromising comfort.
Keeping It Simple
Photograph: Matthew KorfhageJust like the best running shoes or a good mattress, an office chair must strike a delicate balance. It must be breathable yet offer firm (but not too firm) support for some of the body's most delicate machinery. It also must do so while melding to each person's highly individual proportions. Manufacturers have mostly erred, if anything, on the side of near-daunting adjustability. Some modern chairs feature more parts than a Bach cantata, with far less harmony.
Vari goes the other way. If you know the name Vari, your first encounter was likely the company's standing desks. The Texas-based company, previously called Varidesk, was among the pioneers in bringing the standing desk back into the modern conversation, initially by selling conversion kits to existing desks. A decade later, the ComfortEdge from Vari remains WIRED's favorite standing desk. In the intervening years, Vari has since branched out widely into office chairs and the rest of the office landscape, from storage to lighting to cubicles.
Like the brand's easy-to-assemble desks, the Align chair has a deceptive simplicity with relatively few parts. The chair required less than 15 minutes and only three screws to put together, using an Allen wrench that came in the box. (While the QR code, on a chair released in March, did not yet link up to the right URL for the assembly instructions, I mostly didn't need them.)
The simplicity stems mostly from the decision to limit the chair's components: a cushion atop the wheels and casters and a single-piece mesh top held aloft by a suspension system that allows for a quite generous lean.
The chair's spec sheet says one can lean back about 20 degrees, but I found there to be significantly more play on my large frame: I could lean back closer to 45 degrees while still feeling full support and no tipping danger. This makes for a lot of room to stretch.
Customization Concerns
Video: Matthew KorfhageEven though the chair is constructed from minimal parts, Vari has managed to trundle in a surprising amount of adjustability. The seat can be moved about four inches up and down, shifted forward and back, and the lumbar support tilted to your liking using a five-position adjustable ratchet behind the chair. The effect isn't dramatic visually, but it leads to vastly different degrees of pressure at the lower back.
The armrests can also be pivoted inward or outward and moved forward or back, though these positions cannot be locked. If you're prone to fiddling, you may find yourself playing with the position of the armrests in idle moments. The armrests are also only lightly padded, and while I didn't feel any discomfort, those who like a feeling of plushness might look elsewhere.
Note that while the armrests can pivot in place, their width cannot be adjusted. The seat cushion is also on the wide side, about 20 inches across. This means that while the chair accommodates wide frames handily, those who are a more petite may find the armrests too far apart. I loved the high-backed support, as a tall and long-bodied man. But smaller people may feel like they're swimming in the chair, with its 27-inch-tall back.
Overall, I was impressed by the chair's somewhat ingenious simplicity, which has the welcome side effect of keeping the price low. This balanced mix of breathability, support, value, and customizability makes the Align a very strong contender in the mid-price range—and the integrated headrest represents a serious step up from the company's previous-generation Vari Task Chair. My one worry about the Align is that I'll actually fall asleep in it.
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