Alera Elusion Series Mesh High-Back Multifunction Chair, Black

This is my initial review, I have just received the chair and assembled it. I will update this review after spending some serious time in it. I would also mention that this is my first adjustable chair, so I'm a newbie with this kind of chair. I chose this particular chair because it had good padding in the seat, because despite my full figured form, I seem to have a paucity of posterior padding. (Those chairs with nothing but mesh for a seat just didn't appeal to my comfort zone.)I have also posted some pictures of the box and items inside, the assembly instructions, and a picture of the control levers/knobs on my chair, with explanations of each function.Delivery: I ordered with Amazon Prime 2-day shipping and despite what it says on the product page, I ordered it on a Sunday and Tuesday the box was delivered, faster than I expected. Snoopy dance...Box: a nice thick heavy box, taped and banded, and it was a good thing it had the bands, because the tape had partially broken. All parts in the box, well packed. Heavy box-- had to drag it to the den to open the box and unpack it.Assembly: I'm almost 64 yrs old and it took me about 30-40 mins to assemble the chair. Partly because I tend to dwell over the assembly instructions thoroughly before starting to be sure I don't screw up on anything. Plus, I don't rush and I don't recommend rushing unless you've done this kind of assembly before.-The assembly was all pictures, but pretty well laid out.-There are ONLY two bolts (used in the steel stem that attaches the back to the seat), and because they are different sizes, there's no possible way to use the wrong bolt. If it's the right bolt, it will fit. There are two small screws that hold on the cover plate in the rear. These are the only screws/bolts that are used in the entire assembly process.-The items needed for each step of the assembly are in separate bags and this makes the assembly easier and more foolproof.-The control paddle assembly is already fixed to the seat. This is by far the heaviest part of the chair. I was very happy to see that control paddle assembly already on the seat, especially considering the number of levers that would have probably gotten in my way if I'd had to insert screws to attach it to the seat.-The spider base is a heavy plastic, but seems quite solid and for plastic, it's actually heavy.-The stem that attaches the back to the seat has to be put on the right way, look carefully at the picture inset and the stem itself, it will tell you which side goes to the outside and it's critical that it be put on the right way. The stem holes lined up perfectly on the back and on the seat assembly. Gotta love those Taiwanese craftsmen! And by the way, this stem is HEAVY steel 3/16" thick, and I don't foresee it ever breaking.-When attaching the armrests to the seat and then the back to the seat, you will need a fairly tall support that's not too wide. I decided that the box the chair came in was adequate in size but probably not strong enough to support the seat's weight. Instead I chose my heavy wood hall table, which was sufficiently high and narrow enough to sit the seat assembly upside down on it.-When you open the plastic bag that has the knobs that hold on the armrests, look carefully for the washers and lock washers. I found that the lock washers had migrated into the inside of the knobs and gotten stuck there. So look around in that bag and the inside of the knobs if you don't see the washers and lock washers. The knobs allow you to move the armrests laterally, and the pushbuttons on the underside of the rest allow it to go up and down. There is a minimum amount of play in the armrest when it's screwed down tight, and I don't find that to be a problem. The armrests are firm but slightly spongy to the touch. I think they'll do well. I really like the up and down adjustments for using my keyboard and trackball all day at work.-Tip on putting the back stem into the seat assembly: first pull the back to the highest position on the stem, as this will keep the back from ramming the seat and make inserting the stem into the seat much easier.-Another Tip: Once you get the back attached to the seat assembly, instead of lifting the entire heavy seat assembly to put it on the base stem, I recommend that you lay the chair seat/back assembly down on the floor on it's back and then just gently ease the spider base on sideways, and then slowly pull/ease the chair into the upright position and then push down to seat the chair firmly on the base. The seat assembly is remarkably heavy and somewhat awkward to lift but by doing this laterally instead of upright you can actually see what you are doing to align the spider's gas stem with the seat, and it will save you a tremendous amount of grief and sweat in trying to get the chair seated onto the base--and enable one person to do the assembly unaided even if you're an old croaker like me.Now that the chair is assembled:Levers: well, there ARE a lot of them, aren't there! Save those directions, you are going to need them to become acquainted with each lever's function.Now, I'm a big girl at 5'9", a tad over 200 lbs, and fairly broad in the beam if you get my drift. I had concerns that this chair would not be generously enough proportioned to feel comfortable. Wrong! That seat slider got the seat out where I needed it to be so that my thighs weren't dangling in the wind. And my tush does not hang off the sides of this seat either. Adjusting the lumbar support in the back upward got it to where I needed it to be on my back. Tilting the seat just right for my comfort zone was really super because I have a bad back. However, let me point out that my older back doesn't have much lordotic curve in it, so if you have a really big lordotic curvature, you might not find the lumbar as comfortable as I do.So these are my first impressions: the chair seems heavy and solid, all the parts were perfectly aligned, the assembly was not arduous, and the chair so far seems to fit my body perfectly with a very nice-- soft but firm-- seat.I will comment more after using the chair for a while. So far it's a definite keeper.~~Now if they could just make this chair in some nice attractive colors~~--------------------------------------------------Update, after owning the chair for five days:Well, I was off work on vacation this week, so have spent only about 2-3 hours per day in this chair, but so far I'm loving it. Getting the initial adjustments made in the chair for my body form took a bit of time, but once you get it the way you want it, there is not much adjusting left to do. The armrests ARE comfortable to me. I have my seat tilted slightly forward, because I like to rest my legs/feet on a hassock that I have under my desk--works out perfectly. I have the lumbar support firmly engaged with my back and totally love the feeling.I would mention that the picture I posted of the levers is labeled in accordance with the directions that came with my chair. Their labeling method somewhat escapes logic, as the levers are not labeled A, B, C, And D in the order of their position on the chair. If you want to see a larger picture of the levers, you can right-click the picture and open it in a new window and then enlarge it a few times.Tomorrow I start back to work, that'll be where the rubber meets the road for this chair, and I'll report more after this coming week.--------------------------------------------------Update after one week of spending about 10 hours a day in this chair:-I found that my left elbow was getting some lateral epicondylitis, so I lowered the armrest a notch to get my elbow off of it, and that took care of the problem. If the armrests seem to have too much play in them, re-tighten the bottom knobs, I found that mine needed re-tightening. There is always some slight movement in the armrests, however, and it's not a problem for me.-I have re-adjusted the backrest a couple times to get the vertical alignment of the lumbar support exactly in my sweet spot. I love being able to stretch my back over the backrest and pop the vertebrae a little to work out the stiffness from prolonged sitting.-I am enjoying the seat tilt and backrest adjustment knobs quite a bit, as sometimes I sit in one position for a while and I just need a change of position. Being able to change the tilt of the seat and the backrest is a really nice feature when you sit for a long time. I keep the backrest fixed most of the time, so that I get good lumbar support from it.-A tip on adjusting the seat tilt: first freeze the position of the backrest, because you have to push your body against the backrest in order to align the seat tilt the way you want it.-My office is carpeted and I use a chair mat. I had concerns that this chair wheels were going to dig into my chair mat more than my last chair, but this has not been a real problem. I still get some small dents like I did with my previous chair, which I solve by just rotating the spider base a little.-All in all, I'm impressed that this chair and I are going to be good buddies for a long time. Having never had an adjustable chair before, I don't see how I'd ever go back to a "standard" office chair again-- I'll always be using an adjustable chair from now on, I think. It's definitely worth the money for the comfort when you "sit for a living."=======I bought this chair in June 2013 and it's now August 2015. The chair is holding up wonderfully. The seat is still comfortable and shows no real wear. This may be the last office chair I ever have to buy!=======Update April 2020: I retired in 2018 and am still using this wonderful chair when I cruise the net. I figure this chair will probably outlast me. It's still perfect in every way.=========Update 2024: Well, I'm 75 and still using the chair, still like it, and for sure it's gonna outlast me. Some of the best money I ever spent.

What a great chair! Especially if you compare it to one that had no lumbar support, hot leather and a low back.*** Assembly ***The chair was actually quite easy to assemble. It's a bit on the heavy side, and when you get to where you're attaching the back to the seat, I placed the box it shipped in on it's tallest side, set the seat upside down on it so the armrests dropped along the side of the box, then attached the seat back as instructed.In step two of the instructions make sure the threaded hole inside the square is at the bottom, face down (it will slide into the seat). The illustration shows two holes when there are actually three. I realize i'm a little slow sometimes and if you're like me, this might be helpful.In my opinion, and perhaps someone with more experience assembling chairs could chime in, but I would think it's easier to install the base, set it on the wheels, then install the back. Following the instructions (step 5) felt really awkward.All in all, assembly can really take less than 10 minutes so I give high marks for that.*** Aesthetics ***I'm don't care as much about aesthetics but this is a nice chair. I prefer it much more over the Herman Miller bulky front end Aeron. The high back of this chair throws off the symmetrical balance as it makes the seat seem a little dwarfed. Raising the seat seems to help with this a bit.You'll want to wipe it down after putting it together. Mine was quite filthy, dust mostly, from storage I assume. The seat was covered with plastic so it didn't have any dust or marks.One reviewer shared an image of the seat fabric in a wrinkled state. Mine looked exactly the same when I got the chair put together but once I sat in it for about 5 minutes it looked perfect.*** Comfort ***Immediate! After 10 minutes of adjusting that is. I'm 6' 1" and slim built, weighing in at 180 lbs. I have long arms and legs so finding a chair that has good height adjustments for the seat and arm rests was important. In fact, if I raise the seat all the way, my feet are barely planted flat on the floor, so this chair should be very well suited for individuals taller than I am. I've not been disappointed at all.The lumbar support works really well, you just have to get used to the seat back dropping to the bottom if you go beyond the last adjustment. Once you've got the hang of that you can find your sweet spot. My back is so much more comfortable.I don't have a head rest but for those who want one, I've heard one can be added. If I lean my head back to the top of the seat back I hit the base of my skull, so I would think a headrest would work nicely. If you have a tall torso you might have an issue.The seat cushion feels just right to me. It's not hard but not so soft you fall into it. It's a thick foam with a fabric cover. Very comfortable.The armrests are comfortable, not too hard, not too soft. You won't go home with your elbows aching.The back is comfortable and the contours fit me nicely. The top of the back doesn't start curving away from me until about 2 inches above my shoulder blades so it really is a good fit. The mesh does feel like it gives a bit much when you are putting it together but it's very supportive when you sit down.***Overall ***For the price, this chair is perfect for my needs. It feels like a solid build. The plethora of adjustments make it possible - it seems - to accommodate any body type. I have a co-worker who is sitting in a Herman Miller that cost the company $700+ and this one feels just as good, if not better considering this is a foam seat rather than mesh. I would recommend this chair.I will try to get a photo of me sitting in the chair as a reference to those similar in height/ build as me.