Customer reviews from gaiam.com
Gaiam - Classic Balance Ball® PVC Chair - Charcoal
Average customer rating
4.4
(1,238 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 1,238 reviews
5 Stars
811
4 Stars
237
3 Stars
81
2 Stars
50
1 Star
59
90%of customers recommend this product.
(
1,087 out of
1,213)
Customer Reviews for Gaiam - Classic Balance Ball® PVC Chair - Charcoal
Customer Rating
3
A few points to ponder before purchasing
on October 20, 2011
Posted by: Nellie12
from Undisclosed
Verified Purchase:No
I read all of the reviews before purchasing the balance ball chair, and I wanted to add my experience to the mix. The chair is tall. I'm 5'9", and it's a good thing, or I fear it would be too tall for me. The actual height of the top of the ball, in the chair base, is 27" from the floor to the top of the 'seat'. The ball doesn't really squish enough when you sit on it to make a huge difference in that height. It's really too tall to comfortably fit under my keyboard tray at my desk. I did wait about a month to let it stretch out and settle in....and that helped a smidge...but not a lot. In response to the reviews complaining about tail bone and back pain.... It's all in how you sit on the ball. You really have to be tall enough to sit all the way back squarely on the ball....if you sit towards the front you're going to have the tail bone/back pain. Also, you have to really pay attention to your posture (which is the point of the chair!), and to how you hold your legs. You need to keep your legs together and straight in front of you, with your feet flat on the floor, and use your abdominal muscles to hold yourself in place. If you do this correctly, your core muscles should hurt long before your back does. Note: the 'back rest' is not a back rest. You should never touch it. It may come in handy in case of an emergency where you've lost your balance and are falling off the back of the chair....but it is in no way a back rest. I thought the base and back rest were made of substantial enough plastic to withstand any regular use. I'm big on quality and I have no issues with the plastic of both the ball and the base. The one aspect of the chair that is a real bummer: the wheels. They are extremely easy to accidentally lock with your feet. There are locks on all four wheels, and I almost think the darn things lock themselves sometimes! Even when they aren't locking, the wheels simply are terrible. If you are looking to use this in an office environment where you ever have to move your chair at all, you are going to have problems. I use it on a smooth wood floor, and it's pretty sticky and jerky....which is made even more difficult to deal with since you are balancing on the chair. For this reason alone, I wind up not using the chair, and resort to using my old desk chair. I don't know if you can replace the wheels with better ones from the hardware store or not, I haven't tried that....yet. Just getting up from the chair is an issue, because you have to push yourself back to get out from your desk, and it doesn't want to even roll a tiny bit without hanging up somehow. They really need to improve the wheels on this chair, and it would be a great product. All in all, the concept is good, the quality of everything else is great, but the wheels are pretty much a deal breaker.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting gaiam.com
Posted by: Joce51
from Brookville, PA, USA
Verified Purchase:Yes
The chair is not the same color pictured (ocean blue) and the ball and base are different colors. I cannot get comfortable sitting on the chair, nor can I get used to sitting on the chair so I gave it to my daughter. She can give it a try. Maybe she'll get some use out of it. By the way, my other daughter bought an exercise ball chair like mine at a second hand store but it was not Gaiam brand name and she paid a fraction of the price that I did. It looks and feels the same as mine apparently.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting gaiam.com
Customer Rating
5
Absolute must have!
on January 30, 2011
Posted by: Snowbird
from Undisclosed
Verified Purchase:No
Bought 1 for summer home; had to have one for winter home!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting gaiam.com
Posted by: kayc
from Hawaii
Verified Purchase:Yes
The chair is light, pretty and helps me to sit straight. I love it!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting gaiam.com
Posted by: Tani
from New York, NY
Verified Purchase:Yes
I did a whole lot of research before buying this ball, and I'm glad I finally got it. My old office chair was giving me lower back problems before but after 2 weeks of using this, I can feel my back has strengthened, and I absolutely love it. Highly recommend this!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting gaiam.com
Customer Rating
5
A Fit Sit!
on July 19, 2011
Posted by: pandalin
from PacNW
Verified Purchase:No
This chair is more than what I expected! I can sit in front of my computer and feel like I'm still getting a workout. I sit up more and am more conscious of my posture. There are times that I still end up slouching, but I am more conscious of it and catch myself doing it while sitting on this chair rather than a "normal" chair. I highly recommend getting this chair if you spend a lot of time sitting down. You can definitely feel the difference! I marked down on the quality because I was expecting more than the plastic base, I guess. It's not a bad thing, but I was expecting something heavier than the light base.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting gaiam.com
Customer Rating
4
A comfortable seat
on January 2, 2010
Posted by: Bronxite
from Bronx, NY
Verified Purchase:No
I needed a chair that would encourage good posture. This does the trick - and is comfortable too. Here I am, unconsciously doing posture exercises while at the computer - and feeling more relaxed than in any other task chair I've ever used.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting gaiam.com
Customer Rating
5
A workout while I work
on February 8, 2011
Posted by: marthared
from Undisclosed
Verified Purchase:No
I bought this ball chair because I wanted to do more than just sit and slump in my seat (I have an 8-hour/day desk job). In the three weeks since I started using this chair, I have definitely noticed that my core has gotten stronger. But better than that, I don't slump. You can't slump in this chair. The only cons are if you are wearing an outfit that can be tough to sit in (like a tight pencil skirt), but I've done it. I work in a school of allied-health professions (like chiropractic and physical therapy) and the professors give it the thumbs up!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting gaiam.com