For people who work at a desk all day, a good or bad chair can be the difference between a comfortable and painful experience. There are also health concerns because the natural shape of the average office chair doesn't match the curvature of your spine. That's the problem that ergonomic office chairs aim to solve, and its importance is why some of the best ones command four-figure price tags. The FlexiSpot C7 Ergonomic Office Chair, which I've spent the last few weeks using, aims to do the same at a much lower cost.

While I can't see myself purchasing the FlexiSpot C7, I think it's worth looking for people who crave good posture and lumbar support. There are a lot of customization options, but be prepared to spend a lot of time tinkering with it before you find the most comfortable position. The same reasons that I wasn't sold on it — the stiff mesh materials and aggressive lumbar support — might be the very same reasons others flock to the FlexiSpot C7. If you know you like a lot of lumbar support, the FlexiSpot C7 might be for you. However, if you aren't sure, you might be taking a risk by purchasing this chair.

About this review: Flexispot sent me the C7 Ergonomic Chair for review. The company had no input in this article and did not see its contents before publishing.

Pricing and availability

The FlexiSpot C7 Ergonomic Chair is available for $659 on FlexiSpot's website, but it frequently goes on sale. At the time of writing, it is half-off and can be purchased for $330. The frame for the chair is only available in black, but the cover for the chair can be configured to be black or a gray and black mix. You can also choose a mesh or foam top for the seat. My review unit has a mesh seat top and a gray and black colorway for the cover.

Design and build

The chair looks good, but has a large footprint and mesh materials

If you look at the FlexiSpot C7 from afar, the chair might look like a regular office chair. However, a closer look reveals that the FlexiSpot C7 is quite different, which is evident from the numerous levers and adjustment points. It's even more clear that the FlexiSpot C7 is not your average chair from the lumbar support section that protrudes from the back of it. Before you get to that, though, you'll need to assemble it.

Building the FlexiSpot C7 chair was more intensive than other chairs I've assembled in the past, but it wasn't too difficult. The hardest part was assembling the height adjustment mechanism for the mesh seat top. That's for two reasons: the included Allen key was too short to comfortably insert the screws, and there were more screw holes than were needed. This is likely because FlexiSpot uses the same seat top for different chairs, which have different mount points for the seat lift. In total, it took around a half-hour to build completely, and at least a quarter of that time was spent trying to figure out the tricky step for installing the seat lift.

One important thing to note is that the chair has a very large footprint, marked by thick and chunky armrests. This allows the FlexiSpot C7 to be used by people who prefer to sit cross-legged. It also adds more customization options to the armrest. A consequence of this is that it won't fit under some desks that don't have an ample amount of legroom. It fit fine under my FlexiSpot E7 Pro standing desk, but it didn't fit between a desk with 26 horizontal inches of legroom.

Customization

It takes time, but the chair has a lot of options to help find a good fit

There are more ways to adjust the FlexiSpot C7 than any other chair I've tried, and that means there's a good chance you can find a fit that works for you. There are the usual suspects, like height adjustments for the seat and the headrest. You can also move the seat top forward and back, as well as tilt it up and down. The FlexiSpot C7 also has a tilt function that can angle the chair between 90 and 128 degrees. The lumbar support on the back of the FlexiSpot C7 can automatically adjust to your posture or be locked into a single position.

However, just because there are a lot of customization options doesn't necessarily mean that the FlexiSpot C7 will be a good fit for everyone. While the company says that people between 5'3" and 6'5" can use the chair comfortably, I just don't believe that is the case. For one, the lumbar support section can move forward and back, not up and down. The whole idea of lumbar support is that the mesh will fit into the natural curve of your spine. That position won't be the same for everybody, though, so the lumbar support might not naturally fit — and potentially cause discomfort.

The potential height-based limits don't end there. I'm someone who likes to recline their chair rather than lean forward in it, but that's difficult with the FlexiSpot C7. The first issue is that the chair is fairly tall, even at the lowest height setting, so reclining resulted in my feet dangling off the chair. I'm not the tallest guy out there — my height is around 5'10" — but I'm well within the recommended height threshold for this chair. Second, there's supposedly a footrest option for the FlexiSpot C7 that would fix this issue, but it wasn't included in my review unit. Looking at the product page for the C7 reveals that there's no way to add the footrest to your purchase at the moment.

This isn't necessarily a dealbreaker because you can add a generic footrest to improve your experience without spending much. It is worth keeping in mind since it's easy to get overwhelmed with the number of adjustments you can make to the FlexiSpot C7 chair. It took me about a full workday and numerous adjustments to find a setting that I was all right with. I kept finding somewhat small annoyances in the process, like how you need to lean back in the chair and hold your position to lock the recline setting, but you can't reach the lock/unlock lever from that position.

This might sound like the FlexiSpot C7 isn't a great chair, but it is still a very solid option in this price range. It's better suited to people who are experienced in the world of ergonomic chairs, the ones who know the adjustments they want for the positions they like and can easily make them. For the above reasons, I wouldn't recommend this chair to a beginner.

Lumbar support

The lumbar support in this chair won't be for everyone

You can't use the FlexiSpot C7 without noticing the lumbar support, whether you love or hate it. Just by looking at the lumbar support on the FlexiSpot C7, you can see that it protrudes more than most ergonomic chairs. For me, it was simply too aggressive. It was downright painful at the start of my review period, both during use and for a few hours afterward. After studying up on ergonomic chairs and lumbar support, I found that this isn't too abnormal for people who aren't used to chairs with lumbar support. But, if you buy this chair, be prepared to experience some growing pains at first.

The pain subsided over time as my body got used to the extra lumbar support. By the end of my review period, the lumbar support was actually somewhat helpful when I leaned forward at my desk. Instead of placing the weight of your upper on your lower back, the lumbar support places it on the chair instead. But I still found the lumbar support uncomfortable while sitting up straight or leaning back. There simply isn't enough adjustment in the FlexiSpot C7's lumbar support for a part of the chair that can make or break the experience.

Should you buy the FlexiSpot C7 Ergonomic Chair?

You should buy the FlexiSpot C7 Ergonomic Chair if:

• You have prior experience with ergonomic chairs
• You like strong and supportive lumbar support
• You don't mind spending time adjusting the FlexiSpot C7 to your liking

You should NOT buy the FlexiSpot C7 Ergonomic Chair if:

• You're new to ergonomic chairs and don't know what you like
• You aren't sure if you find aggressive lumbar support comfortable
• You want a simple option that doesn't require customization

The FlexiSpot C7 chair is a good option for a person who has tried different types of chairs and has settled on an ergonomic one with a lot of lumbar support. I don't think it's a good choice for people who aren't sure what they want or are just looking for lumbar support to correct back issues or pain. This chair is built for someone who specifically wants the things that the FlexiSpot C7 offers. No matter how many adjustments you make, this is still an ergonomic chair with aggressive lumbar support.

Aggressive lumbar support doesn't have to be a bad thing, but it does mean the FlexiSpot C7 isn't for everyone. It wasn't for me, even though I tried all I could to find comfort in it.