HONVolt Armless Chair, Home Desk Chairs with Wheels, Leather Seat and Back, Ergonomic Recline and Synchro Tilt, Black

HON Volt H5703 task chair _ Synchro-Tilt / SofThread leatherI may by be a fortunate exception, but my chair arrived within the corrugated cardboard shipping carton with no damage to the contents at all, despite minimal protective packing material. It also arrived even faster than expected (ordered Thursday, arrived Sunday) via USPS… and that was with FREE Amazon Prime shipping - Thanks once again, Amazon!Everything was packed into a small but appropriately sized carton measuring roughly 25” high 24.5” wide 12.5” deep (63cm x 62cm x 32cm) weighing nearly 35 pounds. The seat and the back support sections (pre-assembled with all hardware possible) were each wrapped in clear plastic bags, taped closed. The black plastic 5-leg base was separated from other contents by a single sheet of cardboard. The 5 casters were in a bag taped to a small box containing the pneumatic seat support column. And a small blister-pack card contained the two cap-head screws for attaching the back support bracket to the steel bracket below the seat. Included with the screws were flat washers and smaller split-ring lock-washers to prevent the screws from gradually loosening (they also had a drop of blue thread-locker compound dried onto ½” (12mm.) of one side of the screw threads) and there was also one spare bolt and washer set and the necessary 5mm. Allen wrench (hex-key).Threaded holes bored and tapped into the steel frame brackets were perfectly aligned for easy assembly. Just be sure to start both screws gently, do not force, making certain they will each thread in straight and easily; you do not want to strip the threads. Just follow the simple step by step instructions. My chair was fully assembled in less than 5 minutes. Simply invert the plastic base and plug in the casters, flip this over and slide the seat post into the base, attach the two screws to unite the seat and backrest, then set this on the pedestal which you’ve already dropped into the leg base. That’s it, you’re done!The seat and backrest of mine are indeed upholstered in leather. But, it’s a reconstituted “bonded” leather which is thin and soft with an even grain all over. This upholstery should last a very long time; just don’t expect top full grain leather hides would be used for these very modestly priced chairs. From online images, I had no clear impression of the surface texture which actually has a quite attractive shallow grain pattern on the non-glossy black finish. Attached is the best photo I can offer to show the texture on my chair's upholstery. It really does NOT look or feel like cheap vinyl and should blend well in a nice office setting.Yes, apart from the steel seat column (a black enamel finish) everything else visible on the chair once assembled is a matt finish plastic. But I think that looks fine and of course you’ll never need to worry about paint chipping or wearing through as you might on a painted metal base or back. The seat and backrest seem to be cushioned well enough and each are generously wide. I weigh 150 pounds (68 kilos) and I feel nothing of the internal structure pressing through the foam cushioning even after sitting several hours on the chair. Backrest height is not vertically adjustable, but it feels fine for me - male, 5’ 7” (170cm.) tall.The chair seems VERY stable! Beneath the plastic exterior of the seat is a wood core and this surely adds weight but is exactly what you would want for durability. Controls all operate smoothly. Press the lever on your right beneath the chair upward while sitting and rise up a bit to adjust the seat height. You just pull the height adjustment rod outward ½” (12mm) to enable the full synchro-tilt option and in this position the lever remains flush in a vertical plane with the seat top; it does not stick out awkwardly. If that lever is left pressed in, the locked backrest will still flex back slightly (for comfort or if you want to occasionally lean back and stretch), but only around 10 degrees from vertical. Chair smoothly swivels 360 degrees and the covered double-wheel plastic casters are fine for low pile carpeting. The bottom of the chair seat also comes pre-tapped with two sets of 4 holes intended for potential addition of HON’s available (optional) adjustable-height arm rests.My assembled chair weighs 31.2 pounds (14.15 kg.); fabric or mesh back models likely weigh slightly less. Higher online weight estimates I've seen may include the additional 3 pounds 10 ounces (1.65 kg.) of packaging.I always agonize over any online purchases, read countless consumer reviews of any products which I consider, then just hope for the best but expect the worst. In this case, I’m really very pleased with the overall quality of this relatively inexpensive chair and with the ease of minimal assembly required. It is produced in China (isn’t everything these days?) but is offered by a reliable well known furniture company which even supports it with a lifetime warranty. Price I paid on Amazon was excellent as was the surprising speed of delivery. I would highly recommend this chair to anyone I know.Update 2021:After 4-1/2 years of daily use at my home computer desk this has functioned perfectly in every way. Still very comfortable for me. Again, I'm only 5'7" tall and weigh well under 150 pounds and have found the padding adequate and the seat and back rest are not at all "too large". I definitely sit at this chair a full 8 hours or more 7 days per week so this is a good long term test review.HOWEVER... one thing which prompted me to add to this re-review is the quality of the "SofLeather" upholstery. From the time of purchase, I had no great expectations considering the very low cost. However this winter I began to notice splits forming at the front of the seat where my legs drape over. Close examination under magnification reveals the bonded leather is what you might expect: not very durable over long term use. I can now clearly see that there is only a very thin layer of (reconstituted) leather fused to a fibrous white synthetic backing.The feel of the topping is still soft, supple, comfortable to the touch and basically looks as new. But, where several 1" long cracks had formed, clearly revealing the white backing, the seat really looks tattered, although there is no foam padding threatening to push through. The padding had also compressed somewhat along that front edge but nothing which I would consider uncomfortable.The upholstery may still be covered within the manufacturer's "warranty" period and conditions, but probably not worth the bother for me to consider looking into that. There is a nearby upholstery firm which I might bring the seat alone to for an estimate (it would be easy for me to disassemble the chair). I'm fairly handy, so I might also consider sourcing a square of soft thin "real" leather from a local Tandy leather store and recover the seat myself. For now... a couple strips of the dreaded ubiquitous "black duct tape" is my viable temporary "remedy" - yes, seriously! - mainly to keep the splits from extending further onto the seat top.Just wanted to add this info for anyone who may be rougher than me on their furniture or may have higher expectations of the "leather" which is used for these budget priced chairs. Otherwise, I have no complaints at all about the overall quality of construction; all features still function smoothly and, as I mentioned before, initial assembly of the chair was fast and easy.

I've had this chair since October 2020, and as of writing this almost a full year later, I can comfortably say it was a worthwhile investment! The chair isn't exactly cushy, but the streamlined look belies impressive support that hasn't wavered in the year I've been using it for full-time remote work (and plenty of gaming in my downtime). I love this chair enough to have taken it with me when I moved in with my partner in March, a move I abandoned every other piece of furniture I had in!The faux-leather of the seat cracked about a month ago, but removing the seat and covering it with a different fabric via staple gun was easy as pie. I now have an awesome, comfortable chair with spacey upholstery!Leaning back can get you unpredictable results at times - some days it leans back enough that I'm sure it'll tip (it doesn't), other days it barely wants to at all - but that isn't really a problem for me. I'm sure there's a mechanism in there for it somewhere... I just find chair mechanisms opaque as all get-out.My only strong wish is that removing the back pad was feasible, so I didn't have to sew a slip cover for it, but hey... for the comfort I've sat weird and cross-legged in this chair with for as long as I've sat in it with, I can forgive that.FWIW - 5'4", 130lbs.

Pluses:- Nicely firm upholstery.- Covering is sturdy and easy to wipe down.- Sturdy, solidly built, no loose rattles.- Fast assembly.- Sychro-tilt feature is subtle but does make leaning back more comfortable than if the seat bottom were fixed.Minus:- Assembly instructions could be slightly clearer. Some strength is required to insert the wheels, enough so you're not sure whether you're doing it right. Attaching the seat back is just 2 screws (with tool included) but how to get the 2 holes to line up was not immediately obvious.

I've had a HON chair for 20 years and felt it was time to replace it. I didn't want anything fancy, and I just needed a task chair without arms. Having had a HON chair for so long I thought I'd give them another go.I received the box and found the packaging to be lack luster and almost inadequate. I wasn't too pleased with that, but it arrived safely, and I didn't buy it for the box so no big deal there.The instructions were about what you'd expect. A sheet showing how it all goes together and a sheet on how to operate it. Putting it together took all of 10 minutes and only required the included hex wrench. Once it was together I found the wheels rolled very smoothly and the seat spun easily with almost no effort. I tried out the reclining and found that only the back tilted. I was getting concerned because the seat was supposed to angle too and I could not find a way to make that happen. After much fiddling I figured out that the set height adjustment lever needs to be pulled to allow the seat to recline with the back. Maybe they should have included that in the operations "manual", but even with a second read through there was no mention of that.I found the tension knob to be situated a bit further under the seat than was comfortable to reach while sitting, but being that you only adjust it once and then likely leave it there for the life of the chair, that wasn't a big deal to me.The "leather" was decent and looks to be easy to wipe down if needed. The cushion is adequate but don't expect to feel like a king sitting in it. I will say that this chair feels a bit wider than your usual task chair, but not in a bad way.Do note that the back of the chair does not adjust in height.Overall it's a good chair, and for this price you really can't find much better.