Updated: Oct 12, 2016 Best Zero Gravity Reclining Chairs Are the Human Touch Zero Gravity Chairs really the best? Ever feel like gravity is taking too much of a toll on you? Gravity's constant pull can lead to aches, pains, slower healing time and sagging body parts. Specialized chairs, known as zero gravity chairs, are designed to reduce the stress that daily life places on your body. There are a number of companies that make zero gravity chairs - including Novus, Terra, Panasonic, and Sanyo. However, Human Touch's line of Perfect Chair Zero Gravity Recliners is probably the most well-known. Human Touch has been making massage and ergonomic chairs for more than 30 years. Human Touch is the single largest manufacturer and distributor of natural chairs in the North American market today, and they continue to invest in innovation to build better, more natural, biomechanical chairs. But what is a zero gravity chair? Zero gravity chairs are based on NASA chairs designed around keeping astronauts comfortable in zero gravity environments -- basically putting you in a reclined position with your feet and knees slightly elevated.
In this guide, we'll bring the topic back down to Earth as we look at the full line of Human Touch Zero Gravity Recliner Chairs - how they work, what features to look for, how much you should expect to spend, and are they worth the money. Human Touch Perfect Chair - Bringing Zero Gravity Home Perfect Chair - Zero Gravity Recliner Chair Comparison Human touch offers four models of zero gravity recliner chairs. These models include the PC-075, The PC-006 and the PC-095 and the PC-085. In each of these cases, "PC" stands for perfect chair. The differences between the different chair models are fairly minimal, the PC-095, PC-075 and PC-006 are all fairly similar in style. These recliner chairs are a sleek contemporary design. The PC-085, on the other hand, is more luxurious and generously padded. So which zero gravity reclining chair is best? It really depends on your particular needs and preference for style and materials. These leather recliners with electric reclining function are all fairy close in price, ranging between $1900 to about $2500.
The gravity recliner's electric recline system is electric, quiet, and takes just 15 seconds to fully recline into a position where your body can restore its natural balance. The PC-075 is the lowest priced zero gravity recliner coming in at about $1600-$2400. You can choose different types of wood for your leather recliner chair frame including dark walnut, standard walnut or maple. The price of the chair stays consistent regardless of which wood you choose. As far as the upholstery of the chair, Human Touch offers 8 choices, which include suede and leather. The standard choice, called "cashew sofsuede," comes included in the price of the chair. For a $100 increase in price you can choose between 7 leather shades including black bonded leather, cashew bonded leather, ivory bonded leather and espresso-bonded leather. For a price increase of $600, you can receive premium leather choices including black premium leather, dark chocolate premium leather and cognac premium leather, which is a deep red shade.
Other zero gravity reclining chair add-ons include a PC Memory Foam Kit which matches your body's contours for about $279 and a PC Extending Footrest for $129. The chair models that are slightly more expensive, the PC- 006 chair chair and the PC-095, were inspired by the Neutral Body Posture, which was studied by NASA. Your body remains in a weightless position. This position promotes relaxation and lets go of your body's muscle tension. The joints in your knee, hip and spine are likely to be close to their midpoint of balance. The PC-006 chair is slightly more expensive and sells for $2199. However, unlike the PC-075, all upgrades are included and leather comes automatically with the PC-006. The most expensive zero gravity recliner of the bunch is the Zero Gravity PC-095, which is about $2000. Similarly to the PC-006, this chair comes with any leather choices you wish for no extra fee. You can also choose between walnut, maple and dark walnut frame. This chair has the unique feature of a headrest that is fully customizable.
Lastly, Human Touch offers the PC-085 leather recliner chair. This zero gravity reclining chair looks different and more luxurious from the other three models of chairs. It is all leather and comes in a choice of black bonded leather, cashew bonded leather and espresso bonded leather. The price is roughly $1999. This zero gravity chair is generously padded and in a fixed-form seated position, which is said to make the chair as ergonomic as possible. This chair looks more like the standard leather recliner that you would see in a typical living room. This model also the electric zero gravity recliner feature and the leg rests are retracting. In fact, both the PC-095 and PC-085 have retractable leg rests. These leg rests can help people to more easily get in and out of the chair (be sure to check out the Zero Gravity Massage Chairs as well). Buying a Zero Gravity Recliner , provides a great deal of information about where you can buy the Zero gravity recliner chairs. The site has a find a dealer link where you can enter your country or zip code to find a nearby reseller.
In fact, many of these retail stores will let you test out this leather recliner chair in person before buying it. You can also order directly from the Human Touch website, and they will give you white glove delivery and free shipping. Human Touch offers a 3-year warranty on parts and a 3-year warranty on structural problems with the zero gravity reclinerZero Gravity ChairGravity HammockHammock AwesomeAwesome ChairAwesome BackyardChair SharperHammock ChairsChairs SwingsLounging ChairForwardThe Zero Gravity Hammock Chair will have you floating through dreamlandThe wrong chair = real health problems. (Total read time: 8 minutes) In this post I’ll cover how I identified the best high-end chairs in the world, which I ultimately chose, and the tangible results that followed. In January of 2005, I found myself on a veranda in Panama after the usual afternoon rain, dreaming of the upcoming year and reflecting on lessons learned since leaving the US. Maria Elena, the matriarch of the Panamanian family that had adopted me, sipped her iced tea and pointed at my bruised feet:
“Tim, let me share some advice I was once given. Buy the most comfortable bed and pair of shoes you can afford. If you’re not in one, you’ll be in the other.” I followed her advice upon returning to CA and the results were sudden: Plantar Fasciitis disappeared, as did shoulder impingement after switching from coil-spring to foam-layered mattresses. But what about chairs? On January 4th, 2009, I tweeted out the following: “Is the Aeron chair worth it? http://tr.im/2uxd Do you have any fave chairs for extended sitting and writing?” Even though I’m financially comfortable now, I didn’t grow up spending a lot of money, which I’m thankful for. To this day, I’ve never paid for first-class airfare for myself. Not that it isn’t worth it — I just can’t do it. Similarly, I had trouble believing a chair could possibly be worth $850-$1,200, but my back pain led me to pose the question to the omniscient Interweb. More than 95% of Aeron users replied with “yes, absolutely”, but it wasn’t the only chair with a cult-like following.
Four of the five are manufactured by Herman Miller (HM) and Humanscale (HS). Prices are from Amazon, as are the star reviews, but discounts of $200-400 can be negotiated with dealers. Both eBay and Craiglist offer similar discounts. In descending order of popularity: 1. Aeron (Fully loaded) (HM) – $879 (1 review; average review: 5 stars) Used at NASA mission control and tech start-ups worldwide.2. Mirra (fully loaded) (HM) – $829 (14 reviews; average review: 4.5 stars) Note: the Herman Miller sales representatives I spoke with preferred the Mirra seat feel for shorter legs vs. the Aeron. Easier to adjust: Mirra is about 9 revolutions from loosest to tightest settings; 3. SwingChair – $495 Recommended by a strong contingent of writers, including one of my favorite visual storytellers, Kathy Sierra. I like the design concept, but I would suggest other forms of “core exercise”. 4. Liberty (HS) – $899 (6 reviews; average review: 3.5 stars) 5. Freedom Task Chair with Headrest (HS) – $999.99 (1 review, average: 4 stars) Used at the FBI and by other governmental agencies with three-letter acronyms.
6. Embody – $1,800 list price (negotiated with dealer: $1,200-1,300): Basis of chair design – sitting is bad; Even in locked position, it still has some backward flex at the top position. No forward tilt option. For personal testing, I also added a Swiss-ball chair (Isokinetics Balance Ball Chair – $75) to the mix, as seen below: Surprisingly, the Isokinetics chair is more comfortable than most fixed chairs I tested, though there is some minor… ahem… testicular compression that isn’t nearly as pleasant as it sounds. If you don’t have jewels to worry about, this chair could well be an ideal cost-effective choice. The chair I most wanted to test was the Mirra, which seems to have the best combination of price point (bought used or via eBay) and multiple 5-star reviews. Not to mention it’s also the name of one of the best BMXers of all time. In the end, I bought a used C-size (technically a bit too large for me) Aeron for $450 on Craigslist. I’m impatient and didn’t want to wait over the weekend to schedule sittings for other Herman Miller chairs with a certified dealer.
Once I have some conclusive comparable data, I want closure.I’m 5′ 8″ and 170 lbs., but the C works with no problem. 1) The lumbar support is — by far — the primary determinant of comfort or pain. I’ve lowered this adjustment and found that maintaining the natural S-curve through pressure on the lower back is what prevents pain most consistently. Comfortable sitting time is now 7-8 hours vs. less than 2 hours, with no ill after-effects. Sliding lumbar support on the Aeron. 2) Seat height (and secondarily, depth) will determine the rest. If the flats of your feet don’t make complete contact with the floor, you will move your hips forward and slouch, eliminating the S-curve in the lower lumbar. If your seat is too low and your knees are above your hips, you will shorten the habitual range your hip flexors (negative neural adaptation) and end up with severe lower-back pain. Aim to keep your hamstrings parallel to the floor, and if the seat is too long for your femur (thigh bone) — as is mildly the case with my C-size Aeron — just separate your knees a bit.
If you’re not wearing a tight skirt, I’ve found a basketball of space between the knees to provide the best lateral stabilization, which reduces torso fatigue. Take off heels when sitting at a desk, lest you end up with hot calves and Quasimodo-like posture. Not good for mating. If you are wearing a tight skirt, I suggest taking up the Japanese tea ceremony and sitting on tatami side saddle. It’ll be more comfortable than crossing your legs all day.True, I’ve thought more about chairs in the last few weeks than anyone should, but I do it to save you the trouble. Benefit from my OCD so you can obsess on other things. 3) Using a 3′ long and 6″ diameter foam roller three times per day for 5 minutes can eliminate persistent middle-back pain from mediocre chair use; conversely, it can extend your comfortable sitting time by 30-40%. Knowledge workers often log more ass-in-seat time than sleep. Coders, in particular, are often subjected to a steady diet of Mountain Dew and hunching for 12+-hour marathons.
I don’t put in these hours, but I found myself with severe mid-upper back pain from using a non-adjustable chair and craning over a desk that was too low, even for 30-60 minutes per day. Two doctors suggested various therapies, but a quick experiment (placing a laptop on top of a dresser and writing while standing for two days) proved that posture was the problem. In less than a week following my switch to the Aeron, all upper middle-back (lower trapezius, rhomboid major) pain disappeared completely. The results: better output during work and writing, faster and deeper sleep, and a huge smack on the forehead. Why the hell didn’t I do this earlier? In my case, was it worth it at $450? Particularly looking at the value of time per hour and the lost income due to doctor visits, massage, etc., this is $450 I should have invested years ago. Odds and Ends: Twitter Giveaway WinnersThe travel bag and Fujitsu color travel scanner are gone. More giveaways coming here this week…