This investment paid off almost immediately - Humanscale Freedom Headrest PCGH Edition

Full disclosure: The author of this review is involved with the PR work for Ergomood. However, he did buy the product with his own money, and relays his story as he experienced it. While a certain bias cannot be denied, the author wishes to emphasize that the opinions expressed in this review are genuine and honest.

I have never had a proper, good chair before. I used to buy, if not cheap, then very affordable ones. But my main point to not go cheap was that I wanted something that would last longer than a few weeks without parts breaking. I’ve had back problems before at my old working place (they supplied us with cheap chairs), and my first experience with more sophisticated office chairs was when I switched to my current employer. However, for some reason I never made the connection between my backaches disappearing and me sitting in a high-quality chair all day.

Anyway, the pandemic came and we started working from home. Six months later, my back hurt so bad I could barely stand up straight. And I realized that I felt increasingly uncomfortable in the office chair I was using. I thought about getting a proper chair, but I shied away from spending so much money on something I would “only” sit on; with hindsight I cannot believe how dumb my reasoning was. When I discovered the Humanscale Freedom Headrest PCGH Special Edition and its very competitive pricing, I made the decision to go ahead and buy it. It was one of the most expensive single-item purchases I made in my life … and now, half a year later, I am still so happy I made this decision.

When the chair arrived, it was in the middle of a home office day, so I had been sitting in my old chair for a few hours and my back was already sore. I set the Freedom Headrest up, switched it for the chair at my desk, sat down – and immediately felt like my back was readjusting itself. Don’t get me wrong, this chair is not magic, my backache did not suddenly disappear, but I could feel that the Humanscale chair properly supported my posture and relaxed the tense muscles especially in my lower back. My back got better every day, and I now refuse to sit in any other chair – I will rather go and fetch my Freedom Headrest from the other room than sit in the old torture rack again.

Now, almost half a year later, my back issues are gone. I don’t need to lie down on the ground after a day of home-office work to snap my vertebrae back into position. Again, the Humanscale Freedom Headrest is not some magical device that cures pain with sorcery, and basic health guidelines must still be observed even with this chair – get up every now and then, walk a few steps, exercise regularly, strengthen your core muscles. But if you have to sit, and for hours a day, then you best sit in a chair that gives you the support you need, and without the hassle of a million knobs and levers to adjust (and potentially misadjust). This chair is not an investment in your comfort, or in your office – it’s an investment in your health, and it is absolutely worth it.

Moritz Hillmayer