Ergonomic Wobble Chair alternative to sitting ball or office chair

Retails in Canada for $159.99 but watch for holiday pricing

Any product with the word wobble may make you think it is unstable. But in the case of the Ergonomic Wobble Chair by Anthrodesk, that’s actually a good thing.

The chair, also called an “Active sitting stool,” is a clever way to keep your body moving so it won’t stiffen up, a common hazard as we all spend more time in front of computers, especially since the Covid lockdown and the proliferation of online platforms such as Zoom. It’s great for use at a desk, a standing desk or even around a kitchen island.

The Ergonomic Wobble Chair’s design is reminiscent of the Weebles toys we played with as children. Remember the TV commercial, “Weebles wobble but they won’t fall down?”

The chair ships in four pieces: a heavy bottom-rounded rubberized base, a gas spring, a collar to cover the spring and a padded chair seat (just under 25 lb. total). It’s easy to assemble – the instructions are pretty straightforward – but I needed to apply a little extra pressure to get the collar attached to the seat. I also found out the hard way you had to be sitting on the chair to be able to adjust the height (from 22 to 33 inches.) You make the adjustment by simply pushing one of the three buttons on the underside of the seat – which I also had to do a couple of times before it would consistently engage.

This was my first foray into wobble-seat territory; using it is still a work in progress. At first, I felt a little unbalanced, but I’m slowly getting used to it. While you can sit right on it, I found it works best when I only partially sat on it, with my feet firmly on the floor and leaned back as it leaned forward. Be warned: while the chair, by itself, won’t tip over, it will if you lean back too far past vertical. It is also best to keep your feet on the ground.

The shape of the seat is interesting. Rather than being round, it is almost like a super-sized symmetrical bicycle seat (about 12-inches at its widest point and about six inches at its narrowest.) I suspect it has been designed this way so you can evenly position your body to always be centred with your legs and weight evenly distributed left to right. This is great for balance, although, for those who have trouble sitting on a bicycle seat (like I do), you might find it uncomfortable over long periods of use.

Overall, the wobble chair is a great little invention – especially for the times we are living in. While I can’t comment on the claims that using the chair increases one’s metabolic rate, I can certainly say that using it engaged my core muscles. In fact, I’m thinking about moving to a standing desk.

The Anthrodesk Ergonomic Wobble Chair – which comes in black, red and blue – retails in Canada for $159.99 but watch for holiday pricing. Prices may vary slightly by colour. You can get one directly from Anthrodesk or find it on Amazon.

Greg Gazin, also known as the Gadget Guy and Gadget Greg, is a syndicated veteran tech columnist, communication, leadership and technology speaker, facilitator, blogger, podcaster and author. Reach him at @gadgetgreg or GadgetGuy.ca.  

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