Herman Miller Embody review: There is no perfect chair... but this comes close

So, this Embody review has a perfect five stars. There must be absolutely nothing wrong with it, then? Well, of course not. There's no perfect chair for everyone, as people come in all shapes and sizes with different tastes. But the Embody comes pretty damn close, and I feel it needs to be distinguished from other near-perfect-scored chairs out there. In fact, it's so good that I'm going to start this review by focusing entirely on the negatives first (this won't take long).

In the UK Herman Miller have 'partnered up' with Logitech and marketed the Embody as a gaming chair . I have no idea why. There's an embossed 'G' on the back that peels off. There's also a pull strap on the back that breaks off. (Neither things are meant to happen). In the US you're getting the exact same chair , but without the crap hang tag and G. You win.

Right. That's the 'negatives'. Ready for the good stuff? This'll take a little longer. Below I break down how the Embody fairs in design, comfort, ergonomics and price. It's safe to say that it will feature highly on my list of the best chairs for back pain , which focuses on the current best ergonomic chairs. So let's dig in...

Comfort and ergonomics

Arguably the most important thing about an ergonomic office chair is, well, the ergonomics. You've also got to factor in whether it's actually comfortable to sit in. There are plenty of great ergonomic chairs, which are fairly horrible to park your butt in. The Embody is not one of them.

In fact, the Embody is the most comfortable and supportive chair I've ever sat in. Executive leather chairs like the X4 chair come close in comfort. And the Embody's sibling, the Aeron, comes close in support. But the Embody nails the combination of these two perfectly. There's just nothing else like it.

So how do they do it? It's all about pressure distribution and encouraging movement while in the chair. The first is achieved through linked 'pixels' in the back and seat –loads of linked chains and panels that provide a supportive mesh, or matrix, which offers just the right amount of support and give.

This then feeds into natural movement. It might seem weird that a chair is encouraging you to move while sitting down. But micro-movements that encourage blood flow are an important element in healthy sitting. You should never really be fully stationary while sitting at your desk. Because the Embody is so good at distributing your body weight, you feel lighter sitting down on the seat due to the reduced pressure, so small movements feel much more natural.

When I stretch out for an arms-raised yawn, the back of the chair offers just the right amount of give. And when I sit down on the Embody, I don't feel like my butt is hitting an immovable object. Because it's not. With other chairs, I often feel like I'm sitting to accommodate the chair. With Embody I feel the chair is perfectly positioned to accommodate me, whatever my position. That’s genius design.

Design and aesthetics

The Embody was designed by the same team that created the first ergonomic office chair (the Ergon) and the most iconic ergonomic office chair (the Aeron ). And though the former has drifted into office-chair obscurity, the latter remains a bona fide design icon.

So where does the Embody sit among its heavyweight siblings in the office furniture world? Released in 2009, Herman Miller employed the expertise of "more than 30 physicians and PhDs in the fields of biomechanics, vision, physical therapy, and ergonomics," to influence Embody's design. OK, but what does that mean in practice? It means a lot of clever design, that's actually on show to see, which provides support and comfort like you've probably never experienced (see above).

What you can see, on the rear of the backrest, and the underside of the seat, is Embody's 'pixelated support'. It's a matrix of interlinked 'pixels' that conform to your body movement. And this being Herman Miller, these building blocks of the Embody chair have become a main focal point of the design. Its distinct technology informs its distinct look.

Now, whether you find this awesome design aesthetically appealing is entirely up to you. I think, because the 'pixel technology' is so clever and so effective, I find the whole thing visually appealing – because I know it looks that way for a really good reason. The tapered back is pretty unique in the world of office chairs, but then when I think that it's designed that way to mimic the human back that it will be supporting – with a central spine and flexible ribs – I can't help but find it attractive.

Armrests and assembly

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Attention all chair manufacturers! Stop making armrests! Please just copy the Embody’s armrests. No need to innovate. Don’t run with that cool idea you think might work. The perfectly designed chair arms have been created, and you will find them on the side of the Embody. That is all. As you were...

I realise that armrests could be covered in the above sections. But these deserve a little bit of special attention... I just love them (and yes, we are still talking about armrests). They are simply, brilliantly engineered, they do the job perfectly, and they are adjustable in ways that help the sitter get that support they crave.

Part of their success is that they work together with the tapered backrest. The Embody's back curves in, giving the sitter space for their elbows to move back, if they should want. This also offers more options to position your elbows on the armrests, without bumping up against the back. Nice!

But the armrests are excellent in themselves. They have a slight curve to them, so when they are lowered, they follow this curve, moving slightly out while lowering down. As well as being able to shift each rest left and right, this gives you loads of position options for each rest – from far out away from your elbows, should you want maximum space, to snug up against you, so you can tuck your elbows by your mid rift. This versatility is lacking in most armrests that I review, and I just think all chairs would benefit from copying- I mean being inspired from the Embody arms.

As far as assembly goes – there is none. As with the Aeron, you will have your Herman Miller chair delivered to your door fully assembled. And that's really telling when you sit in it. It doesn't feel like it's just been put together to the best of your abilities (who cares what that extra unused screw is for!), like so many of the budget chairs out there (Sihoo – I'm looking at you)

Gaming chair (in UK)?

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OK, I said in the intro that I was done with the negative bits, but I think they need a little bit more airing. Here we go...

In the US – which will be relevant to the majority of people reading this – the Embody is marketed as one of the best ergonomic office chairs available. Because that's what it is. (Feel free to ignore the rest of this – it's just for the Brits.)

In the UK , I guess to boost sales, since 2020 the Embody has been marketed as a gaming chair, mainly thanks to two minor aesthetic additions. There's an embossed 'G' at the top of the backrest, that I knew would eventually start peeling off after extensive use (it did). There's also a useless pull strap that hangs off the top of the back. Don't pull it. It will break off. I did, and it did.

I've been told that there is a copper-infused cooling foam for temperature regulation on the seat and back, which by my calculations must be all of 2mm thin. If this foam is regulating body temperature in any way, Herman Miller need to shout waaay louder about this as a selling point, because that is impressive. What I can report is my body temperature was just fine sitting on the chair for long hours, much like it has been for so many of the other well-designed chairs I review.

However, I just don't buy this as a gaming chair. The Embody comes from Herman Miller and Logitech in the UK, but it's really hard not to be sceptical about this partnership, and I have a feeling that Logitech's only contributions are the marketing fluff that doesn't work. So why am I banging on about it, as it doesn't make any difference to the price, or the chair you get? It's because this cheap marketing is totally at odds with an otherwise supreme chair. The reason this remains a five-star review is because I'm reviewing the chair as it really is. Not as it looks at this particular marketing push.

Of course, if you want to be philosophical, this Logitech-Herman Miller gaming chair nonsense raises a pretty pertinent question about gaming chairs in general. There's often nothing really meaningful to distinguish them from 'normal' office chairs, other than 'cooling foam' magic, and bright colour options, plus often they have a bucket car chair aesthetic. Without the latter, the Embody's claim to game is entirely based on fun colour options, a thin bit of foam, a sticker and a tag. It's all such a pity, as this is one of the best chairs I've ever sat on, and yet here I am writing too many words on the matter... shall we get on?

Herman Miller Embody: Key specifications

Price and verdict: should I buy it?

Now for the eye-watering part of the review. In the US the Embody retails for $1,995, though you can currently get the Embody for $1,596 direct from Herman Miller . In the UK you can get the Embody chair for £1,256 direct from Herman Miller .

This is pretty exclusive pricing, but then this is a pretty exclusive chair. It's a cutting-edge design that has stood the test of time since 2009. You can clearly see other chair models from other manufacturers that have copied the 'pixel matrix' design from the Embody. I've reviewed them! And yet nothing feels quite like sitting in the Embody.

It is a chair that you're going to use for multiple years – if not for the rest of your life. If it's important to you to have the best ergonomic chair that's currently available, then it's worth the asking price. I'm pretty sure that there will be many of you who will happily make do with a decent ergo chair that you don't have to take a loan out to buy.

Bottom line: if money is no issue for you, and ergonomics and comfort are paramount, then I highly advise you to buy the Embody. It's a chair like nothing else.