About Odinlake

Odinlake makes ergonomic office chairs and standing desks aimed at people who sit at a desk for most of the working day rather than at occasional users.

The chair range, from simple to fully adjustable

The line splits roughly into two families. The lower models cover the essentials well: mesh back, adjustable lumbar support, a headrest, height and tilt, and armrests that move in more than one direction. The upper models add multi-section backrests that flex with the spine, deeper recline, seat-depth adjustment and armrests with finer control. Standing desks run from a straightforward single top to larger L-shaped frames, with monitor stands and footrests alongside. More adjustment points are only worth paying for if you will actually use them.

An adjustable chair still has to fit you

Adjustment range is not the same as fit. The measurements that matter are seat depth, seat width and backrest height, and they are published for a reason. Seat depth is the one people get wrong: with your back against the backrest there should be a couple of fingers' gap between the front edge and the back of your knees, and a seat that is too long cuts off circulation however soft it is. Check the stated user height and weight range before ordering, and if you are near the edge of it, look at a different model rather than hoping.

Setting it up once, properly

A good chair set badly is a bad chair. Start with the height: feet flat on the floor, thighs roughly level, and if your feet dangle, raise the chair and add a footrest rather than lowering the seat. Then set the lumbar support so it presses into the inward curve of your lower back, not into your waist. Then bring the armrests up until your shoulders drop and your forearms rest level. Finally set the desk or monitor to the chair, not the other way round: the top of the screen near eye level, an arm's length away.

Assembly, warranty and the parts that wear

Chairs arrive flat-packed and go together in half an hour or so with the supplied tools; take the time to tighten everything evenly rather than fully tightening one side first. On any chair the gas lift, the castors and the mesh are what age, so check the warranty length and, more usefully, whether replacement castors and a replacement gas lift are sold for your model. And no chair fixes sitting still — the best chair in the world still wants you to stand up every half hour.