u/gregatbtod

I had a few people ask about the Colamy Aether so I bought one to try it.

Like most of the Colamy products, it is well done, especially compared to other chairs at similar price points. The fit and finish is really nice.

When it comes to comfort, I personally still think the Atlas is the better chair. After about four hours I couldn’t sit on the seat pad. It pushed back too much and I couldn’t get comfortable with the lumbar (I like a lot of lower support but this was too much in one spot).

I had a few requests to try this chair out. At first I was skeptical because I don’t love mesh seats. It’s better than expected.

What I like:

- Armrests have the ability to flip up and out of way
- About 1.5” height adjustment range for the arms
- Arm pads have good range and don’t move super easy (depth, width and pivot)
- Arm pads medium softness
- Big lumbar with depth/height adjustment
- Lumbar can be aggressive or go away completely
- Comfortable headrest
- Deep recline

What I don’t like:
- No seat depth adjustment
- Lowest seat height about 18.5”-23.5” when seated (not great if you’re short)
- Mesh is decent quality (expected though sub $400)
- Still has pad under waterfall front that some will notice right away
- Base is multiple pieces and shows where connected
- Never a big fan of footrests because I tuck my legs under chair

Again, for $349 this might be a bit on the high side but overall pretty impressed considering how bad chairs like this typically are. If you want all mesh and on a budget this could definitely work. They have a 10% discount which helps on the price.

We've been getting a lot of questions about how we refurbish chairs, and honestly most of the confusion is our fault. Our process video is from October 2025 and a lot has changed since then. People are also comparing us to other refurbishers using that old info, so I want to get the current process out there. We haven't shot a new video yet because we have a couple projects going to continue improving the chair, and I want those done before we film it.

The biggest change: every refurbished chair we sell now gets a brand new seat pad. In the video you'll see us steaming and restoring the original pads. We don't do that anymore. Customers kept asking for new pads, and it's the only way to make sure every chair sits the same. The old pads get recycled with a partner of ours in Madison, WI.

We also partnered with the original OEM manufacturer of the Steelcase Leap seat pads, the same supplier Steelcase used before they moved Leap production to Mexico. Same foam, same spec as the originals.

You can pick from two pads. Standard OEM is the new pad right on the shell, to maintain the sitting experience of a brand new Leap. Extra Plush adds 1/2" of soft foam under the new pad. Many people think a new Leap seat is a little thin, so that's what that one's for. The majority of our customers select the added foam. Both pads keep the natural waterfall front edge, so there's no added pressure on the back of your legs.

A few other things changed in the last year. Our pre-screening on which chairs go to refurb got a lot tighter, so the chairs coming out the other end are much more consistent. We also have a process now to restore the mechanism so it moves as smooth as it would new (all Leap chairs have some friction, but the grinding, groaning and stuck tilt feeling is eliminated). If a chair can't be fixed, we pull it from inventory, reuse the parts that are still good, and recycle the rest of the frame.

The rest of the process is the same. You can select greener option parts (grade A used arm pads and cylinders) or brand new parts built to OEM spec. All chairs ship with brand new casters. New fabric goes on with a tunnel tie (the drawstring Steelcase uses at the factory) instead of a row of staples. We rebuild every arm mechanism and replace the wear parts so the 4-way arms get their tension back. Every chair goes through our 20 point checklist, every cylinder gets tested with the chair it ships with, and we lubricate all the same areas Steelcase does when they ship new. Each chair comes with a 12 year warranty and 60 day free returns.

It's still a refurbished chair, so you might see some light scratches on the plastic. If a Leap V2 or Amia has deeper scratches or blemishes on the frame that don't make the cut for our top tier refurb, it goes into our new scratch and dent option, which is discounted a lot.

If you have any questions let me know.

Since I posted the long video showing all of the chairs in the office this week a lot of people have asked me the difference between the Leap v2 and the Leap v2 plus. By the way. Wow. So many questions in that video, it was a lot of fun to help!
 
The standard Leap v2 is a more comfortable option compared to the Leap v2 plus for most IMO. If you need the extra space, the Plus could work, but the chairs sit quite a bit differently.
 
The base on the Plus has a steel five-star base. Plus, the seat swing arm and the mechanism are beefed up as well. It's a tank.
 
Biggest reasons why they feel different
 
Overall size difference (Plus is massive as expected)
Back shape
Backrest vertical positioning
Tilt range limited + seat angle
Back flexibility + pad thickness
Front edge flexibility (wood core on Plus)
 
Let me know if you have any other chairs you want to see compared like this.

Edit: I meant tilt not recline 😊

A lot of you have been asking lately about CLOUVOU Cleverseat compared to the ProtoArc EC series.

This video quickly goes over the major differences and then shows them both compared to the king of chairs under $300, the Cloamy Atlas.

Cleverseat is a bigger chair overall, so if you’re tall, it’s probably a better option. I think the ProtoArc is a more comfortable option with the seat, arms and headrest.

Colamy Atlas still has the better build overall.

All three chairs offer something different under $300 so I could see each being a nice budget option if you’re looking for a new chair.

Edit: *Cleverseat also has four-way arms, not three. Messed up in the video :)

Edit: adding context since a lot of people outside the sub found this. I've seen the question come up a few times from some who don't know me.

I have this many chairs because we sell and refurbish office furniture, and we review it too. Most of what's in the video we don't sell and never will.

Please keep the questions coming. This has been amazing!

We've brought in well over 200 chairs. I've given away or donated a bunch of them. We still have 150+.

There are a ton of chair questions on here every day, so I filmed a good portion of what we have in the office. It's a ridiculous amount of chairs, I know.

It's about four and a half minutes. You don't need to watch the whole thing, just skip around to whatever you're curious about.

See one you're considering? Name it in the comments and I'll tell you what it's actually like to sit in. Good and bad.

If it's a chair we don't have, tell me that too. If enough people ask about the same one I'll buy it and give my honest opinion on it, same as I did with the CLOUVOU last week, Elabest X100 and COLAMY Aether this week.

Full List:

Steelcase: Leap V2, Leap V2 Plus, Leap Executive, Amia, Gesture (with and without headrest), Series 1, Series 2, Karman (high back and standard back), Think V1, Think V2, AMQ BODI, AMQ ZILO

Herman Miller: Aeron Classic (size A, B and C), Aeron Remastered (Posturefit SL and adjustable lumbar), Aeron Gaming, Embody, Embody Gaming (Logitech), Mirra 2, Sayl, Sayl Gaming, Verus, Lino, Cosm high back, Vantum Gaming

Haworth: Fern (standard, with headrest, Digital Knit, Xbox Edition, Halo Edition), Zody Classic, Zody 2, Zody LX, Soji, Very, Brek

Humanscale: Freedom, Liberty, Diffrient Smart, Diffrient World

Ergohuman: Gen 1 mesh, Gen 2 (Tempur-Pedic, all leather with headrest, leather/mesh with headrest, all mesh with headrest), Gen 2 Pro all leather, Gen 2 Pro all mesh

HON: Ignition, Altern

Knoll: Regeneration

Eurotech: Vera, BT400

BTOD: Akir Leather, Akir Fabric, Doulc, Petite Ergonomic Chair, Bantam Petite

Branch: Verve, Ergonomic Chair, Ergonomic Chair Pro, Task Chair, Daily Chair

OM Seating: Affirm, Truly, YES, OM5, Paramount Petite

LiberNovo: Omni Pro, Maxis, Pro, SE

COLAMY: Atlas, Aether, Hina, Neva

ProtoArc: EC200, EC200 Pro, EC300

CLOUVOU: Clever Seat, Bright Seat

Nouhaus: Strato, Fluido, Apertura

Newtral: Ergonomic 3D, Standing Desk Chair

Nightingale: Executive, CXO

Neutral Posture: 8000, Junior Big and Tall, XSM

Concept Seating: 3150, 3142

Allseating: Chiroform

HÅG: Capisco Puls, Capisco, SoFi

Varier: Variable, Thatsit

ERA: Galaxy, Henry

X-Chair: X2 with headrest, X3 with headrest

Sihoo: M18, Doro S300

Hbada: X7, E3 Pro

Ticova: Ergonomic Chair

Fractal: Refine 1, Refine 2

IKEA: Järvfjället, Markus

Staples: Hyken, Hyken Pro

Secretlab: Titan Evo, Titan Evo XL

Razer: Fujin Pro, Iskur V1, Iskur V2 NewGen

Respawn: Spire

ROG: Destrier Ergo

AutoFull: M6

GTRacing: Gaming Chair

S-Racer: Gaming Chair

Also in there: Sidiz T-50, Elabest X100, Clatina Mellet, ComfortSeating PowerFit, HANCHER Ergonomic, a Sayl knockoff, and a bunch of other random ones.

I know there have been some questions on comparing these two chairs so I mentioned in one of the posts that I would buy CLOUVOU and share my opinion on it. Both sell around the same price but the ProtoArc is definitely a better option overall for comfort, value and build IMO.

If you found this helpful, we have hundreds of chairs in the office, I’d be happy to do more of it here. Just let me know.

Don’t forget our first free Friday is today starting at 1pm and ends at 3pm! Picture shows what we are giving away. It’s going to be AWESOME!

60 chairs! Monitor Arms, Standing Desks and Light bars!

First come, First Serve. One item per person.

Office address:
5508 Jelinek Ave
Weston, WI 54476

Excited to meet everyone who shows up.

We are going to do a second one in early October on a Saturday. I’ll keep everyone posted when the date will be.

If you just want a chance to try some premium chairs and “Chair Nerd Out” we have them all. Steelcase, Haworth, Herman Miller, Libernovo, Anthros and so many more.

LET’S GO!!!