FlexiSpot C7 Max review — Moderation in all things

Every few years, I like to re-evaluate my office furniture situation. As someone who works a desk job from home, comfort and affordability are both major concerns. In my free time, after I’ve spent time kickboxing or playing pickleball, I like to unwind with video games, often back in an office chair in front of my computer screen. Considering that, a good seat is crucial as I spend so much of my day in one. When the FlexiSpot C7 Max came across my radar, it caught my attention. The ergonomic design looked both stylish and comfortable. How does it hold up under use, though?

When the C7 Max showed up at the house, I immediately dragged it inside and began the task of assembly. To my surprise, I was able to unbox and assemble everything over my lunch break. Using the included Allen wrench, I was able to put the whole chair together in 40 minutes, give or take, from start to finish. The instructions were easy to follow, and everything was clearly labeled. I’m satisfied with how smoothly that end of the process went. After a few quick bites of a wrap for lunch, I was back to work, able to test drive from my updated cockpit.

Before I get into my personal experience with this equipment, let’s go over some of its selling points. It features a supportive, adjustable mesh headrest. The back, also mesh, has several height settings and features an adaptive lumbar support that’s meant to mold to your body. If you like to make adjustments, the armrests have 7 height settings and, even more impressively, swivel at two separate points for total control of orientation and maximum comfort. The foam seat also has a depth control, letting you slide your body forward and backward. Finally, there’s an optional feature (which our review model did not come with) for a foot rest so you can kick up, lean back, and relax.

After spending a week with the FlexiSpot C7 Max as the daily driver for my day job, I have some thoughts on the product and its place in my setup. I’ve had a handful of office chairs with headrests over the years, but most of them have been everything from ineffectual to distracting. The C7 Max’s headrest is the first I’ve used firsthand that I actively enjoyed. You can fully adjust both the height and angle, and the mesh material is strong enough to provide support without being bulky or distracting throughout the work day.

Working our way down, I quite like the mesh chair back with the adaptive lumbar support. The mesh provides enough resistance to support you while you work. It’s soft and breathable, delivering a comfortable experience without getting in the way or overheating you like other synthetic materials can. The lumbar support is an excellent addition, giving my lower back the attention it deserves without becoming a burden to have to control. I still need to play around a little bit to lock in the exact height I prefer, but the chair’s back adjustability gives me the means to make it the most comfortable experience possible.

Next, let’s move out to the armrests. I think FlexiSpot is onto something with this style of armrest. The rest cushion is soft and comfortable, but the added adjustability is what really puts this feature over the top. The cushion can rotate 360 degrees, letting you orient it in any direction or flip it around if you find that more comfortable. That sits on top of another layer that provides a few inches of maneuverability in a 270-degree rotation, letting you adjust more inward or outward based on your preference. All of that stacks up on a device with 7 vertical settings. I found the variability of these armrests to be an excellent feature, but there’s also a cause for concern nestled in here. While they’re wonderfully adjustable, they have no positional locking mechanisms. This led to me accidentally reorienting the rests as I adjusted myself in my seat or maneuvered as I went about my business. If it were a one-time event, I wouldn’t have mentioned it, but I found myself fighting this fairly frequently.

The most crucial component of any chair is the seat cushion. FlexiSpot touts the C7 Max as having a seat cushion with memory foam and a layer of latex cotton for maximal comfort. Unfortunately, I could not tell the difference between the cushion on the C7 Max I received and your average office chair from any other big box store. After a couple of hours sitting uninterrupted, my tailbone and lower back started to experience numbness and aching. If I got up, walked around a bit, and came back, the sensation would subside, only to come back a couple more hours after. I finally ended up adding a third-party cushion topper to my seat, which resolved my issue and left me with an otherwise great office chair. 

There are some other things I want to discuss regarding the C7 Max that I believe the C7 Pro Max, FlexiSpot’s next chair up, has potentially already solved. First, the chair cushion I mentioned above has been replaced by an upgraded material in the C7 Pro Max, so I’d like to see how comfortable that experience is. My other long-term consideration is with the C7 Max’s nylon base. Over the years, I’ve seen nylon bases crack or fail, rendering the casters useless and the chair off-balance. The C7 Pro Max features an aluminum base, which I personally think should be standard on any premium office chair.