I tried the world's first 'dynamic ergonomic' office chair with a special spinal stretching and massage mode

I've reviewed countless ergonomic office chairs in my time, but none have stood out to me quite like LiberNovo's "Omni" chair has. When the pitch for this chair first landed in my inbox, I was immediately intrigued. They claim to be making the world's first "dynamic ergonomic chair," built with electronic moving parts designed to adapt to your back curvature and maintain a healthy posture while sitting.

This isn't just the world's first dynamic ergonomic chair, it's also LiberNovo's first chair period. That means you've unlikely heard of them before, and that's because they're the new kid on the block. Of course, with this being both a new company and new product, people have been sceptical of their claims, especially considering the chair began life as a Kickstarter project earlier this year.

So when LiberNovo reached out asking if I wanted to check out their product, I jumped at the chance. The claims they were making about comfort and adjustability were bold, and I wanted to put it to the test.

I've been using the LiberNovo Omni for just over a month, and this is my full review.

Pricing and availability

LiberNovo Omni is available directly via the LiberNovo website, and costs $1,099. It's available in both black and white variants and includes the battery pack and cable required to hook up all the electronics for the dynamic adjustment capabilities. The battery pack is not sold separately.

Unfortunately, the product is currently only available via LiberNovo's website. You won't find it at retailers such as Amazon or Best Buy, which might deter some people from purchasing. LiberNovo does offer a 5-year warranty on the chair, and a 2-year warranty for the electronic components, offering free repairs or replacements should anything go wrong with normal use during that time.

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LiberNovo will also sell a separate leg rest which can help with the spinal stretch features of the Omni. It does not come with the chair, and is not necessary to actually use the spinal stretching features.

LiberNovo Omni: $1,099 at libernovo.com

The LiberNovo Omni is a premium office chair with a built-in electronic motor designed to make adjusting lumbar support easy. It also features a special spinal stretching massage mode designed to ease back pain after long periods of use. Plus, it looks great.

Build quality and assembly

Out of the gate, I was immediately impressed with the overall presentation of the chair when it arrived. It does come in multiple pieces, but the overall assembly process is rather straightforward and can be done single-handedly. The box comes with a huge card for setup instructions that doubles as an added layer of protection for the pieces, making it super easy to get started on figuring out how everything goes together.

Admittedly, it does seem daunting at first, but you quickly realize that all the pieces go together very easily and intuitively. There's only a couple of things you need to screw in, and one cable that needs to be plugged in between the backrest and the base of the chair. Honestly, the setup was much easier than I was expecting it to be. Once unboxed, I had the chair up and running in just under 15 minutes.

The chair is well packaged and protected in the box, and each component wrapped in protective sleeves as to avoid scratches or dents in transit. The battery, wheels, and other small components come in their own box within the package, so they're all protected as well. The package is quite heavy, so you might want help moving it from your front door into the room where you plan to set it up.

If you choose to order the Omni footrest, that does come in a separate package, but follows the same trend of being very easy to setup using the included instructions, which also come on a piece of cardboard that doubles as a protective layer for the pieces inside the package.

In regards to build quality, the chair is excellent. It's made out of a combination of high-quality fabrics and cushions for the seat, backrest, and headrest, along with plastic for the parts of the chair you don't normally touch that often. There's a metal rod in the system that helps move the lumbar support and massage features.

Design, comfort and features

I think the LiberNovo Omni is one of the more good-looking office chairs on the market. It has a distinct 'herman miller' style to it, which makes it look premium and high-end. Of course, you'd expect it to look premium for the price you pay, and luckily I think it does look good for the price.

I do wish that some of the plastic parts of the chair were made out of something a little more premium however, especially considering that price. The back and underseat could have been made of metal for example, which would've given the chair a far more premium feel when touched. Of course, these are parts of the chair you don't normally touch, so it's not the end of the world. It still looks high quality.

Comfort wise, the chair is incredible. It's very configurable, with lots of options for adjusting the lumbar height along with the headrest, seat position, and arms. You can move the lumbar support up and down using the two buttons on the left arm rest, which uses the electronic motor to slowly raise it up and down while you're sitting.

This makes it super easy to dial in your preferred lumbar position. Instead of having to get up or lean forward and manually lift or lower the back/lumbar yourself, you can just sit in the position you normally do and use the buttons to raise and lower it until it's in a position that works for you.

The headrest and seat do have to be moved manually, but the headrest can be configured while in your seated position. Just reach behind and pull the lever on the headrest forward, and that will allow you to adjust how close or far away the headrest is, and you can also adjust its height just by pulling it up or pushing it down.

You can recline the seat up to 160 degrees, and it has four different stages for locking the recline feature: 105 degrees, 120 degrees, 135 degrees, and 160 degrees. This can be adjusted using the lever found underneath the seat on the right side. In a neat bit of design, the lever mimics the locked position of the chair you set it to, which is quite nice.

This is also where the lever for adjusting the height of the chair is. Just like any other chair, you raise it by lifting off the seat and pulling the lever to raise it, or remain sitting on the seat to lower it. It's super straightforward and easy to configure.

The arm rests are also very customizable. You can adjust their height and lateral position in all directions. You can set the arms to be far forward or further back, as well as out to the side or further inward. You can also adjust the angle that the armrests sit, pointing in or out depending on whatever suits you best.

LiberNovo calls it a dynamic ergonomic chair because all parts of the chair move together when you move around on it. If I recline the seat, it's not just the backrest that moves, but the seat base, armrests, and headrest too. If I lay back and lean left or right, the backrest and headrest adapt slightly to help keep me comfortable, for example.

So, the chair is fully customizable, with every part you'd want to be adjustable configurable to a high-degree. But the chair also has some extra goodies that are made possible by that electronic motor. It's not just for lumbar and back height adjust — LiberNovo has also included a spinal stretching massage feature.

You can enable the spinal stretching massage feature at any time by pressing the dedicated button for it, which exists next to the lumbar support adjust buttons on the left armrest. When pressed, a light will appear next to the buttons which confirms the mode has been enabled, and the backrest will slowly begin to rub up and down your back.

This mode is most impactful when you are fully reclined up to 160 degrees. With the included leg rest, you can even lay almost fully horizontally, which makes the massage mode feel even stronger on your back. In this mode, the back rest will slowly rub and push up and down your back, gently stretching out your lower and mid back.

I wasn't convinced this would really do anything when I received the LiberNovo Omni pitch deck originally, but after using it, I can confirm I was dead wrong. As someone who has suffered from lower back pain when sitting for long periods for as long as I can remember, the spinal stretching feature is a godsend.

The only negative is that the electronic motor that powers it is a little on the loud side. It's not upsettingly loud, but if you're in a quiet space you're going to hear it. It sounds like an expensive electronic motor whine, which isn't going to impact you if you're alone or wearing headphones, but in a shared office space the people in your immediate vicinity will know what you're doing.

Of course, for the electronic motor to work, you need power. That comes in the form of a removable battery pack that slots neatly underneath the chair. LiberNovo rates it for 30 days of use if you use the spinal stretch feature once every day. If you only use it sometimes, that battery will of course last longer.

The battery pack charges with USB-C and is 2,200mAh in size.

Conclusion

Overall, I love the LiberNovo Omni. It's the first office chair I've been excited to review in a long time, and it's one that mostly lives up to the hype. I think it looks great, is comfortable, and that built-in spinal stretching feature really does help with long days in the office. It's one of few office chairs I've tried where I've really been able to dial in a comfortable seating position for myself.

Of course, longevity is still a big question that we can't immediately answer. LiberNovo is new to the market, and so it's unclear if this product will stand the test of time. Some people are concerned that LiberNovo only offers a 2 year warranty on the electronic components, while also offering 5 years on the non-electronic parts of the chair.

In my time with the chair however, I've seen no signs of things failing or not working as intended. For its $1,099 price, while incredibly expensive on its own, it isn't outrageously priced compared to other office chairs in this price range, some of which do a lot less than this.

The LiberNovo Omni is available to buy now from LiberNovo.com