Maybe a lighter person could sit on this and work productively, but I pumped as much air into the ball as I could manage and I still sank down to nearly a squatting position that was far too low to use with my average-height desk. I will say that it's easy to assemble and also easy to take apart, it's got that going for it.

Although this chair is of good quality, it did not turn out to be a good choice for me. Within a few days of using it, I developed began limping when I stood up and tried to walk. Although the pain that it caused has lasted about two months now, it's beginning to be less painful than it has been for the paste several weeks. The chair may be good to use for exercise routine, but did not work out well as a chair to sit in for several hours while on the computer.

I have owned a Gaiam balance ball chair for over 7 years and decided to purchase another one for my home office. Naturally I looked on amazon and was surprised at all the negative reviews for this chair. My original chair stood the test of time and has yet to give me any issues. I was hesitant to order this chair because I thought the quality control went down hill. Against my better judgment I went ahead and ordered this chair.

Once the chair arrived I was anxious to open it up and get it assembled. It went together very easy and I had it set up in no time. I decided to compare it to my original chair and noticed they were the exact same! The quality seemed to be on par with my original chair. The only difference I saw was a redesign on how the front metal bar attached to the chair. Unfortunately, the bar came broken. I decided to email the company and they informed me it would be 8-10 weeks before they got any metal bars in since they were on backorder but they put me down on the list to ship one out to me once they became available. I am still waiting for the bar to come in but the bar isn't really needed to keep the ball in place.

I see a lot of reviews complaining the ball is the wrong size. What these people failed to realize is the ball needs to be filled up more over time to let the ball gradually expand. If you try and fill it up to full capacity right away than you will pop the ball. It only took me a few days to get the ball to the same size as the one Ive had for several years. Depending on your height, weight, and comfort level will dictate how much air you put in the ball. If you do not put enough air in the ball and sit down, it will put pressure on the metal bar and snap the bar at the bottom. That is the main reason these bars break. Its not because of a poor design but because they did not fill up the ball enough. You will know if the ball has enough air when you sit down and look at the bar. If the ball is pushing against the bar and you see the bar flex than you need more air or you will break the bar and possibly pop your ball

If you sit on this chair wrong and lean back on one of the corners then you run the risk of smashing the plastic causing the chair to bend and break at the wheel base. I took a star off because the bar came broken but other than that I would not hesitate to purchase this item again. I hope this review helped clarify some of the negative reviews you see for this product. Its a great product if you follow the proper steps in setting this chair up!

The grey chair in the picture is the new chair I recently bought on amazon. The black chair in the picture is the one Ive owned for over 7 years. The difference between the two is the grey chair has the leg extenders installed. Other than the redesign of the bar the chairs are the exact same!

I've been waiting to buy one of these chairs as I have back problems. While the first few times it felt great on my back, after using it for a couple of months, it has become very uncomfortable. My back hurts ..maybe I need to air it up again. I'm only rating 3 stars based on my experience. The overall quality is great. It's small so it fits perfectly in my small office. Rolla easy back and forth to the printer. Just disappointed in how uncomfortable it's become. I plan to air it up some more then I'll repost another review to see if that worked. This review is 2 months of using the product.

Gaiam refused to publish my review on their website because it shed some unfavorable light on a known issue with this item. The metal (chrome) bar that tries to help hold the ball in place atop the base is of inferior quality and breaks after a few months of gentle/careful use on either low pile carpet or bare floor. There are so many reviews about this on the Gaiam website - it is officially a "known issue". Gaiam will send you a replacement bar but there is currently a three month waiting list. The ETA for mine has been extended twice already. If Gaiam "knows" this is an issue, why have they not made improvements? I have reached out to Gaiam Customer Service a few times over the past several weeks (while waiting for my replacement bar) to find out if/when they will begin selling these chairs with an upgraded bar but have yet to receive a response (or acknowledgement) to my question.
Since I have experience using an exercise ball as a chair, I still sit on this chair with the missing bar. However, a handful of times the chair has shot out from underneath me because the ball started to roll out of the base - and I use this chair at work directly atop hard wood flooring. I would highly recommend this chair for "desk jockeys" as it does encourage good posture and helps strengthen my core and lumbar regions. However, I would wait to see when/if Gaiam begins using higher quality material for the "metal" bar.