REVIEW – I get paid to sit on my butt all day and use my brain. Having a comfortable place to park my carcass from 8 am to 5 pm is a must-have necessity. The Boulies EP460 Office Chair fills that requirement and more. From the almost infinite adjustability to the airiness of the upholstery, the EP460 is a very welcomed addition to my home office. I put it through a month of rigorous testing with my derrière and rolling around my office. Here’s how it went…
What is it?
The Boulies EP460 Office Chair is a modern, sleek, uber-ergonomic office chair of the future. It is adjustable for every one of the human-chair touchpoints. The headrest adjusts two different ways, the backrest adjusts three different ways, the armrests adjust three different ways, the seat depth and height are adjustable, and it has a retractable footrest. What more could I ask for? The upholstery is a mesh fabric, an Airy Chenille Hybrid Mesh fabric to be specific, which allows your back and behind to breathe and not get hot or sweaty. That is my favorite feature of the EP460. Especially in the Florida climate in which I reside.
What’s included?
- 2 Armrests
- Backrest
- Seat
- Headrest
- Aluminum Base
- 5 casters
- Tilt mechanism
- Gas piston
- Tool and screws
- Instructions
Tech specs
Click to expand
EP460 Dimensions
- Recommended Height: 5’ 7” to 6’ 3” (170 – 190cm)
- Recommended Weight: Less than 287 lbs (130 kg)
- A: Seat Height:19 – 23 in. (49 – 59 cm)
- B: Seat Depth: 17.8 – 19.5 in. (45.4 – 49.5 cm)
- C: Backrest Height: 33.8 – 38.5 in. (86 – 98 cm)
- D: Arm Height: 25 – 31.8 in. (64 – 81 cm)
- E: Backrest Width: 20 in. (51 cm)
- F: Total Width: 26.3 in. (67 cm)
- G: Seat Width (between armrests): 19.2 in. (48.8 cm)
- H: Footrest Length: 17.8 in. (45.4 cm)
- Backrest Angles: 95º, 113º, and 135º
- Adjustable lumbar support
- 6-way Armrest adjustments
- Swivel: 360º
- Base: Aluminum base, 5-legged with swivel casters
- Casters: 6cm PU casters
- Upholstery: Airy Chenille Hybrid Mesh fabric
- Frame: Reinforced plastic frame
- Tilt mechanism: Multi tilt
- Hydraulics Piston: Class 4 (Top Class)
- Warranty: 2 years
Design and features
The Boulies EP460 has so many features and functions, I will try to cover them all here.
Seat
The most important part of any office chair, I think, is the seat. The EP460 Seat is wide and deep and although it isn’t cushioned, it is very comfortable. The chair seat (as well as the back) is upholstered in an open mesh-like fabric that allows it to breathe. It is very tightly stretched across the seating area and integrated into the EP460’s frame. It is more of a hammock for your backside. This type of seat seems to be very popular for office chairs in the last few years.
Using this chair for the last month, for many hours a day has caused the fabric to slip and bunch up a little on the very from of the seat. This doesn’t cause any issues, but it has happened.
The seat’s depth is also adjustable with a small handle on the left side. You can slide the seat forward and backward from 17.8 to 19.5 in. (45.4 – 49.5 cm). This may not seem like much, but it does make a difference in supporting your thighs a little more with the depth set deeper.
As is typical with almost every office chair since the 1970’s, the height of the seat is adjustable with a piston connecting the seat and back assembly to the star-shaped base. The height of the seat can go from a low of 19 inches to a maximum of 23 inches (49 – 59 cm). Raising and lowering is very quick and easy.
Backrest
The backrest of the EP460 can be raised and lowered about five inches (12.5 cm) simply by lifting it. There are three tactile clicks of the back as you raise it, with a fourth click that resets it and lets the back fall back to the lowest setting. This raising and lowering of the back also raises and lowers the lumbar support. Raising and lowering the backrest can be done inadvertently by getting in and out of the chair. I have had to readjust the back a couple of times while using it.
Lumbar Support
Two handles on the backrest allow the lumbar support to be moved ever so slightly toward and away from the lumbar region. The amount of adjustability is very minuscule.
The backrest and the lumbar support are also upholstered in the same mesh-like fabric as the seat.
Headrest (Neck Pillow)
As with most of the other components of the EP460, the headrest (Boulies calls it the neck pillow) can be adjusted vertically and its angle set to your preference. I have fallen asleep in the chair quite a few times and having the headrest is a godsend. It is probably my favorite part of the chair. It is also upholstered in the same mesh-like fabric as the other pieces of the chair.
Armrests
Now we come to the armrests. They are adequate but do not rise to the same level of design and function as the rest of the EP460. I do like the adjustability options, but they need a little tweaking. For my liking, they do not rise high enough. They have five clicks of adjustability (which equals almost 7 inches, or 18 cm of range) for raising and lowering. I think a sixth would have made them perfect.
The padded part of the armrest, where your arms rest, can be extended forward and backward as we all as swiveled slightly left and right. These two adjustment features are great in customizing the chair to fit you perfectly, However, many times, while adjusting myself in the seat, the pads will slip forward and/or swivel unexpectedly. This is quite jarring when you are not purposefully wanting to do that. The pads are just too loose and need to be a little tighter fit to not let them slip when you don’t want them to.
Wheels
The wheels supplied with the EP460 are the typical caster that almost every office chair comes with. I prefer the inline-skate type of office chair wheel. My office is carpeted and the regular generic casters do not roll very well. I will be replacing these casters with the inline skate types shortly. (Note: Boulies sells these types of wheels for $40 on their website.)
Footrest
The EP460 chair comes with a retractable footrest that stores up under the seat. Although the length at which it extends is good for my leg length, I do not think it would be long enough for a taller person. It’s also just a tad too narrow for me (it’s 12 inches or 30.5 cm, wide). My legs want to rest a little more spread out than the footrest can accommodate. It’s also made of the same plastic the frame of the chair is made from. It would have been perfect for me if it was upholstered in the same fabric as the seat and backrest.
Packaging and Assembly
The EP460 was very well packaged and was delivered with no damage. The pieces inside the box were all individually wrapped in either bubble wrap or thick plastic bags. None of the pieces were rubbing against each other or had been scratched in shipping.
The included hex wrench and screws were well-marked on a parts card. I liked how the hex wrench was large enough to give good torque and not hurt your hand like a smaller hex wrench would have.
All the parts went together perfectly just as the instructions were written. All the screw holes lined up between pieces. One thing that would have been nice would be 1 or two extra screws of each size for the future. I think every office chair I have ever owned has had a screw or two fall out underneath and having extras would have been nice.
As I assembled the EP460, I soon came to realize how heavy this chair was going to be fully assembled. As it got heavier and heavier, it was a little more difficult to handle and maneuver.
After about 30 minutes, the chair was assembled and ready to use.
What I like about the Boulies EP460 Office Chair
- Very easy to assemble
- Very comfortable with great airflow
- Almost infinite adjustability
- Fits my larger, shorter frame very well
- The headrest is wonderful!
What needs to be improved?
- Armrests slide and spin too easily
- Armrests could use one more click higher
- The footrest is not upholstered
- The backrest adjusts upward too easily
Final thoughts
The Boulies EP460 Office Chair has been a great addition to my day-to-day work-from-home experience. It’s not perfect, but it is quite comfortable and is in a different league than my previous generic office chair. At the current price, the EP460 is a bargain that your keister and back will thank you for.
Price: $299.99
Where to buy: Boulies website
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Boulies. Boulies did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
