In the past few years alone, we've had an explosion in innovative thinking in office and gaming chairs. Not just content with good build quality and simple ergonomics, chairs these days are increasingly electronic, with bold ergonomic design choices. Enter the LiberNovo Omni Dynamic Ergonomic Chair.
Originally a successful Kickstarter, with more than 10,000 backers and $9 million raised, the LiberNovo Omni is now available for general purchase from the company website. There's a reason why the Omni did so well on Kickstarter: it promised a dynamic ergonomic chair along the lines of Herman Miller's premium Embody Gaming Chair, except at half the price. Amazingly, LiberNovo not only accomplished its goal but also added some power features for good measure.
LiberNovo Omni – Options
The LiberNovo Omni supports height and weight ranges from 5'2" - 6'3" and up to 300 lbs. The chair is available in three different configurations in your choice of Midnight Black or Space Gray, and a seat depth of 45 cm or 48 cm. The Basic Bundle is just the chair for a list price, before any applicable discounts, of $1,099. The Standard Bundle includes the chair and footrest for $1,297. And the Pro Bundle includes the chair, footrest, and an extra battery for $1,356.
There are two major features of the Omni. The first is what LiberNovo calls its Bionic FlexFit Backrest. This backrest consists of eight "spinal" columns that are meant to conform to, and move with, your back. The second is the OmniStretch Spinal Massage. This provides a fully reclined, battery-operated five-minute lumbar stretch that's surprisingly powerful.
Of course, there are other notable features, like the elastic hydrophilic sponge backrest material, a removable headrest that tracks your neck movements, four recline positions, and a powered adjustable lumbar support. Between those features and the various adjustments you can make to the chair's height, backrest position tension, and arms, there really aren't any major options you'd be missing versus other premium chairs.
LiberNovo Omni – Assembly
The Libernovo Omni comes in a single box that weighs 66 lbs, which is not exactly light, but is reasonably-sized versus other chairs I've reviewed. The chair itself weighs just over 48 lbs. If you get the Ergonomic Footrest, that comes in its own box weighing just under 7 lbs, with the footrest itself weighing just over 4 lbs.
Although the LiberNovo Omni doesn't come fully assembled like the Embody Gaming Chair, it's pretty close, with just five major pieces. You just need the included screwdriver and four screws to secure anything that doesn't snap together.
While I had a helper, the assembly process is easy enough for a single person to handle with enough patience. Other than some difficulty with installing the backrest, where I had to figure out how to properly line up the clips, I encountered no real difficulty with assembly. This is hands-down one of the easiest gamer or office chairs I've ever had to assemble.
The footrest was even easier, as everything just snaps into place. If you're under 5'7", you'll likely want to secure the pedal (bottom panel) with the thumb screw to the high level; otherwise, use the low level.
Once assembled, I noted how relatively compact the chair itself was. It doesn't necessarily overpower a room with its presence, which is something many gamer chairs seem to revel in. Its overall design is a good fit for even more conservative office settings.
It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but I was disappointed that LiberNovo didn't include a USB-C cable to charge the proprietary battery pack. While this is increasingly common with many electronics these days, for a chair at this price point, it would have still been nice to have one. Regardless, I was able to easily charge the battery with my own cable and then just snap it into place in its dedicated slot just under the left front of the chair.
LiberNovo Omni – Comfort and Performance
Adjusting a chair can be a frustrating trial-and-error process. Fortunately, LiberNovo goes the extra mile with two comprehensive user manuals and a video that tell you exactly how to properly adjust your chair. I appreciated the time it saved.
The armrests adjust vertically up to 3.15 inches, slide forward or backward up to 3.94 inches, and rotate internally up to 40 degrees, or externally up to 10 degrees. Finally, the armrests can be pushed out up to 18.5 inches or in up to 12.6 inches. I appreciate their flexibility, but the arms don't do a great job of staying where I need them to, something only the DXRacer Martian, of the chairs I've reviewed, has been able to properly implement.
The neck support can be adjusted vertically up to 3.15 inches, forward or backward up to 2.83 inches, or rotated up to 32 degrees. I would have liked more forward movement, but overall, the neck support proved supportive, particularly when reclined.
The seat height adjustment works with the usual pneumatic cylinder. Similarly, the recline tension adjustment is the typical knob rotation, which in this case has a range of about 20 turns.
A lever under the right side of the seat lets you adjust the recline position to one of four settings, ranging from a standard upright position of 105 degrees, all the way to 160 degrees, which is the almost fully reclined position you want to use for the powered OmniStretch lumbar spine massage. I appreciate the ease-of-use of the lever, which encourages me to recline the chair into different positions than I otherwise normally would bother with.
The OmniStretch and lumbar support adjustments are powered and controlled with three buttons under the left armrest. Pressing the OmniStretch button starts five minutes of gradual reciprocating motions down the backrest with an electric-powered bar to stretch and relax the lumbar spine.
This massage is no simple vibration like most other chairs, but something akin to a commercial massager. It powerfully pushes on the lower back, creating a wonderful stretch. It's honestly my favorite ever feature in a gaming or office chair. In fact, even when I use my standing desks the way they're meant to be used, I still like going back to the Omni at the end of a long day and doing a quick spinal decompression. If you have any lower back issues like I do, this feature alone is a reason to consider this particular chair.
Of course, the proper adjustments and a killer lower back massage are one thing, but seated comfort is another. Thankfully, the armrests have nice give without being too soft, and every other area of the chair, from the seat to the backrest to the headrest, all feature hydrophilic sponge and memory foam materials that are genuinely comfortable without either being too hard or too soft. It's among the best materials in gaming or office chairs I've had the pleasure to experience.
The foam is covered in a material stretch layer. It feels nice and soft, although it's not the most cooling. It would have been nice for LiberNovo to incorporate powered air flow found in chairs like the AutoFull M6 Ultra. Instead, LiberNovo sells a Cooling Seat Pad as an accessory, which I didn't have an opportunity to try. Either way, I would have preferred something built into the chair in this regard, but even without active cooling or heat, I have no complaints about the material feel.
I'm also surprised LiberNovo didn't choose to go with single-wheel casters, which are inline skate-style wheels found on chairs like the Mavix M9 Gaming Chair. They're generally a more premium and smoother wheel. With that said, even though the Omni has the more typical dual-wheel casters, I have no complaints about their smoothness when I roll the chair.
The design of the snap-in battery module is inspired, although its proprietary connection to the chair does make me worried if the company ever goes away. With that said, besides LiberNovo selling additional batteries, they do last a surprisingly long time. For instance, from a full 3.5-hour charge, you can get up to 30 OmniStretch lumbar spine sessions.
In terms of the footrest, or leg rest, I have mixed feelings. It's great for leg support when doing the reclined lumbar massage, and I don't mind putting my feet on the lower platform when seated, but it's not something I find I absolutely need. It's also not particularly substantial, with its all-plastic parts and the same type of lightweight cushioning at the top found on the chair itself.
You can now buy Microsoft’s Windows XP Crocs for $79.95