Gaiam Classic Balance Ball Chair for Improved Posture & Core Strength

Amy: I use this chair at work as an educational assistant for myself and share it with my students. Every teacher , student , EA should have one as the chairs at a school are horrible to sit on all day .

Canada on Oct 31, 2023

Ethel Malone: It took a day to get used to, but I can’t be without it now I’m in front of a computer way too long to not be on one of these balls. At least you can say you’re always on the ball.

Canada on Sep 10, 2023

leahleah: I am a lash artist so I sit for 8 hours a day in a very terrible position and this has improved my lower back a lot since I’ve gotten it. I’ve only been using it for a week or so but I do find it very comfortable and I have used every single kind of chair because I have been doing this for a long time! However I gave it 4 stars because the wheels are really cheap, but I switched them out easily for better ones. Also I’m lucky I have a hydraulic bed that I work with because the chair is very very low so if you are sitting at a normal height desk or table or massage table this chair would most likely be too low. A lot of people seemed to have trouble inflating the ball properly but I followed the instructions and inflated it then let it sit for 24 hours and then deflated it by 50% and inflated it back up and it was then full size and fit perfectly in the ball hole. Also no issues with the metal bar bending, some people said that happened and that it broke but I haven’t had mine long but it seems like it will be fine!

Canada on Aug 22, 2023

Penelope Bateman: I love this product so far. I read a lot of reviews about the pump not working, but I got it to pump to the full size without having to wait 24 hours, though it requires some strength. Finished building and pumping in 5 min. At first, the pump did leak air, but then I twisted it more closed where I heard the air leaking and it immediately stopped. Just got to play with it a little. Then I just kept going until I couldn't anymore. I'm fairly strong as a woman though so I was able to push past that barrier point when getting it to full size right away once the pump was fixed, without even meaning to. It was quite the arm workout 😁 I would say my biggest complaint with the pump was the pipe piece wouldn't fit all the way into the opening of the ball. It was more like I laid it on top the hole and kept still as much as possible while pumping it. Other than that, I still got it to full size without having to switch to another pump in the house like Ive read others doing. I love it. I got it to replace my gaming chair since the suspension and arms broke and is no longer adjustable to my height and is very uncomfortable, causing pain to my legs and back. I know this isn't a gaming...

United States on Jan 16, 2023

C. Palma: I will update if my impressions change later.

This item arrived quickly and was quite easy to put together following the instructions. The hardest part was blowing up the ball, for the nozzle of the air pump really did NOT want to fit into the hole for the ball. The directions also state not to blow the ball up larger than a certain measurement, but did not supply a measuring tool. This would be simply remedied by supplying a ribbon of paper or plastic in the length of diameter that the ball should not exceed. I did follow the protocol of filling it, letting it sit for a few hours, and then filling it more to make it easier as it got hard at the end, and a good bit of air was constantly coming OUT of the pump they provided. I'm not sure if my pump was defective or everyone deals with this.

The brakes, yeah the brakes flip to locked REALLY easily. Simple solution would be to put the two wheels with the locking ability on the rearside of the chair instead of the front. No big deal.

I was under the impression from the description on amazon that the chair comes with that backside piece as a backrest, but the instructions in the box CLEARLY state that it is not...

United States on Nov 11, 2022

David AlbertDavid Albert: I was originally looking for a ergonomic office chair but felt this one might be more beneficial as it does engage your core. After about 20 minutes of use i could feel the difference in my lower back. It was still sore but the good kind after a nice stretching work out. Let's just get to the points good and bad.

Good:
Fairly easy to assemble must know how to use a wrench
Does relieve lower back pain and engage your core
Comes with a nice stretching guide if your a yogie you should be able to do them all, if not there are a couple you may have to work on or just skip.
Casters although fairly cheap the do roll which is nice
You can literally rotate 360 and not hit anything like your arms on a normal chair would
Turns Chair Dancing into an ART form

BAD:
Not easy to inflate, I had to use a small air compressor
The valve pin can be tricky to remove
Inflating the ball to the proper inflation actually causes the ball to squish which puts a lot of pressure on the metal ball holder.
Metal ball holder should be beefed up the plastic is very weak as you can see in the photos it is already bending, I had to put extra washers to stop this.
You...

Canada on Oct 20, 2022

DM: I tried to order this chair twice before but I kept getting refunded by Amazon. Third time I ordered it actually got delivered but the pin that plugs the ball was missing. The pump they include to inflate the ball doesn't do an efficient job either. I contacted the company straight away and they answered same day and agreed to send out the pin. Initial contact with Gaiam was on September 30... I'm still waiting for the pin to be mailed to me from the US. I'm hopeful that when I get the pin, all else will be well with the chair. I've seen one in a dentist's office and it looks like it would serve well. We'll see.

UPDATE: Pin was delivered Oct 21st. I pumped the ball up to size with a foot pump, installed it into the chair and so far so good. I tend to sit at the edge of my office chair and hunch over the desk so the ball chair forces me to sit with my back straight. I'm no longer sitting on my tailbone.

Canada on Oct 08, 2021

D. Briscoe: This item is just as described by Amazon.

Thumbs up - there is a lightweight, plastic pump in the box to blow up the ball. It is easy enough to set up that my daughter set it up in just a few minutes by herself.

The fit ball is small, not the huge exercise ball that you normally see in a fitness area. It is a bit rough, not a super smooth, shiny surface. This prevents the person seated from sliding around on the ball.

The main body of the chair is a very sturdy, hollow plastic. Smooth but not shiny. The back of the chair is extremely flexible. If you were a very large person this could be a problem if you prefer to lean back or sit back on the chair. The design of the chair though encourages me to sit forward and I spend very little time resting against the back of the chair. And no, this does not seem to get uncomfortable or make me sore in any way. It is quite comfortable.

The wheels are plastic and a bit small, but they do move ok on both carpet and tile.

If I were to have a complaint, it is that the chair sits quite low. Some sort of height adjustment piece of two to four inches would be helpful. However, being seated at the lower height,...

United States on Dec 12, 2013