Gaiam 610-6002RTL Balance Ball Chair - Classic Yoga Ball Chair with 52cm Stability Ball, Pump & Exercise Guide for Home or Office, Black

Absolutely stellar product. Such a well designed chair. I'm a 28 year old, 6ft 1in, 225lb man & this thing is insanely comfortable. The back rest is so well placed & offers just enough support to rest your core periodically, the ball is stable & comfortable, the base of the chair was easy to assemble (took all of 10 minutes), & this is truly an almost perfect product in every way. If you have trouble sitting still, if you want to be more engaged while working, if you don't want to cut off the blood circulation to your legs for 8 hours a day, then just buy this thing already haha. I did see others mention that the roller wheels don't do super well on carpet, and that is true. My office floor is carpet tile on concrete & even then, the wheels aren't phenomenal. Specifically when I'm sitting on the chair trying to roll, I can make it happen, but it's not necessarily easy. But, don't let that deter you from purchasing this otherwise wonderful product. Can't believe how nice this is for the amount I paid.

Okay, so I work from home, and my back was killing me. I'd heard about these chair balls, and honestly, I was skeptical. But I got the Gaiam 52cm one in charcoal, and I'm surprised how much I like it. First off, it's way more comfortable than I expected. It forces you to sit up straight, which is great for posture. My back pain has significantly decreased. It does take a little getting used to—you'll wobble a bit at first!—but it helps engage your core. The charcoal color is nice and neutral, so it doesn't look too goofy in my office. It's also sturdy, and the included pump was easy to use. If you're looking for a simple way to improve your posture and get a little extra movement while you work, this is a solid choice. Just make sure you get the right size for your height. I went with the 52cm, and it's perfect for me (I'm 5'4").

Great chair, functional and helpful in improving posture if at your desk all day. Good support, easy to use and construct. The ball is small and I would recommend purchasing a bigger ball to help with stability.

Bought this for my desk job, to improve posture during pregnancy. It's sturdy and as comfortable as a yoga ball can be. The wheels are easy to move on thin carpet or a hard floor, which allows you to adjust easily if you get fatigued or uncomfortable sitting for long periods of time. If the height isn't right, you can adjust the amount of air in the ball to change it. Comes with a pump and extra plugs for the ball. I decided to follow another reviewer's advice and not install the metal rails - once you sit on it, the ball stays in place just fine without them. My only (small) complaint is the brakes on the wheels. They stick out, making them very easy to accidentally kick into locking position. It's mildly annoying but not a deal breaker. Overall a good product!

You should be aware that this chair won’t be for everybody. If I didn’t have back and hip issues, I wouldn’t have this for my office chair — and as it is, I use it as my “break” chair and I use it when my pain is really bad — BECAUSE this chair really helps with my low back and hip pain. I didn’t think it would when I bought it, but I was really hopeful. And I was surprised when it did. I had to take the wheels off the bottom of the chair so that it was the proper height for me, and that makes it more difficult to move around, but it also makes it less likely to slip out from under me when I go to sit, and it’s not a very heavy chair, so moving it without the wheels is still easy. One of the things that I think really helps me with my back is that sitting on this ball seems to help stack my vertebrae correctly. It forces me to have the correct posture, which actually helps to alleviate my pain, and I can feel my core muscles activating as I sit because it’s a gazillion little movements throughout the day, and those core muscles are super important in maintaining your spine health. So — if I didn’t have back and hip issues, I wouldn’t have this chair (because it doesn’t allow you to slouch 😊), but because I do have issues — and because it really works to ease my pain — I’m delighted with it.

Ordered this on Jan 6th 2017, probably got it on jan 9th or so and today May 25th 2017 it broke. The end of the metal bar that keeps the ball in place broke off. Holding the broken off threaded piece in my hand - this feels like the cheapest quality steel possible. My wife asked if it was really metal or some other pressure formed solid coated to look like steel. I have handled a lot of threaded bolts and nuts and this is the lightest "chuck" of a bolt I have ever seen. I have only ever sat on the chair. I have never tried to do any of the exercises that use the chair that are included in the instructions. The ball is properly inflated. While I will attempt to get a replacement part - I have no idea if this will be possible and if so is this a part that is going to need to be replaced every 5 months. Assuming I cannot get a replacement part for free, this will have cost more than $10 a month to use for only about 10 hours a week. Before it broke, I liked it ok, I was using it as a desk chair. Not a great desk chair but better than I though it might be. Perhaps if they used real "old fashioned" steel in the metal bar it would last longer than 5 months. This ends up being an expensive way to get an exercise ball, because it won't work as a chair for long. Yesterday I received the replacement metal bar (yes, it took essentially 3 months). The new bar does seem to be made of steel, it is substantially heavier and hopefully will actually last. The packing list shows 3 items shipped, but all I got was the metal bar - no nuts to hold it on. Packing slip Lists: 95-1198 Kit Comp: Circular Metal Piece BB Chair 1 ordered 1 shipped 95-1198BOLT Kit Comp: Circular Metal Piece Security Bo 2 ordered 2 shipped I went to the hardware store and got the necessary nuts to hold the bar on. But it does seem a little strange that a company that initially sent out a product that based upon all of the reviews of the metal bars breaking, knew was defective, while replacing the defective part would not send the nuts necessary to hold the bar on. They seem to be trying and not to have their act together. I did raise my review to 3 stars (from 2), but I would not see Gaiam on a product and purchase it thinking the quality was any good. Updated. 11/9/17 Tonight the ball started to deflate. Sitting on the chair at my desk I heard a hissing noise. At first I thought it was coming from the computer, no the hiss got louder and I figured out the ball was deflating. Nothing punctured the ball - it is just poor quality. Lowering review to 1 star. Gaiam quality control is very poor if the chair I got is at all representative.

Definitely does not look like what is pictured. That said it is a nice chair and is comfortable. But the ball is a LOT smaller than what is pictured. I followed the directions provided exactly amd it is about half the size of what is shown here. I like that the model I got has wheels and makes it easy to move around my work space with ease.

I’ve wanted a balance ball chair ever since I read a few articles praising them on Lifehacker. I already owned a cheap balance-ball, but had no base or way to really stabilize the ball. After reading endless reviews and going through the questions/answers here on Amazon, I finally decided to bite the bullet and order the Gaiam Balance Ball Chair. In the box is one chair frame (disassembled), one 52cm balance ball (deflated), a hand pump (borderline useless) and a nice, well-illustrated booklet containing exercises/stretches to use with the chair. The chair itself is a cinch to assemble – the casters simply press into the base, then the back support clicks into the base and is held in place with 2 twist-in bolts. Finally, 4 small nuts hold on the wire ball support (a little wrench is provided). All in all, assembly takes under 5 minutes. The ball is a different story – the ball needs to be at room temperature before inflating. You only want to inflate the ball about 80%, then let it acclimate and stretch for about 24 hours. Gaiam provides a small hand pump, but it’s incredibly tedious an inefficient to use. I used a bicycle pump and inflated the ball to about 42 cm (about 16.5”), then left it sitting for 24 hours. Note: By 42cm, I don’t mean the circumference of the ball. I marked off 42cm from the wall, placed the ball against the wall, and inflated until the edge of the ball touched the 42cm mark on my tape measure. After acclimating, I followed Gaiam’s directions and inflated the ball fully to 52cm (about 20.5”). The ball, being fully inflated, needed some manipulating to fit into the chair frame, but nothing too difficult. Before I purchased the ball chair, my main concern about the chair was height – I am only 5’0” tall, and was afraid that the chair would leave me sitting too low. Turns out, the opposite was true – once the fully-inflated ball was in place, I was seated up very high, and my feet did not touch the floor. Gaiam’s instructions say to inflate the ball so that the thighs and shins should be at a 90° angle to the floor. If your hips are higher than your knees, deflate the ball. Conversely, if your hips are lower than your knees, you need to inflate the ball to find that ‘sweet spot’ for your height. I ended up deflating the ball until my feet were able to touch the floor – as a result, the ball was not as firm and had more ‘give’ to it, but the ball is still quite comfortable. I have to make slight adjustments to keep myself stabilized, which activates my core. I also have to sit up straighter instead of slouching or leaning forward (as us shorter people are prone to doing). The chair’s ‘back’ isn’t really meant as a support structure; per Gaiam’s instruction booklet, it’s strictly for stability during exercises. Work your way up to using a balance ball chair – I recommend ditching your office chair and going to the balance ball chair full-time. As you become more conscious of your posture and core, you’ll be utilizing muscles previously neglected. So, work your way up to the chair – I spent a few hours in the ball chair, then a few hours in my regular office chair until I felt comfortable going ‘full-time’ with the ball chair. I do not use the ball itself for any exercises, though I do perform some of the seated stretches from the included booklet. Now, my posture is so much better, my lower-back pain is near nonexistent, and I can definitely feel a difference in how my core feels. I also don’t experience the tailbone pain that I used to have after a long day of work. For under $80, you won’t find a better chair.