I am getting a bit older in the tooth now than in the early days when I started writing for this site. Now there are a few things that you learn to appreciate more as you get a little older and one of those things is the benefits of a comfy chair when you are trying to relax or indeed when working on an article.
I had been making do with an old recliner that was getting a bit worn and was bought on the cheap about 10 years ago. Unfortunately, the recline function had seized and the fabric had delaminated which left the chair looking like it was suffering from a severe case of dandruff.
Fortunately for me, the kind people over at Flexispot reached out to me when they were launching their latest reclining chair, the Flexispot X2 power recliner. They asked if wanted to review it and I jumped at the chance to try it out.
So without further ado let’s see what the Flexispot X2 recliner is like and how it works in relation to using it as a basis for my writing.
To say that this is a”tech’ chair is a stretch but it does have some cool features that make it a great spot for me to get work done. The X2 is of the armchair style and comes delivered in four different parts. 
The chair does require some minimal self-assembly but it is completely toolless which is nice. After I had unpacked the two massive boxes in which the chair was delivered I was able to get the chair put together in about 10 minutes.
The first section which occupies one entire box is the base and this has all of the electrical and mechanical components of the chair on board. It is by far the heaviest part of the chair which is where you want the weight to be located. The seat base itself is a width of 45cm across and 54 cm in depth This is plenty big enough for even the most ample of bottom size! The seat height is 49cm which is par for the course when compared to normal recliners and you can easily put your feet flat on the ground without any discomfort.
The next step for the assembly is to add the armrests which slide easily into two rails on either side of the base section. This is probably the trickiest part of the assembly as the padding makes it a bit tricky to line up the rails. hover once the rails are aligned then you simply push them down and they are solid. Once the ar rest are on the the overall width of the chair increases to 89cm. The top of the armrests have a good wide amount of padding which equals 22cm width on either side. The armrests are wide and they are flat enough to rest a phone on without it risking a death plummet to the floor. On the right-hand side of the armrest is where we find a bit of hidden tech alongside the controls for the recline option. I will cover the recline function more later on.
In between the two recline buttons is a USB Type a port which will work as a charging port for various USB devices. The port will output when charging my Pixel Fold at 1310 mA peak which is fine for a nice slow charging rate to keep the strain on my battery down to a minimum. It also means that I am able to charge other USB gadgets like my Vape or Bluetooth speakers etc. The charging port is capable of delivering higher power when needed for example when i plugged in my wife’s Realme 8 Pro which can charge much faster than my Pixel Fold was able to get a third more power 1570mA which is due to the phone having the better charging rate.
When I use a base voltage of 4.5v as the charging voltage for both devices we get a charge rate of 7.06W for the Realme and 5.89W for my Pixle Fold. This explains why when I tried to charge my MacBook Pro I was unable to get the laptop to charge as it detected the power from the USB being too low.
All of this power is being transferred via the inbuilt circuits that are routed internally and are very easy to connect together. The main power supply for the chair is from a UK (market-dependent) three-pin plug that connects to a small power brick via a standard two-pin connector which will provide at 58W.
This power will be split between the motors to drive the reclining mechanism and the USB port with the majority of the power going to the motor as and when it is requested.
As you can see the power brick and cables can be hidden away quite easily behind the back of the chair which has a velcro flap that will drop down to cover this section when access is not required any further.
As for the next assembly step, it is just a case of lining up the guides for the back rest with the tangs that are poking out from the base section and pushing the mi to place and there you have it a fully assembled Flexipsot X2 recliner.
So How does the recliner mechanism work? It is a motor-driven multiple linkage design which will control the various moveable components of the chair. A simple press of the button will allow that footrest to start to move out from its resting position to around 110 degrees. for its resting point. At this point, the base of the vahri will have moved a few centimetres forward. From this point onwards the backrest will start to recline. You can hear an audible change in the motor and drive mechanism when the change between the footrest rising and the backrest reclining happens. If you keep the button pressed then the backrest will continue to recline un tl it reaches its limit which is 142 degrees of recline. This position is also known as the “Zero Gravity” positioning. it is a bit too far back for any work to be done. However, it is quite a nice position for getting a bit of cat-napping done I have actually fallen asleep in this reclined position during the past week on more than one occasion!
The reclining motion is very smooth and quiet as well. it is very easy to find your preferred position and this is aided by a neat little trick on the footrest which I have not encountered before with other reclining chairs that I have used. Under the footrest, there are springs on either side of the base plate that are linked to the linkages. These springs act as a kind of damper that will allow the footrest to have two positions. If the recline is initiated when there wi weight on the footrest it will remain locked into the lower position, however, once that weight has been removed the footrest will “spring” into the higher position which is required for the aforementioned Zero Gravity position. I prefer to drop position as this will allow my feet to be at just the right angle where my feet are comfortable. I find that once it goes into the high position I start to get pins and needles in my feet. Your experience may vary on this and will entirely depend on your own physical make-up.
I feel that the linkages or going to be solid and will work well for a decent amount of time. I have had another recliner sofa that uses a similar style of linkage and indeed motor system however this has been manufactured to a much lower quality. The links on the X2 mechanism are all solid in feel and there are no strange noises or clicking and grinding audible in use. The same can’t be said for my sofa which feels a lot ropier in it working as fluidity of recline motion. All of this is backed up by a 5-year warranty for the chair from Flexispot.
Here are some images of the dimensions below;
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- Front Profile
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- Side Profile
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- Side reclined
So that is a description of the mechanics and the assembly of the chair. However, how does it feel in use?
I have found that the chair is supportive in a variety of positions, my favourite position is where the backrest is about 10% reclined and the footrest is fully raised. This allows me to have my laptop rest on my lap in a comfortable position for typing without too much load upon my legs. Another one of my favoured positions is actually with my legs crossed up on the chair base which is deep enough to this. If I wish to just rest then I will recline the char back further and go back to nearly 50% of the full recline to allow me to still see the TV or read comfortably. This will still give me plenty of support for my back and due to the angle to the footrest, my legs are also supported well. I have sat in this position for several hours in the evening and I have not had any sore spots I dont need any extra pillows or cushions as I have on other chairs.
My wife has also used it on occasion when she has been unable to sleep at night and apart from her noting the footrest can be a bit too high when in the fully reclined position, she was very comfortable. She found that the backrest was particularly comfortable when fully reclined and she was able to sleep better on the chair than the bed.
Overall I am very happy with the Flexispot X2 recliner. I have found it to be very well built and the construction from the manufacturing is very good. the faux leather finish is a nice feeling to the touch and hopefully will last the true test of time over the years, if it doesn’t then I would like to think that the 5-year warranty will be able to address this if it were needed. As I mentioned above this isn’t really a tech chair but it does allow me to take advantage of the use of my tech in comfort and also allows me to relax when I am not working.
If I had two minor issues with the char then they are both relatively simple to resolve as well. The first issue is with the colour, I would like to see this recliner offered in other colours as at the time of writing this, the Flexispot X2 recliner is only available in White. it would be great if this were to be offered in other colours, to fit in with other decors.
The second issue relates to the sprung footrest, Whilst I find this to be a really nice feature I would like the ability of the spring action to be disabled. it is fine for me as I can push the footrest back down however the mechanism is a little bit too strong for my wife to push down. if this could be locked in one position then it would be great for her as she wouldn’t have the issue with getting that pins and needles feeling when she is fully reclined.
At @£499 for the chair, it is a bit pricey but in my opinion, it is worth it and when compared to other single-seat powered recliners on the market it is the same sort of market segment as the higher-end options from the likes of LazyBoy Winchester Power Recliner Chair which retails at £1375.00 but will sometime be on sale for just under £1000.
If you wish to upgrade your seating situation and you want to know more about the Flexispot X2 recliner then you can grab on from their website now.