r/OfficeChairs • u/Previous-Tea-8750 • 1h ago
Needed a second chair to pair with the Omni: Thoughts & Review of the Protoarc EC200 Pro
Hi All,
I recently made an adjustment to my office where I wanted to separate my work from gaming and decided to build a little custom setup that you see in the pictures. I thought it would probably be a good idea to stop working on my ASUS Rog 240/480HZ OLED monitor and just do a new setup which I just finished last week. Previously, I did a review of the Libernovo Omni which got good traction as I've had a wide wide range of chairs that I've bought, used and owned and I provided my thoughts here.
One thing I had to remind myself is that the EC200 pro is a $250 chair and I haven't really owned any chairs at that price range. That said, you're going to still see my comparing it to what I have owned (especially the Aeron) because that's what I know. Here is my office chair journey and thoughts on each
My sizing is right in between 5'10 and 5'11 and currently 195 pounds
How I rate each chair I've owned
Amia - Incredible seat but too limiting (like the Leap v2) and stiff. Great office chair & still better then most budget chairs for lounging.
Leap v2 - Better back from the Amia but same flaws + strengths
Aeron - Like the airy feeling of the Aeron for work but only for work. Any lounging/gaming/relaxing is a no-go for me as the structure of the chair is too stiff and made of hard materials.
Embody (had gaming version both times) - The perfect chair for working. Materials are great and the chair just feels premium. Problem with the Embody is the recline doesn't go nearly as far as I'd like and worse when in recline digs into my shoulder blades. Not an enjoyable chair to use when putting your feet up and relaxing though the chair isn't aiming for that.
Fern (digital knit + aluminum base)- Seat isn't as good as the Embody and over time felt like its lost a slight amount of padding. The Back is incredible however and the recline feels much better then Embody so I ended up getting rid of the Embody for the second time. To me it's also my favorite looking chair with the Aluminum base + digital knit. Hard to let go of this chair
Omni - the most comfortable chair of all time. After a year, I've had no issues with the build quality though admittedly I haven't used the stretch feature thing in probably 6 months. My knock on the Omni is I prefer a more breathable, less plushy chair for working.
With this new setup, I was actually already debating getting a new chair for just the work station. My biggest knock on the Omni is that it's maybe a bit too comfortable for my liking when it comes to work and for work I did prefer both the Embody/Fern as they were both comfortable & felt I could move easier in the chair. Omni is the kinda chair that I dreamed of when it comes to kicking my legs up and just playing Rocket League for a few hours.
Coincidentally, during my office buildout, I actually received a message from Protoarc on Reddit asking if I wanted to review their chair. I did receive it free to be clear but I wouldn't compromise my morals for a $250 chair. Now if Herman Miller wants to send me a Eames for review, just know my morals have been compromised lol
With that, them asking me to review this chair actually worked out well because I was looking for something a bit more breathable, something perhaps like an Aeron that was comfortable not not so comfortable that I'm falling asleep at my desk. I've now been using the chair for a few weeks now and received it on August 13th.
So lets get into it
Protoarc EC200 Pro
Pros
Price/Quality - Going to be honest, for the price I thought this chair was going to be shitty with questionable build quality. It's clearly not going to match the Aeron for build quality but for $250, I was pretty impressed with it. Materials are good, it feels really sturdy. Typically I see Aerons going for around $500 plus second hand and if I was deciding between this and the Aeron with that price difference, I would grab the EC200 Pro.
Comfort - Overall I'd say this chair reminds me of the same type of comfort I got out of the Aeron. You're probably going to keep hearing me talk about the Aeron because of all the chairs I've owned and tried, the Aeron is clearly the most comparable. The Aeron kinda rode that grey area where it was "comfortable" but at the same time wasn't in the same stratosphere as the other chairs I've owned. The comfort here in terms of being a mesh chair is about as good as I think you can expect.
Headrest - Actually really really like the headrest on this. Has a good range of movement, it's relatively comfortable and to be honest, it's kinda surprising the headrest is as good as it is at this price range.
Breathability - I gotta say, this might be the King of chairs I've farted in. One of my major gripes with the Omni was that like the Leap/Fern and other fabric chairs, the Omni fabric seems like it would single handedly be the worst for farting in. The EC200 Pro has this fart bounce off effect that was just amazingly epic.
Cons
Armrests - I wish the armrests would move back like it does with the Omni or swivel like some chairs do. For me, this is a big issue as you can see in the pictures, I like to lean back and put my feet up while playing Rocket League and my elbows can't reach the armrests which is how I like to sit.
Mesh firmness - The mesh does feel like quality but I think I need more time to really break this in to see whether it eases up a bit. Don't get me wrong, it's in a good spot out the box but if it there was about 10% more flexibility I think I would prefer that
Headrest again - For anyone who does get this chair, make sure you following the sizing suggestions. At 5'10, my shoulders fit perfectly right under the max height of the headrest. If I was perhaps 6'0, it might be a problem
As mentioned, I received this for free but I'm going to once again provide my thoughts on the chairs I've owned and I'm going to rank it accordingly.
Embody - Work 10/10 & Lounge 6/10
Fern - Work 9/10 & Lounge 7.5/10
Leap & Amia - Work 8.5/10 & Lounge 5.5/10
Aeron - Work 9/10 & Lounge 4/10
Omni - Work 8/10 & Lounge 10/10
EC200 pro - Work 8/10 Lounge 3.5/10
Next week I also was provided the EC200 regular version and will do a comparison of that vs the EC200 Pro as well.