GABRYLLY Ergonomic Mesh High Back Review

While we weren't blown away by anything in particular, the GABRYLLY offers great comfort, versatility, and decent adjustability for a fair price. Although it's not marketed to tall people, this chair seems to have been made for the long-legged among us. The shortest possible seat height, 17.5 inches, is higher than most of the chairs we've tested. With a max height of 22 inches, it was also one of the tallest on the top end. This, combined with the fact that the headrest is best suited for people over 5'6", makes this chair an ideal choice for a taller person. However, our shorter testers didn't indicate these specs made the chair uncomfortable.

The ability to completely swivel the armrests down and out of the way lends this chair the versatility it needs to keep both unconventional and ergonomic sitters comfortable.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

Comfort is the most important thing to consider when buying a new office chair. Whether it's ergonomics or simple support that you're after, staying comfortable is key to staying productive and happy while you're sitting for extended periods of time. We had a panel of expert testers of different heights and body types test the adjustability and all-day comfort characteristics to help you better understand if the Ergonomic Mesh High Back Chair is right for you. In addition to having our testers evaluate the chair while working at their desks, we asked them to respond to a 16-question survey, rating each and every aspect of office chair comfort.

First and foremost, our lead tester, Rachael, quickly reported that she thought this chair was “pretty dang comfortable” because of the headrest and the mesh backrest. In fact, she noted, “I really like how this chair feels when reclining. I think I could nap in it.”

Rachael's findings were largely supported by the rest of our testers, three of whom responded they would be comfortable spending at least 7 hours in this chair. We appreciated the soft mesh on the seat and the backrest, noting that it was not only comfortable but also springy. Although there isn't any adjustable lumbar cushion, the backrest is curved in such a way that there is some, although minimal, lumbar support at all times. Some of our judges appreciated that it was there, while others wanted something more present; all the judges agreed that a greater degree of control over the extent to which the lumbar support was present would have made this chair more comfortable and earned it higher scores.

The mesh contact points were also appreciated by the unconventional sitters on our panel, who noted that the seat pan didn't dig into their legs when sitting criss-cross. The 20-inch seat pan is also fairly wide, which makes it easier to sit with one leg up or crisscross. The armrest can also adjust outward, giving you more room to roam and sit in unconventional postures.

However, if you spend hours on end in this chair, you might find that the hard plastic frame digs into your legs due to the mesh not being firm enough to prevent you from coming into contact with the hardware. This wasn't experienced by all of our judges, but it's something to consider, especially if you plan to sit at this chair day in and day out.

Something some of our taller judges appreciated was the included headrest, which is a premium feature at this price point. However, not all the judges were able to take advantage of this luxury because even at its lowest setting, the headrest was still too high to use. For reference, our testers under 5'4" were not able to reach the headrest at its shortest setting. Additionally, this chair sits high overall. With a minimum height of 17.5 inches and a maximum height of 22 inches, the GABRYLLY is nearly the tallest we tested for both metrics. Although our shorter judges were able to keep their feet on the floor while sitting, this chair definitely lends itself to taller people.

Adjustability

All of our trusty testers evaluated GABRYLLY's adjustability. We paid close attention to how many points of adjustment there were, how easy it was to make adjustments, and whether the adjustments we were able to make functioned properly. Adjustability is a critical aspect of maintaining comfort, especially for long periods of time, and it comprised the second most important factor, after comfort, when we were calculating our final score.

Although this chair isn't very adjustable compared to competitive chairs in this price range, our testers still found it adequate. The main adjustability flaws for this chair were found in the lumbar and armrests. Even if you believe the curved design of the backrest provides enough lumbar support, there's no getting around the fact that you can't adjust it all. It's possible to increase the lumbar support on your own by adding a pillow, but it's not possible to take it away, which may be an issue for someone who wants as little lumbar support as possible.

The armrests, on the other hand, do offer some amount of adjustability in terms of height, but they don't swivel or adjust for width. The design of these armrests is such that as you raise the height, they slide forward, which can be a pain if you're extra tall and want to sit close to your desk. However, you can swivel them up and completely out of the way to effectively make an armrest-less seat.

There also isn't any seat pan adjustment, but our testers commented that “it feels deep enough” to the extent that it may not need any adjustment. The wide and deep seat pan, while a benefit for comfort, makes it a bit harder to reach the tension knob. The tension knob itself takes quite a few turns to actually see the result, which detracts from its convenient usability.

Overall, we were impressed by how comfortable this chair was despite its lack of adjustability, and yet we all agreed that more adjustability on the lumbar and armrests would make this chair a true standout for the price.

Ease of Assembly

Office chairs are supposed to be easy to use and set up. The best office chairs embody these principles from factory to finished assembly, and we tested the GABRYLLY's assembly process to see if it was headache and hassle-free.

It took our lead tester just under 17 minutes to take the GABRYLLY from out of the box to fully assembled, supporting buttocks. Everything needs to be assembled right out of the box except for the armrests, which are already attached to the base. We were not impressed with the quality of the instructions or how easy it was to assemble, but we've seen some chairs with better instructions take longer to assemble. Nonetheless, some of the parts were heavy and difficult to move around, which led to some awkward positions to get the headrest attached. The holes for threading the bolts are on the smaller side, and the instructions aren't the easiest to follow. Although we were able to read the instructions, each step was described in three languages. We're all about language inclusivity, but the fact that each step was repeated in three different languages instead of having three different sets of instructions would have made them easier to read.

Should You Buy the GABRYLLY Ergonomic Mesh High Back Chair?

The GABRYLLY Ergonomic Mesh High Back Chair is comfortable enough for extended sitting but doesn't have the adjustability most people will need for a truly all-day, everyday office chair. If you need ergonomic adjustability or creature-comforts, this chair likely isn't the best option. However, this chair has an excellent comfort-to-price ratio, and if you're looking for something reliable and simple, it's hard to go truly wrong here. While most office chairs tend to fit average sized people best, this one brings a slight edge to taller sitters and those who prefer an upright posture for serious work but also like the ability to kick back and mouse their way through tasks.

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