(Note: both of these chairs have been discontinued from the main Autonomous website. We recommend you checkout our most recent list of chairs to consider.)
One reader recently asked us about the ErgoChair 2 vs. the Kinn. Which Autonomous chair is better?
We selected the ErgoChair 2 as our medium price winner in our Best Desk Chairs of 2021 list. So, why not the Kinn that Autonomous also sells?
Great question.
For starters, please note that we didn’t even consider the Kinn as a finalist when we selected the best desk chairs. Therefore, we have not personally used the chair.
However, the Kinn is comparable to the Ergo Chair 2 in many ways. But the Kinn lacks two critical features for long-term back health. (see our guide for How to Choose an Office Chair for Your Back)
We will talk more about these missing features in a second. But first, let’s review the three home base working positions for back health:
1. Sitting back against the lumbar support: to do this, you need a strong lumbar support.
2. Sitting on the seat’s edge: your desk chair needs to be able to tilt the seat pan forward so that you can sit on the front part of your pelvis. Also – the chair should be high enough for your knees to be below your hips.
3. standing: you obviously need a good standing desk for this. And in general, you definitely need a good standing desk. We’ve selected our favorite desks here.
But back to the missing Kinn features.
1) Unlike the Ergo Chair 2, the Kinn is missing a strong and independently adjustable lumbar support: note the space between the mesh/stretchy plastic backrest and the plastic support in the picture of the Kinn below. This space forces you to rely on the mesh/stretchy plastic to provide critical support in your lower back since you have no independently adjustable lumbar support. Even with luxury chairs like the Herman Miller Aeron, we’ve found that mesh alone will not provide adequate support over time. Thus, the Kinn’s lack of an independently adjustable lumbar support is furthermore problematic.
2) Unlike the Ergo Chair 2, the Kinn lacks the seat pan forward tilt feature: this truly is a critical feature. It relieves some of the pressure on your back and reduces the stress on the knees. If you are confused about what this is, check out the features video for the Ergo Chair 2 on their website. (go to the 37-second mark)
Finally – it’s worth noting that we have concerns about the Kinn’s durability. We’ve written about our experience with the ErgoChair 2 at length and noted that, when calling about a small issue with the chair, the representative told us that product defects or issues with the ErgoChair 2 are pretty rare but much more common with the Kinn.
So…ErgoChair 2 vs Kinn?
We believe ErgoChair 2 is the clear winner.
The ErgoChair 2 has two critical features that the Kinn is missing.
Plus, the ErgoChair 2 is less expensive, has more color options, and appears to be more durable. So, we definitely recommend purchasing the ErgoChair 2 rather than the Kinn.
Leave a Reply