AleraNeratoli Series Mid-Back Swivel/Tilt Chair, Red Soft Leather, Chrome Frame

UPDATE 11/28/13, re-rated to 5 stars for longevity -- I just bought a second used red one, from Amazon Warehouse Deals! Yeah, it will last, baby. I hate all my other chairs, compared to this one. And you just know, when a really great product like this one is so well-liked, some dingdong in upper management decides to stop making it. So now I have two! Yes! And oh: the squeaky old office chair with the ugly black standard fabric and its 'executive' back, is probably going to the dumpster, unless I can use it as a caddy cart.UPDATE, 5/22/13 -- I edited the 'clammy' paragraph in the original review. The more I use this chair (which is constant, since it arrived), the more I like it. Probably spend 12 hours a day in the chair (yikes).UPDATE, 5/1/13 -- wow, I came back here to see if any more of the 'used' Alera Neratoli chairs were left, because I am so comfortable in this red one. There aren't any more. But if you search on the name, you'll find they come in black, red, white. Some of the reviewers say the white is off-white, which I was thinking of buying also. Alas, all the allegedly-used ones, are sold out. (The one I got, was sold with Prime from Amazon, and since it was open-box, it was listed under 'used', but wasn't ever used. There had been two of them, each for $100. I should have bought them both!)The last thing I need, is another chair; but when I really like something, suddenly it becomes hard to find.==========Rewrite, same day as original review. Amazon had two of these chairs in stock listed as 'used', thus priced at $100. So I bought one. Yet it doesn't look used. It was well packed. The fifth star is reserved for longevity evaluation, and I suspect it should be added. I wouldn't blink at paying $200 for a second chair. Wish I needed another.Assembly Observations====================Assembled all but the arms, during Windows 7 update (including reboot), and an Adobe Flash update. So what's that, 10 minutes? Including a 5-minute break? That time doesn't include arm assembly, but the latter would take another five minutes per arm. Very simple. Clever design!There are five assemblies: wheels to base, stem to base, chair to stem, then screwbolts for arms to chair. The chair body itself weighs 30+ pounds, so if you can't lift 30+ pounds from floor to shoulder height easily, then get help in chair assembly. You'll have to lift the chair body that high, to put it on the chair stem.This is one fantastic chair. You first push in the wheels. The chrome base has chrome sockets, and they are sautered onto the base. Which means, the thing would be easy to fix with duct-tape or resautering, if the original sautering breaks. The wheels are good quality, like from 15 years ago. Wheel covers are chrome, and get this -- have a blue plastic film exactly fitting the cover and of such a nice royal blue, I left the film on. (My other main decorating color, is royal blue.) To assemble wheels, turn base upside down then push in each wheel's socket HARD into the socket base, and fully (until the wheel is only stopped by the black casing lip). Else the chair won't be stable.The stem easily just fits into the socket on the five-starred base. Then just plop the chair on the stem (lift the chair shoulder high to match chair's stem hole to the stem).Now you have a full armless chair! Wow, it's comfortable. But in its default position, doesn't tilt back. To enable tilt, pull out the height adjustment lever; it easily pulls out about an inch. Push the lever in again, to stop tilt. Lever-out, the leanback is very like a rocking chair.If you want more lean-back tension (resistance to leaning), turn tension knob underneath the seat, RIGHT one turn at a time. Repeat, if you want more tension. For less tension, turn the knob LEFT one turn at a time. EDIT: the second chair I just assembled on 12/4/13, reverses the foregoing; so maybe you have to turn RIGHT to lessen tension, and LEFT to increase it.Hallelujah, it doesn't creak when you tilt back! No more client calls with a sudden apology for the noise!Height adjustment is as expected. Sit in the chair and push down the lever to lower, stand up and pull up the lever to raise. Lowest height is 15" from floor to bottom of chrome seat edge (measured from the middle of the seat, to carpeted floor). Highest, is about 18".Assembling the arms is simple: two Allen aka socket bolts per side, with decorative caps, all metal; the Allen wrench is also included, exactly fits the sockets on the bolts. The bolt size looks standard: 2" long, not including the head. What's great about that, is if somehow the bolt broke, you could replace the bolt with stuff from the hardware store of the same length and thickness, because the bolts stick outside the chair (just barely, not flatheads). Kinda like car license plate bolts. The arms assemble outside the seat, so the seat clearance is effectively increased by 1-2 inches. Disassembly is easy. So you've got two chairs in one.Arm assembly hint: first put the bolts in their arm holes, prior to assembly, make sure that the screws go all the way inside their holes, recessed. If the bolt head is level with the edge of the hole (not recessed), you inserted the bolt in the wrong side. In short, the right hand arm versus the left hand arm are discernible by this simple test. Turn chair sideways to assemble the arms.Remember the mechanic's attachment trick of turning the bolt/screw in a few times just to make sure it's properly seated in the chair's hole, then a few more times but not totally tightened; then do the other screw. Finally, when the chair arm is properly seated and aligned with BOTH bolts, tighten.Best of all, the pieces disassemble for moving your apartment/house to a new location. Yeah, this chair is a keeper.The typical Allen wrench provided for bookcases, is used and provided in the chair's bolt kit. Included, is one extra bolt and one extra cap.Arm Padding is about 1/3" inch, strong, reminiscent of camp foam. Arms are slightly curved, which I don't like, but they aren't uncomfortable. Can't adjust arm height, unless you drill more holes into the chrome. Each armpiece is one metal unit (excepting the pad), so any drilled holes to adjust height, must be precise, and will change arm declination. The arm pads are socket-bolted to the arm, but the socket is an asterisk pattern, so you can't use the Allen wrench provided. Because the arm is curved, they are not replaceable, though I imagine you could buy spare parts from Alera? Then again, you could wrap or bolt any soft material to replace the arms, if you wanted.Color, appearance, etc.====================Red Chair color is a matte red, like old-fashioned lipstick. Seems orangey, but really isn't. It's a real red. Not too strong, not bright, and not much different from the picture. It just seems a bit lighter than the picture shows. Yeah, waxy lipstick red. Not quite fire-engine red or tomato red. Somewhere in between. Not crimson. Very attractive.Fabric is single-stitched, but well done. There is a horseshoe zipper under the seat. Thus you can easily reach the big spring connecting the chair for any repairs, lubrication (to avoid that horrendous creak). That zippered feature is a plus.Chair's base is chrome; not the best quality (it has that bluish cast like cheap bolts); but good enough for long life.The chair's covering material feels good, and is about 1/16" inch thick. It is made in China. Chair's underside label calls it 'polyurethane', and nowhere claims that leather is used anywhere. The same material is claimed for the cushions, which are dense foam and unlikely to flatten, consistency and spring-back is very like camp foam. Cushion is about 1" thick, which given the consistency, works like 2". I've sat in it for hours now, without being sore. Very comfortable.In other words, no label on the chair claims it's leather, but of course the label here in Amazon for the product, does say that. Should say 'leather-like', to be more honest.Like leather, this material might be clammy in very cold weather, and maybe a bit sticky in hot weather. Solution is to throw a towel over it, or change your heat/air conditioner temperature. However, (now 5/25/13), we've had very hot Houston weather for two weeks; the chair isn't at all sticky, even when I forgot to turn on the air conditioner for several days. Some of the nights were cold enough to turn on the heat (maybe 55 degrees), and there was no clamminess. Your results might differ.There is a very mild leather-like smell. So whatever you want to call it, the fabric is wonderful. I don't understand why people report sliding problems. The surface is not slide-y at all. (Proper English term is 'slippery', yet that term seems inadequate here: hence the neologism.)Clean with a damp cloth. If you must, use a mild dish detergent, but don't put it directly on the material, but on the cloth, first. Washcloth seems best. Dry quickly, don't let it sit wet, to preserve the springy quality of the material. Don't use Formula 409 or alcohol, that will dry out the material and eventually make it crack. Don't use oil.Seat cushion is 18.5" square (width and depth), So if you have long thighs, your legs will stick out. Cushion is about 2" high. Springy.Chair back is tapered, so 17" wide at the top. Back height from top of chair cushion to seat cushion is 21.5". If you were sitting in the chair, you'd get about an inch more 'top' (back coverage). It falls just below my shoulders when I sit in the chair, and I'm of average height.You'd not get lumbar support unless you sat flush against the back of the chair, but it is comfortable. (Lumbar chairs either pouch forward the bottom portion of the backside, or the upper portion of the back. This one is the former style, idea being to encourage good posture.)Will report later on chair utility and longevity; that's why for now, it's rated as four stars instead of five. Frankly, I can't see how this chair will fail that test, either, but I just got it. I can't come up with any negative remarks about this chair. Very surprised.Feel free to comment. Why? I value Amazon reviews with an 80% weight in my own purchasing decisions. So I want to help.

I've owned this chair for 10 years it still looks great

Initially, I was drawn to this chair because I wanted a white more stylish looking chair with a chrome base, but it had to have a high rating, and testimony that it was comfortable, too. I believe that I took great time to research this; I am a writer and I need a comfortable seat. I have had this since mid December, 2014, and it was comfortable until about 3 years ago, so I bought a gel seat, and that felt a bit better, b ut it was the lack of a back support that has killed me. But what REALLY kills now - is the "waterfall seat" edge. Don't do it, if you spend enough time in a chair like I do, this is not a good thing, it will hurt the undersides of your legs. If I were rich, I could buy a custom, lux padded, ergonomic support certified by the best Orthopedic Doctors of America Club or something like that....but, I had to rely on what I could afford with some of the other things I was looking for. Before the time that the seat bottom and that awful waterfall edge - gave out - flat as a pancake now - the bonded (PU) leather started peeling, and I was truly careful with this chair - even throwing a thin quilt over the back and seat to keep it clean. I did not scrub it, but I have gently spritzed a little soapy water here and there - once after spilling coffee. But it came right up. Having had one hip replacement - the seat arms-posts - sort of bothered me a bit - because I am tall and where it hit me on my large butt, but - was just my pressure point - but, with some maneuvering during the day I am able to avoid that kind of pain. But the flat bottom part is just owwww...at this point so this lovely hunk of stuff, is going to be broken down and brought to the transfer station, and I am on the hunt once again for a comfortable, but this time not so chic looking chair. The funny thing is, the chair I bought at a sale of office furniture - in 1995, is STILL going strong, and it is still very comfortable, very easy to roll, and if I hadn't given it to my son, I'd probably still be using it. I just strapped a kind of lumbar support on its back for him to use at a drafting table, and I borrow it too sometimes - when I paint. He's already told me when he's done w/school and moves - the chair is coming with him.... So buh-bye - showroom dummy white chair, this girl needs more than fancy looks....

I bought this chair 5-1/2 years ago and have used and abused it daily. It has been extremely comfortable. I have had absolutely no problems with it... except for the faux leather. I live in a hot, humid climate and usually work in shorts, and without a shirt. As a result, the faux leather doesn't look so great anymore. Actually, it looks horrible. It has looked horrible for at least a year, maybe two. I am sure the faux leather would have held up better if my bare skin wasn't rubbing against it all these years. I hadn't replaced it sooner because it was just so comfortable, reliable, and functional! I entertain in my home office, and frankly, it just looks embarrassing now. So, it's time to replace it. I know in my situation, I should get a mesh chair and was just about to buy another one. Then I checked my order history! I forgot that I paid so little for this chair and how long I have had it! And despite, the abuse I put it through, it actually held up very well. I'm at the point where I refuse to buy fake leathers anymore. Leather seems to last forever, fake leathers always deteriorate over time. But, I may make an exception and buy this chair again. If it was offered in real leather, I'd buy it again without any hesitation at all. But it really is so inexpensive and comfortable. I just might click that BUY button again!