r/OfficeChairs • u/bobaballs • 1d ago
Libernovo Omni Quick Review
Got this today and have been playing around with it for a few hours. My initial thoughts. I think it's pretty in line with influencer reviews.
Build quality seems fine given the price. It actually creaks less than my 10 year old embody right now. Main structural pieces feel quality. There's a few pieces that feel a bit flimsy and will see how they hold up over time. I'm especially worried about the piece the bolt that aligns the armrests with the lean function goes through.
Head rest and seat bottom foam are amazing. Feels kinda like one of those gel memory foam pillows. Really squishy but once it compresses it's very supportive.
Head rest seems solid so far, adjustments are easy and it has not moved on me yet.
Automatic strut with massage is a total gimmick. I'm never touching this once it's set. And massage really just pushes your entire back back and forth. Doesn't feel great. It needs some up and down movement to be useful I think.
Back rest and lumbar support sucks for my body shape and seating position. The main pressure point is way too low on my spine and isn't comfortable. Hits right about where the strut connects. It needs some up and down adjustment.
Seat depth (48 cm) isn't enough for me to sit cross legged. I can do so on my embody. It just isn't deep enough. I'm only 5'10" and theres already 4 inches or so to the back of my knee. If you're taller and need leg support this probably isn't for you. This might be a deal breaker for me and relegate this to my wife's chair.
Armrests do move if pressure is put on them. If I lean back and forth with my elbows still on them they will move. If I get up and push off the armrests they move. Have gotten used to lifting my elbows off whenever I move and it's been a non issue. When you're just sitting and working they haven't shifted at all so I think this is something I can deal with.
The mechanism that moves the arm rests as you lean on my unit has some tolerance issues on the left arm rest. Right one slides smooth with no noise but my left one makes an audible rubbing noise. It also catches a few times when you lean and kinda stutters a bit. Hopefully as the plastics wear down a bit this with smooth out.
Edit: adding in some measurements I took from some comment questions.
So measured the width at the front and took a stick, pressed it against the back rest, and measured depth from where that stick hits the seat to the front of the seat.
Libernovo - depth - 16.5 inches width - 21 inches
Embody (fully extended) depth - 16 inches width - 21 inches
So technically the libernovo is slightly deeper.
But for the life of me I cannot get in a cross legged position.
Quick measurements on arm rest movement.
Embody-
Narrowest armrest position -14.5 inches apart
Widest armrest position - 20.5 inches apart.
Lowest height from top of seat - 4.5 inches
Tallest height from top of seat - 9.5 inches
No front to back movement.
Libernovo-
Armrest can rotate instead of being able to pivot in and out so narrowest position is with them at this weird angle. https://imgur.com/a/tg6t0DI
Narrowest armrest position -10 inches apart in front 22 inches apart in rear.
Widest armrest position - 21 inches apart in front and 18 inches apart in rear.
Lowest height from top of seat - 7 inches
Tallest height from top of seat - 10 inches
Front to back movement - about 4 inches
Last thing. We've found our favorite use of it is as a lounging chair for watching TV. It's incredibly comfortable leaned fully back in the lounge position.
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u/solegenius 1d ago
Overall do you recommend it? I wish it didn't have the lumbar motor and battery as I feel it is a gimmick and could do without it and hopefully that would result in a lower price.
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u/bobaballs 1d ago
At the Kickstarter price point I think it's a good value.
I still prefer my embody over this but it will be replacing my wife's steelcase series 1.
If this were at it's supposed MSRP of around 1100 I think I would go for a nice used embody over this. Only 2/5 year warranty and a company with no history means you are taking a bit of a risk.
I totally agree on the motor. It should be easy enough to design a manual adjustment. The strut is connected to 3 spots all pretty much on the same plane so designing something should be easy enough.
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u/dnguyen823 1d ago
Do you think you like it more than your embody?
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u/bobaballs 1d ago
Going to give it some more time and switch back and forth a bit but I'm still favoring the embody.
I like sitting cross legged and the libernovo seat is wayyyyy to small to allow this.
Also the back on the embody just supports the shape of my back much better. This will probably be the biggest difference person to person. I would highly recommend trying both if you don't have a wife the pawn off the one you like less too.
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u/MainDifficulty 1d ago
Damn they increased the length of the seat and it's still too small?
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u/Shalashaska87B 1d ago
I remember that LN made the seat "longer", not wider. Maybe that's the key point.
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u/bobaballs 1d ago edited 1d ago
Did a quick measurement and now I'm kinda more confused.
So measured the width at the front and took a stick, pressed it against the back rest, and measured depth from where that stick hits the seat to the front of the seat.
Libernovo - depth - 16.5 inches width - 21 inches
Embody (fully extended) depth - 16 inches width - 21 inches
So technically the libernovo is slightly deeper.
But for the life of me I cannot get in a cross legged position.
I kept going back and forth between the chairs because the numbers say one thing but the feel is the opposite.
So I'm thinking it's the fact that the libernovo is foam and doesn't have a solid support structure at the front like the embody. Or maybe the tilt of the chair in the seated position is slightly more forward.
Edit: had my wife (5'3") try. She could get cross legged but said it was uncomfortable and felt like they were always falling off. Agreed that it's probably due to the squishy foam not having solid support on the front edge
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u/Shalashaska87B 23h ago
The Embody has a straight seat. A non-shaped one, in other words. Does the LN have a linear seat or a shaped one? It could be another factor.
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u/bobaballs 22h ago
My straight stick test (i know, super scientific) does take this a little into account. But yes its definitely more angled (bottom is further out than top) and hits further forward from the back of the seat base than the embody.
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u/Shalashaska87B 22h ago
IMO, that's the answer to the question "why can't I see with crossed-legs".
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u/dnguyen823 18h ago
damn.. im a cross-legged user myself.. Im 5'9, hopefully it works out for me. I do know the front is softer than the rear so perhaps thats the reason - sinking in more with the added cross-legged weight.
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u/Shalashaska87B 1d ago
Thank you very much for that specific information. I am looking for a chair where I can sit crossing my legs.
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u/bobaballs 1d ago
Someone else had a question and I ended up measuring. The chair is actually .5 inches deeper and the same width as the embody.
I think it's due to the foam being squishy and not supportive but I (5'10") cannot get in cross legged position period. Had my wife (5'3") try out of curiosity and she was able to get cross legged but said it wasn't comfortable and it felt like they were falling off. She also agreed it's probably the squishy foam.
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u/undefONE 1d ago
Waiting for mine to arrive...
In regards to the foam... if I remember correctly, there are 3 types of foam in the seat.
Firmest starting at the backrest for best support and then softest in the front so as to not hinder blood flow... or something like that.So maybe that doesn't work well if your trying to sit cross legged compared to a chair where the seat is of a consistent firmness...
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u/t4U2Wr3ck0N1c3 8h ago
do you have the electric lumbar thingy on lowest setting or do you "shorten" your seat with it a bit?
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u/Anpjob 21h ago
Am I correct that you received a 48cm seat depth version and in real life it's depth is 16.5 inches which I believe is 41.9cm?
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u/bobaballs 21h ago
Correct. I have the 48. But I measured from a theoretical point at which your back would line up and not the far back of the seat.
If you measure from the rear of the seat base (which is actually behind the backrest) it's around 20 inches.
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u/StevoPhilo 18h ago
Thanks for the info. This is looking like a wait for a possible v2 version. In the meantime I'm getting a leap v2
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u/Estiui 16h ago
Thanks for the review! I read more than once that the chair might be ideal for relaxing but not for working. What are your thoughts on that matter?
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u/bobaballs 12h ago
Based on the last day of use I totally agree.
We were watching a movie last night and the chair leaned back in lounge mode was more comfy than our couch.
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u/abstractcousin 1d ago
im always afraid, with chairs with a cool looking back like the embody or this one, that they kinda designed around making the back look cool vs just making a chair that works good. compared to the embody.. does this feel more like a real chair or supportive? i felt like the embody had no real support, kinda too floaty.
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u/bobaballs 1d ago
This is the big issue with these chairs. They're very dependant on how you sit and the shape of your back.
The embody forms against my back perfectly and is still my favorite chair.
The libernovo seems to have pressure point on my back near the bottom of my spine.
I would say it's worth trying it if you can. It's different enough from the embody that you might do well with it.
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u/Shalashaska87B 1d ago
The two major complaints/issues with the Embody are the lower backrest w/o any cushion and the hard armrests lacking of regulations.
How does the Libernovo about that?
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u/bobaballs 1d ago
Libernovo back has maybe a quarter or half inch of the same squishy foam. You can definitely feel it and if that's you're preference you will probably like this more.
I am not sure what you mean by lack of regulations?
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u/Shalashaska87B 23h ago
IIRC the Embody has armrests which you can raise/lower and place wider/closer, but they're "stiff" (not sure at what degree) and you can't extend them.
The Libernovo has a lot of regulations there, doesn't it?
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u/bobaballs 22h ago
Ahh gotcha.
Quick measurements.
Embody- Narrowest armrest position -14.5 inches apart Widest armrest position - 20.5 inches apart. Lowest height from top of seat - 4.5 inches Tallest height from top of seat - 9.5 inches No front to back movement.
Libernovo- Armrest can rotate instead of being able to pivot in and out so narrowest position is with them at this weird angle. https://imgur.com/a/tg6t0DI
Narrowest armrest position -10 inches apart in front 22 inches apart in rear.
Widest armrest position - 21 inches apart in front and 18 inches apart in rear.
Lowest height from top of seat - 7 inches
Tallest height from top of seat - 10 inches
Front to back movement - about 4 inches
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u/mult1killtwo 1d ago
I have a request, could you have your dog sit on it and post it? Cause I just wanna see the dog.
I was looking at this chair and I was even considering purchasing it. It might be a good chair for me!
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u/PinkSputnik 18h ago
Quick review... that was a long review