With its downward sloping seat and large knee pads, kneeling chairs offer many benefits when used periodically throughout the day. They are perhaps the perfect compliment to a regular office chair due to their relatively inexpensive price and small footprint that make them easy to co-exist side by side with an office chair in most spaces.
To help you decide which kneeling chair is the best out there, we purchased a few of them on Amazon to put them through our famous 2 week test. One of them was the Dragonn Kneeling Chair, which I’ll be reviewing here. A little spoiler for those that just want to jump to the conclusion- it made our “best kneeling chairs” list.
Video Review
Assembly the Dragonn Kneeling Chair
With only two crossbars and a couple of cushions, assembly of the Dragonn kneeling chair at first glance looks like an easy 5 minute job. Unfortunately, it took me (a single person) well over 30 minutes to get it done. With the help of a trusted companion you are looking at perhaps 10 minutes.
The problem comes down to the way the screws on the two metal beams are tightened. Metal shafts are used to join the two beams, with two screws that then go on the two ends of each shaft to meld everything together. To tighten the screws, both need to go in at the same time, and one has to remain still while you tighten the other (or you’ll end up spinning the shaft instead). I wish I had taken pictures of this, but the long story of it is that for a single person, it can be a frustrating job.
There was also a point of confusion I ran into. On the front metal beam, there are 3 holes where you can choose to connect the back beam with, though in the instructions, it showed only 1 hole. Which hole you decide to connect the two beams using affects the range of angles the chair can assume. In the end I simply chose the center hole, which seems to work out fine. A little tip for you if you’re stumped like I was.
Other than the above two hurdles, everything else about the assembly process was smooth sailing.
Dragonn Kneeling Chair Specs at a Glance
Now that the chair is assembled, let’s look at the true specs of the chair based on my observation:
- Thick, durable cushions that are around 4” thick
- Four caster wheels with two that are lockable to prevent unwanted movement
- Adjustable height of around 21” to 28”. As the height increases, so does the slope of the back seat.
- Fairly durable construction (maximum advertised capacity 250 lbs)
Adjustability and Ergonomics
THe Dragonn kneeling chair didn’t disappoint when it comes to adjustability, in particular, the range of heights it supports.
By (endlessly) rotating a knob in the back metal beam, the height of the kneeling chair can go from a low 21” (measured from the top of the seat cushion) to a high of 28”.
To put these numbers into context, at the lowest setting, I can sit and work on my laptop using a standard height desk (29”) without requiring a desk riser or laptop tray. I’m 5’8” btw. This is an issue most non height adjustable kneeling chairs have, which require the aid of these peripherals for most people.
At the tallest setting, the Dragonn kneeling chair raises my arms to around 40” off the ground in a typing position. At this height you can potentially use the kneeling chair with a standing desk.
It should be mentioned that the angle of the back seat changes as you adjust the height. At the lowest height, the angle is at its mildest, at around 15 degrees. This is a little less than the preferred angle of around 20 degrees to best distribute the weight of your body as you sit, so take that into consideration.
A Look at Seat Comfort
The unique design of a kneeling chair redistributes the weight of your body so a lot of it is borne by your more bonely knees. As such, comfortable and durable seat cushions are a must on any good kneeling chair.
With that said, I was also amply impressed by the cushion quality on the Dragonn. Both cushions are around 4” thick and very comfortable, even more so than those on the Sleekform chair. The upholstery seems to be faux leather and feels a lot more resistant to peeling compared to many bonded leather kneeling chairs out there.
The Good and the Bad on the Caster Wheels
The Dragonn kneeling chair comes with caster wheels for mobility.
The good news is, two of the wheels are lockable, which definitely does help prevent unwanted movements when you’re adjusting your posture.
The bad news is, these are fairly cheap plastic caster wheels that don’t really roll smoothly even when they are unlocked. To move the chair from point A to B, you might as well just pick it up.
Final Verdict on the Dragonn
The Dragonn kneeling chair despite some drawbacks gets a solid backing from me. The robust height range makes the chair usable even without a desk riser, and the seat cushions are among the best I’ve tried on a kneeling chair. The two issues I had with the chair- assembly and the caster wheels- are all fairly quickly forgotten as I type this review sitting on the Dragonn kneeling chair.
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