Boulies NUBI office chair review: sleek design and decent appointments

When you're looking for the best office chair, you'd be forgiven for thinking they're all broadly similar. Sure, you get different looks and materials, but let's face it – a chair's a chair, right?

Wrong. Enter the Boulies NUBI series office chair, with its innovative Tilt-Forward mechanism, designed to enhance lower back support by alleviating pressure in the area.

It sounds magnificent – but is it any good? Well, let's dive in and take a look.

Boulies NUBI review: Price and Availability

The Boulies NUBI series comes in two models – the NUBI and the NUBI Lite. For reference, my review model is the "full fat" NUBI, though we'll give pricing information for both.

The larger NUBI retails for £399.99, while the NUBI Lite retails for £379.99. Neither are currently listed on the American or Australian versions of the site.

It's also worth noting that – at the time of writing – there's a stack of truly brilliant discounts on the Boulies site, taking these down to as little as £269.99.

Boulies NUBI review: Set Up

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Building the chair is half the battle, and the good news here is that the NUBI is brilliantly easy to put together. There are minimal parts to assemble here, and the ones which are left give users a fairly easy ride.

You could probably stand to lose the instructions, in fact, and still get this built. In all, the process took me around 20-30 minutes – including time to stop and take pictures for this review – which is really quick. Top marks, Boulies.

Boulies NUBI review: Design and Features

Let's talk design. The NUBI is sleek and modern in spades, with a single-piece back which arches gently along its length. My unit is the Beige colourway, which is accented mostly with white fittings and occasional black parts.

It's not just a pretty face, either. Under the hood, this chair is packing a good array of ergonomic features which should make using it a dream.

Take that back panel, for example. It's been shaped to conform to the natural contours of the human spine, making it really lovely to spend time on. It also offers a gentle reclining function, allowing users to really find their perfect balance point.

Then there's the seat itself. That's crafted from a specially curated cold-cured foam, which distributes pressure more evenly for a comfortable sitting experience.

The real magic is the Tilt-Forward mechanism, though. That sees the entire seat base tilt forward – were you expecting anything else? – by 4°. That's designed to improve support for your lower back, and should be great for longer working days.

Boulies NUBI review: Performance

In testing, those features are every bit as good as you'd hope. The Tilt-Forward is an interesting feature – at first, you feel almost as though you're sat on a cliff-edge. That quickly passes, though, leaving you with a comfortable seat angle.

Then there's that cold-cured foam base. It certainly does distribute weight more evenly, which is a good thing on shorter stints. It can get a bit fatiguing on longer stints though, so be sure to have a stretch and a stroll to keep the feeling in your extremities.

The highlight is the back panel. I was certainly dubious when I saw the simplicity of the design, but it's hard to argue with comfort like this. My back simply contorts to every nook and cranny perfectly, feeling stretched and rested at the same time. It's a joy.

If I had to pick out one gripe though, it would be the lack of adjustment on offer. Sure, you get a fair bit on the base, but the armrest and back are virtually non-existent. 

That's a shame given the brand's credentials in the gaming chair market, which did seem to penetrate models like the Boulies EP200. I'd have liked a little more control there, to really fine tune the experience.

Boulies NUBI review: Verdict

If you're a stickler for a sleek aesthetic, you'll probably despise the look of classic office and gaming chairs. They'll probably never quite hit the mark, and leave you feeling unhappy with your space.

The Boulies NUBI solves that problem, with a fashion-first design that puts sleek looks ahead of all else. It's certainly no slouch, though, with a couple of really neat features and an impressively comfortable back panel.

Those who want to customise every aspect of their seated experience should look elsewhere, however.

Boulies NUBI review: Also Consider

Staying firmly in the brand's camp, we have the Boulies EP200 and the Boulies EP400. These are far more in keeping with their gaming chair efforts, with greater control to make the chair fit your body shape.

Take your pick between them, really – having used both, I can't really pick one over the other for comfort, though the footrest on the EP400 might be worth the cash for you.