Modway Articulate Ergonomic Mesh Review

Performance Comparison

To pick out which office chairs are worth your purchase, we bought a fleet of promising products from a wide field, then tested them against each other in a series of side-by-side tests. We split this testing procedure into four weighted metrics, which include comfort, adjustability, durability, and ease of assembly.

For being such an inexpensive chair, we were pleasantly surprised with how comfortable the Modway is to sit in.

Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Comfort

Comfort is our most important rating metric — and what comes to mind first and foremost when you think of these products. We had a panel of judges spend at least a full day evaluating this chair, then aggregated their results. We took a closer look at the comfort of the backrest, seat, and armrests, as well as how long each person could sit in each chair to determine the final score. The Modway scores just below average compared to the other chairs in our test suite.

Starting off with the armrests, the Modway was received overall favorably by our panel of judges. The comfort of the armrests was well-received by all but one — at 6'2", our tallest tester found they were uncomfortable.

Most testers really liked the armrests on the Modway.

Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The backrest was equally well-received. While none of our judges thought it was overly uncomfortable, it didn't have anyone ranting or raving. It was almost an identical story with the judges' opinions of the seat — none despised it, but no one particularly loved it either. Most of our judges were happy sitting in this for an eight-hour workday but weren't exactly thrilled with the prospect of sitting in this chair every day for a full workweek. The seat has some curvature to it that does not work with all bodies, which caused our judges to squirm around quite a bit after a few hours.

However, the seat received mixed reactions.

Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Adjustability

Next up in our testing procedure, we took a look at the level of adjustability. We specifically compared and ranked how much customization each chair offered when it came to back support, the armrests, the seat, and reclining, as well as if you could easily adjust the chair to get into a proper ergonomic seating position at a desk. The Modway again scored average when compared to the other chairs in our test suite.

Our panel of judges was surprised by the level of adjustment that the backrest offers. Again, compared to the pricier options, it's not exceptional, but for such a budget-friendly chair, we were impressed. The Modway has decent lumbar support that you can move up and down. It also has a reclining lever that you can use to lock it at a certain angle. However, there isn't a headrest and it doesn't come up terribly high for most testers.

This chair has acceptable lumbar support.

Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The armrest adjustability was much less popular, as you can only move them up or down with the Modway and the range is not particularly wide. The armrest spacing is on the wider side, which renders this chair less versatile as far as fit goes.

Most of our testers did find the armrest spacing to be a bit on the wide side.

Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Seat adjustments are also minimal. The over height is the only adjustment you can make and it just barely goes low enough for our shortest tester. Her toes just barely touched the ground, meaning she would most likely need a stool to sit in this chair properly.

The adjustment levers on the Modway are very clearly marked.

Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The Modway's saving grace is that the reclining tension knob is very easy to reach and adjust. The tension is very responsive, allowing you to make adjustments with only a moderate amount of effort.

There is a good range of reclining resistance available to you with the Modway.

Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Durability

For our third rating metric, we assessed and scored how durable each office chair appeared to be. The Modway delivered a below-average score for this metric.

In addition to rating how well the chair we bought held up to our months of testing, we also took some time to research common issues or reports of frequently damaged parts. We found a handful of people complaining that the fabric had stretched out and another group that noted that the adjustment levers broke or the chair was "falling apart".

The Modway seems about average when it comes to office chair durability.

Credit: Jenna Ammerman

We didn't notice any damage on the chair we tested, but we only used it for a few months and it definitely didn't radiate the same sturdiness that the top performers in our test suite displayed. However, that is a bit of a tough standard to meet, as those chairs cost 10 times as much.

Ease of Assembly

The last metric we addressed was the ease of assembly. We paid attention to the quality of the assembly instructions as well as the time it took for us to unbox and built the chair. Like many budget-friendly items, this one scores below average.

It is no surprise that this chair doesn't come fully assembled. You are required to build the entire chair when it arrives. However, this process isn't too much work and can usually be completed in about half an hour following the directions. The directions are somewhat sparse, but the assembly procedure is fairly intuitive.

Value

While the Modway is far from the greatest office chair out there, it's a great option for the price, making it a great value for those shopping on a tight budget.

Conclusion

The Modway is fairly comfortable and offers a decent amount of adjustability. It's one of the least expensive chairs that we would consider sitting in for a full workday, though we definitely would recommend upgrading if you can afford to.

The Modway is one of the best value options out there when shopping on a tight budget.

Credit: Jenna Ammerman