Boulies EP460 Ergonomic Office Chair review: A decent mid-range chair with some underwhelming features

Earlier this year, I reviewed the Boulies Nubi office chair, giving it a recommended award. It’s a comfortable, if rather plain, office chair – with a nifty forward tilt mechanism that makes it particularly good for laptop users.

It’s somewhat surprising to me, then, that the retail price of Boulies’ ergonomic EP460 chair should be £90 less than that of the Nubi. On the face of it, it certainly looks more advanced: for instance, where the EP460 has adjustable lumbar support, the Nubi had no lumbar support at all. The EP460 also comes with a head and footrest as standard.

Appearances, however, can be deceiving. The EP460 offers some promising features, but some of these are underwhelming – others unnecessary.

Boulies EP460 office chair review: What do you get for the money?

Unlike the Boules Nubi with its upholstered foam cushioning, the seat and backrest of the Boulies EP460 are made of a mesh material, the breathable choice, which has been infused with “luxury chenille yarn”.

In terms of adjustability, the EP460’s credentials appear impressive, particularly considering its £310 price tag. In addition to seat height and depth, the backrest is height adjustable and you can adjust the angle of the headrest too. Arms can be adjusted by height, as well as by depth and angle, and the backrest can be tilted and locked at three different positions (95, 113 and 135 degrees).

The backrest of the chair is split into segments, which allows the lower segment to act as a lumbar support. Finally, the chair has a footrest which can be extended from underneath the seat and folded out.

Boulies EP460 office chair review: What does it do well?

The seat of the Boulies EP460 is wide and comfortable, if perhaps a bit firm for some. I myself have come to prefer a foam cushioned seat combined with a mesh backrest, though this didn’t prevent me from happily sitting in it throughout a full working day.

Considering its competitive price, adjustability is very impressive and the EP460 offers quite a lot of features. For instance, a height adjustable backrest isn’t something I come across a lot, particularly on a £300 chair. While I don’t see its headrest as something totally necessary, I’ll admit it’s nice to have.

Another inclusion is the retractable footrest. Again, this isn’t a necessary feature for an ergonomic office chair but it’s a nice touch, especially as something like this would usually cost extra. It makes reclining in the chair just that little bit more comfortable: nice if you’re taking a break or you’re on a call, but personally it’s not something I could ever foresee myself seriously using. 

Putting the chair together was also very straightforward. I’ve assembled a lot of office chairs during my time at Expert Reviews, some of which have been easier to put together than others.

The Boulies EP460 was one of the easiest, with very intuitive assembly instructions. It’s a minor thing, but if you’re someone who dreads putting furniture together, it makes a huge difference.

Boulies EP460 office chair review: What could be improved?

There are, unfortunately, some weak points in the adjustability of the EP460 – namely the lumbar support. As I hinted at earlier, this is a good feature to have, especially since Boulies’ pricier Nubi chair doesn’t offer any lumbar support at all. However, its adjustability I found very limited. Boulies claims the EP460’s lumbar support is “adjustable to your precise preferences”, but I found its two positions to be very similar in their feel and support. This certainly isn’t a dealbreaker, but if a chair’s lumbar support is going to be adjustable at all, there should be some more freedom for movement. This is something that, by comparison, Sihoo’s Doro S300 does well.

As is sometimes the case with ergonomic office chairs composed of several modular parts or segments, the overall build quality of the EP460 can sometimes feel a bit loose and wobbly in places. On the other hand, this is arguably preferable to a brittle and unmoving chair, which is hardly any good for ergonomics. What is more concerning is the footrest. I’ve already said that this is quite a nice feature to have included, but it didn’t always feel completely sturdy. Admittedly, it consistently held under the weight of my legs during testing, so I must give it credit for that but it didn’t feel as solid as I would have liked. Adding the fact that it’s not a totally necessary feature to begin with makes for something rather disappointing.

Boulies EP460 office chair review: Verdict

It’s these little things that, in my estimation, have held the Boulies EP460 back from winning a Recommended or Best Buy award.

Nevertheless, it’s a comfortable mesh chair that offers some impressive adjustable features – even more impressive when you consider its altogether competitive price. It does (mostly) everything you want an ergonomic office chair to do and offers a decent range of adjustable features. This said, while it wouldn’t be fair to call it useless, a footrest on an office chair isn’t something I’d get much use out of: if I want to put my feet up, I’ll move to the sofa. Ultimately, the Boulies EP460 isn’t the winner it perhaps envisions itself to be.