HAG Capisco Chair Review: The King of Ergonomics

For many people, most office chairs look the same. You want one with panache with looks that are outside of the norm, yet you don’t want to sacrifice such important features as adjustments, comfort, and ergonomics. The HAG Capisco has caught your eye with its curvy, unique profile. Is this the right office chair for you? 

I want to help you answer that question with today’s review. Ahead, I’ll go extremely in-depth on all things Capisco, including its features, build quality, value, and even the small details like the return policy and whether this chair comes pre-assembled. 

Since I know you’re shopping around at this point, I’ll compare the HAG Capisco to other popular office chairs like it, including brands like Herman Miller and Salli. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll know for sure if you should buy the HAG Capisco.

HAG Capisco Review Highlights

The HAG Capisco is a saddle desk chair produced by the brand Flokk. If you get your best work done when on your feet, you can adjust this chair to standing height. It’s also built for hours of seated work. 

Adjustments abound, including the back height, seat depth, tilt tension, and more. Lock the Capisco into your favorite adjusted position so you’re ready to get stuff done. The recycled polyester seat is plush, and this chair is wide open for airiness even without mesh.  

What We Liked

• There’s no doubt about it, the HAG Capisco is one of those office chairs that turn heads.
• This is a standing office chair, which is a feature you don’t come across all that often. 
• Its polyester upholstery is appealing and eco-friendly. 

What We Didn’t Like

• If you want armrests, the HAG Capisco is not the chair for you. 
• The ergonomics aren’t the best.
• In hot climates, the polyester or leather upholstery (another option available for the HAG Capisco) can be stifling. 

HAG Capisco Review: Specifications and Features

Now let’s jump into the meat of this review, which is discussing the multitude of features the HAG Capisco boasts. 

Unique Design

Created by Peter Opsvik in 1974, the HAG Capisco is anything but your average office chair. That’s clear just by taking one look at it. Rather than a full back, it features wings and a built-in headrest. There are no armrests, as I said before, just a wide, contoured seat. 

The cool design extends to the five caster wheels, which I’ll talk more about a little later. Each of the footplates curves too. It’s unclear if this is just a design touch or if this feature helps the footplates work better, but it’s not something I’ve seen in other office chairs.  

Work Standing Upright 

Do you think better on your feet? Not a lot of office chairs support working in a standing position, but the HAG Capisco does. WebMD says that standing and working burn more calories per hour compared to sitting, 88 versus 80. So standing can be good for your health as well as your creativity!

Flokk says on their website that the HAG Capisco is intended for table heights of at least 72 centimeters or 28.3 inches. 

Four Seating Positions 

When you do feel like sitting, the HAG Capisco features four different seating positions for you to choose from. You can sit forward in the saddle seat, using it like any other office chair. Since it doesn’t have armrests, you can also spin the Capisco so its backrest is to the side of you and then sit that way.

The third seating position is to sit back with the Capisco’s backrest in front of you. You can also sit erect with your feet on the floor while remaining seated. 

No matter which seating position sounds most appealing to you, the Capisco works with your schedule and lifestyle. 

Adjustments Aplenty 

You have plenty of ways to adjust the HAG Capisco for playing, working, or relaxing. You can raise or lower the backrest height, set the seat depth, and adjust the height of the seat as well. As you find a position that you enjoy, you can lock the seat into place.

Ergonomics and Support

The HAG Capisco has several ergonomic and support features. One of these is the abovementioned back height adjustment, which lets you shift the backrest. The tilt tension is adjustable backward, and with HAG in Balance, tilting is supposed to be flowing and balanced so you never feel like you’re going to fall out of your chair.

The saddle seat’s contouring allows your hips to open so you’re sitting facing forward. This can ensure proper posture that might alleviate body aches and pains, especially if you’re working a long day. 

High-Quality Materials 

The five-star aluminum base of the HAG Capisco is polished for a smooth finish. Aluminum is lightweight enough that adjusting and shifting the Capisco into any of its different positions is not taxing. 

The footplates are polished aluminum as well while the caster wheels are nylon and plastic. Some of the levers and knobs for adjusting the HAG Capisco are also made of nylon or plastic. 

Great Upholstery Options

The most popular material for the HAG Capisco is the brand’s two-tone polyester. This stretchy fabric moves with your body, which is beneficial considering that the plush material covers almost the entire chair. 

According to Flokk, the polyester does not include non-metallic dyestuffs. The material also passes the A.C.T. Standard Rating for 250,000 double rubs, which means it’s classified as Heavy-Duty Upholstery.

Your color options are:

• Jet (black)
• Slate (dark gray)
• Cobalt (dark blue)
• Bloom (dark pink)
• Wash (sky blue)
• Sprout (neon green)

HAG’s vinyl passes GREENGUARD certification. It’s 100 percent polyurethane and has a durability rating through Wyzenbeek for 240,000 double rubs. Their leather upholstery is made of European cowhide with an appealing grain. 

Eco-Friendly

As if the last section didn’t prove it enough, Flokk is quite passionate about our mother earth. That’s why the HAG Capisco is made of lots of recycled materials, 50 percent in all. When the chair is past its use, you can recycle up to 90 percent of its parts. 

Dimensions	15.5 inches by 23.5 inches by 40.5 inches
Product Weight	30.5 pounds
Material	Metal, nylon, plastic; polyester, vinyl, or leather
Weight Capacity	250 pounds

HAG Capisco Review: Our Insights 

Now that you’re more familiar with the HAG Capisco, I want to take this section to provide insights into its various features. My goal with this is to guide your decision-making in whether you should buy the HAG Capisco.  

Build Quality

The HAG Capisco is a solidly built chair from top to bottom. As I talked about in the last section, it features a five-star aluminum base that’s sturdy yet not too heavy. The metal polish adds shine and appeal to this chair. 

The curved footplates give your feet a place to rest if you’re sitting in this chair rather than standing. Although I couldn’t find out through Flokk’s website whether the HAG Capisco has carpet or floor casters, even these are good quality.

The single-piece seat is available in a variety of upholstery options, each sustainable. Flokk’s polyester even stretches so the HAG Capisco won’t tear or rip on you if you lean back in it or rotate it to sit on the chair sideways.  

Ergonomics

If you’re prone to back pain, I would say to maybe skip the HAG Capisco, as great as I think this chair is otherwise. It just doesn’t have a lot in the way of ergonomics. 

Yes, you get the back height adjustment, the seat depth adjustment, and the contoured seat, but that’s the extent of it. If you’re looking for a backrest with adjustable features, that’s not the HAG Capisco.

You don’t even have lumbar and headrest pillows, which is intentional since their inclusion would interrupt the streamlined silhouette of this office chair. Being able to stand and still use the HAG Capisco can be its own ergonomic feature, as you can get up and stretch, preventing pain that way. Yet still, its ergonomics could be better. 

Adjustability

The freedom to move and sit your way in the HAG Capisco is undoubtedly one of this chair’s biggest selling points. Let’s take a closer look at your adjustment options. 

• Height adjustment: Raise the height of the single-piece back of the Capisco or lower it. Either way, this chair moves with ease. 
• Backrest adjustment: You can also adjust the backrest so it’s suited to the way you like to sit and get work done. 
• Seat pan depth adjustment: I’m always impressed when I see an office chair with seat pan depth adjustment, as that’s not a feature in a lot of office chairs. Being able to adjust the seat depth of the Capisco will ensure better weight distribution and even support your back. 

Comfort (Seat, Back, and Arms)

Comfort is a big deciding factor when looking at any chair. As a whole, the HAG Capisco is a comfortable chair, although in some areas more than others. 

Starting with the seat, it’s deep and contoured to encourage upright sitting and correct posture. You can shift the seat back so it’s behind you, to the side of you, or in front of you, giving you plenty of comfy seating styles to choose from. 

The backrest itself is supportive enough that you can lean into it and feel supported. The built-in headrest is large to cradle your whole cranium. 

The stretchy polyester is also a nice feature, but I have to mention that polyester is not very breathable. If you live in a cooler climate, that’s not such a bad thing. Yet for those in high-pressure office environments or warmer climes, the lack of breathability can leave the HAG Capisco sweaty and stinky, especially the backrest that you lean against.

Sure, the rest of this chair is open and airy to let air pass, but air and sweat cannot easily get through polyester. 

I also have to talk about the armrests, or in this case, the lack thereof. For some people, a chair with no armrests is a dealbreaker. I can understand that. You don’t realize how much you rely on armrests in an office chair until they aren’t there. You’ll have to get used to balancing your forearms on your desk and not having any elbow support. 

If that sounds like something you can’t do, then again, the HAG Capisco isn’t the office chair for you. Should you think that you can forego armrests, then keep reading. 

Value

The HAG Capisco retails for $800 to $1,100 depending on where you buy it online. In other words, this is not a cheap chair. That’s not a bad thing, though. When shopping for office chairs, very often, you get what you pay for.

You can easily find a bunch of $100 office chairs, but they’re often made of cheap materials or don’t have a full range of adjustments. The HAG Capisco is a fully realized office chair with a design flair that you don’t see in a lot of other chairs. If you don’t mind spending more than $500 on an office chair, then the Capisco is a great value. 

HAG Capisco Review: Policies and Additional Information

Here is some extra information that’s handy to have before you commit to buying the HAG Capisco (if that’s what you do indeed decide!).

Assembly

The HAG Capisco does not come fully assembled. If you order the chair through Amazon and you’re okay with shelling out another $50, they’ll put it together for you. Otherwise, it’s on you to assemble this chair. Since it doesn’t have that many parts, installation shouldn’t be too difficult.  

Warranty

According to Flokk’s website, HAG office chairs have a 10-year warranty on all parts if you bought them after January 1^st, 2004 and use the chair for at least nine hours per day. Flokk states that their “warranty covers all Flokk products against material and manufacturing faults and defects from the product’s production date.”

That means spare parts are covered under the warranty, but transportation costs and labor are not. The same goes for normal wear and tear, which is to be expected if you use an office chair every day. 

Return Policy

Should you decide to return the HAG Capisco, per Flokk’s customer service page, you have to send the chair back to Flokk’s Madison, Virginia headquarters. Upon receiving the chair, Flokk staff will inspect its condition. 

Then you’ll receive a refund within two weeks after the item arrives at Flokk headquarters. Whichever payment method you used to buy the chair will be how you receive the refund. You are not refunded for the return costs. 

HAG Capisco Alternatives

Hmmm. You certainly like the HAG Capisco, but you’d like to see some other options. Well, you’re in luck! As promised, I want to compare the Capisco to three other office chairs like it: the HAG Capisco Puls, the Herman Miller Aeron, and the Salli Saddle Seat.

I’ll examine areas like chair style, adjustments, pricing, and more to see which contender comes out on top! 

HAG Capisco vs. HAG Capisco Puls

The HAG Capisco model I’ve reviewed is technically the 8106. It’s not the only HAG Capisco office chair in town, as there’s also the Puls. Since these are two chairs in the same series, they’ll have a lot in common, but there exist enough differences to keep things interesting. 

The Puls was also created by Peter Opsvik, and it too is a saddle seat. Yet its seat is plastic. You can also order the Puls with full upholstery or only partial upholstery. It too has an aluminum frame, arched footplates, and braking casters. These casters are intended for low pile carpeting and hardwood, which I assume is the case for the HAG Capisco 8106 since they’re in the same family.

The shapes of the Puls and the 8106 are quite different. The Puls is a much smaller chair with less of a defined headrest and a much slimmer back. Its wings are shaped more like arches while the 8106 makes a T shape.

At $580, the Puls is half as expensive, yet I think the HAG Capisco 8106 has several advantages over the Puls. It’s softer, as you get full upholstery. It’s a larger chair with more back support and a better headrest too. 

HAG Capisco vs. Herman Miller Aeron 

Moving in a completely different direction, let’s compare the HAG Capisco 8106 to the Herman Miller Aeron. Like the Capisco, the Aeron was created by famous designers. It too has a long-standing reputation of being a marvelous office chair. 

Yet that’s where the similarities end. The Aeron is a mesh office chair made with Herman Miller’s 8Z Pellicle mesh. This stretchy mesh is looser in the center and tighter around the edges of the seat to provide support.

Speaking of support, you get some of the best ergonomics available in the Aeron. The PostureFit SL backrest is something that the HAG Capisco can’t match. This backrest is adjustable on either side to provide more spinal stability. 

The Aeron also features tilting with a tilt limiter, adjustable armrests, and carpet casters (that are upgradable for rolling on hardwood too). At $1,395, the Aeron is only marginally more expensive than the HAG Capisco.

Looks-wise, these two office chairs couldn’t be further apart. The Aeron doesn’t have a lot of design flourish while the Capisco does. Yet the Aeron excels in just about every other way, from ergonomics to adjustments. Oh, and it has armrests, which is something that will be important to some of you reading this.

HAG Capisco vs. Salli Saddle Seat

I also want to talk about the Salli saddle seat. I know, at first glance, this seems like a strange pick, but bear with me. This swing fit saddle seat features split seating intended for the benefit of your genital health (yes, for the fellas and ladies alike). 

The way your body naturally is positioned when sitting in this chair will move your pelvis out and improve your spinal positioning, keeping it straighter. With better posture, Salli says you should notice less neck muscle strain as well as reduced shoulder girdle and upper back tension. 

The chair improves your balance by widening your foot stance. Since you’ll be reliant on your legs to scoot about in this chair, you burn calories while you use it like you would in the HAG Capisco. 

The Salli saddle seat features a steel plate with contoured foam and smooth upholstery in a multitude of colors. The casters are 65 millimeters apiece and are intended for hard and carpeted flooring alike. 

This chair comes with a warranty good for five years for the base, lifts, tilt mechanisms, and casters. The seat itself is covered for 10 years.

The Salli saddle seat may be the only more uniquely designed office chair than the HAG Capisco since it’s not really a chair at all. Retailing for around $300, it’s a good budget pick for someone who wants an attention-grabbing office seat for less money.  

The Bottom Line 

The HAG Capisco is a high-priced armless saddle office chair that accommodates users who want to sit in different positions or work standing up. This chair features lots of adjustments, eco-friendly upholstery, a lightweight and sturdy base, and cool-looking, fully functional casters. 

If you don’t mind that your office chair doesn’t have arms and isn’t the most ergonomically minded chair, then the HAG Capisco is a great pick. You should also explore the other chairs I discussed!