Today I will be reviewing a chair that has taken a whole new approach to sitting while you work. The Locus™ Seat is a standing chair that has similar functionality to other popular chairs like the Muvman or Mobis. But, the thing that really separates the Locus™ Seat is that it has a built-in footrest to help optimize your sitting experience. This unique feature, along with the high price tag, made me really curious about the Locus™ Seat. Did the sitting experience justify the high price point? Does a footrest make that much of a difference? This review will help to answer those questions so that you are able to decide whether the Locus™ Seat is going to be the right leaning chair for you.
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Focal™ Locus™ Review Snapshot
Pros
- Built-in footrest with anti-fatigue mat
- Good build quality
- Strong warranty
- Large range of motion
- Fits a wide range of people
Cons
- Takes up a lot of space
- Uncomfortable seat
- May not be suitable for prolonged hours
- Poor sitting mobility
Manufacturer
The Locus™ Seat was designed by Martin Keen, who also founded Focal Upright Furniture, LLC. Keen is an industrial engineer who designed a new style of sandal with a closed toe end. The style became an instant hit and soon KEEN Footwear became a very recognizable brand in the shoe industry. Keen’s next big endeavor was solving a problem he found while trying to work while standing. There were not a lot of good seating options to assist you with standing. Keen began designing products and in 2012, Focal Upright Furniture, LLC was created.
In 2016, Focal Upright Furniture, LLC’s assets were purchased by Safco Products Company. Safco is based in Minnesota and has been providing a wide range of office furniture solutions for nearly 50 years. The acquisition of Focal helps to expand their active seating product offering.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
– Specs / Features / Pricing
– Colors
– Return Policy and Warranty
– Shipping and Assembly
– Build Quality
– Portability
– Seat Comfort
– Range of Motion
– Making Adjustments
– Ergonomics
– What I Like
– What I Don’t Like
– Bottom Line
Country of Origin
China
Specifications
Overall Depth: 37” – 45”
Overall Width: 25.5”
Seating Surface Size: 16″W x 10.5″D
Seat Height Range: 31” – 41”
Weight Capacity: 300 lbs.
Chair Weight: 32 lbs.
Shipping Weight: 48 lbs.
Features
Non-slip, easy-to-clean, contoured seat cushion
Pivoting seat leg encourages dynamic movement
Seat pan tilts up to 5 degrees
Pneumatic seat height adjustment
Wheels for easy portability
Post folds for easy storage
Anti-Fatigue mat included may help relieve stress on your feet and lower body versus having your feet on the floor while leaning/perching, providing a more comfortable working experience
2021 Price – $570.99
Color Options
The Locus™ Seat is available in three color options: black, chili pepper and citrus. Chili pepper is red and citrus is a yellow/orange.
Return Policy
The Locus™ Seat is no longer available for purchase directly through Focal and their website. It is now sold exclusively through Safco’s authorized dealer network. The return policy for the Locus™ Seat will vary depending on the dealer you make your purchase from. I would recommend consulting the dealer prior to your purchase if you are not fully decided on whether you want the Locus™ Seat.
Warranty
The Locus™ Seat has a limited lifetime warranty with a few exceptions. There is 10 year warranty on the base and a five year warranty on the following components: seat cushion, piston, wheels, grip tape and anti-fatigue mat.
Shipping
The Locus™ Seat typically ships within 48 hours of placing your order. It will then arrive a few days later via UPS or FedEx ground. The box is pretty large and weighs almost 50 lbs. You may want to have a second person available to help you move the package to your office. The Locus™ Seat was packaged very well and I didn’t see any damage as a result of shipping.
Installation
The Locus™ Seat does require assembly but the process is easy and it should take most people less than 15 minutes. All of the tools and hardware are included with the product. While the assembly process is pretty quick, it is still the most involved assembly process out of all the standing chairs I have seen.
Build Quality
While the Locus™ Seat is made in China, I think it is a good quality product. The base is strong and looks nice. It is made from 13 layer hard plywood. It has a nice smooth finish and the top of the surface has black grip tape. The unit also comes with an optional anti-fatigue mat. The mat doesn’t feel like some cheap product that was thrown in. It provides good support and fits the base perfectly.
The leg is made from anodized extruded aluminum and has a powder coated finish. The cylinder operates smoothly with no awkward sticking points or noises. The seat pan is made from fiberglass reinforced nylon and the seat is padded with EVA foam. The padding is fairly thick and is easy to wipe clean. Overall, the product has a clean look and feels like a well-made unit.
Portability
The Locus™ Seat is not a product you buy for the portability. It has a couple tools to make it easier to move around but it is much larger than the other standing chairs that I have seen. This is mainly due to the built-in wood base. You cannot simply pick it up like most of the other standing chairs. It also lacks a base with a set of wheels, like a standard office chair, so you can’t simply wheel it out of the way.
There are two wheels toward the front of the base. This allows you to pick up the chair from the end with the seat and wheel it around. It is not heavy to lift the one end so this process will be pretty easy for most people. Another feature that makes the Locus™ Seat easier to set to the side or place into storage is that the seat folds down and lays flat with the base.
Seat Comfort
The seat comfort on the Locus™ Seat is an area that I think could use some improvement. The padding is quite a bit different than a standard office chair. The seat has about 2” of high density EVA foam. This produces a stiff sitting experience. The stiff seat made it difficult for me to use the chair for longer than a couple hours at a time. Another factor that will limit the number of people that can use the seat comfortably is the shape and size of the seat. The seat is small and has a contoured shape. If you do not fit in the seat with the way it is designed, it may not be comfortable.
Range of Motion
One area that the Locus™ Seat really excels in is range of motion. The pole allows you to move in any direction. It is smooth and not restrictive. One unique feature that the Locus™ Seat has, that I have not seen on another standing desk, is a seat that tilts front to back. This keeps you comfortably on the seat with really pronounced movements. I was able to do squats while remaining on the seat.
Adjusting the Locus™ Seat
There are three adjustments on the Locus™ Seat. The first is the depth of the base. The taller the user, the more depth that will be needed. To adjust the depth of the base you need to loosen a single screw on the top side of the wood base with an Allen wrench. After it is loose, you will be able to slide the base in or out. You can then tighten the screw to lock it back in place.
The second adjustment is the seat height adjustment. There is a gas lift cylinder that is controlled with a lever on the left side of the seat. Pressing the lever will unlock the gas cylinder, making the seat go up. Once you are at your desired height, release the lever to lock the seat in place. There are two ways to lower the seat. The first is to press the lever while you are sitting on the seat. You body weight will force the seat down. The second option is to use the foot pedal on the pole. While holding the lever you can step on the foot pedal to lower the seat without having to sit in it.
The third adjustment is the angle of the seat. There is a knob on the right side of the seat that you can turn in both directions. There is not a huge range but enough to change you sitting experience and help you stay in a comfortable position.
Ergonomics
The Locus™ Seat takes on a whole new approach to ergonomics. The Locus™ Seat is not designed to keep you comfortable in one spot for hours on end. You will not be put in precise 90° angles and you will not have lumbar support. Instead, your legs are at a more open angle around 135°. This helps to reduce pressure on your lower back and hips when seated. It also helps to reduce pressure on your legs and feet from a standing position. The ability to freely move around is also vital with this style of sitting because it helps to promote blood flow and keeps you from getting stiff.
Stability
There is a solid base that remains firmly in place while you are sitting on the Locus™ Seat. The pole with the seat extends from the back of the base and it is attached to the base. The one thing that is a bit intimidating about the Locus™ Seat is that the pole is quite high. It is higher than chairs like the Muvman or Mobis because of the included base. But, once you get on the seat, you realize that the chair is actually quite solid. I never felt like I was going to fall or that is was unstable at all.
What Do I Like?
Built-In footrest with anti-fatigure mat
The footrest is the biggest thing that makes the Locus™ Seat stand out from the crowd. I found the footrest to be a fantastic addition. It makes the chair much more comfortable and helped to increase the amount of time you can spend in the chair at a time. It is also really nice that they include an anti-fatigue mat because it really adds to the comfort.
Good build quality
The components on the Locus™ Seat are good quality and the product functioned well. The movements were smooth and the product felt solid. The Locus™ Seat is certainly one of the highest quality standing desks I have tested.
Strong warranty
Safco backs the Locus™ Seat with a strong warranty. All of the components are covered for a minimum of five years. This provides a lot of value, especially since the Locus™ Seat is one of the highest priced leaning chairs out there.
Large range of motion
The range of motion on the Locus™ Seat is larger than almost every chair I have tested because the pole moves so far forward. You can also remain comfortably on the seat because of the seat tilt function. The Locus™ Seat should be an option for people looking a chair with a huge range of motion.
Fits a wide range of people
The three points of adjustment, along with large adjustment ranges, make the Locus™ Seat suitable for a wide range of users. This is one of the few products that will work for people that are all the way from 5’0” up to 6’7”.
What Don’t I Like?
Takes up a lot of space
One of the biggest upsides of the Locus™ Seat is also going to be one of its downsides. The footrest is great for enhancing your sitting experience but it takes up a lot more space than any other standing chair. It also takes up more space than most normal office chairs.
Uncomfortable seat
I have found that an uncomfortable seat on a standing chair is more the norm than not. Unfortunately, this is also the case with the Locus™ Seat. The seat is fairly small with a specific contour shape. This limits the number of people that can comfortably use the chair. The stiff sitting experience is also something that will not be for everyone.
May not be suitable for prolonged hours
There are many people that are looking to replace their typical office chair that they sit in all day. I do not think the Locus™ Seat is the solution. I think that the Locus™ Seat is suitable for one to two hours at a time. I was not able to comfortably use the Locus™ Seat for longer than a two hour period before I needed to switch to standing or to my normal office chair.
Poor sitting mobility
The bottom of the Locus™ Seat has 2 wheels but they are only useful when moving the whole chair to a new location. They do not help with movement while you are already sitting. The problem this causes is that there is no way to move the whole unit into position while you are sitting so you need to get off the seat and move the whole thing if you are not line-up properly with your desk. Sometimes it took me a few minutes to get it in the exact place i wanted it.
Bottom Line
Overall, the Locus™ Seat is one of my favorite standing chairs. I do wish the seat had more padding but the seat tilt function helps to reduce discomfort. The attached footrest takes up quite a bit of space but I think the trade-off is well worth it. The footrest is one of the biggest reasons why I like the Locus™ Seat so much. It made the sitting experience a lot more comfortable. I also think the build quality, huge range of motion and warranty justify the higher price point.
While the Locus™ Seat is not perfect, I think that it is one of the best leaning chairs out there. If you are in the market for a higher-end standing chair, then I would definitely consider the Locus™ Seat.
