The Truly., by OM Seating, is a mid-market office chair that could be a good alternative to some high-end chairs, like the Aeron or Mirra. It is really customizable, has a ton of ergonomic functions and a nice looking design. Today, we will take a closer look at the Truly. I will go over the good aspects with the chair and highlight the potential downsides. This review should help you to decide if the Truly. provides the value you are looking for in a new ergonomic chair.
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Note: The Truly. is meant to have the period in the name of the chair. For simplicity in writing and reading this article, I will be referring to the Truly without the period for the rest of the review.
OM Seating Truly Chair Review Links
– Specs / Features / Pricing
– Return Policy and Warranty
– Shipping and Assembly
– Build Quality
– Scope of Users
– Seat Comfort
– Back Support
– Armrest Comfort
– Ergonomic Adjustments
– Upholstery Options
– Mechanism Options
– Wheel/Caster Options
– Environmental
– What I Like
– What I Don’t Like
Country of Origin
Made in Taiwan
Specifications
Overall Dimensions: 27”W x 27”D x 38.25-47.5”H
Standard Seat Height: 17” – 22”
Weight Capacity: 300 lbs.
Standard Seat Dimensions: 20.75”W x 17.5-20.6”D
Back Dimensions: 20”W x 24”H
Standard Distance Between Arms: 18.5 – 21.5”
Standard Arm Height from Seat: 5.5 – 9.5”
Base Dimensions: 27”
Chair Weight: 70 lbs.
Shipping Box Dimensions: 36” x 26” x 25”
Shipping Box Weight: 101 lbs.
Features
Pneumatic seat height adjustment
Synchro tilt mechanism
Polyback backrest
Seat depth adjustment
Back height adjustment
Adjustable lumbar support
Independent back angle adjustment
Tilt lock
Tension control
Fully adjustable arms
Molded foam, contoured seat
GREENGUARD GOLD certified for low chemical emissions.
2025 Starting Price – $799.99 (Buy on BTOD)
The price on the Truly is going to vary drastically because the chair is so customizable. This chair ranges in price from $599.99 to $1,214.99. For $599.99, you are getting a basic mechanism and no arms. For the model we tested we chose to go with the Executive Synchro mechanism, AR-485 arms and a Standard 5” cylinder. We also chose the Basic Blue seat upholstery, Palladium Grey Polyback color, Polished Aluminum frame color and Standard seat size. The price for the chair that we tested is $965.99.
Return Policy
OM doesn’t sell direct to the public but instead, they sell through a network of authorized dealers. This means that the return policy for the Truly chair will be dependent on the dealer you make your purchase from. Dealers may charge different restocking fees, so you may want to check the return policy on the dealer you are considering, if you are on the fence about whether or not you will like the chair.
Warranty
OM Seating provides a lifetime warranty on the Truly. The only exceptions are the foam and fabric, which are covered for five years. The warranty applies to single shift usage of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. It also covers people up to 300 lbs.
Shipping
The Truly ships FedEx Ground in a large box. The box is heavy, weighing over 100 lbs. You will want some help moving the box. If you are by yourself, I would highly recommend using a dolly. The Truly does not use a lot of packaging but it is arranged in a way to keep the parts safe during shipment. We did not have any damage from shipping on our Truly.
Assembly
There is almost no assembly required on the Truly. OM ships the chair with the casters pre-installed to the base. The seat, arms and backrest are also pre-installed. You will just need to drop the cylinder into the base and then place the top half of the chair on top of the cylinder. The chair is heavy so you may want some help putting the top of the chair onto the cylinder. The total assembly time is only a minute or two.
Build Quality
The build quality on the Truly is pretty good. It is a step up in quality over almost all of the imported chairs we have tested. It just isn’t quite as nice as the chairs we have seen from the top end brands, like Steelcase or Humanscale. This makes sense though because it is considerably less money. The chair is made in the USA but its components are not all custom designed specifically for it, like we see on chairs like the Humanscale Freedom or Herman Miller Embody. The backrest is entirely unique but things like the casters, cylinder, base, mechanism and arms are all components that are used on other products by OM seating.


The chair functions nice and smooth, but the parts do not fit together quite as tightly as the highest ranked chairs for build quality. There can be a bit of “play” in parts like the arms. The good thing about the Truly’s build is that you are getting a chair that is made in the USA for a mid-market price and the chair looks really sharp. The overall look of the chair is clean and some of the people in our office feel that the Truly is the best looking chair out of all the models we tested.

Scope of Users
Our scope of users category looks at how much of the population a chair will fit. The Truly did not receive the best score in this category but that does not mean it won’t work for a lot of different body types. The Truly has a ton of different options. This includes different cylinder heights, arm options and seat sizes. OM chose to have several different size options for various parts instead of trying to build one chair model that works for almost everyone.
The good thing with this approach is that almost everyone can buy a Truly in the size that will fit them correctly. The downside is that it can be a bit tougher to order chairs for an entire office because you will need to get several versions. It may also be a problem if you need to order one chair that will be used by multiple people. If the people are not similar in size, then the chair may not fit everyone.
Seat Comfort
The seat is available in three different size options: Standard, Full and Petite. Each seat size is the same price. Here are the dimensions of the three sizes:
Full: 20.75W 18-21.1D
Standard: 19”W x 17.5-20.6D
Petite: 18”W x 16.5-19.6D
Most people will choose the Standard option. The Full-size seat is similar in size to big and tall chairs. Big and tall chair seats usually range from 20-26” wide. The Petite is a nice option for smaller people because the seat depth is well suited for short people. The narrower seat will help to keep you from having your elbows away from your body when using the arms.

The seat has a contour shape and a waterfall front. It has high resiliency molded foam, which holds its shape and provides better support than the cut foam used on lower-end products. The fabric looks nice with its pronounced stitching. The fabric is a bit more coarse than most of the other chairs we tested.

Overall, I like the seat on the Truly. It has thick padding but you do not sink into the foam. It is a bit more firm than other thick padded seats but it still provided me with good support and I was able to be comfortable for numerous hours at a time. While I liked the seat, my opinion was not shared by everyone in our office. With a score of 66/100, it is around the middle of the list of chairs we have tested. The main reason for the score is that some felt that the seat was too firm so it felt uncomfortable.

Backrest Support
The backrest is made from OM’s TruFit™ Polyback system. The back has vertical slits which help to provide breathability so that you stay cool while you work. The slits also help to make the backrest flexible. The backrest is able to bend and move. This allows you to have constant support when you move around while you work.

The backrest has height adjustment and adjustable lumbar support, which makes this chair a nice option for good lower back support. The back has a ratchet height adjustment system with nine different height positions to choose from. There is also a cable driven lumbar adjustment that bends the bottom portion of the backrest to increase or decrease the curve. The height adjustment allows you to put the curve in the exact position you need and the adjustable lumbar gives you the right amount of support for preferences.


Since back comfort is subjective, we take the score from everyone in our office and then come up with an average. The backrest comfort score for the Truly is not very high and that is because people in our office had vastly different opinions on this backrest. I like the backrest on the Truly and personally gave it an 80/100. There were a few people that liked it even more than me and two people gave it scores of 90/100. Four people gave it a score of 65 or less and two of those scored it under a 50.

It seems that people will either love this backrest or hate it. This is due to the material used. Not everyone likes the feel of plastic. While the Truly’s back is flexible, it is still hard plastic. Some do not like the way it feels, especially when compared to mesh or a padded backrest.

Armrest Comfort
Along with seat comfort and back support, we also used the opinion of everyone in our office to score armrest comfort. The arm option that we used for testing on the Truly was the AR-485. The arms did well compared to the other chairs on the list. There are several different arm options on the Truly. To make things easier, we selected the four most popular arms that are chosen on the Truly. I briefly describe each option below.
KR-25 – These are the most basic arms. They are made from steel and have a plastic cover. They are all black and only feature height adjustment. They have soft arm pads that feature a waterfall front. These arms are not the highest quality but the pads are comfortable and they do their job.
KR-200 – These arms are identical to the KR-25 above, but they also feature width adjustment. They are currently a $30 upcharge.
KR-445 – These arms are the most adjustable option. They have height and width adjustment. The arm pads are depth adjustable, width adjustable and can pivot. They are all black and made from steel with a plastic cover. The arm pads are soft and have a large surface area. They are really adjustable but there is some wiggle or “play” in these arms. They are not as solid and they do not fit as tightly as higher quality arms. They are currently an $75 upcharge.
AR-485 – These are the highest quality arms and the best looking option out of the bunch. They are made from polished aluminum. The padding is not as soft as the other arms but they are not hard. They feel the most solid out of the bunch and give the chair an upscale look. They are 3-dimensional with height, width and pivot adjustments. They are currently a $211 upcharge.




If you are looking for the most functional arms, then I would go with the KR-445. These were the only option that had an adjustment range large enough to get my armrest out of the way of my keyboard tray. If you want the best quality arms, that will give your chair a high-end look, then go with the AR-485. I found these arms to be comfortable. I would have like them to go slightly lower, but overall they have good adjustability.
Ergonomic Adjustments
The Truly is a chair that you can get fully loaded with ergonomic adjustments. This chair currently holds a top two ranking for ergonomic adjustments. When you configure the chair as we did, you get the following adjustments: seat height, seat depth, back height, back angle, five lockable positions, tension adjustment and lumbar adjustment. Combine these adjustments with the fully adjustable arms and you have one of the most adjustable chairs on the market.


The Truly also comes with a synchro tilt recline. This means that as you recline the backrest, the seat angle also adjusts to help keep you in an ergonomic position. The ratio is typically around 2:1, in favor of the backrest. The synchro tilt functions smoothly and it feels good to use, but my one complaint is that the arms do not come back with you as you recline. High-end chairs like the Humanscale Freedom, Herman Miller Aeron and Embody have arms that come with you as you recline, so that you can stay in the same position through the entire motion.

Mechanism Options
OM offers a bunch of different mechanism options on the Truly. Similarly to the armrests, we have selected a few options to highlight. These options are basically a good, better, best scenario. The three different mechanisms are called Simple Synchro, Management Synchro and Executive Synchro. The differences between the three different mechanisms are below.
Simple Synchro – Seat height, seat depth, tilt tension, on position tilt lock.
Management Synchro – Seat height, seat depth, tilt tension, three position tilt lock. This mechanism is currently a $23 upcharge.
Executive Synchro Tilt – Seat height, seat depth, tilt tension, five position tilt lock, back angle adjustment. This mechanism is currently a $71 upcharge.
Cylinder Options
There are a few different cylinder/base combinations to choose from. You can get either black or polished aluminum and then there are various sizes, depending on the height range you need. Below are the different options and the current cost for each.
Cylinder | Color | Height Range | Cost to Upgrade |
Standard 5” | Black | 17”-22” | $0 |
Standard 5” | Polished Aluminum | 17”-22” | $14 |
Petite 4” | Black | 15.5”-19.5” | $37 |
Petite 4” | Polished Aluminum | 15.5”-19.5” | $57 |
Tall 5” | Black | 19”-24” | $0 |
Tall 6” | Polished Aluminum | 21”-27” | $27 |
Wheel/Caster Options
The Truly comes with 55mm dual wheel casters. This is a little over 2” in diameter. They are an all black soft caster that are designed to be used on hard surfaces as well as medium to low pile carpet. The casters are good quality. They look nice and roll smoothly.

Upholstery Options
The Truly chair is available in three different commercial grade one fabrics with a total of 18 different color options. Each fabric is made from a different material. The Basic fabric is made from marquesa lana. The Spice fabric is made from 100% recycled polyester. The Celestial fabric is made from 100% polyester. The Spice family is going to be the most durable, testing at 400,000 double rubs. The Basic is next with 250,000 double rubs. Celestial is just behind the Basic with 183,000 double rubs. All of the seat upholstery options are the same price.

The Polyback backrest is made from a polymer blend and comes in six different color options. Modern Black, Palladium Grey and Arctic White are available for the base price. Bay Marine, Lemongrass and Warm Slate are currently an $16 upcharge.
Headrest Options
There is a headrest that can be added to the Truly. It has a three way adjustment system with two different pivot points. There is a faux leather pad on the headrest that can also be independently adjusted up to 2”. The frame of the headrest is polished aluminum.
Finish Options
There are two finish options to choose from, black powdercoat or polished aluminum. These color options will affect the base and the frame piece that connects the backrest and seat. This piece is called the yoke. Both colors are the same price for the yoke but there is an upcharge for changing the base from black to polished aluminum. You can see the prices for this in the “Cylinder Options” section.
What Do I Like?
Great ergonomic adjustments
I think the best thing about the Truly is its overall adjustability. We don’t see this much adjustability with some of the highest ranked chairs on our list. With so many adjustments, the Truly is a great option for people that like to have their chair fine tuned to their exact preferences.
Good lumbar support
The lumbar was very supportive on the Truly. The combination of the back height adjustment, with the lumbar adjustment, really allowed me to put the curve of the chair right where I wanted it. I was able to max out the curve to get optimal lower back support.
Independent back angle adjustment
I am a big fan of independent back angle adjustment. This is an adjustment that allows you to change the angle of the backrest before you even recline in the chair. What I really like about this adjustment is that it allows you to move the backrest to a fully upright position, which is great for tasking. I also like this adjustment because you can use it to snug the lumbar curve into the most supportive position.
Strong warranty
The warranty is really solid, especially for the price you are paying. You get a lifetime warranty on almost the entire chair, which includes the moving parts.
Ships almost fully assembled
The Truly ships basically fully assembled. It was really nice not having to spend time assembling a complicated ergonomic office chair. This is a good option for people that don’t want to assemble a chair. It is also attractive for people looking to order a large number of chairs because you save time and money not having to install an office full of chairs.
Headrest option
Having the option to add a headrest is usually a good thing. It is nice to see that OM has a headrest option for the Truly. To be honest, I wish I would have gotten the headrest on ours. It is padded and has a generous adjustment range.
What Don’t I Like?
Polyback backrest is not for everyone
While I liked the backrest on the Truly, there were several people in our office that did not. Some simply do not like the feel of a plastic backrest. If you have found plastic backs to be uncomfortable or prefer backrests with good padding, then you probably want to look for an alternative product.
Seat may be too firm for some people
The seat has thick padding but it feels pretty firm. There were some people in our office that loved it, but others did not. If you typically prefer a more plush seat, then the Truly may not be the best option for you.
Armrests options have flaws
The best armrest options both had some pretty noticeable flaws. The KR-445 arms are really adjustable but their quality doesn’t feel like it matches the rest of the chair. The AR-485 arms are high quality and help to add to the look of the chair, but I would like them to have a bit more adjustability. There wasn’t a way for me to get the arms out of the way. If they would have moved lower or had arm pad depth adjustment, it would have made a huge difference.
May not be best option for multiple people
The Truly has a lot of adjustability and can fit a large range of people because of all the options available on the chair. Buying a large quantity of chairs, for a group of people of different shapes and sizes, could be an issue because you can’t just order the same chair for everyone.
Bottom Line
At the end of the day, the question we set out to answer is,“Is the Truly the right chair for you?” It certainly won’t be a good choice for everyone. I think the biggest deterrent is the plastic material used to make the backrest. People that don’t like the feel of plastic on their back will not be a good fit for this chair. My next biggest concern is the seat padding. The firm style of seat was a turn off for a couple people in our office.
While the Truly chair is not going to be perfect for everyone, I do think you can find a lot of value in the chair for the price you are paying. The amount of customization and adjustability means that you can configure this chair to meet your exact needs. You can get it with limited functionality to keep the price down or you can get it fully loaded with more adjustments than some of the leading chairs on our list. Not everyone liked the Polyback material but I liked the backrest, especially the lumbar support. All of the backrest adjustability made it really easy to find that sweet spot of optimal comfort.
If you are looking for a chair that has the chops to go up against some of the category leaders, but don’t want to pay $1000+, then the Truly chair can be a nice alternative. Is the Truly chair the right pick for you? Only you will be able to answer that. As long as you know what features and qualities are most important to you, then the decision becomes easier. I hope this review has highlighted everything you need to know about the Truly chair so that you can decide if this will be your next office chair pick.
Additional Office Chair Resources
- Herman Miller Aeron Chair (Review / Rating / Pricing)
- Steelcase Leap v2 Ergonomic Office Chair (Review / Rating / Pricing)
- Humanscale Diffrient Smart Chair (Review / Rating / Pricing)
- 5 Reasons Ergonomic Chairs Will Improve Your Back Pain
- 6 Common Problems With Mesh Office Chairs
- 9 Most Common Problems With The Raynor Ergohuman Chair
MM
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for the review. I just bought a Truly. from you guys, and I’m struggling a little bit with the lumbar support. Is it properly set in the pictures that you showed? (for example, the one with the caption “Seated in Truly chair to show lumbar curve”.
Mine has been causing a lot of discomfort, and I’ve tried various settings, but if it is set correctly in your picture, then I think I was setting it much too high. I’m about 6′ 1″.
Thanks,
M