Club Benefits
Tom's Guide Verdict
The Boulies EP200 desk chair is one of the best options for someone who wants effective support for all-day use. It’s highly adjustable and has a flexible, breathable mesh back, so I was never uncomfortable. The assembly of the chair was easy, too. Unfortunately, the upholstered seat quickly started showing signs of wear, but that wouldn’t stop me from recommending this chair to office managers or home workers on a budget.
Pros
- +
Adjustable support
- +
Breathable mesh back
- +
Easy assembly
- +
Competitively priced
Cons
- -
Questionable upholstery durability
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If you’re looking for the best budget office chair to get you through your work day, then you can stop your search because the Boulies EP200 has everything you could want. It’s highly adjustable, so it’s guaranteed to suit your posture, and has a breathable mesh back that flexes with your movements. The assembly is straightforward with easy-to-follow instructions, and the price tag also makes it a real crowd-pleaser.
Unfortunately, the upholstered seat isn’t as durable as I would like, showing signs of wear after just a few hours. That said, it wouldn’t stop me recommending this chair to anyone — and certainly doesn’t stop me from using it every day.
To find out more, you can read my full Boulies EP200 review.
Boulies EP200 review: Cheat sheet
- What is it? A mesh desk chair with adjustable support
- What does it cost? $209 / £189
- What’s good? The mesh back design, the highly adjustable support, the easy assembly and the competitive price tag
- What’s not? The upholstery’s durability is disappointing
Boulies EP200 review: Specs
Price | |
Upholstery material | Synthetic mesh |
Frame material | Reinforced plastic, Aluminum |
Colors | Black |
Recommended user height | 5’ 5” - 6’ 3” |
Maximum supported weight | 265 pounds |
Seat width | 45cm |
Seat depth | Adjustable |
Backrest recline | 3 levels (95º, 113º, 135º) |
Headrest | Yes, adjustable |
Armrests | Adjustable 6 ways |
Lumbar support | Yes, adjustable |
Swivel | 360º |
Warranty | 2-year limited warranty |
Boulies EP200 review: The ups
The Boulies EP200 has a competitive price point and offers a whole lot of adjustment to ensure your posture is as good as it can be while sitting at your desk all day. The mesh back design and adjustable lumbar support make this chair a winner for anyone with lower back strain.
Mesh back design
The back of the EP200 is made from a synthetic mesh, just like most of Boulies’ other chairs, including the EP460 ($299). I much prefer this design to the fabric back of a chair like the LiberNovo Omni ($1,099). Fabric becomes quite warm on hot days, whereas the mesh stays breathable.
There’s also not much flex with fully upholstered chairs like the Boulies OP300 ($289), but the mesh back of the EP200 has a lot of flex when you lean back. It feels like it molds to the contours of my body.
Adjustable lumbar support
The Boulies EP200 has adjustable lumbar support. There’s a twistable knob at the back of the chair, which you can turn to relieve the pressure on your lower back, and the mesh back of the chair means it’s easy for the chair to adjust to the shape.
I found this very effective, and I felt the relief almost immediately. The support isn’t as pronounced as you get with the Boulies EP500, but it was enough for me. You also get a lot more adjustment with the EP200 than with the EP500, which is only adjustable by a small amount.
Find your position
The lumbar support was the star of the show for me with the Boulies EP200, but the adjustment doesn’t stop there. It’s extremely customizable for your individual posture and helps to relieve any aches and pains you may experience while sitting at your desk all day.
Firstly, like with most chairs, the height is adjustable. Also, the armrests can swivel and change height, and the seat depth can move forward and backwards. There’s also an adjustable head and neck support, which I found very useful for maintaining an upright posture, although I have to have it on the lowest setting since I’m short (5’4”), and anyone shorter than this may find it redundant.
The chair can also recline to angles of 95º, 113º and 135º. This means you could use it to relax. Not something I personally needed as I just used the chair at the office during my working day.
Easy build process
The Boulies EP200 arrived packaged well, just like every other Boulies chair we’ve tested here at Tom’s Guide. However, the plastic cover for the aluminum base was cracked when it arrived. Luckily, with the purchase of the chair, you get a two-year warranty that covers damage like this. And I think the chair looks a lot more sleek without this cover anyway.
The chair needs to be fully assembled and comes with clear instructions. The package includes a hex key, but it’s quite long, so if you have a shorter key on hand, it’s easier to use that instead. Bolts are packaged separately and given letter codes, making the build simple.
The chair took me around 30 minutes to build, and although I found it more complicated than the Boulies OP300, the process was straightforward enough that most people won’t be troubled by it.
Decent price point
The Boulies EP200 is available to purchase from the Boulies online store for $209 / £189. Given the amount of adjustment and level of comfort you get from the chair, this is a very competitive price point.
For comparison, the Boulies OP180 costs $239 and is a very basic chair, so it doesn’t include the same levels of adjustment. The OP180 also doesn’t have a head and neck rest, which can make working in the chair for long hours a challenge.
You can get a similar chair style from the ProtoArc EC100 for $189, but it doesn’t have the adjustable lumbar you get with the EP200. The Boulies EP500 is an option that provides a more relaxed feel with a built-in foot rest, but that will set you back $389. The EP200 is sufficient for working at your desk all day long.
Boulies EP200 review: The downs
While the Boulies EP200 is very comfortable to sit on all day, the seat isn’t very durable, showing signs of wear, such as the fabric creasing, after just a couple of hours.
Creasing seat
The Boulies EP200 is a very comfortable chair, but after sitting on it for just a couple of hours, I noticed that the upholstery on the seat was pulling and creasing. This was disappointing to see, given that the chair was essentially fresh out of the box.
Granted, sometimes when sitting at my desk for hours, I shift positions — I even cross my legs at times — but this kind of change to the material isn’t something I experienced when testing the OP180. The creasing didn’t affect the functionality of the EP200 in any way, but aesthetically, I’d expect something more robust for the money — especially as office chairs are designed for daily use.
Boulies EP200 review: Verdict
The Boulies EP200 desk chair is one of the better options out there for someone who doesn’t want to spend too much money but still wants effective support for all-day use. The adjustable support meant I could customize the chair to suit my posture, and the breathable mesh back is flexible, so I was never uncomfortable. The assembly of the chair was easy, although it came with a broken piece. But since there’s a two-year warranty included with purchase, this isn’t a big issue if the same happens to you.
My only concern was that after just a few hours of use, there were signs of wear on the upholstered seat of the chair, which I did not expect to see. This was disappointing, but honestly, it wouldn’t stop me from recommending the chair. It’s incredibly comfortable and does the job for the average office worker at a reasonable price.
