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Australian office furniture company Desky offers some competitively priced chairs to pair with its standing desk range, and the CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair is no different. It sits below Desky’s Pro and Pro Plus chairs, but it also features a spring-reinforced cushioned seat aiming to provide responsive, floating support.
Rounding out the seat technology is a mesh backrest for breathability, easy-to-adjust lumbar support, adjustable armrests and an optional headrest. The CoilFlex includes features you’d expect from many of the best office chairs in Australia, but at a mid-range price that’s lower than some of its competition.
I tested the Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair at TechRadar’s Sydney office for over two months to find out if it truly offers good bang for buck, as well as all-day comfort and support.
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Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair review: Price and availability
Aside from its Australian store, Desky also has local stock in the US. While Desky sells through Amazon UK, the CoilFlex isn’t currently listed at the time of writing.
The CoilFlex is available for $499 / AU$599, and the optional headrest costs an extra $50 / AU$50. Easy-glide caster wheels are also available as another add-on for $39.90 / AU$49.90. US and Canadian customers get free shipping, while Aussies pay an extra AU$39.95 for delivery.
Desky rarely offers discounts on its products, save for maybe major sale events like Black Friday, but the discounts aren’t typically too much, which is something worth considering when compared to brands that are more generous with their offers.
Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair review: Unboxing and first impressions
Desky CoilFlex specs
Material: Mesh (backrest) and fabric (seat)
Colors: 7 (black, wheat, dark green, blue, peach, yellow and yellow/grey)
Max load: 136 kg / 200lbs
Seat height: 445mm – 530mm / 17.5” – 20.8”
Seat depth: 420mm – 470 mm / 16.5” – 18.5”
User height range: up to 200cm / 6’7”
Adjustability: 6 (8 with headrest)
This isn’t our first Desky rodeo and getting one of the company’s products delivered has always been a seamless experience. Like other Desky chairs we’ve reviewed previously, the CoilFlex came unassembled, but where other brands have neatly packaged parts, everything inside the Desky box looked like they were just thrown in. Thankfully, bubble wrapping and plastic sheets kept scratches and tears at bay, as movement during transport would definitely have left some damage to the parts.
The assembly instructions are also bare minimal and, if this would be your first DIY project, or you’ve never assembled an office chair before, you’ll likely be left scratching your head. There are Desky videos online you can watch to get the chair assembled, but I think a proper manual would have been very helpful indeed.
However, the CoilFlex can be put together without instructions, but it will take some brain power to do so without help from the online video, which also offers insights into adjusting the chair to suit your body — another thing the tiny instruction pamphlet doesn’t provide.
(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)
Assembling the CoilFlex can be handled alone, although having someone to help with the seatpan would be ideal, as it’s the heaviest part. Full assembly can take about 15-20 minutes, even if you’re working solo.
We were sent the Wheat color variant for this review and, at first glance, it looked rather lovely. However, the grey wheels and arm pads stand out like sore thumbs, taking away from the overall aesthetic.
If the mismatched color scheme doesn’t bother you — and this does seem to be the case with the other variants of the CoilFlex as well — then you’ll end up with a solidly built chair that looks inviting enough to plonk onto immediately.
Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair review: Design and build quality
As I’ve already mentioned, the Desky CoilFlex ain’t bad at all to look at… until you notice mismatched parts which is most evident in the Wheat colorway. While the mesh backrest and optional headrest look stylish enough to stand out from more affordable office chairs, grey wheels and armrests ultimately detract from what is an otherwise solid mid-range office chair.
It’s a strange design choice, and it’s not unique to the one color — all the variants have either black armrests and wheels or grey ones. This doesn’t look too bad on the darker CoilFlex options, like the Black or Blue, but it sure stands out on the others. I would have preferred to have most of the frame in a consistent colour throughout, or at least better contrasting or complementary colours. It makes the chair look like it was made out of spare parts left over from other seats, even though it’s well put together.
There are some considered design choices, though, and I particularly like that the seat-depth release panel being part of the frame, though it may be a little too subtle and users may not know it exists. It doesn’t help that there’s no mention of it anywhere in the instructions leaflet and I only found out about it from Desky’s promo video. It’s a nice touch to have one less lever to fiddle with underneath the seat.
Overall, I think the CoilFlex looks nicer than the more expensive Desky Pro Plus Ergonomic office chair, but nowhere near as aesthetically pleasing as offerings from some other, more premium brands.
Another aspect the CoilFlex does better than the Desky Pro Plus is in its overall build quality, which I think is superior. The latter’s plastic frame looks cheaper in comparison (we still have the chair in TechRadar’s Sydney office), and the headrest and arms sound and feel rattly when adjusting them, which is not the case at all with the CoilFlex, despite the lower price point. The plastic appears to be of excellent quality and the adjustments are smooth, which makes the chair feel more premium than it looks.
This chair takes its name from what Desky calls the Dynamic CoilFlex seat cushion technology, a multi-layered design that uses wave springs to provide extra support under a high-density shaping foam. Desky claims the system eliminates pressure points, absorbs movement and maintains alignment, so users can stay energized and focused throughout an 8-hour workday.
Personally, I’d say the claims check out — the seat feels comfortable and responsive as I shift my weight, and I never felt any pressure points developing in my lower back over the two-month testing period. That said, I have no pre-existing back issues, so your mileage may vary. For example, my colleague Sharmishta Sarkar, who has previously reviewed a fair few office chairs, found that the CoilFlex seat didn’t provide the kind of ergonomic support she needed, but she suffers from back issues.
It’s been only a few months, though, so the verdict’s still out on whether the seat’s foam will hold its shape or if the cushion will eventually compress and harden in the process. For reference, the Desky Pro Plus we’ve previously tested now has a flattened cushion seat after two years of use.
Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair review: In use
Having tested more expensive office chairs in the TechRadar Sydney office from the likes of ErgoTune and Steelcase, I had low expectations from the Desky CoilFlex with its cheaper price tag and mostly plastic frame.
I was, however, pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was when I began to use it. The cushion immediately felt comfortable and it felt far better than a lot of other chairs I’ve used previously. That said, it does fall short in terms of comfort and ergonomics compared to the ErgoTune Joobie and the Herman Miller Aeron, both of which I’ve used previously, but credit where credit is due — both the aforementioned chairs cost more, a heck of a lot more when it comes to the latter.
Even though one of my colleagues wasn’t keen on the minimal lumbar support, I found it to be just right, and a few adjustments to suit my height and body made the CoilFlex feel very good indeed. After two months, my back is still well supported, but potential users with pre-existing musculoskeletal issues might want to look elsewhere.
The adjustments are easy to do with levers under the seat within reach, and pulling or pushing the lumbar support and headrest into position doesn’t require you to get off the chair — just reach and fiddle with either of them until you find the setting that works best for you. The release panel I mentioned earlier for adjusting the seat depth was effective, but I do wish there were better instructions on where to find them as hidden under the cushion and not in an obvious or intuitive spot. The only way you can tell something is under the seat is because of the thin slits on one side of the seat’s plastic frame.
In total, there are 8 points of adjustment, or 6 without the headrest, which is fewer than on the ErgoTune Joobie with its 15 points, allowing for a more finely tuned setup. These 8 adjustment points are more than enough for the average user, though.
The CoilFlex’s mesh backrest and adjustable lumbar support did an OK job of keeping my posture in check, although I wouldn’t say it fixed my slouching habit. If, like me, you too tend to not mind your posture, again, I would recommend you look elsewhere.
The optional headrest is wide, especially when compared to the much narrower one on the Desky Pro Plus, supporting my neck whenever I shifted, turned or tilted my head throughout the workday.
The mesh backrest is breathable and is of good quality that’s more fabric than plastic (which also makes it more absorbent), but the cushioned seat means your derriere might still be too warm when the mercury’s up.
Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair review: Final verdict
If you want a comfortable office chair but don’t want to spend four figures on a Steelcase or Herman Miller, and you also don’t want something cheap and flimsy, Desky’s CoilFlex is a strong mid-tier option that punches above its $499 / AU$599 price tag.
While the seat width is more conventionally sized and may not fit broader body types, the armrests and optional headrest can accommodate taller users (up to 200cm or 6’7”) well. The relatively low 6-8 points of adjustment mean your fit may not be as fine-tuned as more premium chairs that have at least 11 or more, but that’s to be expected at this price point.
The CoilFlex also outperforms its more expensive sibling, the Desky Pro Plus Ergonomic chair, thanks to the new spring-supported seat and a more premium-feeling plastic frame that doesn’t feel as rattly when making adjustments. It still isn’t as good as some of our best office chairs, especially the likes of the ErgoTune Joobie and Vesby that cost a little bit more when discounted, but the CoilFlex is still a solid choice for the price.
First reviewed: July 2026
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nico.arboleda@futurenet.com (Nico Arboleda)
