Cosm by Herman Miller - a real world review

My Cosm story is a sad one. I had one for years, and absolutely loved it, before I had to avail myself of Herman Miller's amazing warranty and get the tilt replaced, because it had started creaking. This was done in my house , completely free. After this repair, I ran into fresh trouble. Now, the chair provided much too little resistance to my back. With the slightest pressure, it fell into the fully backward position. It was too weak to hold any position between fully upright and fully leaning back. HM worked with me, again, they're amazing with their customer service. They sent another chair ... same problem. The delivery driver told me that lately, these chairs were being returned at an alarming rate. Finally, I got an Aeron, which is fully adjustable, but doesn't have the modern elegance of the Cosm. I don't know what's going on with the Cosm, I've tried them in stores and found them perfect like my first one. Just be forewarned that there seem to be inconsistencies in this model lately.

Thank you for taking the time to increase awareness!

Thanks for the review, just what i needed. No gibberish. Thanks a bunch!

I got mine 1 month ago and I can clearly say that its one of the best investments I made lately.

Great video. Thanks for your in depth review.

Nice review. I can fell in love with well designed thinks as well 🙂

great review! just what i needed

Thank you for this review!

Great review

I'm 5'3 tall, and I have the Cosm. Personally I think it'd fit perfect if I'm just 1-2 inches taller. Because then, the top of the seat would perfectly rest on the curve of my neck, and it feels amazing when reclining. I put a very thin Seat Cushion made by Purple (very high quality) so I can be just 1 inch taller when seating on it. I think this chair is right for 5'4-5'10 people. Because the head rest cannot move up or down. And the whole point of headrest is so it rest on the curve of neck. I still find this chair better than my Aeron.

thanks for the vid great review

Thank you very much for sharing your experience and thoughts about the Cosm, Matthew. I have a few questions about the "locking mechanism" point you mentioned: I take it that you've used computers or written at a desk while sitting in the Cosm, so have you never felt a need to fix the back of it in an upright position while doing such things, so far? In other words, that slight tilt backward while working at a computer didn't bother you personally? And you feel like you have enough back support regardless of your posture (within reason)?

Matthew, great video! Question for you; what color of chair are we seeing in the video?

The only thing that turns me off (except for leaf arms, which you don't need to choose) is that you can't adjust the recline strength... On all the reviews it looks like the reviewer is borderline straining to stay at maximum recline... For an office chair with not much media consumption and relaxing, I could see that perfectly! Allows a quick recline and flings you back into action, so to speak... 😀I'd love it for that and it looks A1 amazing! But for my home use I think the Embody will be the perfect chair for me. I'll only need to get a headrest once it's released and keep an eye on the slightly above lumbar strength and then it should essentially be perfect for me!

Looks uber comfy! Would you say the Setu (also from Herman Miller) is a more affordable version of this?

thanks for the review - are you still very happy with your Cosm?

Good review! You mentioned some leg stress at first (under your thighs). Has that completely disappeared? (shorter seat?) I have the same feeling (not from the frame but from a stiffness of the mesh at that particular point under my thighs) and I'm afraid that this may cause fatigue as I sit for longer periods. Otherwise... I find this chair immensely comfortable!

Any experience playing guitar on it?

I am just under 6 foot tall.

You're not average, you're tall af. The seat on the cosm is too short for you.