I bought a Swopper chair two years ago and I have to say that it works. I love it. My back loves it. My posture has improved dramatically because of it. When I first sat in it at a local design studio in Sacramento, I felt like I was sitting on a cushioned pogo stick that swayed all over the place. It was sort of like being on one of those large green exercise balls, but with a lot more stability. My back had been complaining a lot, mostly due to too much power yoga and sitting in front of a computer 8 hours a day. I didn’t know if my back could handle this chair, but if it could I could see the benefits. I’m a chronic squirmer, and this chair would let me squirm away, stretching the lower back and hip muscles to my heart’s content. The nice man at the shop let me take one home to test it out and a couple of days later he had my credit card number. Perhaps Swoppers were some come and gone SOMA fad, but if so, I missed it. I had never seen one. Here it is:
Here’s what the folks at SwopperUSA say about the chair:
Swopper is uniquely designed to create motion in an otherwise static posture. It is the only seating platform in the world supporting complete freedom of movement, laterally and vertically. What’s more, the convex shape of the seat promotes proper spine alignment, which in turn encourages flexibility and fluidity of the spine, hips, neck and everything in between. Created by German designer Henner Jahns, the Swopper received accolades during its exhibition at the prestigious New York Museum of Modern Art.
Basically it goes back and forth, side to side, around like a circle, and up and down. Like a yoga and Pilates combo workout while you’re sitting. I’ve noticed a pronounced improvement in my posture and my back doesn’t get as tired sitting in front of a computer screen. That and when I get bored, I can bounce like Tigger!
I totally agree! I found your info here about the Swopper a few months ago and decided I should get one. Thanks for letting everyone know about it.
That’s great you got one for $300. I couldn’t find anywhere local that had one, so I bought mine online from http://www.workchairs.com which was as cheap as I could find, but they have free shipping.
Thanks again for letting me know about it, I love my swopper.
I had a couple of people email me and ask about my comment here where I mentioned the free shipping. They said they couldn’t find free shipping on workchairs.com. I emailed them and they offered me free shipping, and a slightly better price then they had listed.
Just thought I’d pass on that info and clarify so I didn’t have to get emails about it.
I have a swopper, too and adore it! Sure makes sitting at my desk more fun, and hopefully, good for me. How is the foam on the top of your sitting area? The one I got at my local Relax the Back store has tempurpaedic foam on the top and though I loooove the foam on my bed and pillows, it makes the seating surface a little hard. I wonder if the ones without the foam are softer?
Hi Christine, thanks for your comment. The foam on my swopper seems to be fine, not too soft, not too hard. I do notice that my back will get tired if I sit for several hours straight on this chair. But then that’s probably a good sign that I need to get up and walk around.
I’ve tried the tempurpedic and I actually found the normal version to be better. The tempurpedic is softer but you kind of sink right through it to the seat itself.
Hmmm, I am glad you all like your swopper. This was a total impulse buy. I sat in it and fell in love immediately. However, upon getting it home and trying it out more I find that I get motion sickness when sitting on the chair. No matter how I position it the same thing happens, it has not been a pleasant experience. I urge everyone who gets one to make sure they can get a 30 day money back guarantee.
Brian – motion sickness? that’s a bummer! I was fortunate in that the store that sold me the chair let me take it home and try it out for a few days. I guess that’s the best way to really know if it is going to work for you.
Hi,
I have been sitting on my Swopper for almost 2 years and I love it. I tried the tempurpedic model recently (I was thinking about getting one for work) but I actually like the Special Edition Swopper better. Anyway, I bought mine from 1st Ergo (www.1stergo.com). They had the best price and they also service swoppers. Very knowledgable folks.
I am so curious about this Swopper! But I would love to sit on one before I spend the money to have one shipped to me. I live in New York City, (where there is supposed to be everything!), and I cannot find a place where I can sit on it. Please help! I know I could get a 30 day trial period, but I’d rather just go into a store and sit on it! The only store mentioned has been “Relax the Back,” and I do not believe there are any of those in the area.
I saw one to sit on at hammacher schlemmer (or Sharp) in Midtown Manhattan, in the 50s near Madison.
I got my swopper 5 days ago and my back already feels better than it has for 3 years… even after 8 months of physical therapy 2 days per week!
I went to go buy one of these and the guy there recommended getting an exercise ball instead. He said it pretty much does the same thing only I paid $41 instead of $741 Is he right?
Apparently even a Swopper takes a couple of weeks to get used to so I’m expecting the same thing with the ball. I can feel it working muscles, at the moment it’s not particularly pleasant but the bouncing is fun. Fingers crossed I’m loving it in a couple of weeks.
If you are trying to accomplish better posture, then yes, the ball does the same thing. From my experience it isn’t as comfortable as the Swopper, and it does deflate over time. But for the money, it’s great. ~Elise
An exercise ball is absolutely horrible and I have studied ergonomics. It doesn’t offer anywhere near the support your bottom must have to keep your back healthy and, unless it’s in a stand, it’s going to roll away every time you get up. That guy was a dumb dumb.
I love my swopper but interchange it during the day with a Freedom chair as I like to lean back and relax at times and you can’t do that on a Swopper, even with the back support, you can’t lean back which is good for your spine as it relaxes the discs.
Prices seem to have gone up pretty dramatically since this article was written (what hasn’t) but I feel good about the $495 including free shipping I paid last month at The Human Solution. I didn’t take them up on the free ergo training as I have already had that type of training but I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how to work pain free.
After back surgery, I started looking for a chair I could sit on while working (that didn’t cause pain). I was at a convention and saw the Swopper. I sat on it and experienced almost instant relief from the pain I was in from walking around. I couldn’t believe it. I highly recommend this chair. I also had a great experience with the sales people at 1st Ergo (where I bought the Swopper). They knew so much about the Swopper and offered me a GREAT price http://www.1stergo.com/c_Swopper.html.