iMovR Energy Stool Review

An Ideal Active Stool for Both Standing Desk and Treadmill Desk Users

We’ve tested a lot of active stools over the years, both for use at sit-stand desks and as treadtop seats for office treadmill users, and the Energy Stool has become an instant favorite for both applications among our own review staff.

The range of motion of the Energy Stool is unconstrained, where some other stools (e.g. the Focal Upright Mobis) have to limit the range of motion significantly because of the angle of the post and tipping concern. It’s actually kind of tricky getting the contours of the base just right to balance between a comfortable range of motion and going too far to where the stool might slip out from under you. The Energy Stool designers found the sweet spot better than on 90% of stools we’ve tested.

The result is not only a greater movement range for even more activation of sore muscles, joints, and lower back vertebrae after long periods of standing and/or walking at your workstation, swaying around on this seat actually provides a nice massage on your posterior muscles (glutes, technically), more so than most other stools we’ve tested. And that has much to do with the cushion design as anything else. Whatever material is under the upholstery of this seat is just more comfortable to sit on than most stools.

Candidly, we’ve had to put a euphemistic spin on some stools we’ve reviewed in the past, saying that “it’s intended not to be comfortable, to compel you to stand more and sit less.” And that’s because most of the stools we tested were indeed uncomfortable. So when this stool came into the test lab all of our colleagues were instantly impressed by its relative comfort.

Now, let’s be completely honest. It’s not like relaxing in a full size office chair with a back and arm rests. The idea behind and active seat is to keep your core muscles engaged, your hips loose, and your lower spine in a more open position unlike the 90-degree bend it has to take when you sit in any chair.

According to The Mayo Clinic’s Dr. James Levine, the human body was only designed to sit for three hours a day. Ever since the Industrial Revolution we’ve upped that to 10 to 14 hours a day for the average office worker in America, which is a major contributing factor to the ever rising trend of obesity, diabetes, and low back pain in this country (and other developed countries just the same). So, having a good “active” stool on hand is a great way to minimize that “passive seating” time.

Lightweight and Portable

Weighing in at only 13.5 lbs the Energy Stool is one of the lightest ones we’ve tested, as well. It’s well balanced and easy to move around your workstation or even pass around to others in your office by grabbing one of the handholds underneath the seat pan.

We particularly like it as a treadtop seating option give it’s about a quarter of the cost and less than half the weight of something like the Tempo Sit-Stand Stool, also from iMovR. We know they’ve been searching for a better solution for a treadtop stool.

The Tempo stool, by comparison, is made in the USA using some metal components from Germany that have become extremely expensive with the pandemic economy, and more recently the Ukraine conflict. While the Energy Stool is made in China, it appears to be very well made and durable. The warranty, however, is only two years on the Energy Stool versus lifetime on the Tempo Stool.

But if you want to look at other treadtop seating options from iMovR, they are one of our favorite manufacturers for anything meant for standing or treadmill desk workstations.