Hinomi H1 Pro Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair Review – A good Herman Miller alternative with incredible amounts of adjustments

I have had my Herman Miller Mirra for well over ten years, and I would say it has been one of my best purchases ever. Over the years, I have reviewed a few gaming chairs, and I have always liked them, but I strongly believe that a good office chair outclasses any gaming chair.

The past few weeks I have been reviewing the Hinomi H1 Pro office chair. Similar to my Herman Miller, this is an all-mesh design with a strong focus on ergonomics. This isn’t some Herman Miller clone, though; it is quite unique with an incredible number of adjustments which could seriously tempt me to ditch my Mirra.

Specification

• Breathable & Fire-resistant Mesh
• 3D Lumbar Support
• 5D Transformable Armrests
• Retractable Leg Rest
• Adjustable height, armrest, headrest, backrest and seat tilt
• 15-Year warranty
• Easy to Assemble
• Rated Capacity: 136KG
• Chair Weight: 24.5kg

Warranty

Priced at £599, this certainly is not a cheap chair, and there are plenty of mesh ergonomic office chairs available for less money on Amazon.

One of the things that convinced me to go with Herman Miller originally was the incredible warranty they provided. At the time, I was obese, and I would semi-regularly break chairs. The warranty is currently 12 years, which includes parts and labour though I am fairly sure it was longer than this when I bought the chair.

Hinomi has a complimentary extended 15-year warranty for the skeletal frame, wheelbase and polyamide frame. It is then 10 years for the lumbar support, central mechanism hub, armrest mechanism, and castor mechanism.

There are conditions to get this, though. You need to share a photo/video of your Hinomi on an approved social media platform (FB/Instagram/YouTube/TikTok). Then contact them with the link to the shared image.

The standard warranty is 10 and 5 years.

One caveat is that the warranty does not include the labour required to replace any defective parts on your Hinomi.

Assembly

Assembling the chair was incredibly easy and much easier than the gaming chairs I have built in the past. The boxed components consist of:

• Headrest
• Chair body
• Hydraulic seat post
• Chair base
• Wheels

With gaming chairs, I normally have to attach the back to the seat and also the arms. With this chair, these parts are fully assembled. Therefore all you need to do is:

• Attach the wheels
• Slot in the hydraulic seat post
• Slot the chair onto the post
• Unscrew the two bolts where the head rest goes (hex key included)
• Attach the headrest with the included bolts

I’d say it took me about 5 minutes, 10 max.

Build and Design

The Hinomi H1 Pro comes in four main colours, black, grey, coral red and ice green. They also list two separate colourways under the gaming section with red/black and yellow/black.

You can then choose two sizes, but they don’t specify exactly what the difference is. It seems to be just height which I assume means a different length hydraulic seat post. I am 6ft 2 which is 1.88m, and the standard size is fine for me.

The majority of the chair is made from polyamide plastic and mesh fabric. Build quality feels excellent, there is no rattling, and all the plastic seems to be sturdy.

One minor concern is the starred base of the chair. This is all plastic, albeit very thick plastic. Back when I was obese, this was one of the things that broke on my office chairs. My Herman Miller appears to be metal. The base feels and looks well designed, so I doubt it will be a huge problem, and you have the reassurance of the very long warranty.

The wheel casters are PU coated and roll smoothly without any scratchiness. I tried it on my hard kitchen floor without issues, but my office is carpeted.

Adjustability

The main selling point of this chair is the incredible number of adjustments you have. This includes:

• Seat height
• Seat tilt can go back 136 degrees and has the ability to adjust the tilt tension, allowing me to freely tilt back with my own weight using the right knob. At the highest tension, the seat forces me to mostly sit upright. The middle tension allows me to lean back but not fully into the reclined position. Then the lightest tension allows me to drop back into the furthest recline. Then there is a tilt lock on the left.
• Arm adjustments include height, having them up or down as well as inward and outward facing angles. You can also move the armrests forward and backwards.
• The seat pad itself can be moved forward or back.
• The backrest can be raised or lowered and then, using the knobs, you can increase the tension of the lumbar support.
• There is then a built-in leg rest. This can be flipped up on itself and fully retracted back.
• Then the headrest can be raised, lower or tilted inward or back.
• Finally, the whole back part of the seat can be fully folded over when not in use. This could be used for storage or for transport.

There are so many things to adjust it is quite possible I have missed something off the list.

One thing worth noting, a couple of times when I was first playing around with the back and seat adjustments, I nearly trapped my fingers. Once you are used to the chair, you probably won’t do it this way. But, at first, I manually adjusted the backrest height by lifting it with my hands as I was stood up. At its highest setting, there is a large gap between the upper part of the backrest frame and the lower part. When you lower it back down, it goes back down in one quick motion, and it is very easy to have your finger in the way.

Comfort

With the level of adjustments, it probably comes as no surprise that this chair is very comfy.

I am a big fan of mesh chairs in general. This is mesh on the back and on the seat base, which allows plenty of airflow while providing a soft, comfortable seat. A lot of gamers may love the racing car-inspired gaming chairs, but they are made out of memory foam. This is comfy at first, but when you are sitting in the chair for hours at a time, things get a little hot and sticky.

The minor gripe about comfort is that the lumbar support feels quite aggressive. Using the light tension, it will retract back as you place pressure on it, but it is still very noticeable. It would be good it I could retract this further or perhaps lower the lumbar support lower than the backrest. This is an ergonomic chair, though, so it is likely beneficial to my overall back health.

The seat depth adjustment seems like a good idea that I haven’t seen on a chair before. This should provide a bit more flexibility for different heights and also seating positions.

The leg rest is a big plus for me. I find that sitting in a normal position all day long can give me restless legs, and I like to be able to stretch them out. If you don’t want to use it, you can flip the padded rest back over on itself and then retract everything back under the chair.

Overall, I like the comfort of this chair a lot. The aggressive lumbar support is quite a bit different from the setting I have with my Herman Miller Mirra. This is probably good for my back health but it takes a little getting used to.

Price and Alternative Options

The Hinomi H1 Pro is listed at £599, which means it is competing with big brand name ergonomic chairs rather than the generic stuff you will find on Amazon.

None of the below examples has a leg rest, and I doubt any provide the level of customisation the Hinomi has.

If you shop around, you can find the Herman Miller Mirra 2 for £669 with the Triflex back. It lacks the level of customisation the Hinomi has, but obviously, it is the most reputable name in the industry. If you want an Aeron, then that’s closer to £1000 or more.

The rather simple-looking Humanscale Different World Chair is about £530.

The Steelcase Series 2 Air Back is around £480.

The Okamura Contessa II can be found for around £800.

Overall

I like the Hinomi H1 Pro a lot. So much so I am tempted to continue using it over my Mirra, I am definitely going to continue using it for the next few weeks and see how I feel or if any problems with it occur.

I mainly love the leg rest as it allows me to put my feet up into a more comfortable position throughout the day. I am sure someone will say it is not the most ergonomic, but I find it comfortable.

If I were to criticise anything, I think the lumbar support needs more adjustments, it needs softer tension, and it needs to be able to go down lower. You also need to be careful with the back height adjustments, specifically when lowering it from the maximum height.

The biggest problem I can see is the lack of brand recognition combined with a price that is within the realm of Herman Miller. The Mirra 2 might not be technically as good, but I suspect anyone willing to part with £600 for a chair is likely to want a reputable name.

James Smythe( Editor-in-chief )

I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.

As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.

In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.