 A sculpted spinal column, breathable mesh, smooth matted black plastic alongside cold metal limbs and a design which speaks of how far we've come and where we're going with ergonomic chairs are thoughts which come to me when I look at our latest chair from afar. We have had the Sihu V1 for two months now and here are my final thoughts on it by itself and as compared with its cheaper sibling the M57 and my original chair which started all of our chair reviews. Hi, I'm Rafael of Margaret Sugar and this is our full review of the Sihu V1. We did a first impressions video of the V1 which you can check out in the link above. A lot of my feelings regarding the design I talked about and length over there are still valid. However, I am happy to give a little bit more depth and summary here. The V1, especially this black version, reminds me of an exoskeleton through the way it exhibits the almost human spinal design. This is not my accident. Artistically, the chair projects that it should be good for your back because it is shaped to look like a human vertebrae. The Herman Miller body which is on a whole different universe of price takes this to the more extreme level. Nevertheless, the V1 looks really nice from afar and if you are a company looking to supply chairs for that special conference room where important deals and meetings are held, you really may want to choose the V1 if nothing else but just for the looks you get at this price point. Mesh is breathable while metal is hard and sturdy, lest the two core elements which make up a durable and comfortable chair are immediately apparent. The front seat of the V1 has a cushion which has molded foam underneath in addition to the mesh. The seat is thus not entirely mesh. I believe this was placed in order to combat the complaint that people sometimes occasionally feel pain in their hamstrings after extended periods of time. If you look closely, the V1 has what the industry calls a waterfall seat which is that it curves downwards in the end so as to better follow the natural drop of your legs. I never encountered any discomfort here. However, it is important to note that I highly recommend a footrest most of the time especially if you are too tall for the chair or if you are forcefully needing to have the chair that's maximum height in order to be eye level with your monitor. Remember, your feet need to be flat on the floor and not hovering otherwise regardless of waterfall or not you will experience pain. One thing I am not happy about though is how the V1 feels in the hands when you move it. It doesn't feel like a solid chair piece unlike the ergonodynamic chairs and the air on. It is as though this spinal column midsection feels loose. Ergonomics wise, that is a good thing because it makes sure your back is not stiff due to how maneuverable it can be when you move around in it. But it does bother me. A premium chair with a height to medium price tag should feel premium when you sit on it and when you move it from room to room. Quick segue but I recently just bought a new foot support. I like this dramatically more than my old one because it doesn't tilt. This also has these wheel spikes which are really fun to roll my feet around on in order to encourage blood circulation and then to just play around. I highly recommend this and I'll leave a link to it in the video description and yes you can adjust it up and down. The headdress is made out of PU leather which I'm not fond of because I have yet to own anything made out of PU leather which hasn't melted or dissolved itself. This is also why I enjoyed my first ergonomic chair so much none of the materials ever degraded. Nevertheless, the headdress ergonomics is well made. I complained about they see who M57's headdress being a confused attachment. I just couldn't find the sweet spot. The V1, not so. You can pull it up and down and tilt the headdress according to your liking and for me I found it very comfortable to use. Whether it be when I was reclining or sitting up straight, again I cannot vouch for how durable this PU leather will be and I like this over the M57, not because of the PU leather but more because of it having a smaller bulge than the headdress of the M57. This might however be personal preference but if the M57 had the same shape I would probably like it just as much even though the M57's is made of mesh. The armrests are very adjustable they move side to side, left to right, go up and down. The foam pads of where your elbows rest are also quite comfortable. I remember complaining with the charcoon chair and even the M57 that my elbows hurt after prolonged periods of use. I think they could still however be softer but definitely in the right direction. Adjusting the armrest requires you to lift it up all the way and then bring it up to the height you want. If you miss it the first time you need to do it all over again. I'm not sure why this was done considering that their cheaper model M57 has a button you press so that you don't need to go through an unnecessary cycle of getting it wrong. For something as pricey as the V1 I expected more control. Nevertheless the layers of adjustability on height is very good. I have a tall table and it is very important to me that my arms are level without of my desk. Lumbar support is interesting, you can move it up and down and increase attention without having to leave your seat. Spin the wheel to bring it up and down and spin the right wheel to create tension. It is a smart design. There's nothing I dislike more than a chair which requires you to stand in order to make an adjustment. There is however one flaw here which really bothers me on a personal level. The lumbar support does not support the part of my back which needs the support the most and that is the small of my back. If I could have it lowered a little further I would. If you look closely to the lumbar support it tapers away at the further most end meaning the upper part of my lower back is being supported but not the sweet spot I'm aiming for. Note that everybody's body is different and I'm not scoliotic. I find that the lumbar support of the M57 to be more on point in this regard. That one was a clear brick of support without any fancy curving which served me quite well actually to be honest. The footrest works. You can pull it out and there it is. It is also hidden pretty well and doesn't look tacky which is my number one fear of adding footrest to a chair. This being the first footrest chair I've owned I was surprised on how it made me feel suspended in midair when I used it. This is a really fun add-on and comfortable. My only gripe however is that the lumbar support bothered me here too although it bothered me much less because most of my weight was being supported by my upper back when I was reclining. The recline of the V1 is wonderful. The mechanism is well controlled something I expect from a premium chair. No creaking here or fears of safety issues that the chair would collapse at the worst possible time. The V1 is sturdy and naturally moves with you as you lay back. To be honest this chair would be perfect for me and I am a little envious of the people who do have a body type destined for the V1 because if it weren't for the lumbar which I wish was lower then I would all be set in buying this for myself if I ever needed a new ergo chair that is. It is important to note that the seat is adjustable. You can pull it forward in case you are on the larger side or keep it standard like myself. The purpose of this is to allow anyone to dial in what is comfortable for them. I mentioned before that much more expensive chairs such as the T50 and the Herman Miller body offer this. The fact that this option is available for a chair under 19,000 pesos is a great selling point especially if you are unsure about how you will fit in it. At present the V1 costs 16,500 pesos without the footrest and 18,500 pesos with a footrest. If I were to choose between the two of them I would pick the one with the footrest especially if you are getting this for an office where napping culture is approved of. Everything is really expensive nowadays and so I understand if some may scoff at the price point. However, even before dramatic inflation I already believed that a safe chair should cost 8,500 pesos at least. Adjusted for inflation I guess the same and comfortable chair should be around 11,500. The added 5 to 7,000 pesos in order to get something like the V1 comes from the fact that Sihu is a relatively safe brand. I mean just look at how my unboxing video at how neat everything is packaged and if you get it from TW which I highly recommend you do since they are the official supplier of the Philippines and also because they are the ones who can get you spare parts the quickest in case something happens. Secondly, the design of the V1 is almost science fiction like due to the spinal curvature and play of metal. In conclusion I believe that the V1 and the Sihu M57 would both last quite long. I am willing to bet at least 10 years for the average user so the only reason why you would opt for the V1 over the M57 would be because you prefer either the more premium design or you feel that the lumbar support of the V1 is more to your liking as opposed to this block in the M57. Especially since the adjustment in the V1 is so easy due to the 2 prompt knob system. Essentially these are all solutions to first world problems but if there is one thing I have learned during the pandemic and working from home is that the health of your back is never a first world problem. It's a real problem and you should take care of yourself. We are giving the V1 a 4 out of 5 candy points and since I didn't give the M57 a candy point chart last time I give that one a 4.5 candy points mostly due to the value for money you receive with the M57. That's all for our physical store and you can also buy from our site www.hwsugar.ph which is 100% up-to-date for the inventory there. If the item we stock is available on the site, we also ship nationwide. Thanks for watching and maybe one of these days we will see you at the shop.