The HÅG Capisco is a weird, beautiful chair for people who can’t sit still


Whenever I’ve thought about buying a fancy office chair, I’ve envisioned something I could plop myself into like a kind of plush productivity throne. When I reviewed the $1,000 Steelcase Gesture, for instance, I could remain seated for hours and feel as if no time had gone by.

The Capisco from HÅG, a design firm within the Flokk furniture group, is nothing like that. This quirky-looking chair retails starting at about $549, depending on the variant you choose, but it doesn’t offer cloud-like cushioning, meticulous armrest positioning, a shape-shifting backrest, or infinite adjustability. Yet it still manages to be extremely comfortable because rather than doing its best to support a stationary body, it supports you while making sure you aren’t stationary for too long in the first place.

Credit: Flokk

As fancy as chairs get these days, most follow the same basic design formula: legs, a flat seat, and a wide backrest. The Capisco instead uses a carefully contoured, saddle-shaped seat and a narrow backrest. This combination allows for tremendous seating flexibility — you’re meant to change the way you sit throughout the day. You can sit on the Capisco backwards, sideways, half-standing, in a vertical fetal position, or what have you. It’s the perfect chair for fidgety people who can’t stay in one position for too long — nearly a cure for my restless leg syndrome.

It may be hard to visualize the different seating positions from just a description, so this short demonstration from workplace furniture retailer Fully gives a good overview:

There’s also this ridiculous ad for the Capisco Puls (a cheaper variant) gives you a good overview:

The ability to sit backwards is really the clincher for me.

When you do so — like some edgy kid in a 90s show — the backrest supports your chest and arms rather than your spine. This was kind of revelatory The Steelcase Gesture, for instance, was the most comfortable chair I’ve used… but only when I was using the chair while sitting straight up.

Credit: Flokk