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Libernovo Omni Pro Review: Cooler than you think
The Omni Pro's seat ventilation impressed us, though your mileage may vary. It's a nice upgrade to the original Omni, but the question of longevity remains.
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Libernovo is still basically brand new to the gaming chairs market — the company just released its first chair a little over a year ago. But the original Libernovo Omni was impressive: lightweight, dynamically ergonomic, and comfortable enough to supplant my ride-or-die Herman Miller Aeron for several months. Now Libernovo is branching out (sort of), with variations on its original Omni. There's a cheaper, less-techy version (the Omni SE), a fancier version with a built-in fan (the Omni Pro), and a sturdier version for people who are between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet 7 inches, weighing up to 399 pounds (181kg).
We're taking a look at the Libernovo Omni Pro, which is the more premium version of this already fairly pricey chair. It's got a few upgrades from the original Omni, including a reinforced aluminum alloy base and more durable fabric, as well as a built-in seat ventilation fan that works... surprisingly well, considering it doesn't blow air toward you but rather draws it away from you. As the fanciest Omni variation, the Omni Pro is, of course, pricier than the original Omni, but not by too much — its retail price is listed at $1,299, but that seems to be permanently discounted to $1,109. That's for just the chair itself; Libernovo also sells it bundled with a corresponding StepSync footrest for $1,183 (MSRP: $1,497), and with an extra battery for $1,247 (MSRP: $1,596).
The Omni Pro does require some assembly: It's more complicated to assemble than most gaming chairs, as it has some electronics built-in. But it's also easier to assemble than most gaming chairs, as it's fairly lightweight and none of the pieces are oversized or unwieldy.
The chair comes with everything you need to assemble it, including work gloves (not really necessary, but a nice touch, I suppose), a hex screwdriver, and hardware packaged in individually-labeled bags. The instructions are printed on a giant box insert, which is fairly easy to follow (though I still felt like the illustrations could have been explained slightly better). The chair also comes with a separate user manual and a setup manual to help you calibrate the chair for the first time.
The chair took me about 20 minutes to put together on my own.
The Omni Pro looks very similar to the regular Libernovo Omni — it's a compact, lightweight office chair with an articulated backrest that's designed to move with your body as you move and shift your weight in the chair. It's a pretty compact chair, relatively speaking, but it does have a “spine” that holds the backrest together, as well as a headrest that can be moved forward/backward, and so it takes up more space (at least, behind you) than you initially expect.
The Omni Pro comes in two colors, graphite (dark gray) and glacier (light gray, almost white). Our review unit came in graphite, with dark gray upholstery, a dark gray frame, a black wheelbase, and silver (plastic) accent buttons / knobs. The Omni Pro features new fabric upholstery — Gabriel Atlantic fabric, which is more durable and (I guess) breathable than that of the original Omni. The fabric does look and feel more durable and premium, but it's slightly more abrasive than the original fabric. It didn't cause me any real discomfort, but I also didn't sit on it for very long with bare skin.
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