This chair is utterly beautiful – but it’s not for everyone

It’s all Apple’s fault. Ever since the tech company launched the MacBook Air in 2008, the word “air” has become shorthand for a lighter, cheaper, and more stripped-back version of a product: DJI’s Mavic Air drone, Soundcore Liberty Air earbuds, Nike Air shoes... Maybe not Nike.

Branch is the latest to go light and airy with the Aire. As well as adding an E to the end, maybe to avoid lawsuits, the word pulls double-duty here: the Aire is lighter and has fewer features than the furniture company’s vaunted Ergonomic Chair Pro, and the lack of lumbar support means that it won't be making our list of the best office chairs for back pain. However, in switching to a mesh-focused construction, air can circulate freely, and the whole unit looks and feels lighter.

After a couple of weeks of testing, I’ve found that the Aire is one of nicest-looking office chairs around at the moment, and it comes with a very reasonable price tag — but it lacks features and won’t suit everyone.

Comfort & ergonomics

The most immediately noticeable thing about the Branch Aire is how bouncy it is. The suspended mesh is tight and trampoline-like, and the back springs backwards and forwards in a way that’s surprisingly playful and joyful for an office chair. It’s a lively sit that accommodates lively sitters, with the light weight and fluid mechanics combining in a way that makes the chair feel like it isn’t there.

Branch has stripped the Aire’s adjustability back to basics. The chair is designed in a cantilever fashion that brings the seat forwards as you press your back in. It’s comfortable, but it can only support your lower back so much. Anyone with back problems would be better off finding something with a more defined and adjustable lumbar support.

This tilt mechanism is limited to a 12° recline, with a toggle on the left side so you can bounce around or lock it in its most and least tilted orientations. The tilt isn’t enough to reach the armchair levels of comfort offered by some chairs, but it’s enough for kicking back for a quick read or social media catch-up.

The Aire is not practical for taller people, like my 6’ 4” frame. The armrests have a lot of adjustment (up and down, rotational, and fore-aft), but even at their lowest setting, they’re too high for my gibbon-like arms.

At the top end, the headrest takes a herculean amount of force to adjust, and I could never quite get high enough for my alpaca-like neck.

Branch’s one-size-fits-all approach is probably the only way they could keep the chair light and cheap, but if you’re above or below average height, you may begin to feel uncomfortable during longer working sessions.

Design & aesthetics

It’s hard to review how a chair looks when you’re sitting in it: it’s like trying to review your eyelid. But the Aire certainly lives up to its name.

There’s no denying this is a decent-looking chair that belies its mid-range price tag. The mesh gives it a translucent futurism, while the sprung back supports recall the seductive curves of a musical instrument. It’s all plastic, but the soothing colour choices and lightly metallic finish on the mesh make it feel premium and sci-fi. In fact, the moon-grey colour of our sample makes it feel like an indestructible (and possibly mildly poisonous) 1970s space toy, in the best way.

Ultimately, it’s a demonstration of how to make plastic look high-end. The chair's slim profile allows it to blend seamlessly into its surroundings: it’s currently situated at my dining table for quick work sessions and doesn’t look out of place at all. When I get up to admire it, that is.

Specs

Assembly

The Aire arrives partially assembled, and putting it together takes about 10 minutes: put wheels on, insert hydraulic bouncy tube thing (industry term), pop the chair body onto hydraulic bouncy tube thing, and then attach armrests and headrest.

A neat (but possibly accidental) feature here is that the chair body nicely sits upside-down on top of the box, making it easier to attach the arms, which screw on with an allen key and a couple of bolts each. However, the headrest feels like an afterthought; it clips on to the back with a couple of screws in a way that seems flimsy. If the chair has a physical weakpoint, the headrest is definitely it.

Price & value

At $499, the Branch Aire is planted firmly in the midground of office chairs. Branch’s range includes the Ergonomic Chair Pro, which retails for the same price; it’s heavier and chunkier, but it also includes much more adjustability and better lumbar support.

If it’s mesh you want, then the Sihoo is the brand to go with. Its Doro C300 Pro is frequently on offer for $399, and while it's not quite as good-looking as the Aire, it includes all the adjustments you’ll need for a really comfortable experience. Even though it’s under $200, the Sihoo M18 is another mesh-backed chair that punches well above its weight, even if it's not quite as graceful as Branch's option.

At the other end of the scale, Herman Miller’s Aeron boasts a mesh back, as well as three different sizes to cover various heights. Starting at over $/£1,000, it’s a pricier option, but Herman Miller is a pioneer in this field (the Aeron was first released 30 years ago), and it’s backed with a 12-year warranty.

Should you buy?

The Branch Aire is one of the best-looking mid-range chairs out there, with delightful swooping curves and fine lines conspiring to create a piece of furniture that effortlessly slots in anywhere from the boardroom to a bedroom office.

There are areas that could be improved: Branch hasn’t quite got the armrests right, and, even in its highest position, the stiff headrest is too low for taller people. There’s little in the way of lumbar support, so back pain sufferers would be better off finding a chair with more support.

While the Aire lacks adjustability, this might be a good thing: it’s easy to swap between different users without recalibrating the whole chair each time.

And this is where the Aire finds its true habitat: in those transient areas where you’re away from your main workspace but still need to get stuff done with a degree of comfort: the kitchen table, the hotdesk, the attic office. It's never going to become your main office chair, but its good looks and stripped-back adjustability make it a perfect runner-up.