Adjustable kneeling seat with backrest | Varier Thatsit Balans
Original price was: £979.£789Current price is: £789.
- Varier Thatsit balans | Grey 164 | Black Ash
- Flexible runners for active sitting.
- Suited to home and office environments.
- 1-2 day delivery time.
- Cardboard packing is shabby.
Out of stock
What on earth is it?
Even if you think the Varier Thatsit looks like a chair designed for aliens, you’ll soon be convinced it was designed for real people.
Like the Variable balans, the Thatsit is a kneeling seat that works with you to improve your core strength. As it eases you into a better posture, abdomen and back muscles grow stronger, keeping your spine upright and your body balanced.
Next Position
Stretch a leg. Move naturally.
Healthy Position
Improves core strength.
Variable Position
Always in motion. Helps reduce tension.
Vital Position
Open angle for good circulation.
How to Be Comfortable in Your Varier Thatsit balans
Rule #1: Don’t sit on your knees.
Rule #2: Let your backside take the strain.
Interpreting the rules: We’ve written a little more about how to embrace your new posture and benefit from a kneeling chair. You’ll find that on our Variable balans product page. But it’s even easier to get comfortable in a Thatsit. Here’s why:
- It’s slightly larger than the Variable.
- Adjustable shin pads and backrest.
- You can sit facing in either direction.
The Basics of Active Sitting
TRANSCRIPT: We were born to move, so how can you help your body while you’re seated. Rethink you’re sitting with active sitting. Conventional chairs provide passive support where the chair does all the work. Recent studies show this inactivity is how many health problems start. Active sitting lets your body do more of the work. People naturally start fidgeting and shifting within 20 seconds of sitting, sometimes within 7 seconds, so why not have a chair that moves with you? Sure, it takes some getting used to but so do all healthy lifestyle changes. Active sitting opens the angle between the upper and lower body. This new angle works your core, keeps your spine lubricated, burns calories, increases oxygen levels, and the freedom to move aids concentration. Are you using a standing desk? An active standing support is a must. It takes the pressure off so you can avoid any problems associated with prolonged standing. Start active sitting for two hours a day, or even eight hours a day. You’ll feel the benefits. Make the most of your time sitting; start active sitting–your body will thank you.
A balans chair to keep you active
The Thatsit’s spaciousness means taller users more easily adopt the kneeling posture without being tempted to put pressure on the knees or shins. The backrest also makes it natural to move from an active to a laid-back position, while the hinged shin pads allow for leg-stretching or putting your feet up. And of course the flexible runners allow you to make it a rocking chair.
Although it was born 12 years after the original Variable balans, the Thatsit is rather like a more muscular and adaptable big brother. Not only is this kneeling seat a few centimeters wider and longer than the Variable, it offers several adjustments.
The standard Thatsit’s shin pads adjust in three directions:
- Up and down. By loosening the threaded knobs below the shin pads, you can adjust them to the ideal position, making the chair more flexible for users of varying height (e.g. children and adults).
- Back and fore. The sprung hinge below the shin pad allows it to flex from the default position to about 90 degrees towards the user, and a few degrees forwards.
- Spacing. By turning the shin pads around, the space between them can be increased or decreased. This requires four bolts to be removed and replaced, so you probably won’t want to do it every day.
Buy a Thatsit with an adjustable backrest and you can move that:
- Up and down. By loosening one threaded knob, you can adjust the backrest so that the wings are in the right position to act as armrests and a backrest.
- Back and fore. Using a lever under the chair allows you to choose one of 5 positions for the backrest. It’s only 10cm of adjustment, but it is enough to transform the Thatsit from a lean back-chair to a kneeling seat.
The Designer
Peter Opsvik, the Norwegian designer of the Thatsit is best known for the Tripp Trapp chair and the iconic Variable balans (launched in 1979). He also designed Varier’s Gravity balans, Wing balans, Multi balans, Pendulum and Actulum.
Movement and variation are vital in most of Opsvik’s ergonomic chair designs. The balans kneeling chairs were built on the theory that the body should be in constant movement. It is designed to make muscles bear the weight of sitting and not the spine or the knees.
Thatsit Balans Assembly Instructions and Technical Information
Does the Thatsit chair require assembly?
Yes, the Thatsit requires assembly. It will arrive with assembly instructions enclosed and the required allen key.
My Thatsit covers are threadbare after years of active sitting, can I change them?
Yes you can. Please visit our Varier parts page for more information.
What desk height is the Thatsit best suited to?
It’s best suited to a standard desk height of 72-77cm.
What are the dimensions of a Varier Thatsit?
Chair: W56 x D82 x H52 cm, SH 51 cm
Chair with back: W56 x D92 x H93-103 cm, SH 51 cm
My assembly instructions vanished, where can I find another copy?
Right here.
Zoltan [Verified Purchase, Glasgow] –
After experiencing intermittent back pain from sitting for long period at a desk, I decided to find a chair that eliminated it. After much research, I came upon Varier and the Thatsit model in particular. I must say that Next Position have been fantastic through the whole ordering process. I wanted to buy a custom Thatsit with one of the optional fabrics, a synthetic suede that is especially hard-wearing yet nice to the touch. Not a problem!
Once the chair arrived a few weeks later (custom fabrics are always going to be a special order from the factory). Assembly was a bit tricky but not impossible. The chair once assembled though was fantastic! Within two weeks or so any and all back pain disappeared. I can only thank the Thatsit chair for that. After a year of daily use the custom-order suede (Dinamica) fabric simply shows no wear of any sort as expected, and I don’t believe it should for at least another 4 years or so.
If you’re looking for the most versatile Varier chair with a backrest to occasionally lean back fully, you cannot go wrong with the Thatsit. I highly recommend it. It may cost a bit, but trust me it’s a very high quality chair that will serve you for decades. And in any case, when it comes to your back, it’s worth it.
TomB [Verified Purchase] –
Thank you for the helpful advice and for sending the kneeling chair so promptly. We have started using it and it is great. I can feel the pain in my back reducing already. We wish we had bought it sooner.