This entry was posted on
Friday, September 12th, 2008 at
8:22 am and is filed
under Consume!.

Andrew of SumoLounge was kind enough to send me one of his products, the Omni chair, and I’m happy to oblige with a review.

Now, I should make it clear from the outset that bean-bags aren’t for everyone, and they can be temperamental and sometimes downright vindictive. I was thrown by one, once. Honest.

Five stitches to the chin, and I still bear the scars. It completely ruined an otherwise spectacular leap from the storage chest.

So this time I played it safe and let the kids face the danger.

Incidentally, they’re not too impressed with the colour (Pitch Black) because they’re still children. But I chose that colour (Pitch Black), for the very same reason.

(Don’t ask if we would have them eat from a trough. You wouldn’t like the answer.)

Right! Onto the testing floor we go:

Tester #1:

“The beanbag is brilliant. It has plenty of room and is tough wearing. It would probably be better in some brighter colours, and be available in smaller sizes. If it was available for a cheaper price then I would buy it.”

Yes, I know that the chair comes in many colours that are much brighter than black. But don’t let on.

Tester #2:

“The beanbag is soft, comfy but a bit on the large side and it gets in the way a lot. At times it is quite stiff, but overall it is a very nice and comfy bean bag and I would happily buy this beanbag from a shop.”

Putting young consumer aspirations aside…

Yes, it is big. You’d need to reserve an armchair-sized hole for one or have a place to store it if you didn’t want it complicating your every journey across the living room.

Tester #3:

“I think the bean-bag is comfy. The size is great, it fits four people on it. The colour is too dark. I think it will look better in another colour.”

Tch. Kids. What do they know? Black goes with anything.

Yes, it fits four people on it. Four little people, some of whom will be spilling over the edges. Still plenty big, though.

So…

The nylon cover is tough and, I would add, easy to clean.

It’s big and comfy, with plenty of room for most adults.

Because of its shape, there are corners to be negotiated, but a rounder product, the SumoSac, is available.

Here, it’s mostly used as a lounge station for morning or afternoon television, or as a flexible body platform during gameplay.

Please note that it *will* take up space. Because it is big. It’s not a weighty item, which makes it easy to move about, but if there isn’t a place where it can sit in standby mode, then you will need a place to store it, or you will forever be moving it about.

(And it hasn’t made its move against me yet, but I know that it’s only a matter of time.)