HÅG Tribute Review (Australia): What $5,000 Buys, and Who Should Buy a SoFi Instead

The HÅG Tribute is the most expensive chair Chair Dinkum sells. Depending on the leather and the base you choose, it lands between $5,089 and $6,118. That is two to three times what a very good task chair costs, and roughly six times what a HÅG SoFi Mesh costs. So the only honest way to write about it is to answer the question a buyer at that price is actually asking: what does the extra money buy, and is any of it something you will feel?

This review works from Flokk's own published documents — the HÅG Tribute factsheet, the Environmental Product Declaration for the 9031, the Tribute brochure and Flokk's own webshop. Where Flokk publishes nothing, we say so rather than filling the gap. There are a few of those, and one of them matters more than the rest.

What the Tribute actually is

The Tribute is HÅG's executive range, designed by Norwegian designer Svein Asbjørnsen with sapDesign. Flokk's factsheet lists three models, and they are genuinely different chairs rather than trim levels:

• HÅG Tribute 9021 — task and meeting. High back, no headrest.
• HÅG Tribute 9031 — task and meeting. The same chair with a headrest.
• HÅG Tribute 9073 — meeting only. A lower back, a smaller base, and no 200 mm gas lift option.

The configurations we hold in Sydney are 9031-pattern chairs: high back, headrest, TiltDown armrests with a leather top. If you want the 9021 without the headrest, or the 9073 for a boardroom table, both are orderable — they are simply not what is sitting on the floor.

The published measurements

Every figure in this table comes from Flokk's HÅG Tribute factsheet. Flokk states that seat heights are measured under a 64 kg load, which is worth knowing because a chair measured unloaded will read differently.

Measurement (mm)	9021	9031	9073
Seat height, 150 mm lift	410–520	410–520	410–520
Seat height, 200 mm lift	460–640	460–640	Not offered
Seat depth	395–480	395–480	430 (fixed)
Seat width	455	455	455
Backrest height	740	740	530
Headrest height	Not fitted	680–795	Not fitted
Lumbar support range	170–238	170–238	170–238
Armrest height	178–285	178–285	178–285
Chair width	495–675	495–675	495–675
Footbase diameter	740	740	650
Weight	25 kg with armrests	25 kg with armrests	19.2 kg without armrests

Tilt range, from the same document: neutral 3°, forwards −7°, backwards 18° on the 9021 and 9031. The 9073 gives −4° and 13°. So the high-back models swing through 25° in total, and the meeting chair through 17°.

One honest caveat on seat height. Flokk's factsheet gives 410–520 mm on the 150 mm lift. Flokk's own webshop lists 387–525 mm for the same 9031 on the same lift. Both are Flokk documents and they do not agree. The likeliest explanation is that the factsheet measures under a 64 kg load and the webshop does not, but Flokk has not said so, so we are not going to state a seat height as settled. If the bottom of the range is critical for you — if you are short and the chair has to go low enough — come and sit in one in Pyrmont and we will measure it with you in it.

What Flokk does not publish for the Tribute

Two gaps, and the first is the one that matters.

There is no maximum user weight. Not in the factsheet, not on the webshop, not in the brochure. What exists instead is a warranty condition: Flokk's ten-year guarantee is written for normal use of up to 9 hours a day, and unless otherwise specified the maximum user weight for warranty purposes is 110 kg. That is a term of the guarantee, not a load rating, and the two are not the same thing. An absent figure is not an unlimited one either. If you need a certified capacity in writing — for a workplace assessment, or because you are near that number — tell us and we will chase the test documentation from Flokk before you commit $5,000.

There is no published gas-lift travel beyond the two lift options. Flokk offers the Tribute with a 150 mm or a 200 mm lift, and the 9073 with the 150 mm only. Beyond that, the seat-height ranges above are all there is.

The mechanism, and what it feels like

The Tribute runs HÅG's in Balance mechanism. Flokk describes it as technology that "enables an even transition between active and relaxed sitting" and "continuously supports your body's movements". In practice it is the same idea that runs through every HÅG chair: instead of a synchro-tilt with detents you lock into, the seat and back move together and keep moving with you. You do not set a recline position. You just move, and the chair follows.

That is the actual argument for a Tribute over a conventional leather executive chair. Most chairs sold as executive seating are a task chair with a taller back and thicker foam, and thick foam plus a locked recline is exactly the recipe for stiffness at four in the afternoon. The Tribute is a HÅG underneath the leather. If you have sat in a Capisco or a SoFi and liked how they move, you already know the feel.

Lumbar support

The lumbar support is height-adjustable through a range Flokk publishes as 170–238 mm, and Flokk describes the control as a wheel: it "slides smoothly up or down with the turn of a sophisticated wheel". It is a genuinely useful adjustment on a chair with a 740 mm back, because a fixed lumbar on a back that tall will be wrong for most people.

TiltDown armrests

The TiltDown armrests fold down out of the way, which Flokk points out lets you "sit much closer to your desk". On an executive chair with a 740 mm footbase this matters more than it sounds — a wide, tall chair that cannot get close to the desk pushes you into reaching, and reaching is what wrecks shoulders. Armrest height adjusts 178–285 mm. The armrest tops are leather, either black or matched to the chair's own leather.

Materials, and what it is made of

Flokk publishes a full material breakdown for the 9031, which is unusual and useful at this price. By mass:

Material	Share of the 9031
Aluminium	31%
Plastics	28%
Steel	22%
Polyurethane (padding)	10%
Textiles	6%
Various	3%
PVC	0%

Flokk's Environmental Product Declaration for the 9031 breaks the same chair down by weight: 8,311 g of steel, 5,961 g of aluminium, 4,858 g of polyurethane padding, 3,028 g of polypropylene and 1,532 g of polyamide, among smaller components. The EPD declares the chair at 26.5 kg excluding packaging, while the factsheet's line for a Tribute with armrests reads 25 kg. The EPD's declared unit is specifically the 9031 "with HÅG TiltDown™ armrests and headrest", so the headrest is the likely difference. We are quoting both rather than picking one.

One inconsistency worth flagging, since we have quoted both documents. The factsheet's percentage table puts aluminium ahead of steel at 31% against 22%. The EPD's material masses put them the other way round — 8,311 g of steel against 5,961 g of aluminium on a 26.5 kg chair works out at roughly 31% steel and 22% aluminium. Two Flokk documents, the same chair, the two metals transposed. We have asked Flokk which is right and we are not going to build an argument on either until they answer. What is not in dispute is that a little over half the chair by mass is metal.

On upholstery, Flokk offers the Tribute in leather and in fabric. The two leathers in Flokk's own range for this chair are Elmosoft, from Elmo, and Paloma, from Wollsdorf. Fabric options run through the usual Flokk collections including Kvadrat's Steelcut, Camira's Oceanic and Gabriel's Select and Capture ranges. Oceanic is worth a mention if sustainability is part of the brief: it is a Camira upholstery made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester including 50% SEAQUAL yarn recovered from oceans and beaches. That is a property of the fabric, not of the chair.

Where it is made

Røros, Norway. Flokk's Tribute brochure states that "Each HÅG Tribute chair is manufactured with absolute precision and lovingly crafted by one of the many skilled technicians at our factory in Røros, Norway", and that HÅG has been in the town since 1957. Flokk's Environmental Product Declaration names the production site as Sundveien, 7374 Røros.

That is worth being precise about, because "handmade in Norway" gets stretched a long way in furniture copy. Flokk's own wording is that the chair is built by one of many skilled technicians at a factory. It is skilled assembly work in a Norwegian factory, not a single artisan building one chair from start to finish. Røros is a UNESCO World Heritage listed mining town, and HÅG really has been there since 1957 — those parts are true and documented. The romance beyond that is not Flokk's claim, and it should not be ours.

Environmental figures

From the factsheet and the EPD for the 9031: 44% recycled content, 89% recyclable at end of life (both including packaging), and a cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of 126 kg CO₂ equivalents.

Context is fair here. 126 kg is high next to a lighter task chair — Flokk publishes 73 kg for the mesh SoFi — and the reason is in the material table above: a little over half the chair by mass is aluminium and steel, and both metals are carbon-intensive to produce. A big leather executive chair is not a low-footprint object, and a chair that claimed otherwise would be worth doubting. What the Tribute does have going for it environmentally is service life and repairability: Flokk guarantees the availability of spare parts for a minimum of ten years from the chair's production date, the EPD is modelled on a fifteen-year reference service life, and the chair is designed to come apart for material recovery.

Certifications — read this before you specify it

This is the one place where the Tribute's paperwork is weaker than its price suggests, and it is worth being exact rather than generous.

Flokk's published Tribute factsheet does not claim the chair is certified. Its wording, verbatim, is: "Pending approvals in accordance to EN 1335 Class A, BS 5459-2, ANSI BIFMA X5.1, GS." Pending is not certified, and we have not found a later Flokk document confirming that those approvals have since completed. What Flokk does publish for the Tribute is an Environmental Product Declaration to ISO 14025 and GREENGUARD certification — Flokk's webshop currently lists GREENGUARD Gold, dated August 2025 — under Flokk's ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 management systems.

For a home office or a single director's chair this changes nothing at all. For a tender, a government schedule or a fit-out submission that requires evidence of EN 1335 Class A or ANSI/BIFMA X5.1, it changes everything. Ask us to obtain the current certificate from Flokk in writing before the Tribute goes into a submission; we would rather chase the document than have your specification knocked back. It is worth noting the contrast with the HÅG SoFi Mesh, which is certified to EN 1335 Class A and carries a long published certification list. On paperwork, the cheaper chair is the stronger one.

None of this makes the Tribute a 24/7 chair either. Flokk's guarantee is written for use up to 9 hours a day. If you need a chair for genuine shift rotation, that is a different product; see the 24/7 chairs range.

Warranty

Flokk's HÅG term: ten years against production defects in normal use up to 9 hours per day, dropping to five years beyond 9 hours per day. Fabrics and leather are covered for five years. Normal wear and tear is excluded, and the warranty covers necessary spare parts but not labour or transport.

It is not "ten years, all parts and labour", and anyone selling it that way has not read the terms. Separately, Flokk guarantees it will supply the parts needed to maintain the chair's original functionality for at least ten years from the production date — that is about availability, not free parts. All of this sits on top of your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, which cannot be excluded.

What it costs in Australia

Prices below are our current selling prices, checked live today. Flokk publishes no Australian recommended retail price for the Tribute, so we are not going to present any of these as a discount off one.

Configuration	Price	In Sydney now
Brown, black aluminium base, ATG5130	$5,089	To order
Brown, polished base, ATG55130	$5,252	To order
Black leather, Palomasoft	$5,372	1
Brown, black aluminium base, Elmosoft 33004	$5,954	To order
Brown, polished base, Elmosoft 3304	$6,118	2

Three chairs on the floor, and the rest built to order at Røros. If you need one by a date, ask us before you order and we will confirm the lead time with Flokk rather than guess at it. A polished aluminium base adds roughly $164 over the matt black on the same upholstery, which is the clearest like-for-like comparison in the table.

Suits you if

• You sit in it all day and it also has to look right in front of clients. That is the actual brief the Tribute is built for, and very few chairs do both.
• You already know you like how HÅG chairs move. The in Balance feel is the reason to buy this rather than a leather chair from a furniture brand.
• You want a tall back and a headrest that is properly adjustable — 680–795 mm on the 9031, not a fixed pad.
• Your femur length is unusual in either direction. The 395–480 mm adjustable seat depth is a real technical advantage, and it is something a Herman Miller Aeron cannot do at any price — the Aeron's seat depth is fixed by which of the three sizes you buy.
• You want it repairable in ten years. Flokk's parts commitment and Sydney-held stock make that realistic rather than theoretical.
• You are specifying a boardroom and want the meeting chairs to match. The 9073 is the same family at a lower back height.

Does not suit you if

• You want the best ergonomics per dollar. You do not. A HÅG SoFi Mesh at $750 to $950 gives you a certified EN 1335 Class A rating, adjustable seat depth and the same ten-year HÅG warranty. The Tribute's extra money buys leather, aluminium, a headrest and presence — not more ergonomics. If nobody but you sees your chair, buy the SoFi and spend the difference on a desk.
• You need a certified user weight in writing. Flokk does not publish one for the Tribute. Ask us to get it before you order.
• Your tender needs certification evidence today. The published factsheet lists EN 1335 Class A, BS 5459-2, ANSI BIFMA X5.1 and GS as pending approvals rather than granted ones. Ask us for the current certificate first.
• You run hot. Leather over polyurethane padding in an office without good air conditioning is a long Sydney summer. Specify a fabric, or look at a mesh back.
• You work at a standing desk or perch. The Tribute tops out at 640 mm on the 200 mm lift. That is a seated chair. For perching, the HÅG Capisco 8106 reaches 810 mm on the 265 mm lift and is built for it.
• You need 24/7 or multi-shift duty. Flokk's guarantee halves beyond 9 hours a day, and the BS 5459-2 approval is listed as pending rather than granted on the published factsheet.
• You want a low seat. Flokk's two published figures for the bottom of the 150 mm lift disagree by 23 mm, and neither is especially low. Sit in one first.

How it compares in our range

Chair	From	Back	Movement	Published user weight	Warranty
HÅG Tribute	$5,089	740 mm, headrest on 9031	HÅG in Balance	None published	10 yr to 9 h/day
RH Secur24 Basic	$4,617	High back	Synchronous, lockable	150 kg RH general term	5 yr on 24/7-approved use
Humanscale Freedom Headrest, leather	$2,890	High back with headrest	Weight-sensitive recline	180 kg (400 lb)	15 yr
Control Master 24/7	$1,965	High back	Forward knee-tilt	200 kg loading, own-brand data	5 yr
HÅG Capisco 8106	$1,858	Open saddle back	HÅG balanced tilt	None published	10 yr to 9 h/day
HÅG SoFi Mesh	$750	Mesh with lumbar	HÅG in Balance	None published	10 yr to 9 h/day

Read across that table and the Tribute's position is clear enough. It is not the highest-capacity chair here, not the longest warranty, and not the best value. It is the one that moves like a HÅG while looking like an executive chair, and if that combination is the brief then nothing else in the list does it. If the brief is anything else, something else in the list is cheaper.

How it fits the rest of the desk

A 740 mm footbase is wide, so check your desk's leg clearance and any under-desk drawer unit before you order. On castors, Flokk lists HÅG castors in two nominal diameters, 50 mm and 65 mm, each in a hard-floor and a soft-floor version, plus felt and carpet glides. Tell us what your floor is when you order and we will specify the right pair — the wrong castor is the most common reason a new chair rolls badly on day one.

At this end of the market the chair is usually the last piece rather than the first. If the monitor is still sitting on a stand at the wrong height, a $5,000 chair will not fix your neck — a monitor arm will, for a fraction of the money, and our premium monitor arms comparison covers the options. Likewise, the Tribute is a seated chair, so if part of the appeal was working standing up, that is a desk problem and not a chair problem.

The recommendation

Buy the Tribute if you want a HÅG that is dressed for a boardroom, you sit in it for most of a working day, and the way it looks in front of other people is part of the job. On those terms it is a well-documented, repairable chair from a factory that has been making chairs in the same Norwegian town since 1957, and the in Balance mechanism is a real ergonomic argument rather than a marketing one.

Do not buy it because it is the most expensive chair on the page. If the room is your own study and the audience is nobody, the SoFi Mesh gives you the same ten-year warranty, a certified EN 1335 Class A rating the Tribute's factsheet still lists as pending, adjustable seat depth and change from a thousand dollars. If you need a certified user weight, or a chair for shift work, or a chair you can perch on at a standing desk, the Tribute is the wrong answer to all three and there is a better one in our range for each. For the wider HÅG picture, our complete guide to HÅG chairs maps the whole range, and HÅG spare parts in Australia covers what wears out and what it costs to fix.

Come and sit in one. Our Pyrmont showroom is at 1/209 Harris Street, by appointment — call 02 9640 0642 or get in touch. On a $5,000 chair, twenty minutes in it beats any review, including this one. You can also browse the full executive chairs range, or the wider HÅG collection.

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum user weight of the HÅG Tribute?

Flokk does not publish a maximum user weight for the HÅG Tribute in its factsheet, its brochure or its webshop. What Flokk publishes instead is a warranty condition: the ten-year guarantee is written for normal use of up to 9 hours a day, and unless otherwise specified the maximum user weight for warranty purposes is 110 kg. A warranty condition and a certified load rating are different measurements, and an absent figure is not an unlimited one. If you need a certified capacity in writing, contact us and we will request the test documentation from Flokk before you order.

Is the HÅG Tribute certified to EN 1335 Class A?

Flokk's published Tribute factsheet does not say so. Its wording is "pending approvals in accordance to EN 1335 Class A, BS 5459-2, ANSI BIFMA X5.1, GS", and we have not found a later Flokk document confirming that those approvals have completed. Flokk does publish an Environmental Product Declaration to ISO 14025 for the Tribute and the chair is GREENGUARD certified. If your tender needs EN 1335 Class A evidence, ask us to obtain the current certificate from Flokk before the chair goes into a submission.

How much is the HÅG Tribute in Australia?

Our current selling prices run from $5,089 for the brown ATG5130 on a black aluminium base to $6,118 for the brown Elmosoft 3304 on a polished base. The black Palomasoft leather sits at $5,372. Flokk publishes no Australian recommended retail price for the Tribute, so we do not present any of these prices as a discount off one.

What is the difference between the Tribute 9021, 9031 and 9073?

The 9021 and the 9031 are the same high-back chair with a 740 mm backrest, and the 9031 adds a headrest adjustable between 680 and 795 mm. The 9073 is the meeting model: a 530 mm backrest, a 650 mm footbase instead of 740 mm, a fixed 430 mm seat depth instead of an adjustable 395 to 480 mm, and no 200 mm gas lift option.

What is the seat height of the HÅG Tribute?

Flokk's factsheet gives 410 to 520 mm on the 150 mm gas lift and 460 to 640 mm on the 200 mm lift, measured under a 64 kg load. Flokk's own webshop lists 387 to 525 mm for the 9031 on the 150 mm lift. Both are Flokk documents and they do not agree, most likely because one is measured under load and the other is not, so we do not state a seat height as settled. If the bottom of the range matters to you, sit in one and let us measure it with you in it.

Is the HÅG Tribute made in Norway?

Yes. Flokk's Environmental Product Declaration names the production site as Sundveien, 7374 Røros, Norway, and the Tribute brochure states that each chair is manufactured with absolute precision and lovingly crafted by one of the many skilled technicians at the factory in Røros, where HÅG has been since 1957. It is skilled assembly work in a Norwegian factory rather than a single artisan building one chair from start to finish.

Is the Tribute suitable for a standing desk?

No. The Tribute tops out at 640 mm of seat height on the 200 mm gas lift, which is a seated chair. If you want to perch at standing-desk height, the HÅG Capisco 8106 reaches 810 mm on the 265 mm lift and is designed for exactly that.

What warranty does the HÅG Tribute carry?

Flokk guarantees HÅG chairs for ten years against production defects in normal use of up to 9 hours a day, dropping to five years for use beyond 9 hours a day, with fabrics and leather covered for five years. Normal wear and tear is excluded, and the warranty covers necessary spare parts but not labour or transport. Flokk separately guarantees the availability of spare parts for at least ten years from the chair's production date. All of that sits on top of your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, which cannot be excluded.

Is the Tribute worth it compared with a HÅG SoFi Mesh?

It depends entirely on whether anyone else sees your chair. Both chairs use the same HÅG in Balance movement, both have adjustable seat depth and both carry the same ten-year warranty, but the SoFi Mesh costs $750 to $950 and is certified to EN 1335 Class A, an approval the Tribute's factsheet still lists as pending. The Tribute's extra money buys leather, aluminium, a headrest and boardroom presence rather than more ergonomics. If the chair is only for you, buy the SoFi. If it has to hold up in front of clients all day, that is what the Tribute is for.

How much does the HÅG Tribute weigh?

Flokk's factsheet lists 25 kg for a Tribute with armrests and 19.2 kg for the 9073 without armrests. Flokk's Environmental Product Declaration for the 9031 with TiltDown armrests and a headrest declares 26.5 kg excluding packaging. The headrest is the likely difference between the two figures, and we quote both rather than choosing one.

Sources

• HÅG Tribute factsheet, Flokk (ENG, Nov 2019) — dimensions, tilt, weight, materials, pending approvals, warranty text
• Environmental Product Declaration, HÅG Tribute 9031, Flokk — declared weight, material masses, recycled and recyclable shares, carbon footprint, reference service life, production site
• HÅG Tribute brochure, Flokk — manufacturing, designer, in Balance, TiltDown, lumbar adjustment
• store.flokk.com, HÅG Tribute 9021 and 9031 product and configurator pages — model descriptions, lift options, the 387–525 mm seat height figure, GREENGUARD Gold listing
• Flokk warranties and product quality page — HÅG warranty terms and spare parts availability
• Chair Dinkum live product data, checked 9 September 2026 — prices, configurations and stock