Humanscale Freedom Headrest Leather, Obsidian Black

Name: Humanscale Freedom Headrest Chair in Leather – Obsidian, Polished Aluminium
Brand: Humanscale
SKU: F212ATL10NFSHNSC
Price: 2890.00 AUD
Availability: InStock

Humanscale Freedom Headrest Chair in Leather front view - Chair Dinkum

Humanscale Freedom Headrest Chair in Leather side view - Chair Dinkum

Humanscale Freedom Headrest Chair in Leather back view - Chair Dinkum

$3,040.00 $2,890.00 Save $150.00

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15-year Humanscale warranty, 24/7 use

Weight-sensitive recline: no levers, no dials

In stock, ships from our Sydney warehouse

In stock, ready to ship

Shipped from our Sydney warehouse; delivery times and costs are calculated at checkout based on your location.

Change-of-mind returns are subject to our returns policy. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law for faulty or damaged goods are separate and are not limited by it.

Humanscale warrants the Freedom for 15 years of 24/7 use, one of the longest terms in office seating. Under Humanscale's published terms, upholstery, cushions, arm pads and castors are covered for 5 years and the rest of the chair for the full 15. Warranty claims on chairs bought from Chair Dinkum are lodged through us in Sydney. Full terms are on our warranty page.

This warranty is in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.

The Executive Chair With No Levers

15-Year Warranty

Humanscale warrants the Freedom for 15 years of round-the-clock use. Claims on chairs bought from us are lodged through Chair Dinkum in Sydney.

Nothing to Set

Recline, arms and headrest all follow your body. There is no tension dial, no tilt lock and no lumbar knob, because Niels Diffrient designed them out.

In Stock in Sydney

The Freedom Headrest in leather is held in our Sydney warehouse, and you can sit in one at the Pyrmont showroom before you decide.

Weight-Sensitive Recline

Sit Down. It Is Already Set.

Most task chairs make you earn a good recline: find the tension knob under the seat, wind it, test it, wind it again. The Freedom does none of that. Its mechanism uses your body weight as the counterbalance, so the moment you sit down the recline resistance is already right for you, and it stays right for the next person who sits in it. Lean back and the seat and back move together through up to 20 degrees; stop anywhere and the chair holds you there.

That is the idea Niels Diffrient built the whole chair around in 1999, and it is why the Freedom has stayed in production, unchanged in principle, ever since. In the photograph the chair is shown in Humanscale's yellow signature finish; this listing is Obsidian black Ticino leather on polished aluminium.

Woman reclining in a yellow Humanscale Freedom chair with polished aluminium trim, side view in a studio - Chair Dinkum Australia

Dynamic Headrest

A Headrest That Moves With You

The headrest is what turns the Freedom from a task chair into an executive one. Set its height once, with 125 mm of adjustment, and from then on it is dynamic: as you recline, it moves with the backrest and cradles your head and neck in any posture. You never reach up to reposition it, which is exactly the point of a chair with no levers.

Below it, the backrest pivots to follow the curve of your spine, and the contoured cushions, with a waterfall front edge and a coccyx cut-out, spread your weight rather than concentrating it at the tailbone.

The Details

Five Things That Make It a Freedom Headrest in Obsidian Leather

The dynamic headrest, the pivoting back, the back-mounted synchronous arms, the weight-sensitive recline, and the leather and frame behind the 15-year warranty. If you are comparing it with the standard Freedom task chair, everything here is the same apart from the headrest.

Side view of the Humanscale Freedom Headrest chair in Obsidian black Ticino leather on polished aluminium

01

A Headrest That Moves With You

Set its height once, with 125 mm of adjustment, and from then on it is dynamic: as you recline it moves with the backrest and cradles your head and neck in any posture. You never reach up to reposition it, which is exactly the point of a chair with no levers.

Rear view of the Humanscale Freedom Headrest chair in Obsidian black Ticino leather on polished aluminium

02

A Back That Follows Your Spine

The backrest pivots to follow the curve of your spine, and the contoured cushions, with a waterfall front edge and a coccyx cut-out, spread your weight rather than concentrating it at the tailbone.

A hand on the back-mounted arm of a Humanscale Freedom; this photograph shows another Humanscale upholstery, not the Obsidian leather of this listing

03

Arms on the Back, Not the Seat

The synchronous arms mount to the back frame rather than the seat, so they recline with you and keep your forearms supported at the same angle to your body throughout. They adjust through 150 mm of height with one hand.

A black Humanscale Freedom Headrest chair at a sit-stand desk in a bright home office

04

Recline Set by Your Own Weight

The mechanism uses your body weight as the counterbalance, so the resistance is already right the moment you sit down. Lean back and the seat and back move together through up to 20 degrees; stop anywhere and the chair holds you there.

Exploded view of the layers that make up a Humanscale Freedom Duron arm pad

05

Duron Arm Pads and 15 Years

The Duron arm pads are a multi-layer construction that Humanscale rates at five times the toughness of a standard pad. Humanscale warrants the Freedom for 15 years of 24/7 use, with upholstery, cushions, arm pads and castors covered for 5 years.

The Numbers

Recline: 20°, weight-sensitive, self-locking
Headrest Height Adjustment: 12.5 cm
Arm Height Adjustment: 15 cm, back-mounted
Seat Depth: 41.5–47 cm
User Range: 152–193 cm, 45–136 kg
Warranty: 15 years, 24/7 (Humanscale)

The figures are Humanscale's own, from the Freedom Task and Headrest brochure, rounded to the nearest half-centimetre. Some of the photographs on this page show other Humanscale finishes; this listing is Obsidian black Ticino leather on polished aluminium.

Rear three-quarter view of a Humanscale Freedom Headrest chair in brown leather showing the polished aluminium back frame and synchronous arms - Chair Dinkum Australia

Synchronous Arms

Arms on the Back, Not the Seat

On most chairs the arms are bolted to the seat, so when you recline they stay put and your elbows leave them behind. The Freedom's synchronous arms mount to the back frame instead. Recline, and they recline with you, keeping your forearms supported at the same angle to your body throughout.

They adjust for height through 150 mm with one hand, and the Duron arm pads are a multi-layer construction that Humanscale rates at five times the toughness of a standard pad. The chair in this photograph is upholstered in brown leather; this listing is Obsidian black Ticino leather on polished aluminium.

Humanscale, 1999

Designed by Niels Diffrient

Niels Diffrient had spent decades studying how people sit before he designed the Freedom. His conclusion was that chairs had become overrun with knobs and levers that most people never touched, and that the answer was a chair that adjusted itself. Humanscale calls him the father of modern ergonomics; The New York Times called the Freedom the gold standard in office seating, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum holds it in its collection.

Diffrient's principle was that design should serve the user. On the Freedom that means the fewest possible decisions between sitting down and being comfortable.

Niels Diffrient drawing at his studio drafting board - Chair Dinkum Australia

Obsidian Leather, Polished Aluminium

This Model

This listing is the Freedom Headrest in Ticino leather in Obsidian (black) over contoured foam cushions, on a polished aluminium frame with graphite trim, with standard Duron arms and standard castors, as shown in the gallery: Humanscale model F212ATL10NFSHNSC. It is held in our Sydney warehouse and ships from there.

We hold three other leather and frame combinations in Sydney: Obsidian, graphite frame, Glacier white, polished aluminium, Corvara Saddle, polished aluminium, Corde 4 black textile, graphite frame. Other Humanscale leathers, textiles and frame colours are available to order; call 02 9640 0642 and we will quote it. The 15-year Humanscale warranty applies either way, with claims lodged through us in Sydney. Full terms are on our warranty page.

Why We Stock It

We stock the Freedom Headrest because it is the chair we recommend to people who want an executive chair and do not want to learn one. Directors, partners, anyone who moves between a desk and a screen all day and reclines to think: the Freedom fits them on the first sit, and it keeps fitting them because there is nothing to knock out of adjustment. In leather it also looks the part in a boardroom or a corner office, and the polished aluminium frame ages as well as the hide does.

You can sit in one alongside the Humanscale Liberty and the Aeron at our Pyrmont showroom, or call 02 9640 0642 and we will help you choose. The photograph shows the chair in Humanscale's saddle leather; this listing is Obsidian black Ticino leather on polished aluminium.

Humanscale Freedom Headrest chair in saddle leather at a timber executive desk in front of built-in bookshelves - Chair Dinkum Australia

Humanscale Freedom Headrest chair at a desk in a whitewashed brick loft with steel-framed windows - Chair Dinkum Australia

Designed by Niels Diffrient for Humanscale

Less Adjustment. More Support.

A chair that adapts to you, in whatever room you put it in.

Features & Specifications

Key Features

-Weight-sensitive, self-locking recline: your body weight sets the resistance through 20° of recline, with no tension dial or lock lever

-Dynamic headrest moves with you as you recline and adjusts 125 mm vertically

-Pivoting backrest follows the spine; contoured cushions with a waterfall front edge and coccyx cut-out

-Synchronous arms mount to the back frame so they travel with you in recline; 150 mm of one-handed height adjustment, 330 mm pads, 510 mm apart

-Seat depth adjustable 415–470 mm; 125 mm pneumatic seat-height range on the standard cylinder

-Sized for users 152–193 cm tall and 45–136 kg; the structure is certified to 180 kg

-This listing: Ticino leather in Obsidian (black) over contoured foam, polished aluminium frame with graphite trim, standard Duron arms with upholstered pads, standard castors (Humanscale model F212ATL10NFSHNSC)

-GREENGUARD Gold and level® 2 certified; Living Product Certified with a Net Positive designation

-Designed by Niels Diffrient, in production since 1999 and held in the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Downloads

Humanscale Freedom Task & Headrest — BrochurePDF ↓ Humanscale Seating — Cleaning & Care GuidePDF ↓

Dimensions

Overall Height109–134.5 cm

Overall Width69 cm

Seat Depth41.5–47 cm

Seat Height Range12.5 cm pneumatic travel (standard cylinder)

Recline20°, weight-sensitive, self-locking

Headrest Height Adjustment12.5 cm

Arm Height Adjustment15 cm, back-mounted

Arm Length / Spacing33 cm pads, 51 cm apart

Chair Weight22.3 kg

User Range152–193 cm, 45–136 kg

Warranty15 years, 24/7 (Humanscale)

Humanscale ModelF212ATL10NFSHNSC

Dimensions and adjustment ranges are Humanscale's published figures from the Freedom Task & Headrest brochure, rounded to the nearest half-centimetre. The 45–136 kg range is the recline mechanism's design range; Humanscale certifies the chair's structure to 180 kg. Warranty terms are on our warranty page.

View the full Humanscale range →

Frequently Asked Questions

The Freedom's mechanism uses your body weight as the counterbalance. When you lean back, the seat and back move together through up to 20 degrees of recline, and the resistance you feel is set by how much you weigh rather than by a spring you have to wind. Stop anywhere and the chair holds that position; sit forward and it follows. Humanscale designed the mechanism for users from about 45 to 136 kg, which is why it feels right for the first person who sits in it and the next one too.

Humanscale warrants the Freedom for 15 years of 24/7 use. Under Humanscale's published terms the chair's structure and mechanism are covered for the full 15 years, while upholstery, cushions, arm pads and castors are covered for 5 years. Claims on chairs bought from us are lodged through Chair Dinkum in Sydney; full terms are on our warranty page, and your Australian Consumer Law rights apply in addition.

Yes, in two ways. It has 125 mm of manual height adjustment so it can be set for your stature, and once set it is dynamic: as you recline, the headrest moves with the backrest and cradles your head and neck in any posture without a second adjustment. That is what separates the Freedom Headrest from Humanscale's standard Freedom task chair, which has the same seat, back, arms and mechanism without it. If you prefer fabric to leather, we also list the Freedom Headrest in fabric.

This is the Freedom Headrest in Ticino leather in Obsidian (black) over contoured foam cushions, on a polished aluminium frame with graphite trim, with standard castors, exactly as shown in the gallery renders (Humanscale model F212ATL10NFSHNSC). We hold three other combinations in Sydney: Obsidian, graphite frame, Glacier white, polished aluminium, Corvara Saddle, polished aluminium, Corde 4 black textile, graphite frame. Some of the photographs on this page show other Humanscale finishes; other chrome-free leathers, textiles and frame colours are available to order. Call 02 9640 0642 and we will quote it and confirm the lead time.

They approach the same problem from opposite ends. The Aeron is a suspension-mesh chair with separate controls for tilt tension, tilt limit, seat angle, arms and lumbar, and it rewards people who like to set a chair up precisely. The Freedom is upholstered, and its recline, arms and headrest all adjust themselves as you move, so there is almost nothing to set. If you run warm and want mesh, look at the Aeron; if you want a cushioned executive chair you never have to think about, this is the one.

Niels Diffrient, the American industrial designer Humanscale calls the father of modern ergonomics, designed the Freedom in 1999 around a single idea: a chair should adapt to the person rather than the person to the chair. It introduced weight-activated automatic recline to office seating, The New York Times called it the gold standard in office seating, and it is held in the collection of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Humanscale still builds it to Diffrient's design today.

Humanscale sizes the Freedom Headrest for people from 152 to 193 cm tall and 45 to 136 kg, with the seat depth adjustable from 41.5 to 47 cm, 12.5 cm of seat-height travel on the standard cylinder, 15 cm of arm height and 12.5 cm of headrest height. The structure itself is certified to 180 kg. If you are near either end of the range, sit in one at our Pyrmont showroom or call 02 9640 0642 and we will talk it through.

Humanscale Freedom Headrest Chair in Leather – Obsidian, Polished Aluminium