Haworth Fern Office Chair Review: Pros, Cons & Verdict

The Fern is Haworth’s flagship office chair. With a price tag of about $2,000, it competes directly with top office chairs on the Australian market, like the Steelcase Gesture, Steelcase Leap and Herman Miller Mirra 2.

You can buy the Haworth Fern chair in one of two ways: through Australian retailers like Officeworks or through Haworth directly, (either online, or by visiting their Sydney and Melbourne showrooms).

Here’s my #1 tip: There are two variants of the Fern:

Reasons To Buy The Haworth Fern Office Chair.

Above: My Haworth Fern in Forward Black colour combination (black with white contrast elements). Note the 4D armrests and the sculpted backrest.

The Haworth Fern chair is my favourite $2,000 office chair.

The clean, crisp, high-end design will elevate your office environment – without overpowering it.

It will look equally at home in a techy, gritty home office of a Microsoft developer or an airy, white office of a yoga instructor.

While most office chairs in Australia offer 1-2 colour choices, Haworth gives you 7 premade options.

If you have an eye for design and don’t mind a 2-month lead time, you can design your own Fern from over 50 colour combinations.

Above: Upholstery colour and material choices on the seat alone. You’re spoiled for choice here.

The seat base and backrest don’t have to be the same colour; everything from bold orange to subdued and warm blue is available.

Haworth’s build quality is top-notch. I’ve read reviews that complain about build quality, but this hasn’t been my experience.

In fact, the Fern is possibly the quietest office chair I’ve ever reviewed. Plonking myself in the seat doesn’t create any annoying noises.

Nothing rattles – anywhere.

Above: Fabric seat pan is thicker than I expected, but feels surprisingly taut.

It’s exactly what I’d expect from a premium chair, and it’s on par with premium options from Herman Miller and Steelcase.

If I was to get picky, I’d point out that the Fern’s 4D armrests tend to move on their own, under the weight of my forearms.

While design and functionality are excellent (almost on par with the best armrests in the business – those you’ll find on Steelcase’s Leap and Series 2), I wish they offered more friction and were less easy to move around.

(Related: Task Chairs vs Ergonomic Chairs: What’s The Difference?)

Like most office chairs at around the $2,000 price point, the Fern chair features a hybrid design.

You get a very comfortable foam seat with a waterfall front edge and a mesh back with a tapered design.

Above: The Fern chair with optional lumbar support.

Because the seat is spacious, you can sit cross-legged (even though it’s not the most ergonomic position).

Its foam cushion looks thick but offers a surprisingly firm – yet comfortable – sitting experience. It doesn’t bottom out or create pressure points in your backside.

Fern’s backrest is one of the best in the business.

(Related: ErgoTune Joobie: Best Office Chair In Australia?)

Its high-tech design uses 3 sublayers underneath the cover to provide comfortable back support while remaining flexible enough to help you stretch and move throughout your day.

I love the extra height of this backrest.

I’m a tall guy and love that it covers my entire back.

Its edges don’t dig into my shoulders, and because the backrest tapers towards the top, I can move my arms and shoulders back without restriction.

Above: Close-up of Fern’s lumbar support. Note the robust mechanism that has a huge vertical range of motion.

It offers a huge range of motion in the vertical plane but, unfortunately, doesn’t allow you to control depth.

This may present an issue for people who prefer gentle lumbar support. Fern’s isn’t aggressive, but is definitely noticeable.

Fine-tuning the Fern office chair to your body is easy.

You get seat depth adjustment and optional forward tilt if you prefer to work in a perched position.

(Related: ErgoTune Supreme vs Sihoo M57 Office Chairs: Which Is Best?)

Unfortunately, the forward tilt function only moves the seat pan forward (unlike the mechanisms on the Sayl and the Aeron, where the whole chair tilts).

A synchro-tilt mechanism powers the Fern chair’s recline, which is smooth, deep and comfortable. You will love it if you’re the type of person who likes to kick back and rock in your office chair.

Above: The Fern’s controls are minimalist and logical. No ugly levers anywhere.

Five lockable positions for recline and tension control round out the adjustments.

I love that all levers and buttons are within reach – there’s no need to get out of the chair to adjust anything.

The Fern task chair arrives at your door in a huge box, partially assembled, so you won’t need to spend much time fiddling with screws.

I bought mine through Haworth directly, and the delivery guy happily assembled it for me on the spot. It took him about 10 minutes.

Haworth gives you an outstanding 12-year warranty comparable to other high-end chairs in the price range (Herman Miller and Steelcase).

It’s rated for 365-day use, 24 hours per day and 7 days per week.

Reasons To Avoid The Haworth Fern.

Above: The Fern’s armcaps have a modern look. No excessive padding of fancy 360 degree swivels – Just a tapered shape that doesn’t irritate your forearms and 4D movement.

I’ve already mentioned the excessively easy-to-move armrests, so I won’t repeat myself – except to say – why?

But I do wish the lumbar support had depth adjustment.

Some people online have complained that the Fern’s lumbar is too firm, but this isn’t the case for me at all.

Apart from that, I don’t have complaints. Really.

I’ve read complaints from tall users who dislike the gap between the seat and the backrest when the former is moved fully forward.

Yes, there is a gap, but it’s not excessive. I have my seat pan fully forward and have no complaints.

Furthermore, this gap exists on all office chairs with seat depth adjustment (except on Herman Miller Embody), so the criticism – even if it was valid – wouldn’t be unique to the Fern alone.

Above: Hybrid construction means a mesh back and a foam seat pad that’s covered in fabric.

How The Haworth Fern Office Chair Stacks Up.

The Fern chair is a high-end chair that costs about half as much as ultra-premium options, like the Herman Miller Embody and Aeron.

It punches well above its $2,000 price and is a great investment.

My Verdict On The Haworth Fern Office Chair.

The Fern is ideal for people between 155 cm and 195 cm in height.

It’s one of the most comfortable office chairs on the Australian market if you’re within this range, and is my favourite sub $2,000 office chair right now.

It competes head-on with the Aeron and the Leap, but costs 30% less than the former and is better looking than the latter.

In fact, I like it more than the Leap because it looks more modern and has a better recline.

The Leap’s hip-thrust synchro-tilt feels much less nice than the Fern’s deep, rocking recline.

Yes, it’s expensive, but you can count on it lasting for 12 years, which means the cost translates to about $10/month.

This, by the way, is why I don’t recommend buying ultra-cheap chairs. You end up spending a lot more in the long term, as you have to throw them out over 1-2 years.

Steven