Phil Zen

Phil Zen is an online shop for home office furniture that sells to North America, with prices in USD and a separate "Active Chair Canada" collection alongside its main chair range. It does not make furniture. It picks brands and resells them, and the list is long: Varier, HAG, Salli, 9to5 Seating, Backapp, &Tradition, ApexDesk and others appear among its vendors. The homepage sums up the offer as a satisfaction guarantee, a best price guarantee and free U.S. shipping, and it describes the company as a small business, "Not Amazon."

The About page tells the founding story. The site says the concept came from people working from home. "The pandemic made our project more relevant than ever," it adds. Its stated mission is "to assist you in reaching an optimal level of comfort, functionality and harmony within your home office environment and beyond." It says it recommends "a selection of outstanding designs which enhance and simplify your daily experience," and that the company considers its impact on the environment at every step. On the homepage, Phil Zen says items are selected on design and quality, and also on the reliability and environmental awareness of the manufacturer.

The tree program is a visible part of the pitch. For every purchase, the site says, the buyer plants one tree, through a partnership with One Tree Planted, and the homepage names projects on the West Coast after recent wildfires. The site also has a "You Plant Trees" page in its footer menu.

For active sitting, the most useful page is the site's 2026 Active Office Chair Guide. It defines active sitting as movement while seated and quotes Peter Opsvik, the designer behind Varier's active chairs: "The best position is always the next one." The guide then argues its case in its own words. It says research studies have linked prolonged sitting to health risks, that exercise does not cancel out time spent sedentary, and that since there is no perfect posture, the recommended approach is to change position as often as possible. The guide also credits active seats with core strengthening and increased blood flow. Those are Phil Zen's claims, not findings of ours, and the guide cites outside writers such as James Hamblin to support them.

The guide sorts chairs into types. Tilting chairs are "The classic," which the guide says are the most popular because of their familiar design, and its pros and cons list notes that with this type, activity relies on conscious movement. The HAG Capisco gets its own section as "The Allrounder," a saddle design Opsvik created 40 years ago that the guide says offers many ways to sit or half stand. Kneeling chairs ("The trendsetter"), saddle chairs ("The bold statement"), sway chairs such as the CoreChair ("The creative") and perch stools ("The in-between") each get an entry with a list of pros and cons. For saddle chairs the guide warns that it may take up to a couple of weeks to adapt to sitting differently and that they are not compatible with a regular desk height. That kind of plain downside is useful when choosing between types.

Varier is the brand Phil Zen features most heavily in this category. The Variable Balans kneeling chair was listed at $479.00 USD against a regular $699.00 USD, and the Variable Balans Monochrome at $479.00 USD against $499.00 USD. The Gravity Balans was listed from $3,499.00 USD against $4,949.00 USD, with a rating of 4.9 / 5.0 from 21 reviews. The Varier Social showed at $1,299.00 USD against $1,498.00 USD, and a Thatsit Balans at $1,499.00 USD against $1,799.00 USD.

The Ekstrem product page is the most detailed one on the site. The chair was listed at $4,999.00 USD against $6,299.00 USD. The page says the design, by Terje Ekstrøm, was relaunched at the 2018 Milan Design Week in 5 new colors, and it suggests sitting forward with feet on the floor, sideways with legs over the armrests, or backward. The spec block gives W 28.3 in x D 27.5 in x H 31.1in, a seat height of 17in, a weight of 33 lbs, and a warranty of 3 Year; the maximum weight field is blank. The knitted wool upholstery, the page says, is custom made for the Ekstrem by the Norwegian company Devold. The page also states that due to supply chain disruptions and increased prices, Varier is no longer offering customization options in North America until further notice. Colors are split between Quickship stock and 10 weeks pre-order.

Other active options come from HAG and Salli. The HAG Capisco Saddle was listed from $1,080.00 USD against $1,399.00 USD, with a rating of 4.8 / 5.0 from 43 reviews. The Salli Fully Customizable Saddle was listed from $1,212.00 USD against $1,469.00 USD. From 9to5 Seating, the Vault showed from $872.00 USD and the Vox from $639.00 USD against $939.00 USD.

Shipping and returns are spelled out on the Varier product pages. Quick Ship chairs in stock ship within 2 to 3 business days from the warehouse in Colorado by UPS or FEDEX ground, which the page says takes about 3 to 5 business days, with tracking by email. Phil Zen says it updates stock and lead times at least twice a week from the North American Varier warehouse. The return rule is strict: the site says it accepts no returns for Varier chairs because they are made to order, and that transport damage is handled by replacing what needs to be replaced. For warranty, the page offers a free 10-year limited warranty upgrade on new Varier purchases, provided the buyer registers on Varier's site within 30 days of purchase and submits proof of purchase; the page mentions separate 10- and 5-year coverages and links out for the terms. Canadian customers who qualify pay surcharges for shipping replacement parts. Lead times for other products are shown on each product page, according to the FAQ.

Beyond chairs, Phil Zen sells desks, monitor arms, lamps, storage, partitions, accessories and green solutions such as plants, plus bio-ethanol fireplaces. The Eco-Feu Cosy fireplace, for instance, was listed from $769.90 USD against $969.90 USD. The site has a Trade & Bulk Orders page for business buyers, a Price Guarantee & Discounts page, a customer testimonials page, a blog, and a "5-sec quiz" on collection pages that asks about the buyer's setup and daily sitting hours. A site banner advertised a sitewide Black Friday sale through 11/24, and most listings showed a sale price next to a regular one.

Phil Zen suits a North American buyer who wants a European-designed kneeling or saddle chair, such as a Balans or a Capisco, from a seller that explains the differences between chair types and publishes clear lead times. The no-returns rule on Varier chairs is the main thing to weigh before ordering one of them, since a kneeling chair takes some getting used to and cannot be sent back if it does not suit. Questions go to info@philzen.com or the phone line the guide lists, 833 888 5289, and the site also offers chat.