Review of FORTEM Chair Cushion

I’ve been using the FORTEM chair cushion daily for my home office for about 2 weeks writing this review. I’ve also tried to use it in the car and around the kitchen table. Here is what I think about it.

Product Overview

★★★★☆

PillowHunters Choice

Brand	FORTEM
Seating pillow	Yes
Back support	Yes
Area of support	Lower back and tail bone
Colors	6
Fill Material	Memory Foam
Exterior Material	Soft polyester-type fabric
Weight	24 oz
Length	18″
Width	14″
Height	8.01″
Can be washed	Yes
Country of origin	China

Find it on Amazon

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Why Did I Decide to Buy the FORTEM Chair?

I bought this pillow to use with my home office chair. My current chair padding is quite worn out, and I’ve been using some regular bed pillows up to now in order to soften the seat a bit. It worked to some degree, but they are not designed to handle a full-body weight for 8 hours a day. The filling ends up pushed to the sides where I’m not sitting. It resulted in pain in my lower back and numbness in my buttocks after a long day of work. I needed a cost-effective solution.

Earlier this year, I bought a memory foam mattress for my bed, and I was amazed by how the mattress naturally formed around my body and evened out my body weight for a more even pressure than a normal spring mattress does.

I decided to try something similar for my office chair: a memory foam seat pillow with lumbar back support.

I decided on the FORTEM Chair Cushion. It’s two pillows that are designed to give both lumbar back support and release pressure from the tail bone (coccyx), which was exactly what I was looking for.

I’ve included more information about how it works later in this review.

There were multiple colors to choose from: black, black velour, blue mesh, blue velour, grey mesh, and grey velour. Basically the typical “office colors”. I went with the black one since it would match my chair the best.

The pillows arrived in a small, compact package just a few days after my order was completed. The pillow was nicely vacuum sealed, and it wasn’t hard to pack everything up. The foam cushion was rolled into a cylinder and it took about a minute before it took up its natural form.

How Does It Work?

The FORTEM chair cushion is mainly designed for people who are experiencing either or both of the following issues:

1. Lower back pain (lumbar spine)
2. Tailbone pain (Coccyx)

An ergonomic back pillow designed to comfortably support the curvature of the spine in the lumbar region (L1-L5)

The lumbar back pillow has a hyperbolic paraboloid-like form which, with the help of the memory foam filling, supports the lumbar back region of the spine almost perfectly, regardless of the chair.

With the adjustable straps, it can be easily mounted onto almost any chair or seating. However, I use it without the straps so I can quickly adjust and readjust it during the day to my desired support for the moment.

A memory foam cushion with a unique U-shape designed for sitting comfortably and releasing pressure from the tailbone (Coccyx)

The seating cushion has a memory foam filling and a unique U-shape design that leaves a gap right where your tailbone is.

This design leaves your most sensitive part of your spine (Coccyx) to rest freely in the air while your strongest and most durable muscle group on the buttocks (Gluteus Maximums), gets a nice and even memory foam cushion to support your full body weight.

Keynotes

• Easy-to-wash, removable cover
• Concave shape to contour to the body
• 100% premium high-density memory foam that helps distribute your body weight evenly
• Gap created by the U-shape for pressure release from the tail bone (coccyx) by letting it rest freely in the air.
• U-shaped cushion recommended by Orthopedics

What Do I Think About the FORTEM Chair Cushion?

Ì bought this pillow mainly to use as extra padding when I sit. It’s very comfortable and helps in distributing my weight evenly. I’m 6″1 and weigh around 185-190 pounds. The seat cushions are a bit small for me, and there isn’t much room for me to adjust my butt.

I change my sitting position several times during my long days, which is why I often have to rearrange the position of the cushion to get the support I need. This isn’t really a problem. It goes quickly and once I’ve done it I’m good for another hour or so before I need to readjust again.

If you’re a shorter person, you might not have to make the same readjustment as I do since the margin of movement will be higher. If it’s the other way around, I would recommend looking for a pillow that has a bigger base.

I had my mother, who is 5″0 and 121, lbs-test it and she had no issues with the size, which reinforces my thoughts that it’s designed as a better fit for shorter people.

The cushion is nice to sit on and definitely does what it claims to do. I’m rarely tired in my buttocks after a long day of work, and the blood circulation in my legs is a bit better.

The unique U shape that is designed to release the pressure from the coccyx (tail bone) works flawlessly. I wasn’t aware of how much daily pressure I was putting on it until recently. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a very nice and releasing feeling that I didn’t know I was missing out on before. If you have a problem with your tailbone, I sincerely recommend this cushion design.

What About the Back Pillow?

To be honest, I’m not a great fan of the back pillow. Its curvature is slightly too much for me. The reason for it is that I already have noticeable curvature in my lumbar region (lower back), so I’m not putting enough pressure on the pillow to get the support it intends to give. Instead, it does the opposite for me.

That is not necessarily a problem with the pillow. It’s just that it’s not for me. I still use it partly throughout the day depending on what my current sitting position is. If I’m really leaning back in my chair, my lumbar back posture is putting enough pressure on the pillow to get the nice and comfortable padding it’s supposed to give.

A good thing about the back pillow is that you have straps on the back, so you can mount it sturdily to your chair when you find the sweet spot for you. Or you can do as I do: use it without the straps so it can be moved around freely throughout the day.

One thing is certain. My rabbit loved it! 😍

How Can FORTEM Chair Cushion Be Used?

I mainly used it for my office chair. That’s why I bought it. I have, however, tried it in other situations. For example, during our last family trip down the beach, I brought it with me to use in the car. I quickly realized that I’m too tall to use it safely since I hit the roof and had to tilt my neck in order to sit up. It isn’t ergonomic.

So what’s better than letting my 12y boy test it? He’s about 4.2″ and is nowhere close to hitting the roof when he sits straight. He said he could sit comfortably and that the extra height he got was nice. He gave the pillow a solid 5/5 for the whole 20 min drive he tested it for.

I also tried to enhance our average dinner chairs, which are just good enough to sit decently for the length of a meal, but far from good enough for a family evening with games around the table. I have to say the FORTEM Chair Cushion was a great enhancement to the average sitting experience the chair otherwise provides.

Since the cushion is so light and easy to move around (it has a handle at the side), there’s nothing to really stop me from taking this one with me when moving between the rooms. However, I’m not sure if I will find too much use for it other than having it in my office today. It’s nice, however, to know that the option is there.

According to user feedback and testimonials from other websites, people, especially ones with lower back pain, seem to be using this one for multiple things. The most common is, of course, the office worker who wants to enhance his seating experience during working hours. I guess this group is also the intended audience for the product. But, that doesn’t mean it has no use outside of that. Below are some seats and the situations people on the internet use them for.

• The office
• In the car
• Wheelchair
• Public commute (train/bus)
• When traveling (eg. on airplanes)
• Around the dinner table
• Camping

The general rating from user reviews across the web averages around 4 or 5 out of 5. It seems to come down to what the expectation is and why they decide to use it. Even if you’re not having issues with either lower back pain or your tail bone, this product is still worth a shot. It’s comfortable, affordable, and has no direct downsides at all. Is it perfect? No. It’s just a really good pillow that you can’t really get wrong with.

From Which Site Did I Buy this Pillow Online?

I got my pillow from Amazon which you can find here. Also, check out our page with the best eCommerce sites to buy pillows online here.

If you own a FORTEM chair cushion yourself or have questions about this specific review, leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.