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Alera ALEEL42BME10B Elusion Series Review

Struggled to distinguish itself from the pack with its overall lackluster showing
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Alera ALEEL42BME10B Elusion Series Review
Price:  $375 List
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Manufacturer:   Alera
By Hayley Thomas, David Wise, and Austin Palmer  ⋅  Jun 25, 2021
56
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Comfort - 50% 6.0
  • Adjustability - 35% 5.0
  • Durability - 10% 6.0
  • Ease of Assembly - 5% 5.0

Our Verdict

Putting up relatively mediocre results in each of our testing metrics, the Alera ALEEL42BME10B Elusion Series is relatively uninspiring compared to the other office chairs in the group. It only had a minimal amount of adjustability, and our judges rated it far from the most comfortable chair of the group. In addition, it can be a bit of a hassle to assemble and didn't seem as well-built as the top-of-the-line products. On top of all that, its list price seems disproportionately high.
REASONS TO BUY
Acceptably comfortable
REASONS TO AVOID
Mediocre adjustability
Harder to build

Our Analysis and Test Results

Performance Comparison


alera aleel42bme10b elusion series - the alera is fairly comfortable, but far from our favorite.
The Alera is fairly comfortable, but far from our favorite.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Comfort


The first — and most important — round of tests was our series of comfort evaluations, which is responsible for half of the Alera's overall score. We had a panel of different testers try out each chair for a while, then rate how comfortable the various aspects of each one are and figure out how long they could sit in it without undue discomfort.

A handful of our panel felt they could easily sit in this chair for eight to 10 hours a day without any cause for complaint, but a few testers felt they would only want to sit in this chair for four to six hours a day at the maximum.

alera aleel42bme10b elusion series - not all of our testers were happy about sitting in the alera for a...
Not all of our testers were happy about sitting in the Alera for a full work day.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

When it came to judging the different parts of the chair, the seat cushion was almost universally rated on the more comfortable side, with only a single judge scoring it more on the mediocre side.

alera aleel42bme10b elusion series - most people liked the comfortable seat cushion on this chair.
Most people liked the comfortable seat cushion on this chair.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The response to the backrest was a bit more split, with half the testers rating it highly and the other half scoring it average or below. The Alera's favor fell even more when it came to its armrests, with a majority of our testers giving them uninspiring scores with regards to comfort.

alera aleel42bme10b elusion series - you need to get out of the chair to reach some of the adjustments on...
You need to get out of the chair to reach some of the adjustments on the Alera.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Adjustability


Next, we compared how adjustable each chair's backrest, seat, armrests, and reclining mechanism is. We also rated each chair on how easy it is to configure it, so you are seated in a proper ergonomic position. Altogether, these tests are responsible for just a bit over a third of the Alera's overall score. The backrest is reasonably high and can be moved up and down to adjust the location of the lumbar support. However, we weren't terribly impressed with it, as the small protrusion that was purportedly for lumbar support didn't seem to do all that much for many of our testers.

alera aleel42bme10b elusion series - the lumbar support on the alera is a bit uninspiring.
The lumbar support on the Alera is a bit uninspiring.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The armrests have about half the adjustability of the top models, only allowing you to move them in or out and set the height, not change the depth or angle. You can't do much to the seat besides set its height, and the reclining tension knob doesn't have the largest response, with even the lowest setting being on the stiffer side. We did like that the Alera has a tilt limiter to lock you upright. It's also fairly easy to get this chair set up pursuant to proper ergonomic seating guidelines.

alera aleel42bme10b elusion series - the alera isn't the most durable chair we have seen but still seemed...
The Alera isn't the most durable chair we have seen but still seemed fairly well-built.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Durability


Our durability metric assessed how well constructed each office chair is. We based the score on our own experience with the chair's wear and tear during our testing process and looking for commonly encountered problems or component failures by researching other user experiences. The Alera earned a slightly above average score here.

The backrest started to stretch out after a few months of testing, so we could see it wearing out quickly. We found a handful of other user experiences online that backed this up, noting that the backrest on their chair had completely stretched out so that your back was resting against the plastic frame. We also found a group of user reviews complaining that the chair began to squeak after a while or that they broke off one of the adjustment levers.

alera aleel42bme10b elusion series - the alera took a fair bit of time to put together.
The Alera took a fair bit of time to put together.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Ease of Assembly


We looked at the amount of effort it was to get this chair unpacked from its shipping carton and assembled for this metric. We also took into account the quality and helpfulness of the supplied instructions and other documentation. The Alera Elusion Series earns an average score for a somewhat involved process when it came to building it.

This chair took us 35-45 minutes to assemble, as you have to build most of it before sitting down. The instructions aren't especially great, and the photos could be a lot better, but you can still follow them without too much difficulty.

Value


This chair isn't a great value, with less expensive options significantly outperforming it.

Conclusion


The Alera screamed mediocrity in almost all of our tests, and there are other chairs that we preferred much more in the same or lower price range, making us reticent to recommend it.

alera aleel42bme10b elusion series
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Hayley Thomas, David Wise, and Austin Palmer