So back in February, I reviewed an extraordinary product from Sumo: the Gigantor, a premium beanbag large enough for the whole family, a replacement for a sofa. (Star Trek-obsessed household that we are, it was soon dubbed “The Tribble.”) Now Sumo has a new, portable product that also intimidates and challenges expectation:
Is this new product as successful as the Gigantor? Will it become a daily seat for me? I try and read every morning in the Gigantor — the ideal chair to lose oneself in a book. Will the Omni Reloaded become the writing chair that I’ve been needing? (I’ve come to accept that siting at the desk in front of the laptop is no longer a conducive environment to writing. Typing on a keyboard isn’t writing. And likewise we can’t all be Winston Churchill and work in bed or in some equivalent mass of comfort. For my ideal writing environment I need comfort but also to be in an up-right position)
Last week I decided to take Maura for a walk to the park and give the Omni Reloaded a field test. How does this portable beanbag hold up in the real world?
http://instagram.com/p/sQWviXI7Ns/
The Reloaded is large but slides easily into its carrying case.
It only takes a few moments to slide out and pop into position. The material is durable and rinses off easily.
It initially folds out flat and can function as a bed. Its weight and heft come from the internal structure that allows it to bend at three points.
All set up and ready to go:
Very comfortable on a sunny day in the park:
Verdict:
The challenge for Sumo moving into a new market (portable, camping, beach furniture) seems obvious enough: the more weight and size one adds in comfort and sturdy frame the heavier and bigger the product becomes and the more difficult it’ll be for the user to move it around locations outside. The Omni Reloaded is tilted more on the comfort side rather than mobility. While it’s great for around the home, I’m more skeptical about it’s on-go-capabilities. It folds in half and remains a fairly bulky frame that didn’t fit very will into the trunk of our Yaris when the Siberian was taking up the backseat. It’s not going to be able to make the trek to the wife’s art studio when Maura joins. And the bag would be easier to carry if it were more of a backpack instead of with handles.
Where I’m hesitant to make the reloaded a travel chair of choice, it does serve as a great writing chair for around the home. The comfort and the way it adjust to just the right position discourages you from getting out of it (perhaps in a way invoking the spirit of its bean bag kin…)
The Omni Reloaded is a good step forward for an innovative company constantly trying to do new things. I hope CEO Andrew Milligan continues to explore and innovate with more mobile products and to tackle the challenge of making a mobile version of his signature bean bags that’s even more compact and comfortable. But the Reloaded is a solid first effort that may be just what many people are looking for in a versatile, durable, very comfortable seat for focusing on an activity.
$219.00, shipping included, order here.
Would you like to have your product reviewed by a writer on the PJ Lifestyle team? Send me an email: DaveSwindlePJM AT gmail.com or say hi on Twitter: @DaveSwindle
And here are some bonus pics of Maura the Siberian Husky with a product she especially enjoys and appreciates, her portable Loveable dog bowl that zips up and attaches to her leash:
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