College Analysts

Review: The Sumo Omni

I recently got the chance to try out the Sumo Omni – a giant, malleable beanbag that can also function as a two-person sofa or child catching pad, as I would find out when my four cousins tried it out.

What it looks like*:

The Sumo Omni measures 4.5 feet by 5.5 feet, but it only weighs about twenty pounds, so while it quite large in terms of area, it is still lightweight. When I was taking it out of the box, it initially didn’t strike me as anything special – the material on the outside didn’t seem particularly soft or comfortable, but more on that in a minute – yet once I gave it a few minutes to decompress from being shipped and sat down in it, I realized the great redemptive quality: the thing is really comfortable.

*She is not included

How to use it: Look at the Omni page and you’ll see all sorts of suggestions on how you can set up the beanbag for different purposes. Mainly it depends on how you feel most comfortable laying down; I prefer just to set the thing flat on the ground and lay down on it. The “bean” material on the inside adjusts to the weight and you just kind of sink down. and will then require a lot of motivation to get back up. Like I said, initially I didn’t see how the Omni could be that comfortable, but once you sit on it and slowly become enveloped, you’ll understand.

Who liked it: Because I got the Omni just before Thanksgiving, I ended up having the whole family (ages 6 to 74) test it out. My grandfather liked it enough to stop complaining about his back pain – quite a feat – and it also served as ample protection for my younger cousins, who used it as a landing pad as they took progressively longer head first dives off the sofa. The Omni is not officially a substitute for parental supervision though. Much, much later in the night after celebrating his birthday, my cousin ended up falling asleep in it.

Where I think it’s good for: The Omni is exceptionally versatile – it really can seat two adults, like a loveseat – and you can fit three kids on it if they’re doing something stationary like watching TV. If you have a decent sized dorm room or college suite, that would be ideal too, and the Omni seems to be designed with durability in mind. While I’d say it is targeted to younger crowds and hence would be a good gift for those between, say, 5 and college-age, I did enough informal testing to show that it appeals to everyone up through seniors (citizens, not the class above juniors) as well. At $129 for the holidays, it definitely comes in on the value end of beanbags too, as I’ve seen plenty of models that retail for twice that.

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