Nintendo World Report

This bean bag chair from Sumo Lounge is both versatile and durable.

If you’ve ever owned a bean bag chair, you probably know that they tend to be leaky, unsupportive, and expensive. Otherwise, they’d be perfect for gamers! Sumo Lounge has addressed these concerns with its Omni model. It’s a high quality product with many potential uses around the typical gamer’s bedroom or living room.

My first question was whether or not the Omni would hold up to any abuse. Though it would take years to do a truly thorough test of the product, I can say that its outer shell material is much, much tougher than that of any other bean bag chair I’ve seen. This stuff looks bulletproof, but it’s still smooth to the touch and perfectly comfortable against clothing or skin. It also resists liquid spills, so don’t worry too much about your gallon-sized Mountain Dew dumping onto the chair. It is possible to open the bag to add or remove foam pellets, but the access point is guarded by a zipper buried under the strongest Velcro I’ve ever tried to pull apart. It’s very unlikely that any pellets will be leaking out of this thing; the only ones I ever saw seemed to leftover from the factory and sticking to the outside of the bag.

Unlike many bean bag chairs, the Omni has a certain inertia to its form that lets you shape it in more ways than you’d expect. The shape-holding quality seems to be a combination of the type of pellets used and the design of the bag itself, with thick seams around the edge rather than one amorphous blob. The seams look a bit uncomfortable, but you can’t really feel them when sitting down. This ability to hold shape means that you can arrange the Omni in several useful configurations, including some that support your back and even your neck. You can also spread the bag out flat to serve as a floor pillow, and in this shape it’s easily big enough for two people. In fact, the Omni is so large that you should make sure your room has enough space for it. Despite its size, the bag is not very heavy and can easily be moved around the room or lifted into a different shape.

At over $100, the Omni is a significant investment. Its price seems extravagant until you realize that this is a piece of furniture. If you figure that it will last years in your home and be the “go to” seat for eager guests, it’s definitely worth the price. There is an optional footrest called the Otto (which I have not tested) that does seem overpriced for its size and utility, but the Omni itself is very reasonable.

Sumo Lounge’s Omni is definitely the highest quality (and largest!) bean bag chair I have used. It feels practically indestructible, yet very comfortable and stable in a variety of positions. Because of my back problems, I was quite worried that I wouldn’t be able to tolerate sitting in it for very long. It’s possible to sit in the Omni in ways that are surely unhealthy, but it’s large enough and sturdy enough that you should be able to find a configuration that supports all critical areas of the body. Perhaps the best thing about the Omni is how cool it looks, and how it will instantly attract anyone who sees it. This is one seat that everyone will be fighting over at parties.

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