The Fellowes Elea Is the Hanging Office Chair That Moves With You
If a chair with a hanging seat caught your eye, here’s what the Elea is, how you’d get one, and the chair I’d order instead.
The short answer
If you want a chair you can order today, get the Eurotech iOO, sold now as the Ergohuman XTREME, for under $700. It’s my own mesh chair, and unlike the Elea, you don’t need a dealer to get one.
At a glance
- Seat: hangs on four steel rods and moves as you shift
- Made by: Fellowes, launched in 2021 under its Trendway office brand
- Sold through: dealers, more than 350 in the US and Canada at launch
- Rated to: 275 lb, with seat height and depth from a dealer
What is the Fellowes Elea, and how does a hanging seat work?
The Elea’s seat hangs on four steel rods, so it should give a little and move with you when you lean, shift toward the keyboard or fidget through a long call.
You can set the height and the tension, which should let you decide how much it gives, and there’s a tilt lock for when you’d rather it held still. The seat and back are breathable mesh, in white or black, shaped to support your lower back.
I really like the idea. Most of us fidget at a desk more than we’d admit, and this seat is built for it.
Can you buy a Fellowes Elea?
Not new, not online. Fellowes sells the Elea to offices through dealers, under its Trendway brand, and neither company’s page shows a price or a cart. I couldn’t find a store selling one new online, either.
Trendway rates the Elea to 275 lb, and the original owner gets Trendway’s limited lifetime warranty, which covers its whole line. I couldn’t get a clear seat height or seat depth out of Trendway’s papers, so those you’d get from a dealer.
Short of a dealer, a used one is the way in, and one was listed on a resale site when I looked.
If your office already works with a furniture dealer, getting one could be as simple as asking.
Who should skip the Elea?
If you’re setting up a home office on your own and want a chair you can order online, the Elea isn’t the one.
The same goes if you’re shorter or taller than most and need to know the seat height fits you before you buy. You’d be waiting on a dealer for that.
What would I buy instead?
My own chair is a Eurotech iOO. I bought it in July 2020, it’s still going strong, and I’d buy it again.
It’s my Aeron alternative. It has the mesh and the adjustments I’d want from an Aeron, and it doesn’t make my butt hurt. I adjust the arms almost every day, depending on what I’m doing.
You’ll see it sold now as the Ergohuman XTREME, the same chair under a new name. The high back with the headrest is the one on the button above.
The seat slides forward and back for your leg length, it tips back with you when you lean, and you can set how hard the lean pushes back or lock it upright. The lower-back support moves to where you want it and presses as firmly as you like.
You give up the hanging seat. You skip the dealer.
I wrote mine up in full in the Eurotech iOO review. If you’d like another mesh chair to look at, there’s Eurotech’s Vera.
Still setting up the corner the chair goes in? The Work Nook has the desk and the rest of it.
Questions people ask
Is the Fellowes Elea still made?
Fellowes still lists it with its office seating, so as far as I can tell, yes.
Can you buy the Elea online?
Not new. It goes through dealers, though one used Elea was on a resale site when I looked.
What’s a hanging office chair?
It’s a chair whose seat hangs from the frame, on rods in the Elea’s case, so it moves as you do instead of sitting still. If you meant a chair that hangs from the ceiling, this isn’t that kind.
Who makes the Elea?
Fellowes. It came out in 2021, sold through Trendway’s dealers.
Sources (9)
- officeinsight, Trendway Introduces Elea: launch date, who makes it, dealer network, and the suspended seat and its four steel rods, read October 9, 2026.
- Fellowes, Elea series: features and the listing with no price or checkout, read October 9, 2026.
- Trendway, Elea product page: features and downloads, with no price or checkout, read October 9, 2026.
- Trendway, Elea product sheet (PDF): mesh seat and back, suspended seat, colors, read October 9, 2026. Neither this sheet, Fellowes’ page nor the launch announcement gives a seat height, seat depth, weight limit or warranty.
- Trendway, Seating price book (PDF): the Elea’s 275 lb rating and Trendway’s limited lifetime warranty terms, read October 9, 2026.
- A used Elea listed on a resale site, found in a Google search, read October 9, 2026.
- OfficeChairsUSA, Ergohuman Xtreme with Headrest: price and shipping, read October 8, 2026.
- BTOD, Ergohuman XTREME Mesh Ergonomic Chair with Headrest: price, shipping, the iOO’s new name, weight capacity and adjustments, read October 8, 2026.
- Prices and stock, read by hand, October 8, 2026.
How these numbers get checked: methodology.