FAQ

Most of us can’t define it easily since comfort is such a personal thing.  YOU KNOW IT WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE IT……AND YOU CERTAINLY KNOW IT WHEN YOU DON’T!! 

We know that many seating surfaces we use in our daily lives are downright uncomfortable.  In general the harder the sitting surface the greater the discomfort, which will usually  increase as the sitting area  gets smaller for any given surface material. The primary sources of discomfort are pressure points, causing circulation cut-off, where our body weight exerts localized pressure at various points on the seat.The highest pressure points usually occur under the pelvic "sitz" bones and/or the tail bone with discomfort also being a function of body weight and skin condition of the sitter..

Generally, the longer we sit in one position the more discomfort and fatigue we experience whether sitting in an office chair, in a vehicle on a long commute or in many other daily sitting situations.  This discomfort is often experienced even more by individuals with health related issues like low back pain, arthritic or degenerative hips, poor blood circulation in the legs, and skin related conditions such as varicose veins or hemerroids etc.  

To relieve discomfort while sitting (or kneeling, lying, standing) the sitting surface or body contact surface needs to be "softer", and be as large of a surface area as practical in order to minimize localized skin pressure points by better conforming to the body contours of the user.  In other words, increase the contact area of the user with the sitting surface.  This distributes the user's body weight over a larger sitting area, thus reducing the skin pressure to minimize circulation cut-off, which is a primary cause of sitting discomfort and in the case of medically compromised individuals, often causing the  onset of bedsores.  

Many soft materials have been used over time to enhance sitting comfort.  These range from horse-hair and animal furs in earlier times to contemporary materials such as soft fabrics, soft foams of all types from latex, polyurethane, natural rubber, etc.  water-filled bladders, as in water beds, air bladders as in air mattresses. At ONLYGEL.COM however, as our name suggests ,we use  only proprietary viscoelastic gel materials either as pure gel in our ULTRAGEL products , or as gel on foam in our CONFORMAX branded products, for superior comfort-enhancing body-conforming support surface materials.

While all CONFORMAX™ gel seat cushions are designed to give all day sitting comfort, the user experience will depend upon the choice of cushion cover. Please consider the following information before choosing the best cover for your particular needs.

STANDARD covers result in our softest, body-comfortable cushion. The top surface of the standard cover is made from a durable, compliant, four-way stretchable, body-conforming lycra covered neoprene material. This material is able to “move” with and conform perfectly to both the user and the displacement of the ULTRASOFT® visco-elastic gel beneath the cover.

AIRMAX™ cushion cover result in a very comfortable, but firmer cushion, which allows better airflow between the user and the cushion for a more uniform, cooler sitting experience, especially for extended sitting in extreme temperature/humidity conditions. AIRMAX™ cushion covers are made from a three-dimensional, ventilated knit fabric, which is not as stretchable and can’t conform to the body as much as lycra/neoprene. As a result, the AIRMAX™ cushions are a firmer cushion than the STANDARD cushion.

Choose STANDARD covers if you are looking for the absolute softest cushion with maximum body-confirmation and skin-pressure relief. For example, users looking for sciatica relief, skin-pressure relief around bony prominences, or if you have any kind of compromised skin situations (as a result of diabetes, hemorrhoids, poor skin or muscle tone, or circulation cutoff resulting in numbness in the legs when sitting).

Choose AIRMAX™ covers if the above issues are not relevant, and especially if your primary concern is to maintain a stable, cool sitting temperature, especially in variable or extreme environmental conditions, or if the user is particularly prone to perspiration issues.   For example, cab drivers, delivery service drivers, truck drivers, getting in and out of non-air-conditioned vehicles, all day computer gamers, or desk bound office workers.