Bean Bag Chairs: A Comparison

When people think about bean bag furniture, they often remember the first generation of bean bag chairs. While it can be hard to trace the exact beginnings of bean bag chairs as furniture, it is not a large leap of logic to assume that people would sit on large bags of coffee beans or the like and realized that the bag would shift and conform to the person sitting in it. Thus the idea of a bean bag chair was born, instead of using a more normal or traditional chair. While it’s been a long road from the origins of the bean bag chair to the Ultimate Sack, it is important to understand the differences between both the original types of chairs and the ones currently on the market today.

Bean Bag Chairs – A Brief History

Most people think bean bag chairs got started in the ’80s or ’90s, but they actually go further back than that. While the earliest designed chair that can be found actually predates bean bags, it was not long after the sea urchin chair model in 1965 that actual bean bags as chairs came around. The connection between Rodger Dean’s foam molding chair and the 1969 ‘Sacco’ is clearly evident in that both were attempting to use newer technologies after World War 2 in an effort to create chairs which would bend, fold, or shift to meet the specific needs of the user. The Sacco, however, was specifically aimed at the culture and times of the 1960s and so the three Italian designers tried to find something which would appeal to the anti-government, anti-tradition crowd that dominated the late sixties and early seventies. The end result was a pear-shaped bag that would conform to the sitter and be incredibly comfortable.

Both in terms of appearance and comfort, it was a 1960’s nonconformists’ dream chair. The original bean bag choices were fairly limited, and Sacco was not entirely different from the mainline production models that could be found in almost any department store in the early seventies. One of the largest differences, however, was that Sacco was made of high-quality leather and uses pure Styrofoam, instead of beads, beans, or pellets. Those original chairs, however, were not too far off from where Ultimate Sack ended up – durable material, high-quality foam, and a strong product line. Much like today, a wide variety of people ended up liking those bean bag chairs; doctors recommended them for back patients, children loved them, and even artistic interior designers enjoyed using foam sacks because of their unique and non-traditional style.

The bean bag chairs of the eighties, however, are another story. During those ‘dark times’ of the bean bag, companies began mass-producing chairs for as cheap as possible. Instead of an artistic and non-traditional way of providing seating, they became mass-produced children’s toy sets. The bean bag options of the eighties were often sold only in department stores, and even then, in the children’s department. A hard vinyl sack was often filled with hard plastic beans or beads in order to produce some of the lowest quality, lowest comfort, options around. These chairs were so bad that many adults think of them first when thinking of bean bag chairs!

During the nineties, however, bean bag choices all but exploded. The market began to see not just bean bag chairs, but also sofas, love seats, and so forth. The options and the idea that you could outfit an entire room in bean bag furniture quickly became an option. One of the drawbacks, however, is that the quality was not quite back to where it needed to be, and there were millions of bean bag chairs that were recalled due to the United States Product Safety Commission. Apparently, the zippers on those bean bag chairs were not yet childproof. Later, all bean bag chairs were required to have a childproof zipper for safety. Today’s bean bag furniture choices combine the best of all of those historic bean bag chair elements in one place.

Ultimate Sack – the Ultimate Difference

Our foam bags take inspiration from each step of the bean bag’s extensive, thirty-year, history. From the sixties, we take the idea of comfort and a non-traditional way of sitting. From the seventies, we take the idea of producing a bean bag chair that is durable and high quality. From the eighties, we take the idea of providing all of this at a reasonable price. Finally, from the nineties, we take the idea of making our bean bag chairs both durable and childproof, in order to let every family possible enjoy the comfort of them.

So How Do We Do All This?

To begin with, unlike other companies who use recycled furniture pads, at Ultimate Sack, we ensure the height of comfort in our bean bag chairs by using only the best polyurethane and 100% virgin foam.

Next, we focus on the durability of our products. The inner bag is a heavy, durable, canvas sack which is resistant to most types of wear and tear. The durable canvas can resist the normal round of playing, crawling, and moving, which comes with children. Our outer sack is made from a rich and durable suede leather which is incredibly soft and comfortable to sit in while reading or watching television. Furthermore, each Ultimate Sack is equipped with a child-safe #10 zipper which will not rip or tear from the outer suede sack, no matter how often you have to remove the cover for cleaning. We even offer a wide selection of suede color choices so that you can find the one which best matches your child’s favorite color, your room design, or your overall house décor.

Compare and See the Difference

All you have to do is look at the competition to see the difference that we make. Even if the other bean bag chairs on the market were exactly the same, there is one thing which makes the ‘ultimate’ difference: we are located here in the United States! Being located in Ohio allows us the freedom to ship immediately from our warehouse as well as to offer less expensive shipping. Why pay more and wait longer when your money could be better spent elsewhere? Even beyond that, choosing to buy from Ultimate Sack means knowing that your money is supporting the American economy, American businesses, and American producers. While overseas businesses may be ‘the thing’ in the economy lately, we believe that locally supported and locally run businesses are the best thing for our country. Further, because all of our products are made here, that is further savings we can pass on to you combined with the pride and quality that only comes with products made right here in the United States.

Another factor to consider when comparing which bean bag company you want to go with is the fact that there is no retailer involved; we are the seller and the manufacturer. Instead of having to deal with some end line retailer who doesn’t actually care about the quality of the product, you get the assurance of knowing that you’ll be dealing with a company that takes pride in the products it makes and is willing to stand behind our products, unconditionally. To honor that, we offer a limited three-year warranty on each and every product that we make which covers any and all product defects.

When we first begin looking at the different bean bag options, we found that many of the bags on the market were filled with hot air. Somewhat literally, we found that many quote-unquote ‘full’ bags were actually 25-30% empty. While there is certainly a factor where some of the beads, pellets, etc. can settle during shipping, leaving an entire quarter of the bag empty has a dramatic effect on the bag when someone goes to sit in it. Rather simply, the less foam in the bag, the more likely you are to wind up sitting on the floor because of how the pellets and beads move around and compress under a person’s weight.

That was one of the first things we wanted to fix. Our bean bag chairs are literally pounds heavier than any other bag on the market. Those extra pounds of foam directly translate into comfort as you sink into one of our bean bag chairs. With less air space in the bag, there is less space for dispersion, and the end result is the comfort you want and a chair that conforms to your body effortlessly.

Another factor, as we said before, was the quality of the foam. When we began examining the other products on the market, we found that most bean bag chairs were stuffed with used and cut up furniture pads. This resulted in foam which was already pre-pressed and did not have the fluffiness that we wanted in our bean bag choices. As a result, we order and receive only the finest in 100% virgin foam that has been specifically made for us.

Options and Choices

One of the things which makes Ultimate Sack one of the best companies currently in the market is the wide variety of choices and options we provide. As a brief example, we offer smaller bags, the Ultimate 4000 that best fits smaller children, the Ultimate 5000, which works well for teens, and the Ultimate 6000 bean bag chair which fits adults. Beyond that, we also offer ottomans, footstools, and even dog beds that all use our particular blend of quality and low price. Imagine being able to drop down into a bean bag that fits an entire corner of your house for storytime or movie night with your kids, and you’ll have an idea of what an ‘Ultimate’ house looks like.

Even beyond that, each bean bag can be customized in a variety of ways. You can adjust the color of the suede or opt for multi-color or print designs. You can even include messages on the bags, which make them perfect as gifts or for the sports enthusiast in the house who needs their team’s name stenciled on everything they own. Even as a gift idea for graduating students, a foam bag is perfect because of those options. For a very small additional cost, your child’s bean bag chair can be color-coded to their new college and even have their name stenciled on the bag in order to make sure it remains theirs.

With all of these choices, it is clear why Ultimate Sack makes some of the best bean bag chairs on the market today.