With our search for more unique and useful furniture the Tantra Chair has proven to be quite a delight inspiring new sexytime ideas and experiences!
I've had my eye on the Tantra Chair for a while and thanks to the expanded space with the new house I recently was able to look into finally giving one a try. As one would expect from me, I didn't just plop down a search for "sex chair" and pull the trigger for the first thing that came up. With some research it is easy to find all kinds of copy variants, however even without looking at them in person it is pretty clear they are inferior. Many are just foam based with no real support structure and even some of the better copy attempts still have wrinkling issues while costing as much if not more than the original Tantra Chair. Some of the others had some interesting ideas, but there is no getting around the fact that the foam based look screams barely dorm room qualified and at $500+ is overpriced. Since picky these days and not afraid to pay more for the best, I chose the Tantra Chair over all the other options as the quality noticeably stood out. Made by Zen By Design, they are not only the originators of the Tantra Chair, but have even patented the design as well.
Although I like a minimalist look, it is nice that Tantra Chair offers a good amount of colors and nailhead options to hone in your own custom look. To match my other bedroom furniture I just went with black and no nailheads to keep it simple, but was able to request the addition of D-rings to the bottom for connection point options. Offhand they don't offer them by default since it is one of their design goals that the chair looks classy enough to blend in anywhere in the house instead of looking like wild sex furniture that sticks out. That said I think the D-rings I ended up with overall hide well since all are below. Despite planning to have it in our bedroom / mini dungeon area where vanilla looks don't matter as much, it is a nice option that we could take it down to the living room and still not get crazy looks from visitors.
Upon receiving it was great to see the Tantra Chair looked every bit as beautiful as it does on the website and media. I love the tight clean look without any wrinkles or baggyness that makes it appear much more high end. Since not usually into contrasting stitching I was briefly considering asking for black thread, however noticed on the design notes the intent is to accentuate the curve lines. Seeing that as a reasonable concept I decided to give it a try and am happy I did as it does add pleasant highlight lines. One has to be pretty close to the chair before they start to perceive the lines as contrasting stitching. Even though I love me some leather it is a wise choice for the Tantra Chair to use a synthesized leather. It is stain resistant, anti-microbial, overall easy to clean, more durable, and still has a nice leather texture without a plasticy feel that some cheap vinyl based materials have. The overall easy to clean feature is a huge plus since when using the chair as intended you are absolutely going to get all kinds of fluids on it. As recommended I've just been using water with a little mild soap soon after use and had easy clean looking end results.
The 4 feet screw on easily and that functionality is a nice touch of modularity. I intended to use the Tantra Chair with the SM-Cube platform (will have another big article on later) and I wasn't sure how well the default feet would work out. I did appreciate they properly gave the core specs (Length 74" / Height 29" / Width 16.5"). Although it would have worked out if I took the platform pads off, I wanted to make combo usage less of a hassle so ordered up some taller feet. I was worried having different feet would end up a mess so it was awesome that Tantra Chair was able to bang some out easy for me. The default feet are approx 2.5" tall and the taller ones I got are about 5", worth noting each has smaller sliders attached adding about 3/8" height. Offhand I've found the sliders a good fit for us using it on the carpet as they make moving on purpose easier while we haven't had accidental sliding issues during use. I haven't tried it yet, but those who plan to be on slick hard surfaces may want to take the slider posts off or use other non-slip pads.
For first impressions on actually being on the Tantra Chair it feels nice and sturdy as hoped. The construction is built to last using hardwoods and other solid materials as expected from quality furniture. It was nice to confirm it wasn't all smoke and mirrors using a crap frame construction with a decent exterior. When using with a partner one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is that the chair just feels sexy. I've heard the saying before, but it doesn't fully make sense till one tries it themselves. This of course is an awesome starting point to support having an enjoyable time getting everyone in the mood and right mindset. If one feels uncomfortable, cheap, and awkward it doesn't exactly promote sex. While experimenting with different sexual positions all the effort that went into the exact curves of the Tantra Chair becomes very apparent. Between the high and low curve points it adds a huge amount of position variety. Kate, like most women, has preferences when it comes depth and angles for sex so it is great how we can really control and dial those factors in with the Tantra Chair. It greatly enhances the good situations while also allowing us to avoid angles that hurt.
Hence the Tantra part of the name, the chair is designed to make it easier and more comfortable to perform and enhance many sexual positions seen in the Kama Sutra. Even though the diversity of options is certainly appreciated, the big show position for us would be the ol' classic missionary on the Tantra Chair. With the female sitting/laying down back to the high curve and man facing her in the middle area it really emphasizes the advantages of the design. I like to start more with both of us in the middle then can shift us both towards the high curve thus basically creating a ramp to have her fall onto me. Already using gravity to an advantage I can also gain a great amount of control due to having my feet on the ground resulting in enhanced depth and at an pleasurable angle for both of us. This position is also a great example of how the Tantra Chair creates a lot body to body contact giving that just plain sexy feel. Your bodies will naturally want to go to each other all while still being easy to grab and caress enhancing the feeling even further. It sounds cheesy, but the chair will literally bring you closer together. One simply cannot recreate this functionality on a bed or using pillows creatively which is why the Tantra Chair has provided all new pleasurable experiences for us. As one can see on the position examples between our pictures or the great media on the Tantra Chair website, the chair is highly intuitive to perform all kinds positions and uses. The core shape of 2 different height ends and a valley seems to masterfully accommodate any position and it's reverse counterpart.
Although since we aren't too busted up yet I can't comment fully on the concept of the Tantra Chair helping couples with physical limitations, however I can see how the enhanced control of positions and interaction could apply. It is not hard at all to get in a super comfortable position letting the Tantra Chair do most the work while only small pelvic movements are needed for great sexual results. Even for folks who are plenty healthy, only needing minimal effort can certainly also be appreciated when it comes to having epic long sex sessions.
Kate in particular was pleasantly surprised where she thought the Tantra Chair looked nice and all, but felt that the concept appeared a bit gimmicky. After one use however she was sold for life due to how much she enjoyed it. We already had a good sex life so it is a lovely treat to see the Tantra Chair managed to make it even better. Sometimes we find it is good for us to have some vanilla sex as opposed to heavy BDSM all the time, so it nice that the chair lets us mix it up while definitely not being boring. Even though neither of us are big into the Kama Sutra offhand, feeling the majority of the positions fall more under the concept of "look at what I can do!" rather than actually being pleasurable, the Tantra Chair does such a good job it makes us want to revisit and experiment with many positions we felt weren't practical before. Not to be forgotten, although the D-rings allow for some BDSM fun on the Tantra Chair as is, I'm very happy with the results combining it with the SM-Cube. So far it seems to be a wonderful way to blend some of the best sexual position options of the Tantra Chair with the excellent bondage options of the SM-Cube.
As a fellow designer I can appreciate the small quality details and the general form vs function balance the Tantra Chair has made. Inspired by the female form it shows in a classy and sexy way while still being highly functional. If the balance was broken it would be a near useless piece of art or a functional piece that unpleasantly looks more for public use in a hospital. The cost of the Tantra Chair is definitely going to be a barrier for many, but it is also a classic example of you get what you pay for. Being the original creators, every detail decision of the Tantra Chair comes from research and experience while the copy versions are basically creating half assed attempts with changes due to laziness or cost cutting. Even with cost in mind I'm happy to say the Tantra Chair has met or exceeded all of our expectations including the customer service. With the manufacturing being in the USA it is great to see that can still be a sign of quality and the fact that the actual creator/company president AJ Vitaro is contactable and a super nice guy!
You've probably heard all kinds of variants of "x" product will add fire to your sex life or rekindle your relationship and I'm with you I've always thought that sounded ridiculous. Thus I take it pretty seriously that so far the Tantra Chair is the only product that has ever delivered on such promises for us. There is certainly something to be said that out of all the high quality gear we have, Kate currently declares the Tantra Chair her favorite.
