The bottom line is: backed chairs are impractical for bar height seating unless your bar has a foot rest for scooching.
Complaints:
1) The gas cylinders compress a full 2 inches when seated. so the actual maximum height is 2 less than advertised. (Im 63 185)
2) The seat back is mostly pointless. It slopes backward, so leaning against it with your feet tucked under makes you feel like you are striking a pose in an Olympic Freestyle competition. This is at bar height where your feet cannot touch the ground. In a lowered position, you can stretch your feet out on the ground and lean back (slouch) if you wish.
3) The seat back interferes with swiveling. In a normal dining room chair, you sit and then use your feet to scooch the chair closer to an eating position. With a bar height chair, scooching is impossible, so the idea is climb over the back like a traditional stool or swivel into place. However, when pushed close enough for eating, the seat back does not allow much swiveling. Basically, its very inconvenient to get in and out of these when they are close enough for eating.
4) The useless seat back interferes with pushing the stool completely under the bar. It is possible to lower the seat and then slide it under but not very convenient to be constantly adjusting the height.
5) Lateral play in the cylinder post, especially in the highest position, allows the seat to rock back and forth like a chair with one short leg.
For my needs, 3 stars is generous. These chairs look OK, are simple to assemble, are likely more comfortable for a smaller/shorter person, and are inexpensive. Unfortunately, inexpensive is still wasted money because I need to repurchase more practical traditional stools.
More form than function
The bottom line is: backed chairs are impractical for bar height seating unless your bar has a foot rest for scooching. Complaints: 1) The gas cylinders compress a full 2 inches when seated. so the actual maximum height is 2 less than advertised. (Im 63 185) 2) The seat back is mostly pointless. It slopes backward, so leaning against it with your feet tucked under makes you feel like you are striking a pose in an Olympic Freestyle competition. This is at bar height where your feet cannot touch the ground. In a lowered position, you can stretch your feet out on the ground and lean back (slouch) if you wish. 3) The seat back interferes with swiveling. In a normal dining room chair, you sit and then use your feet to scooch the chair closer to an eating position. With a bar height chair, scooching is impossible, so the idea is climb over the back like a traditional stool or swivel into place. However, when pushed close enough for eating, the seat back does not allow much swiveling. Basically, its very inconvenient to get in and out of these when they are close enough for eating. 4) The useless seat back interferes with pushing the stool completely under the bar. It is possible to lower the seat and then slide it under but not very convenient to be constantly adjusting the height. 5) Lateral play in the cylinder post, especially in the highest position, allows the seat to rock back and forth like a chair with one short leg. For my needs, 3 stars is generous. These chairs look OK, are simple to assemble, are likely more comfortable for a smaller/shorter person, and are inexpensive. Unfortunately, inexpensive is still wasted money because I need to repurchase more practical traditional stools.