FEIERDUN Stability Exercise Ball, Yoga Ball Anti-Burst/Heavy Duty Ball Chair for Office & Home & Gym Workout

I bought this as an ergonomic chair for the office, both for better breathing/posture and to help calm my desire to fidget, grind my teeth and go nuts in an office. I used to use a ball for a desk chair at home, which I loved -- really helped eliminate the back/shoulder/neck pain of sitting at a computer for too many hours. But that ball was both too squishy and over time the surface kind of deteriorated, getting porous and sticky. Eventually I threw it out.Enter the Santulana ball. I just joined a new office after years of working outdoors and from home. It's an open work space, and I doubted my ability/desire to sit still in an enclosed space without driving my coworkers nuts. I'm not the most office-y of people. We have adjustable standing desks, but sometimes I need to sit. So I thought a ball would keep my inner child entertained and keep my outer adult from turning into a mushpie of hunched over deskjockey. I looked at a lot of them - needed to be both anti-burst (staples on the ground) and look good with birch and gray office decor. (Remember, I'm new here. Trying not to raise too many eyebrows with playground-looking equipment.) I'd planned on the Black Mountain one, since their quality is great. But bringing in a giant black rubber ball, or a sad gray? Not helping my mood. The colors were all either drab or too exercisey. Santaluna was the only company I found that had both high quality and great colors.Okay, the review: I love this ball.It's a fabulous lime green color (not too mint, not dayglo; perfectly lime green), very thick and durable. After the initial stretching period, it has held its air well, is taut and strong and so very comfortable. It looks great in the office - interesting but not obnoxious. Got the approval of the boss, who says the color is perfect for the space. I got a flat ring base to hold it still if needed, but I use it without the base so I can roll in and out of the desk as needed. Didn't want the bulk of the whole wheeled base thing; seems like it defeats the purpose of the ball. When no one is in the office, I can bounce or rock on it, and lay back on it to open my chest and shoulders - feels great. I'm sitting much straighter, am more energetic, and resent being indoors much less. This ball makes me happy every time I sit on it or see it. Silly, I know, but it's true. Much better quality than the last one I had.The downside: The pump is a joke. It is -terribly- designed, to the point of being almost unworkable. You have to hold onto an unnecessarily tiny sloped piece with one hand, while pumping the much larger cylinder side with the other hand, so that the sloped piece slides out of your hand with every pump. Not only does the bottom hand keep slipping and/or getting pinched between the two especially as the ball gets more inflated, but the motion of the other hand on the cylinder can be called nothing other than giving the thing a hand job. Or masturbating I suppose, but I'm a woman. At any rate, pumping this ball with this pump is totally inappropriate for work. Do not allow your coworkers to see you do this - unless you have that kind of office. Better idea, Santaluna should redesign this horrible little thing. I can only assume that some jokester designer at their end is laughing it up at the idea of people all across the country using this thing. Very funny guys. Now send out the real one.Synopsis: Ball gets an A++ for durability, smooth surface and awesome color. Pump gets a D- and a wink.

I got a set of 24 Satulana yoga balls to replace regular chairs in my Spanish language classroom. After having read the online article "What Are the Benefits of Stability Balls in Schools?," - (See more at: http://www.livestrong.com/article/403541-what-are-the-benefits-of-stability-balls-in-schools/#sthash.u16KNPKf.dpufby) By James Roland which was just last updated Oct. 15, 2015, the following section really resonated with me."Engaging the Mind When students sit on stability balls, both sides of their brains are engaged in keeping their bodies centered on the balls. And when the brain is stimulated, it's more focused on learning. Not only is the brain better suited to processing new information, young minds are also better able to concentrate on exams, note-taking, class discussions, and other aspects of classroom learning."I wanted to make this experience available to my students. After receiving a generous grant to fund this project by local non-profit organization which supports our district's schools, and looking around on Amazon for exercise/stability balls, I chose Santulana for several reasons:1. The name of the product fits quite well with my school's vision/mission of creating balanced individuals who think with their minds, and feel with their hearts.2. I appreciate the logo that the Santulana yoga balls have. I start my classes with a couple minutes of personal centering time where students are asked to sit and focus on their breath. Now they practice this while sitting on a yoga ball.3. After doing a little research on colors, I found that the color green is conducive to creativity and a sense of calm.4. In the meantime the yellow hue adds a brightness and cheerfulness to my classroom which is a lot of fun.5. I appreciated the idea of the 5 year product warranty.After receiving the class set of yoga balls, some concerns arose:1. The smell of the plastic of the yoga balls dominated my classroom and the hallway outside of my room for about two weeks, probably most certainly due to their large number in such a small space. The smell completely disappeared close to two months after initial setup.2. The material seems to not be thick or sturdy enough for my classroom's needs. In my school's proximity there is an abundance of very sharp thorns people call "goat heads". They're easily tracked indoors, and I am sad to say, do to them four balls have been punctured.3. Although we are currently not in shortage of pumps to inflate the balls, many broke within the first use.4. Santulana generously replaced the first three balls that had been punctured. The replacements were shipped with accessories that did not accompany the initial purchase. This one had a type of tape measurement (to ensure proper inflation) and a little tool to remove the stopper. This caused me some confusion, making me wonder why my large order didn’t come with these things as they would have been helpful.Santulana's customer care has been a great experience and overall, they’re equipment is meeting my classroom’s needs. Thank you!