When you get right down to it, the saddle that fits your unique "bootie" best, is the saddle you'll want. Both the Salli and Bambach offer therapeutic benefits. However, they fit and feel different. The only way to determine which saddle seat is best for you is to try it on for size.
The Bambach Saddle Seat has more anatomical contour, with a rise in the front (pommel) and a rise in the rear (cantel).
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The Salli Saddle Chair has a split-seat option that is preferred by many men.
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All saddle seats have some features in common:
- In all saddle chairs one "sits" high, somewhere between sitting and standing, with the hips at about a 45-degree angle (as opposed to the 90-degree angle one assumes in a conventional chair.
- All activate the postural muscles, inclucing the abdominals, back extensors, buttocks, large muscles in the legs (as opposed to a conventional chair, in which the postural muscles are dormant)
- All increase lung volumes, as they open the chest cavity.
- All improve hand acuity and strength, which is related to the recruitment of the postural muscles.
- All require a period of adjustment during the first days/weeks of use (perhaps not for a horse rider or motorcycle enthusiast).
- All improve mobility around the work area.
- All increase safe reaching distances.
- All improve postures and safety for forward reaching tasks.
- All position the spine in a neutral posture.
- All support good posture without a backrest or armrests.
- All improve balance.
- All reduce swelling in the feet.
Split vs 1-piece saddle
Only the Salli Saddle Chair offers a split-seat option, which some men really appreciate. The split-seat reduces genital temperatures up to 4°, which can be important for reproductive health and hygiene. The split-seat also eliminate pressure to a man's pudendal nerve, which can affect sexual function.
Contour
The Bambach Saddle Seat is more contoured and softer. Salli Saddle Chairs are flatter and firmer.
The more anatomical contour in a seat, the more comfortable the fit ... IF it fits. Problem is, the more contour a seat has, the fewer people it will fit. Seats with less anatomical contour (i.e., flatter) accommodate greater anatomical variations in the population. If you purchase a very contoured seat like the Bambach Saddle Seat, take care to purchase the correct size. If you use a contoured saddle that is too short (front-to-back), the front pommel may hit your "privates" in an uncomfortable way.
The Bambach Saddle Seat rises up in the rear of the seat. The rise is called a "cantel." The cantel helps support the pelvis in an upright orientation. Some folks really like the cantel, and say they get tired without that extra bit of support, especially if they are not using a backrest. Others don't like the feel of the cantel at all.
Width
The Salli is just a bit wider than the Bambach, although both are quite wide. Both require hip flexibility to accommodate the width of the saddle.
The wider the seat, the wider the spread of your legs. The wider the spread of your legs, the more stable your upright posture. A wider stance also improves support for side-leaning and side-reaching movements.
Those with stiff hips may be uncomfortable at first in a saddle seat. Typically, the hips loosen with time and the gentle stretching can be therapeutic. Some folks with hip arthritis report significant decrease in hip pain and improved function after progressive "therapeutic sitting" in a saddle seat.
Saddle firmness
Compared to the Salli Saddle Chair, the Bambach Saddle Seat is soft. Compared to conventional ergonomic office seating, the Bambach Saddle Seat is firm.
Some sense that the saddle seats are softly cushioned, while others complain bitterly that the same seats are too hard. Those who complain about hardness either have a seat that doesn't fit them, or they do not have sufficient tissue tolerance or flexability to accommodate a saddle. It can take some people weeks or months to build up a saddle tolerance. Comfort in a saddle comes to all -- in time. That said, we have noticed that the longer one uses a saddle seat, the firmer one wants it!
Note that firmness is less noticeable on an anatomically contoured surface. For example, a wooden bus bench is less comfortable - and feels harder - than a contoured wooden library chair, although their actual hardness is the same.
Saddle tilt
Both saddle seats offer a seat-tilt feature either standard or as an option. Some users must tilt the seat to accommodate their individual anatomy for comfort.
Leg position
In a Salli Saddle Chair your base of support is almost directly underneath your body, while in a Bambach Saddle Seat your base-of-support is slightly in front of your body.
In both saddle seats, your feet are beneath you and actively contribute to your body support. The wide saddle-sitting stance forms a large base of support for your hand tasks. This is quite unlike sitting in a conventional chair, where your legs do nothing to support your posture and are passively supported in front of your body.
In a Salli Saddle Chair one sits with the feet almost directly under the body's center-of-mass, under the hips. In a Bambach Saddle Seat, one sits with the feet slightly forward of the body.
Height
Saddle seats must be adjusted much higher than conventional chairs in order to provide spinal support and comfort. When saddle-sitting one should have about a 125° to 140° angle between thigh and torso (vs. the 90° hip angle in a conventional chair).
If you use a saddle seat at a lower-than-optimal height range, you will slump and the seat may feel uncomfortable. If you use a saddle seat at a higher-than-optimal height range, you'll irritate your "privates." That said, there are several inches of height adjustment an individual can accommodate and still be safe, comfortable, and supported in a saddle seat. You will need to raise your hand-task several inches to saddle-sit effectively.
Summary
The only way to determine which saddle seat is best for you is to try it out.
Article reproduced with permission from ergoTALK.