Salli vs Bambach sitting pressure study
As we are in Australia and Bambach Saddle Seats have been very well promoted and popular here since the 1990s it makes sense that we regularly get asked "What is the difference between Salli and Bambach saddle chairs?"
From an ergonomic point of view the concepts are similar - both seats aim to put you in a riding like position, with your thighs pointing down at around 45 degrees to help achieve a neutral spine position, and hence take pressure off your back, neck and shoulders - and essentially they both achieve this aim when used correctly (proper work surface height etc).
But what about pressure elsewhere? This is where Salli saddle seats are quite different with their patented split design.
If you do a search for saddle chairs/seats you will come up with quite a list that ranges in price from $50 to over $1,000. (yes, cheap saddle chairs are rubbish by the way)
One thing you will notice is that almost all of these chairs have a pommel or horn (the rise at the front), and some have a cantle (the rise at the back).
While these structures may serve a purpose on a horse saddle, they are largely unnecessary on a saddle chair, and can in fact cause some very undesirable health issues.
So why are they there? The only conclusion is that for many of the manufacturers this is to make it look more like a "saddle". If it looks like a saddle it has to be good for you - right?
In 2008 a study on sitting pressure was conducted which compared several different type of saddle chairs. The results were very conclusive - read the results in the pdf here.
While the Bambach was the only chair which had a pommel and cantle in this study, the results can generally be translated to other saddle chairs which include one or both of these structures.
We have had many users of other brands of saddle chairs mention that they have the very issues mentioned in the study, and their doctors have told them to stop using their solid style saddle chair - scary stuff!
They have since bought Salli divided saddle chairs and now sit happy!
