Which? has been championing the cause for consumers since 1957, asking probing questions of businesses and manufacturers, and pursuing the answers that put the consumer in the driving seat.

Its founders wanted to make things better for consumers, and to raise standards across the board, so it started testing goods and services and publishing the results. It began campaigning too, encouraging companies to change their practices.

Today, Which? has more than 1.5 million members and supporters, making it the largest independent consumer body in the UK.  Its commitment to providing unbiased advice to consumers is still at the heart of everything it does, so, from choosing a Riser Recliner Chair, TV, phone, car, or holiday, to getting a mortgage or writing a will, it is always on the consumer’s side.

How was the Aysgarth Riser Recliner tested?

To complete the tough Which? tests, a panel of everyday users, all aged 60 or above, are asked to sit in a selection of chairs for a total of 72 hours to rate them for comfort, ease of use and, crucially, how secure they feel when being brought to a sitting or standing position. The tests look at:

• Comfort – The panel rate how comfortable their legs, buttocks and back are in upright and recline positions.
• Feeling secure – The chair is moved through every possible position to see how secure users feel.
• Ease of use – To ensure users aren’t confused, they press every button on the handset and read every page of the instructions to check that it all makes sense.
• Speed of operation – The Which? lab times how long it takes to move between different positions to make sure users find a chair they feel comfortable in.
• Back-up battery – To make sure users aren’t left struggling in a power cut, the test assesses how reliable the back-up battery is.