They sound like they might be the same thing but they are not. Somewhat confusingly both tilt and recline functions change the backrest angle of the chair.
Generally the tilt mechanism is positioned directly under the seat and is a function by which both the seat and the back rest tips backwards relative to the floor.
In more sophisticated ergonomic office chairs there is ‘syncho tilting’ where the backrest and the seat recline at different ratios. Generally the ratio is 2:1. So what this means is if the backrest reclines back, say 20 degrees, the seat pan will tilt back 10 degrees. You should also look for the ability to lock the tilt.
Recline is the function which allows only the backrest to move back. So the recline function is independent of the seat.
In some cases you can find chairs which can almost achieve an almost horizontal position. This can be great if you want to have some relaxation time.
In our view if you are getting a chair with only one of the tilt or recline functions, then you should be looking to go with the tilt function as this is likely to work best ergonomically for most situations.
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