Castors vs Gliders on Office Chairs: What is the Difference?

What is the difference: castors vs gliders on office chairs?

When shopping for office chairs, you may find yourself confused about which type to choose. Leather or fabric? Arms or no arms? Plain black or brightly coloured? All of these options ultimately come down to personal preference. But what about the more technical details?

Suppose you've heard the words 'castors' or 'gliders' thrown about on product description pages. In that case, you're probably wondering what they're all about. And that's where we come in. In this blog post, we'll clarify what the two features are and how they'll impact your decisions about buying office chairs.

Castors vs gliders- But what are they?

Essentially, castors are wheels that are fixed to the bottom of a chair's legs to help it move around. On the other hand, gliders are metal or plastic discs fixed to the bottom of a chair's legs. These are meant to help a chair 'glide' across the floor. However, a glide is more like a standard foot on a chair, with more protection when dragging along the floor.

Castors, i.e. wheels, are much smoother upon movement, as you can imagine. Glides tend to have rounded edges, which move a little more softly, but they aren't designed for constant rolling across floors. There are different types of castors. And, of course, they are much more common than gliders, so it's worth delving deeper into this topic.

Castors

• Essentially wheels that look and move exactly as you'd expect

• Usually, there are five castors on your average office chair

• There are three types of castors: charge braked, interval braked and free wheeling

• Allow for easy movement around the office

• Castors are much more common for home office chair

Glides Office Chairs Without Wheels

• Look a lot more like boardroom chairs than home office chairs

• Don't allow for free movement but will remain safely in place

• Glides are easy to differentiate as there is only one type

• Can often be cheaper than castors to buy as they're easier to manufacture

Flat Feet

• Better on carpeted floors

• Don't allow for free movement

• Better clean cut finish

• Five flat feet on an average office base unit

Different types of castors

When should I use gliders?

• You want stability.

• Your office chair doesn’t need to move often.

• You’re on wood or a flat or worried about floor scratches.

When should I use castors?

• You need to move chair office chair often.

• You’re using a rolling chair .

• Flexibility and easy repositioning are a priority.

Chester Vintage Brown Office Chair

Castors or casters?

In British English, the term for these wheels is castors. In American English, they are called casters. Both refer to the same type of wheel used for mobility, with the difference being simply a matter of spelling.

Which one is more suitable for you: castors or glides?

Now, which one is best for you depends on a few factors. Where will you be placing your new office chair? If it's going into a meeting room, glides might be a good option. However, if it's for a room where you'll be working alone, castors may work best. Ultimately, you should decide how much movement you want to achieve with your office chair.

Do you need to easily move the chair and wheel it to different parts of the room? Then castors on your office chair will be best. However, if you'd like the chair to remain stationary for most of the time, we recommend using glides on your office chair.

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