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I believe that no one should be ALLOWED to recline their seats unless:

A) they are really truely ill
B) have a injury or disablity that would require it.
C) it is an overnight or redeye flight and the majority of the cabin is trying to sleep

It's just cruel to everyone behind you -- not just the person directly behind, who probably had their knees whacked, electronics jostled, and drink spilled (arg!), but to the people on either side of them who might need to get out of the aisle to use the restroom, and now have to squeeeeeze by the poor unfortunate behind you. No one needs to see a strangers butt that close to their face.

And if you do decide that you MUST recline your chair -- for Pete's sake, recline as little as possible and do it slowly!

i agree that reclining should be removed from the seats all together. I am 6'2" and my knees already touch the seat in front of me without the jerk trying to recline it.

I always get exit row if i can to avoid this problem, but when I can't, i'm not a happy person.

If you don't want me to recline you better be prepared to pay for my ticket.
I haven't seen anyone be stupid enough to use these things but have heard the stories on frequent flyer websites.
You should know the FA will not be on your side if you use them.

Better than using these—which seem really passive-aggressive—is to get to know the people around you. Or at least just talk to the person in front of you. On a recent flight the person in front of me reclined, so I tapped on their shoulder and politely asked if they could please not recline because I didn't have any space to give them. They were very supportive and gave me my space back. Though I suppose that won't work if that person is a jerk.

I'm 6'5". Flying is hell.

ScottArany: It isn't necessarily that the person in front of you is a jerk. I'm only 5'4" and I think flying is hell so I can only imagine how uncomfortable you are in the same seat, but if the person ahead of me is reclining, I'm going to recline too so as to have some breathing space. I also find the seats too upright for comfort- if I don't recline at least a little, I get off even a short flight with lower back pain.

This sounds really selfish to me. What if the person in front of you is a bit more comfortable with the seat reclined? They have to stay in the upright position not to annoy the person behind them? How about just asking if they could adjust their seat a little instead of trying to stop them from reclining at all.

Why don't they make a lock for the window so the person next to you can't open it if you don't want light. Or coverings for the air vents so you don't get too cold.

Everyone in coach is flying in the same uncomfortable seats and that's just the way it is. It's called COMPROMISE, and it's what you have to do until you're the last person on Earth.

If leg room is that much of an issue, it seems like Business or First Class is a better way to go since they offer more.

I don't recline my seat.

If someone used these on my seat, I would accidentally spill a large beverage on their lap. And when they went to the restroom to clean up, I would be very tempted to pee in their carry-on bag.

If you don't want me to recline my seat, ask politely. We'll work something out.

I would personally rip this off of your damn tray table while you screamed like a little girl.

Since when did selfish passive aggressiveness become the norm?

Look, the person paid for the seat. They have the right to recline it if they wish. If you don't like it ask them if they would consider not reclining. Just be aware that they are under no obligation to accommodate you. These devices need to be banned.

Being close to 7-feet tall, I'd like to sponsor a Cause for Canonization for the inventor of this device. Do they have a device to crush giant "carry-on" luggage?

I pay for the seat. If the seat reclines, I've paid to have it so. Do this to me and I'll see that everyone around knows you're a jerk.

Everybody seems to be taking a recline or don't recline stance here.. Personally, while I don't recline my seat at all (I'm not going to sacrifice the relative comfort of the person sitting behind me just so that I get a little extra space), I don't mind someone reclining SLIGHTLY.
And for the people who say to ask the person in front not the recline, I shouldn't need to ask - It's a matter of human decency.

It's reclining all the way so that someone's head is effectively in my lap that I have a problem with (except, as the first comment notes if someone is ill, injured, or it's nighttime and everyone is sleeping). The webpage selling these devices say that they're adjustable. I've just ordered some, and will definitely be using them on my next flight, however will be positioning them so that the person in front of my can recline halfway if they want to (which I think is the furthest back that the chairs should be able to recline during daytime flights).

for those saying you paid for a seat and therefor paid to recline.

I also paid for a seat and therefor paid to not having someone else's seat in my lap, and to have a tray table that is actually usable, since when most seats in front of you recline, it effectively dumps your tray table in your lap...

And because you paid for a seat doesn't mean you paid for the right to recline. If you end up in front of an exit row, you can't recline, are you going to complain that you paid for the right to do that and demand a new site? You'll sound like an idiot.

The amount that an airline seat reclines should be removed and changed to a lesser degree. But hell there is a huge list of what they should change on airplanes along with that.

oh MY goodness. Charter a private plane if you are going to be that cranky about your right to recline or your right to not be reclined upon. You catch more flies with honey people...

Selfish

I like to recline my seat just a little bit to reduce the strain on my back. And if the person behind me politely asked if I would refrain from reclining, I probably would. I guess I can see it from both sides: peoples' right to recline vs. peoples' right not to be reclined upon.

People need to get over their fear of talking to stangers. I see it all the time on public transit. If you ask someone nicely to not recline their chair too much and they want to be an a-hole then respond in kind. But simply starting off by thinking, "I paid for this seat I can do whatever I want in it" only shows you haven't learned how to act like an adult.

At 6'2", I'm tall but not NBA tall. More often than not, when I get in my seat and I'm sitting up straight, my knees are already up against the seat in front of me, even before the person in front of my has decided she just _has_ to recline, just to stake out territory. Even worse, the thick wire in the seat pocket always seems to hit me right in the knee cap, and rarely do I get off the plane without some small bruises.

For all those, yes, hippies out there who say "we just need to start talking with strangers": nine times out of ten when I take this approach, I get snarled at. And parents with children are even worse about this. If you suggest, politely, that maybe 10-year old Timmy, whose feet don't even reach the floor, doesn't need to recline the seat to be comfortable, especially as he is doing damage to my knees, you would think I had suggested throwing him off the plane.

So, yes, knee defenders are a solution I can get behind. It's every man for himself back in coach. Technology to the rescue.

if you need more room, either get an exit row or pop for first class. whiners.

Oh good grief people. This is terribly immature and passive aggressive. If I caught someone using those on me instead of ASKING me not to recline, I'd take them from them and proceed to recline as far back as possible.

Just as a sort of friendly FYI to those long suffering tall passengers, I know those coach seats SUCK for you. But I am quite short and while I don't need the extra leg room, my short stature makes the curve of the seat back excruciating to my back. If I don't recline (and I don't if the person behind me is tall), the seat back forces me into a hunched position and I have back problems for days.

Those seats suck for everyone. It's not being "hippie" to suggest that people grow the **** up and communicate with the people around them like adults.

Another short person who finds the seatbacks (obviously made for people with much longer torsos) excruciating. I assume the lump the hits me on the back of the head is supposed to support my neck. Since it's so high, it forces short people to sit with their heads craned forward. Very painful after any amount of time. I don't recline all the way, but I have to recline some.

I'm 6'3" and I hate it when the person in from reclines since my knees already touch the back of the seat most of the time.

Still, I really think this is unfair. Just because you happened to randomly sit in front of me doesn't mean you shouldn't be allowed to recline. It doesn't have to be an overnight or red-eye for someone to want to try to get some sleep. Or maybe they are just more comfortable that way. I certainly am.

Immature and passive-aggressive, good thing airline companies are onto this.