Sleeping in one a while for committing is the absolute and only way. They are best for side-sleepers, as they tend to be angled a bit up where the knee is and down where your butt is. That's fine for a side-sleeper and terrible otherwise.
They are also best for someone usually fairly short -- maybe not women, but men, yes. It is not too odd to have your legs bent out of shape and stressed at the knee from being rested on a high armrest for an hour or two, but wake up that way, and it can HURT. And if you are a side-sleeper, you probably have A side -- not two. So you can't just flip over. You're stuck on that side or else flat forever. The opposite side is a no-go. If there is no way for you to even out the pressure on your knees, you will be in pain every night, and go through all kinds of sweats and contortions to relieve it. Not a good night's sleep!
Good luck finding a recliner long enough for you. And you'll need it, and inches to spare ... for your pillow, or your arm or anything that pushes you up or down vertically in sleep. If you need your feet to not be raised on the armrest, for instance, you might wake up with your feet free of that armrest but the rest of your body and head and neck crimped and curled up to accommodate the space your legs needed ... and a mighty neck-ache indeed.
One more note -- the recliners I'm used to being on have been extremely heavy. Be sure you want to commit to so much weight instead of a vastly lighter solution such as a solid-framed futon.
