Best office chair with adjustable arms?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Well, the title pretty much says it all… :wink:

I really need to have a decent office chair (for the home office.)I use a standing desk now, which is a huge improvement for my back, but I personally find that it causes shoulder problems. What’s the best office chair that has as many adjustable things as possible, but ESPECIALLY adjustable arms?? (And no, not the the $1000 ones… :stuck_out_tongue: It doesn’t need to be $50, but there has to be something in between!! Does anyone know?

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Moderator Action

Since “best” is a matter of opinion rather than a factual question, lets move this to IMHO.

Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.

3

I’m not sure but it seems you can get a good discount at a used office furniture store. Go to one and try them out.

4

Take it from someone with half a hardware store embedded in their spine - don’t go cheap on the chair! What good is saving a couple hundred on a chair if you wind up needing more visits to the chiropractor or worse, if a bad chair causes physical damage like herniated spinal discs and radiculopathy?

I’m still trying to find the best chair for me, but I’m leaning towards the Aeron. Another strong contender for me is the Steelcase Leap. Both are adjustable in several ways, but the Leap has a couple more options like in/out and rotation of the armrests in addition to the usual up and down. Both can be had for less than a grand, but not by much.

You can get good prices on either at online vendors like sit4life.com if you want new, or craigslist and eBay if you want to go for used, but there’s no substitution for sitting in one for a day. Try to find an office furniture dealer (not a big-box office supply place like Staples or Office Depot) and try them out. You may be lucky and have a used furniture dealer nearby - just watch out for chairs that are used up, not just used. Wherever you buy it, look for the ability to swap it for something else within X days if it turns out to be a bad fit. What may feel nice for five minutes may cripple you after four hours.

5

I have a Leap chair but I bought it in leather and the cost exceeds your $1,000 budget. But I thought about how many hours I spend in an office chair and figured it was worth it. I bought it after having worked at an office that had them for us to use. As suggested, you have to try them out.

And I’m wondering why you’re getting shoulder pain while standing at your desk. Do you have the height adjusted correctly?

6

Go to the used office equipment warehouse, even if it’s in some industrial suburb. They have hundreds of quality used chairs for you to try. I’m partial to the (now-discontinued) Steelcase Rally, but it doesn’t have adjustable arms. The Leap does, and there are similar high-quality chairs from Haworth and other makers. Expect to pay $250-$400 for one in good shape.

7

Probably not. But it doesn’t adjust.

Look, I can’t, just CAN’T, spend a thousand dollars on a chair. The most I could maybe do is $400. It just seems like there’s nothing between about $180 and $1000!!! Shouldn’t there be some mid-priced chairs??

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Herman Miller Aeron Chair. You can find them discounted to maybe $600. Incredibly good chair.

9

(thinks)
(TRIES to think. Not guaranteed by this point. :wink:

(thinky thinky think)

I could maybe do that. But it would be possible to find one at that price from an actual dealer? I just can’t see buying one online without actually being able to evaluate it in RL.

10

Here’s one I’ve heard some good things about:

ProGrid® High Back Managers Chair

Here’s the link, but it’s cheaper on Amazon

11

Honestly, check craigslist. You never know what you will find.

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Office furniture from real dealers usually get a pretty good dicount. Don’t give up on them until you get an actual quote

13

Then try one out at a brick and mortar store. Buy it online from somewhere.

14

Craiglist!! Oh, you never know what you’ll FIND, all right. People who post on your Craigslist may be less crazy where you live, but… um… I’ve tried to buy some things off there, and it’s not a good idea around here.

Anyway, I’ll definitely try an office furniture store. I really have heard some good things about the cheaper chair, though, so I’ll try that out too.

15

Neutral Posture. It’s very expensive, but really, *really *worth it. I’ve bought two, which I was only able to do because the first one (that I use at the office) was sold to me at $300 because it was the sample chair and the salesman was about to change to a newer model. Second hand, dealer’s models, that sort of thing, can be a real boon. If you can get them to adjust it for you while you’re sitting in it, you’re golden. :slight_smile:

Here’s a listing on eBay for $300.

16

Office chairs should be purchased used. Craigslist is a good source, but just doing a google search will often turn up good local sources.

My favorite used chair with VERY adjustable arms is the Haworth Improv with Flipper arms. The arm rests go up and down… and rotate 360 degrees. Not all the pictures in that link show the Flipper option.

Improvs aren’t trendy, and can be had used for about $100. I’ve bought them for under $40. Their biggest flaw is that the arm rest pads start to deteriorate after a decade and cost a lot to replace. A lot of used ones have bad arm pads.

Another excellent chair with good arms is the Steelcase Leap. Version-1 has versatile arm rests and can be had around $225 used. Version-2 has armrests that do everything --up, down, rotate, and slide in four directions. A Leap V2 used will run about $350.

Good luck.