Gosh, I just picked up a well-used office chair to sit in at this computer with the other day and I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven! I don’t even know the brand of it and while I know it’s not originally a very expensive chair, it’s very comfortable just the same and, thankfully, has many more hours of life in it before it’ll have to be chucked.
I’m curious to know how you Dopers feel about the chairs you’re using at your computer sessions and whether you might have any stories … or suggestions for a type or brand one should look into, as my euphoria at having gotten this chair has me thinking about office chairs in general and, too, wondering if there might be even much better ones out there, like “over-stuffed” types I’ve seen Internet photos of.
I’ve sat in some Areon (sp?) chairs with lots of mesh that cost over a $1,000 but those seemed way overrated, not great “bang for the buck” chairs at all.
As always, I thank you in advance for your time and whatever input you might have.
Good timing!
I’m looking forward to he responses here. I just drove a hunk of wood under the metal plate at the bottom of my office chair to try to keep it from listing 8 degrees to the right.
I’m pretty sure that I’m going to have to buy one this weekend.
After spending years in research labs spending hours at a time using a microscope while sitting on whatever chairs some institutional purchasing officer decided on, I’ve come to appreciate a good chair. Basic computer and desk use, IME, doesn’t demand quite as much perfection in support and posture, since you can slouch and shift around a bit without dire consequences. Still, a good chair can make a big difference.
Everyone’s butt is unique so you’ll have to try out different chairs to find a good fit. More adjustments is generally better, and higher quality construction means that those adjustments actually mean something.
A few years ago I decided to go to a local office furniture store – the kind of place that has a small showroom for new furniture, and a big warehouse full of used furniture that they buy and sell in whole-office quantities, but they’re happy to sell by the piece as well. After spending an hour sitting in as many chairs as possible, I ended up getting a well constructed Aeron knockoff for $300ish, slightly discounted for being a floor model. (Also got some basic desks - all particle board and veneer, but much more well-constructed than cheap Walmart shit.)
I bet most cities have a few such used office furniture stores. Somebody’s got to deal with all the furnishings left behind when a business closes or shuts down an office…
I recommend this Steelcase chair, which is amazingly durable and has seven settings that can be adjusted.
In one of my previous jobs I was responsible for reviewing office furniture requests, and this is pretty much the only desk chair we’d buy. They never wore out and could be adjusted to suit practically anybody. My only criticism of them (and this is very minor) is that the stuffing in the upholstery was fairly stiff, especially when the chairs were new. If you want a soft, pillowy chair, this one probably isn’t for you.
Naturally, chair preference varies by individual. Here’s a link to a Consumer Search report on the best reviewed office chairs – actually to the part of the review where they link to the original reviews.
They list the favored chair as the Steelcase Leap; I sit in one and like it. I’ve got the older version which has less adjustable arm rests, but which can be had for less money.
Chair shopping on CraigsList is usually easy and productive. I’ll usually search for Steelcase or Haworth. My other favorite chair is the Haworth Improv with Flipper Arms… However the arm rest pads suffer from early cracking and are expensive to replace. It’s a wide chair, and that’s good for me since I flop around to odd positions.
The Criterion in that link is a good chair, but on one of mine the arm height adjuster came apart. I don’t care for the seat tilt mechanism (limited adjustment and often not secure), annnd it looks kinda clunky. Still, a good chair, and (best part) readily available used for about $60.
I can’t remember the company. I found it online, and had to order through a local office supply company in downtown Cleveland. They made chairs that you could piece together, like with so many choices of seat, arms, back, height, etc.
It turns out I needed some special features - I have a really long torso and short legs, so I actually got a short chair for short people. I’m also fat, so I got a wide chair and I think I got the high-level base to accommodate my weight as well.
The chair is heavy as fuck. It was about $600-800 - I made my company pay for it. I think I’ve had it about 8 years now, and it’s still great. I don’t have any discomfort when I sit in the chair.
My previous chair was the only chair I found that was low enough for me. Every other office chair was too high and would make my legs go numb after a while. I am very very pleased with it.
My brother, who worked for us at the time and was having back pain, also got a nice chair at the same time I did. But his was off-the-shelf. Not sure if it was an Aero or just like an Aero - it is mesh.
We did go together to the office supply store from which I ordered my chair and he sat in a bunch of chairs to get the right one for him.
It didn’t cure his back pain but we as a company felt better about not being the reason for his back problem.
I have sat in and bought quite a variety of high-end chairs over the last couple of years trying to find one that I really like. My problem is lower-back pain, and I need good lumbar support. And now my problem is a dining room full of high-end office chairs that I need to sell.
Here’s my rundown:
Steelcase Rally Best lumbar support for my body but rather wide-bodied. Now discontinued.
Steelcase Leap My previous favorite. Adjustable in almost every respect–except the used model I bought didn’t allow adjustment of back/lumbar height above seat (I think the current model does).
Steelcase Vecta Good lumbar support but seat not very cushioned. Possibly discontinued.
Steelcase Think Too much like a hammock, with only thin wires supporting both seat and back. I had the model without sliding lumbar support, which I ordered and tried to install, but was never pleased with the results. I now believe this is more of a meeting-room chair than a task chair.
Humanscale Freedom I had high hopes, but eventually concluded that it pitched me too far forward because the back tilt had too much resistance. There didn’t seem to be any way to adjust this.
In most big cities, there are used office furniture places that currently have enormous inventories. Go and spend an afternoon trying out different models.
This is the one I have at home. I bought it after working at a company that had them in the office. Not cheap, though. I think it was about $1,300. But I rationalized that by thinking about how much time I spend sitting on it.
BTW, I vaguely remember a story, perhaps from when my mother worked for the phone company. Either her employer or another large employer spent a fortune getting ergonomic chairs for everyone. But when they went back a few months later, they found that most people had left the adjustments that were in place when the chairs were delivered.
I think some of the chairs now available from places like Steelcase and Herman Miller are designed to automatically adjust to one’s body, rather than requiring you to manually adjust them.
