Ask HN: what chair are you using for coding and how comfortable is it? - bib971
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teh_klev
IKEA Volmar [1] with arms and headrest. Very comfy and I've even nodded off in
it after an all night debug session. It's also good value for money.

This is my second IKEA chair in the GBP170 to GBP220 price range - I don't
remember the name of the previous one which I purchased in 2002 and continued
to use until late 2011. The old one has been relegated to "guest worker" chair
after a refurb of new wheels. The seat padding could do with
replacing/recovering but it's good enough for 2-3 hour sessions.

I work from home full time so my desk chair gets used in anger for at least
8-10 hours a day six/seven days a week, also I'm a fairly large 6' bloke so
they do take a pounding. I've had the Volmar for two and a bit years now and
so far it still feels like new.

I'd love to try a Hermann Miller Aeron or a Humanscale, but there isn't a
stockist nearby where I can go and try one before committing that amount of
money.

[1]:
[http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S89895086/#/S8989...](http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S89895086/#/S89895835)

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calbear81
I love my Allsteel Acuity chair which has a mesh back and a firm and not too
plush seat. Armrests adjust up/down, side to side and the whole thing oozes
quality.

I used to use those cheap vinyl office depot chairs and they are just too
plush to be good for extended sitting periods. They also tend to break down
after a while.

In our office, I bought a ton of used high end furniture from a dealer in San
Jose who buys them from Apple/Cisco, etc. when they upgrade. We got everything
for about 20% of original price and they steam clean and delivered to our
office. We're using Knoll Life chairs and a mix of Herman Miller Mirra chairs,
both of which I like a lot.

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gmatty
Does the dealer you went to happen to have a website? I was thinking of
picking up a new chair myself.

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calbear81
It's here ([http://tekbenches.net/](http://tekbenches.net/)) but Rudy doesn't
generally like selling one offs. I got myself and my friend a chair (Aeron for
about $300) only because I got to know him via our office buy (30+ chairs and
various furniture). He has a big warehouse and you meet up with him and you
basically walk in and find your chair and haggle and strike a deal. No harm
emailing to ask if you can head over.

~~~
gmatty
Thanks! Appreciate it!

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todd8
I currently work at an adjustable height table. I really like standing for
about four hours each day while I work. I lower the table to sit whenever I
get too tired of standing. For sitting, I use a strange stool-like chair with
a spring mounted seat. It's called a Swopper chair and it's available on
Amazon. At first this chair with no back tired me out. It prevents the kind of
relaxed slumping that I always found myself doing before and keeps core
muscles engaged. After a couple of months of using it I find it very
comfortable, and I noticed the same pattern when I started to work standing
up. This change in my work habits is associated with less frequent lower back
problems (which have been developing for decades), but I'm not sure that's its
the chair or the standing as much as not sitting the same way for 10 hours
every day. Back when I was a long distance runner, I found that alternating
shoes from different manufacturers on each day's run helped avoid overuse
injuries.

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user_235711
I believe it is known as a task chair (since it lacks armrests and is not too
expensive), but for me _not having armrests_ is the single most important
aspect of a coding chair. If armrests are present, chances are that they will
prevent me from pulling up to the desk completely - since they hit the desk
before my body does - and as a result I will have to lean forward (and by
extension begin to slouch) in order to reach the keyboard.

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ereckers
I use a Bungee Chair, similar to:

    
    
      http://www.containerstore.com/shop/desks/deskChairs?productId=10022641
    

I had purchased a nice office chair from COSTCO previously, and as much as I
love COSTCO, I absolutely hated the chair. I think it single handedly led to
some RSI and constant headaches. After some research, picked up one of these
and I'll probably never use another type of office chair.

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a3n
Random office chair, bought randomly by my company as it was owned by random
other companies over the years.

It allows me to slouch all day, which is about my only requirement. I prefer
to face the world at about 45 degrees.

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penguinlinux
Office depot chairs that were bought on discount by our company, even the CEO
uses one of these generic chairs and if that is good enough for him it is good
enough for me.

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chewxy
I finally splurged on an Ergohuman. My back has stopped aching since and I've
stopped slouching as much.

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jlahijani
Diffrient World Chair. Very comfortable according to me and my friends.

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scottyallen
Steelcase Think. About $300 used on craigslist. Worth every penny.

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_pius
Herman Miller Embody; very comfortable and highly recommended.

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olgeni
Sub-sub-Ikea corporate bulk-purchased abomination...

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atgm
An old, beat-up Herman Miller Aeron.

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krapp
The chair that came with my dorm.

It's not very comfortable.

