
Herman Miller Cosm Chair - sathley
https://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/office-chairs/cosm-chairs/
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chiefgeek
I used Aerons for several years back when they first came out. While they are
really nice looking, I and my staff found them to be terribly uncomfortable.
We all went and tested multiple chairs at the Merchandise Mart. The Steelcase
Leap was the clear winner. I still have and use several of them almost 20
years later.

The Aeron has two major flaws, IMHO. It looks like the Cosm may have the same.

1.) Arms that recline with the back which causes your wrists to have to break
to reach the keyboard

2.) The "trampoline" design of the seat means the front edge of the chair digs
into the underside of your thighs.

~~~
uptown
2.) The "trampoline" design of the seat means the front edge of the chair digs
into the underside of your thighs.

This was the dealbreaker for me. I tried one, but just never found it
comfortable no matter what adjustments I made. Instead, I switched to the
Humanscale Freedom. While it lacks extensive adjustments that many find
essential, it's been a great chair that has held up very well. In the few
instances where parts have worn due to age and use, the company has stood
behind the product and shipped me replacement parts with no questions asked.

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198739834
Herman Miller chairs are somewhat of a scam. They aren't really ergonomic in
that they round inwards at the top edges around where your shoulder blades
contact with the mesh. If you actually have good posture, this will round your
shoulders inwards as well.

People can say how much they love their Aeron all over the internet, but you
have to understand what that means. They are just saying that they feel good
while sitting in them, which often means they sit hunched over and it makes
them relaxed. This doesn't mean the chair is helping them in any way. Often it
means that the chair is compensating for their poor posture and making them
feel good despite not being healthy.

You can see videos all over youtube of people actually working while sitting
in Herman Miller chairs, and they all have poor posture. For example:

[https://youtu.be/_R8bIIQxajA?t=15](https://youtu.be/_R8bIIQxajA?t=15)

[https://youtu.be/cGEb-q5JMU0?t=17](https://youtu.be/cGEb-q5JMU0?t=17)

Most chairs above around $500 will be fine. That is to say, you will still
suffer serious health issues like everyone else who sits down all day, but the
chair should not cause any pain while you are sitting down.

If you have back pain and so on, you should probably go to the gym, which will
be the ultimately way to feel comfortable at work and everywhere else.
Although, it still will do little to reverse the effects of sitting down all
day. Programming is a career that guarantees immediate and serious health
issues due to sitting and poor posture.

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RubyTuesdae
Wait a year or so and you can pick one up for half-price on the used market
from the failed dot coms that bought them new and then ran out of money 6
months later and laid everybody off. Here in the south bay area, you can pick
up Aeron chairs at consignment shops for a couple hundred bucks.

~~~
tonyedgecombe
I looked for quite a while but couldn't find a large model on the second hand
market so ended up buying new.

~~~
RubyTuesdae
They do come and go pretty quickly. You need to be at the right place at the
right time.

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Someone1234
As someone who recently purchased a high end chair, my only advice is go try
them in person(!), and sit how you actually sit.

Herman Miller Aeron for example is great for people who are either small or
sit "correctly." If you fold your legs under yourself, it is super
uncomfortable.

My finalists were the Aeron, Embody, Steelcase Leap, and Gesture. The Leap and
Gesture worked much better for my lazy ("natural") seating position. I
ultimately purchased a Leap because the Gesture's arms shifted every time I
stood up, and weren't as supportive.

Also our local dealer matched a major online dealer ($150 off).

~~~
pxlpshr
The Aeron is only for people who are small? They make them in 3 different
sizes and Size C can easily handle a very large person. The level of
customization is why they became so popular. To that end, they also have
premium versions that have even more 'levers and knobs' beyond the standard
features. To your point, most people are uninformed about the Aeron (or
similar) and the degree of customization that's achievable. But I ultimately
do agree with you, it's not a chair that's designed for everyone and you
should try before you buy. A great task chair fitted to your body makes a
world of difference.

 __I use to buy and sell used office furniture in the early 00 's to pay for
college. __

~~~
Someone1234
> The Aeron is only for people who are small? They make them in 3 different
> sizes and Size C can easily handle a very large person.

But does nothing for leg length, which is the issue. As I said in the post you
replied to, if you fold your legs under yourself the Aeron doesn't work.

For smaller people, they likely won't notice it, but for larger/taller the
back of your legs brush against the underside/front of the chair in that
position.

The Aeron seems to want you to sit correctly or not at all.

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vyper91
I have to say the Aeron is my absolute favourite chair and I've worked in
several different environments.

I haven't had the luxury of testing other high-end ergonomic chairs, but I had
to buy an Aeron for my home office as soon as I started getting serious about
remote-working.

I can sit in this thing for a lengthy 12-hour shift and feel physically OK
doing so (with some regular small walking breaks of course) - and I cannot say
the same thing for any other chair.

I also think it just looks fantastic, it's definitely iconic and I have
expressed my interest to Herman Miller in this new chair even though the one
I'm sitting in right now is five years old and still feels mint condition.

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NickM
Every Herman Miller chair I've tried (and several other brands of "ergonomic"
chairs) seem to be designed in such a way that there's a big gap in support
around the mid-back area, in-between the lumbar area and the shoulder blades.
There's very firm, forward support for the lumbar spine and shoulders, and
then this weird gap in the middle. This causes my mid-back to round into the
empty space, which in turn causes my shoulders and neck to slump forward.

Judging from the photo, this chair looks like it has the same problem.

I can't for the life of me figure out how or why anyone considers these chairs
to be comfortable. Maybe my back just has a weird shape or something, but
these chairs seem to literally fight to keep you from sitting up straight with
a healthy posture. And yet, everyone seems to love them. It feels like some
sort of bizarre conspiracy.

To be clear, this is _not_ just my initial impressions. Everyone loves these
name-brand luxury chairs so much that I've owned three of them over the last
ten years (a Mirra, an Embody, and a Humanscale Freedom), because I keep
thinking maybe I just need a different model, or maybe I haven't figured out
how to adjust the damn things properly. They all feel well-built and high
quality, but they all feel more and more uncomfortable the longer I sit in
them, and I can't find a way to use them that doesn't seem to cause
progressively worse back and neck problems. I can't figure out where the
disconnect is happening.

~~~
encoderer
Curious, are you using their lumbar insert? I used to and always found it
uncomfortable. I later learned from a Herman Miller rep that most people
shouldn’t use it and the chair provides support from the large mesh contact
surface. Since removing it I’ve been way more comfortable, going on 5 years
now.

~~~
NickM
Maybe that would've helped for the Mirra, though I did tend to keep it at its
minimum setting anyway, since I also found it rather uncomfortable. But the
Embody and Freedom chairs have no removable lumbar support to begin with....

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linsomniac
15 years ago I went to look at chairs after finally tiring of the "cheap" $200
Office Depot chairs that needed replacing every couple years. The office
furniture store I went to had several Aeron chairs and all of them were broken
in various ways. I took that as a sign and didn't get one.

Instead I got a Cramer Triton which is a fairly basic looking chair, but I
found comfortable for working at the computer and it was rated for 3 shift use
with a fairly long warranty. Later I got a total of maybe 6 of them for my
company and they held up really well.

I left that company and the new company had a bunch of Aeron chairs, the best
I could find of the unused chairs was one that I could get into a reasonable
position but couldn't adjust at all once it was there.

Fast forward 4 years and yesterday I spent about 30 minutes sitting, mostly
using a standing desk. :-)

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bovermyer
I much prefer the DXRacer King Zero: [https://www.dxracer.com/au/en-
au/product/1/gaming_chair/king...](https://www.dxracer.com/au/en-
au/product/1/gaming_chair/king_series/oh-kf00-nr-zero/)

~~~
jitl
This looks like an OfficeMax chair with red trim.

~~~
bpicolo
The premium model gaming-market chairs (AKRacing/DXRacer) are actually great
as general office chairs, I'm super happy with mine. They also have office-
styled versions (e.g. [https://www.akracing.com/product/obsidian-office-
chair/](https://www.akracing.com/product/obsidian-office-chair/))

The quality is definitely far beyond the office max special. I was surprised
by the box the thing came in - absolutely massive. The chair is a tank

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jaybna
Makes me think of line from fuckedcompany.com during Bubble 1.0: “You can have
my Aeron when you pry it from my cold, dead ass”

~~~
sofaofthedamned
That brings back memories. Wonder what he's doing now?

I've got 2 Aerons in my home office right now and they're awesome. Cost me
£100 each, 6 months old, bought from a government department who paid a
fortune for them. That's where your tax money goes it seems.

~~~
rhapsodic
_> That brings back memories. Wonder what he's doing now?_

[https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=pud](https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=pud)

~~~
sofaofthedamned
Awesome, thank you.

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Y_Y
Airon is the emacs of chairs.

~~~
davidkuhta
This makes me wonder what's the Vim of chairs?

~~~
elcapitan
One where you don't get out of again without 5 years of experience?

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dallen33
The Staple’s branded Tarance is the nicest chair I’ve sat on in some time. And
it’s modestly priced ($265CDN). Check it out next time you’re in Staples.

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Yhippa
Anybody have a recommendation for an inexpensive chair that isn't bad for your
back or body?

~~~
p49k
The IKEA Markus is around $200 and often recommended as a good compromise on
price and ergonomics.

~~~
rkangel
This is a reassuring recommendation because I just did some research and the
Markus was what I settled on in the affordable bracket.

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blah-blahblah
[https://xkcd.com/915/](https://xkcd.com/915/)

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Cenk
Looks sleek. Especially love the typeface (Meta), chosen well to complement
the chair’s design.

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dominotw
Or you could just just go the gym regularly, take frequent breaks from
sitting, lose weight, eat healthy.

You don't need fancy chair if your back is not supporting a huge gut or is
strength atrophied from never using it , you don't need a fancy mattress if
your body is tired and your mind calm.

~~~
gargravarr
There is a very good reason Aeron chairs appeal to programmers...

~~~
justherefortart
I always wanted an Aeron. Finally got one and it's terrible. The bottom
"breathable" fabric has to be so tight it's like sitting on a noncushioned
chair. It might keep your ass cooler but at the expense of comfort.

I found a ~$150 chair on Amazon that is so much more comfortable and
affordable.

[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Q5XTE8/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Q5XTE8/)

~~~
vyper91
Maybe it's because I'm a tall guy (and fairly overweight) but for me it's the
mesh that makes it so good - it might feel tight and not exactly 'cushioned',
but I can sit on it for hours without feeling sore, whereas nearly every other
office chair after a while feels like I've sunk into the cushion and warped my
sitting position - or hit the plastics/metal!

~~~
justherefortart
I'm glad someone likes it. I'm a Herman Miller fan, my dad's Eames Lounge
Chair from the 70s got murdered in a tornado (so sad).

It makes me sad that they're so uncomfortable because I love the look (the
Cobalt Blue from the 90s was awesome).

