
Ask HN: Good Aeron knock-off/alternative? - mlLK
I've been meaning to make an investment in a low-end Aeron (do they exist?) or an Aeron knock-off. . .I've been through 2 chairs in the past 2 years and it is seriously interfering w/ my work. I'll actually even go to my school's computer lab for extended periods of time if I have a lot of work to do since their chairs are so comfortable to sit in while working.<p>I know it's not just me and I'm not trying to act as if I'm a special case, but the biggest problem I see w/ office chairs is they don't support a proper posture while sitting at a computer. For instance, I often find myself slouching or trying to reconfigure my arm-chair height so I can jump from the keyboard to the mouse w/o much effort.<p>Again not to sound like a special case, but I have extremely long legs (high-waist line, like a woman...) and short torso, I don't know if this physical feature is affecting my posture in normal office chairs, but Aeron seems to effect my posture enough that it makes a huge difference.
======
mechanical_fish
If you have tried the Aeron and it is working for you then my advice is... buy
an Aeron. Why are you trying to save nickels and dimes on a problem that is
interfering with your work? You will spend more time searching and auditioning
an alternative chair -- which will end up costing plenty, itself -- than the
money you save will be worth.

My Aeron is nearly ten years old. A new Aeron costs $850 up front from Amazon;
that works out to about $7 a month. It beats pain.

Recently my chair broke (the hydraulic unit sort of exploded). Fortunately
Aerons have a _twelve year_ warranty, so in about an hour a tech is scheduled
to visit my home office and fix it, for free.

If you really cannot stomach spending money for a new Aeron buy a used Aeron.
(But you might want to call and make sure that the sweet, sweet warranty will
transfer! ;) Then, if you decide later that another chair is better, you can
sell the Aeron used and not lose much money in the bargain.

~~~
skalpelis
If anything, the chair is worth it because of the warranty - imagine buying a
100$ POS chair every year and compare it with the cost of an Aeron over 12
years (at least twelve, but it's likely to last more).

However, the 12-year warranty is only for structural parts. If I recall
correctly, the mesh had only a 5-year warranty.

~~~
silencio
This chair discussion and zed shaw's recent RSI discussion led me to looking
at buying a new chair since my current one is giving me problems. I've settled
on the Mirra, since I prefer it to an Aeron and I've found some reasonable
deals for various colors of lightly used Mirra chairs on sites like ebay,
craigslist, etc.

I'm sure a lot of others here looking to buy a chair are thinking of going the
same route I am. Be aware that there is one _major_ caveat emptor to buying a
secondhand chair: Herman Miller's 12 year warranty _only_ applies to the
original purchaser that obtained the product from HM or an authorized
reseller. Humanscale, Steelcase, Knoll, HON, and pretty much every other major
task chair manufacturer has a similar warranty, and none of them will let you
transfer the warranty AFAIK. Experiences with obtaining warranty service for
secondhand Aerons and other chairs seems to vary, but please factor in the
possibility that you may not be able to obtain service into the long-term cost
of buying a used chair. If a trivial-over-12-years cost difference will give
you peace of mind, go for it. Research a reseller before you buy anything from
them. And so on.

If you weren't aware of this already, well, you can use it now to negotiate a
lower price ;)

(Speaking of warranties, Costco sells some Herman Miller chairs as a
legitimate authorized reseller. You can get the HM warranty and Costco's
legendary return policy together that way, should anything with your chair go
horribly wrong.)

------
byoung2
_low-end Aeron (do they exist?)_

Some of my coworkers saw an ad on Craigslist for a recording studio that was
going out of business. They were selling everything, from mixing boards and
microphones to computers and Aeron chairs. They got genuine Aeron chairs for
about $250 each. Try looking on Craigslist or in the Pennysaver for going out
of business type sales.

~~~
jeremymcanally
Same here. I bought two Aerons for just a couple hundred a piece from a guy
who got them from an office that went out of business. He had like 10 he was
selling. I'd imagine this scenario isn't that uncommon and should be easy to
find on CL or something similar.

Also, search nearby cities/regions. I had to drive an hour or so for mine, but
it was worth it.

------
SkyMarshal
Previously on HN:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=585693>

Ergohuman is the closest I can find to the Aeron, but I haven't tried one yet.
They're also pretty close to Aeron in price, around $600:

<http://ergohuman.com/index.html>

Realspace Pro 9000 is close too:

[http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690690/Realspace-
PRO-9...](http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690690/Realspace-
PRO-9000-Series-60percent-Recycled/)

A Slate article looking for the 'best desk chair':

<http://www.slate.com/id/2131646/>

Some others worth looking at:

Herman Miller Ecua XR:

[http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductGroup.aspx?Prodid=113004...](http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductGroup.aspx?Prodid=11300477&whse=BC&topnav=)

Humanscale Liberty:

<http://www.thehumansolution.com/liberty.html>

Hayworth Zody:

[http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/review-haworth-zody-
cha...](http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/review-haworth-zody-
chair-20080326/)

Realspace BT2:

[http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/392830/Realspace-
BT2-B...](http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/392830/Realspace-BT2-Big-And-
Tall-High/) (I randomly found this one in Office Depot recently, and liked how
it felt so much I bookmarked its page. I'm not Big & Tall, just average, but
this chair's posture & lumbar support felt great)

Here's a fake Aeron:

[http://www.coolchairz.com/solid-metal-mesh-chair--
metallic-t...](http://www.coolchairz.com/solid-metal-mesh-chair--metallic-
trim-amp-frame.html)

Lots more at <http://www.ergodepot.com/>

Even a TED Talk on sitting:

[http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/niels_diffrient_rethinks_...](http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/niels_diffrient_rethinks_the_way_we_sit_at_work.html)

~~~
ihartley
I have the Zody chair and I have to say it's pretty fantastic. I was going to
buy an Aeron, but even with the size C chair, the lip of the seat dug into my
thighs. The Zody on the other hand has an adjustable seat pan so I can move it
out so the edge is under my knees.

The adjustable arm rests are also pretty cool and nearly worth the price of
admission by themselves. They adjust up/down, forward/backward, left/right and
rotate around the vertical axis.

------
Tangurena
I am obese [1]. When I sit in one of those cheapy ($150 or so) office chairs
from the office stores, I find that the gas cylinders last about 6 months
before my fat a@@ squeezes the gas out of them. Since they're cheap imports,
the only way to get a replacement gas cylinder is to buy a new chair. So I was
spending $250-350/year on office chairs at home.

I've had my Aeron for 4 years now. No new cylinders. So the $800 I spent more
than paid for itself. If I had stayed using office chairs, I'd have spent more
than $1k on them.

Notes:

1 - Getting run over by a car, and being unable to be as physically active as
I used to be didn't help.

------
EvanK
Not exactly what you're asking, but I took a chance on replacing my chair
entirely with an inflatable exercise ball, and I'm quite happy with the
result. It took a week or so to get used to, but my balance has somewhat
improved and my lowe back actually seems a little stronger. I'm also putting
the money I saved on a chair into buying an adjustable height desk so I can
stand & work when I get tired of bouncing on said ball.

~~~
mlLK
What kind of desks are you looking into?

~~~
EvanK
Thinking of getting a GeekDesk. You can buy just the frame, then find your own
desk top piece (and a hollow-core door from home depot will work just fine)

~~~
mattmichielsen
I think this winter I'm going to build my own version of the GeekDesk. I'll
put it on instructables.com or whatever and document it. I'd start today, but
I have too many other house projects to do while it is still warm out.

------
AgentIcarus
One that was recommended to me on here before (and I ended up buying - thanks
HN!) was the Markus from Ikea -
<http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20103101>

It's a lovely chair for working in, very comfortable and with a decent head /
neck support.

~~~
stonemetal
How long have you had yours? I have a chair from Ikea that was great for about
1.5 years then deteriorated rather quickly.

~~~
MartinCron
I have a love hate relationship with Ikea. The rule I've worked out is "buy
nothing with moving parts" which would rule out office chairs.

~~~
mattmichielsen
I'm down to 4 out of 6 of these that haven't broken from regular use within
the first year: <http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70033870>

Luckily, I live in the same town as Herman Miller and find good stuff at
garage sales every now and then.

------
gregtrob
After having issues multiple times with my back as a result of the way I sit
(and the amount of time I sit) for work, my opinion is work standing up as
much as possible.

That or get one of the exercise balls to sit on when you must sit, it forces
correct posture.

------
sbov
Whatever you do, I wouldn't buy the Realspace Pro/Quantum from Office Depot.
They may have since fixed the design, but for my current version:

The design for attaching the seatback to the base is poor - all that is
holding it up is two metal plates attached to eachother at (about) a 60 degree
angle with 2 screws. There is a "slot" one goes into but it is just plastic.
Due to this the screws holding up the back have a tendency to snap in half.

Both of my screws broke after 1 month, causing me to go crashing onto the
floor. They had a "recall" and distributed a repair kit with new screws but
one new screw has already snapped for me. To really fix this chair they would
have to do much more than distribute a new pair of screws. Hopefully they have
in newer chairs, but I wouldn't risk $250 on it.

This may have to do with weight and height - I'm 6'4 and 190 lbs, so I would
place much more stress on the screws than someone shorter. I still wouldn't
risk it though.

See: <http://www.quantumchair.com/recall/cpsc.html>

------
Entlin
Imho, Aeron chairs are overrated, because they lack good neck and head
support.

I use a Vitra Headline. Most comfortable task chair in the world. I can code
on it for days without feeling that my head is getting heavy and I need to
sleep. It's so much relaxing fun I regularly have to drag myself away from the
monitor at 3am to go to bed. Truly a revolution.

------
silentbicycle
While not necessarily cheaper, the Haworth Zody chairs are an option (I _love_
mine), as are several Steelcase chairs (e.g. the Leap). You might have better
luck if you watch craigslist for all three, but remember that the fit of the
actual chair is probably as important as the general design.

------
stonemetal
>I'll actually even go to my school's computer lab for extended periods of
time if I have a lot of work to do since their chairs are so comfortable to
sit in while working.

So what kind of chairs do they have? School labs aren't known for having
Aerons.

~~~
mlLK
Yeah, I was actually going to stop by later today and see for myself.

------
euccastro
I own an Aeron, and I used to have a Mirra at work. If I had my money back,
I'd go for the Mirra instead. It's still in the luxury price range, but a bit
cheaper, and to me it felt better. I used to spend more time sitting in the
'proper' position in the Mirra, while in the Aeron I'll often slouch, cross
legs, and otherwise change posture. Maybe I never managed to adjust the Aeron
just right. Mirra is less configurable, but it just worked for me, so I count
that as a plus.

Even cheaper chairs are a significant investment, so I suggest just try
sitting on as many as you can, and don't buy one that you couldn't try.

------
elouise
Get a Celle. I find them more comfortable that Aerons and way cheaper.
<http://www.hermanmiller.com/Products/Celle-Chairs>

------
weaksauce
I picked mine up used on craigslist for about $400.(If you are willing to wait
for it you can get it cheaper) It has so far lasted longer than a "cheaper"
staples chair that goes for 100-200 bucks and has no degradation in utility. I
love it and I am kicking my self in the ass for not buying it sooner.

BTW... the price that they list on craigslist is usually an ideal price that
they would like to get. You should be able to knock off 50-100 bucks off the
price by haggling in person and be willing to walk away from a deal.

------
edj
Another option is the Swopper chair. [http://www.amazon.com/A-801-Black-
Swopper-Chair/dp/B00079EH3...](http://www.amazon.com/A-801-Black-Swopper-
Chair/dp/B00079EH3U)

It looks like a barstool and feels a bit like a high-tech, firm, adjustable
exercise ball. Easily my favorite office chair and vastly better, in my
opinion, than Aerons.

------
matrix
I can't recommend the Steelcase Leap enough. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I
found the Aeron chairs to be somewhat uncomfortable. The Steelcase Leap, on
the otherhand... I've had it for a year and couldn't imagine working without
one.

I found mine for $100 on Craiglist, so maybe try there.

~~~
flowereater
Second the steelcase leap. It has a nice "recline mode" which I make copious
use of. Make sure you get the version 2.

------
moe
_I'll actually even go to my school's computer lab for extended periods of
time if I have a lot of work to do since their chairs are so comfortable to
sit in while working._

So what chairs do they have? Probably not Aerons? If those work fine for you,
why not buy just that.

------
frankus
The Quantum Mesh Chair from Office Depot is pretty nice, and about $300 new.

Double-check the seat height, though. I'm 5'11" and at the highest setting
it's almost too low. I'm not entirely sure if they come in different sizes or
if its one-size-fits-all.

------
far33d
We use these at our office:

[http://www.sitonit.net/home/product-
overview.asp?product=foc...](http://www.sitonit.net/home/product-
overview.asp?product=focus)

They are not as good as aerons but they are significantly cheaper, around
$250.

------
tvon
I've seen a bunch of Aeron chairs on Craigslist (Baltimore) for around $450. I
suggest just subscribing to the Aeron search results and waiting until you see
one at your price point.

------
ThomPete
I have had an Aeron chair almost since it came out. The same one have been
traveling with me across continents for 12 years or so.

Don't get the nock off get the real thing.

------
lanstein
I got an Aeron on craigslist for $150. Shit luck, but it does happen. The
seller wanted a white one to match his office redesign :)

------
BoppreH
Have you tried a stand-desk?

