
Five Best Office Chairs - barredo
http://lifehacker.com/5941523/five-best-office-chairs
======
dsr_
If your company is successful, at some point you are going to hire people who
are much smaller or much bigger than average. (I miss 2m by a few fingers; one
of my coworkers is almost a half meter shorter.)

At that point, it is vital that you remember two things:

First, chairs are cheap compared to salaries.

Second, an inflexible policy is an impediment to working at your company.

Don't set a policy like "We buy Aeron for everybody." If you have an esthetic
issue (don't laugh, some companies do, I've worked at one) make the policy
"All chairs are black". Pretty much every chair can be ordered in black, and
nobody outside your company will ever notice a chair that they someone is
using at their desk.

~~~
vacri
My problem is that I weigh 125kg/275lbs and am 2cm shy of 2m (mesomorph
territory). I break an office chair about once every two years - they are
simply not built to cope with my weight. Thus the idea of shelling out $1k for
a chair scares me.

That being said, at my last work there was a significant remodeling of the
office space by a designer. As in, the techboys roll their eyes type designer.
She was there to customise our area, as long as we fitted into the grand
design. So we had these chairs that fit into the grand design. Attractive
chairs. But terrible for sitting in, and the seat pan was way too low. I cited
my height and kept my old chair. "But it doesn't fit in with the design!" was
followed with "We'll get you cushions!" (which were never seen...). Over time,
I noticed other staff were taking my lead and going with chairs that worked
for them rather than chairs that looked good. Long story short, I like your
'all chairs must be black' idea, it's far better than making all chairs the
same.

~~~
notJim
For what it's worth, I weigh about what you do (a bit more, sigh), and used a
sized-B Aeron (which should've been too small) at work and a Steelcase Leap at
home, and didn't ever have any issues with breakage. I also found that regular
$100-$200 office chairs would break yearly or so, so I think we must put
comparable strain on our chairs.

I will also note that you can find Aerons for about half-price used and the
Steelcase Leap for an even greater discount (as it is not as well known.) I
paid $350 for my current Steelcase Leap, and that included delivery (of myself
and the chair) right to my doorstep in the nice older gentleman's Mercedes,
complete with heated seats.

~~~
vacri
Thanks for your comments (and everyone below). I've just broken my home office
chair about a week ago, so I might start looking with your suggestions in
mind.

~~~
eru
You have more freedom at home. Please consider a standing desk.

------
jotux
A lot of office chairs enforce a sit-up-straight posture which I really don't
like. When sitting at a computer for long hours I like to lean the chair far
back and put my feet up or out in front of me. I've found that I never get
back or wrist pain this way and have run across some articles that say this is
better for your back.

<http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/57654.php>
[http://rsna2006.rsna.org/rsna2006/V2006/conference/event_dis...](http://rsna2006.rsna.org/rsna2006/V2006/conference/event_display.cfm?em_id=4435870)

The only downside is that many people will associate leaning back in your
chair with your feet up as being lazy. For this reason I printed out that
article and pinned it to my cubicle wall.

~~~
whichdan
My preferred way to code is leaning back in a chair with my legs resting on an
ottoman or something similar. I'd be really interested if anyone else has more
(anecdotal?) evidence supporting this.

For the record, I tend to develop using a laptop resting on my legs, and my
arms at my side, since my desk chair is pretty wide.

I do wonder whether I'm going to regret this in 20 years.

~~~
kzahel
I use a range of postures throughout the day. I spend a lot of time in an
armchair in a common area, where I alternate between crossed legs, legs in
front, or sometimes legs lying on the short table. I spend some time standing
at my (not high enough) desk. The geekdesk looks amazing ... I am going to ask
for that next week. I think you can get away with a lot of bad posture stuff
if you get out and exercise during the day. I take a 3-4 mile run followed by
a workout most days. That keeps me feeling great even when sitting with "bad"
posture.

------
teh_klev
If your finances can't stretch to $700-$1000 for a chair I can thoroughly
recommend the Ikea Volmar [1].

I had the previous version and just replaced it with a new one. The old one
gave me 10 years of great service but the seat padding needs replaced and re-
upholstered, and there's something gone a bit shonky with the backrest
adjustment.

I work from home and after using it for 8-12 hours a day (with usual sensible
breaks) my back and backside feel just fine. It's a pretty comfy chair, even
for a big lad who's enjoyed too many pies, like me.

[1]
[http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S59896332/?query=...](http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S59896332/?query=VOLMAR+Swivel+chair+w+headrest%2Farmrests#/S79896331)

------
daeken
I'm a very, very big dude (6'2" and around 375lbs). That combination means
that chairs are generally too small and too brittle; my last chair ($300 or
so) lasted less than 6 months. Then I discovered this:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PWGZKW/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=ih...](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PWGZKW/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=iha0a-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B000PWGZKW&adid=0QY2QE18GE777ZPAMZCH&);
(Warning: referral link)

It's large enough to accomodate me very comfortably, it's built like a tank,
it's adjustable to hell and back, and it's less than $400. The casters that
come with it seem to be solid as well, though I replaced them with a set of
nice rubber ones that would glide a bit better under the weight.

It's held me well for around 6 months now with no sign of letting up, and I
have very few complaints (namely, that the headrest adjustment is done via
discrete notches rather than a continuous adjustment). Can't say enough good
things about it.

~~~
_JamesA_
I've had several of the Office Star branded chairs over the years. As another
big fellow (height and weight) I have found every one of them eventually
failed. It usually starts with the pneumatic cylinder leaking as they aren't
rated for more than 200 lbs.

I eventually bought a Hon 7800 Series chair
(<http://www.hon.com/Products/Chairs/7808.aspx>) and haven't had any issues at
all for the last 3 - 4 years.

I easily spent more for all of the Office Star chairs that I discarded than
the one Hon 7800 Series.

------
nabilt
I spent a few months evaluating a few of these chairs after I started feeling
pressure points in my legs. My pain is gone, but no chair will ever replace
stretching every hour or so. Here are my short reviews:

Herman Miller Embody: The chair I like the best and bought for around ~$850
here <http://www.businessinteriors.ca/>. More details about the deal here:
[http://forums.redflagdeals.com/herman-miller-
embody-841-a-11...](http://forums.redflagdeals.com/herman-miller-
embody-841-a-1145523/). Everything about the chair is adjustable, which I
think is very important for many reasons. People tend to shift sitting
positions after a while, one size never fits all and the chair must adjust to
fit the table. The full mesh construction and deep recline are also important
if you are sitting for long periods of time.

Herman Miller Aeron: Only tried this in the store for a few hours. Very
comfortable. Same pros as the Embody except for the full back support and a
few adjustable features like seat length, which was important for me because
of my leg pain.

IKEA Markus: I've heard good things about this, but I had to return it after
sitting on it for 2 weeks. My leg pains got worse and I suspect that is
because the seat was too hard and long for me. The price was right, but the
lack of adjustable features meant it was no good for me. Also, why make the
back out of mesh, but not the seat? Our butts are where we feel most of the
pressure.

Humanscale Freedom Chair: Only sat on it for a few minutes. I felt they might
have compromised on comfort to build an easy to use chair. The lack of mesh
also makes me sceptical that I could use it for long periods of time.

tl;dr: The most comfortable chairs that fixed my pressure points were fully
adjustable, were completely constructed out of mesh and had a deep recline.

------
rdl
I wish there were office chairs with electronic/memory adjustments. I hate it
when someone sits in my aeron, changes settings (especialy unlocking the lean
back!) and I sit in it unaware. My car has power seats with multiple memory;
doing that for a desk with NFC to identify the user and switch to preferred
settings would be nice.

~~~
eru
What's NFC? (And wouldn't just going by weight be good enough?)

~~~
rdl
Yeah, doing weight to ID multiple users would work in most environments (which
is how the withings wifi scale works with multiple users). NFC = nearfield
communications = RFID = short-range RF, useful for opening doors, unlocking
computers, etc. Basically a contactless smartcard.

------
spaghetti
FWIW the IKEA Markus is really nice. I previously had an Aeron and if I had to
choose today I'd go with the Markus.

------
hiroprot
Missing from the list: Knoll Life Chair

<http://www.knoll.com/products/product.jsp?prod_id=188>

I tested most of the other ones in this post, and liked this one better.

~~~
idiot900
We have a few Life chairs at the hospital I work at. I wasn't too impressed -
much happier with my Aeron at home and Knoll Bulldog at my own desk (sadly,
discontinued). We also have a ton of Knoll Chadwick chairs, and they are
terrible - remarkably uncomfortable and they started falling apart just a few
months after they were acquired. At the moment you'd be hard pressed to find
more than a few in the entire institution where at least one armrest hasn't
broken off. YMMV of course.

------
jonah
Over 10 years ago the company I was working at bought everyone the chair of
their choice. I spent a lot of time testing and trialing a number of different
high-end models and ended up with the Steelcase Leap. It doesn't look as
"techno" as the Aeron but I feel it's superior in every way.

The company I worked for is long gone but chair's moved on with me and is
still serving me well. A good chair is probably an even better productivity
investment than a fast computer - especially in the long run.

[Edit for clarity.]

~~~
Matt_Cutts
I love the Steelcase Leap that I've used for the last ten years. Not sure what
you mean by "the company is long gone" though? You can buy a Steelcase Leap
today: <http://store.steelcase.com/brochures/leap/>

~~~
jonah
* The place I worked is no longer.

Yeah, I'm looking at getting another for home.

------
m0nastic
A month or so back I mentioned that I'd recently switched to doing most of my
computing while sitting in one of these:

[http://www.dwr.com/product/lc4-chaise-lounge-
cowhide.do?sort...](http://www.dwr.com/product/lc4-chaise-lounge-
cowhide.do?sortby=ourPicks)

and I can now offer as an update that it's really working out well from a
comfort perspective. Obviously, this isn't necessarily feasible in most
offices; but if you work from home, I highly recommend it.

~~~
kbenson
I used to do all my home work (consulting ~10 hours a week) on a recliner in a
similar but less exaggerated position using a laptop. After replacing the
couch (a hand-me-down) with one that has a flat chaise instead of a recliner,
I find I _really_ miss it. If I have to do anything work related for more than
a short duration on the couch, I now find that I end up using pillows to
simulate the exact positioning of the chaise you linked.

I should probably build myself a better work area here, and that recliner plus
laptop combo worked out really well...

------
MikeCapone
I now have a standing desk and I find that much better than any of the desk
chairs I've ever had, including the very expensive Freedom Chair by
Humanscale.

~~~
fudged
How long do you use a standing desk at a time? After a while, my back and legs
start to hurt and I need to sit down.

~~~
MikeCapone
I use it all day (maybe 8 hours a day), but I move around a lot. Whenever I'm
not typing or reading on the screen (thinking), I walk around. That helps a
lot. I sometimes go sit down a bit in other rooms, but basically I can stand
all day if I have to.

It took my about 3 weeks to get to that point. For the first few weeks, my
feet hurt a lot. But at some point I passed a threshold and it pretty much
stopped hurting altogether as long as I can walk around and shift my weight
from one leg to the other a lot (I couldn't stand still all day).

------
Sindisil
As a smaller guy, I find the Mirra to be the best fit for me.

The Aeron small is too narrow, and the medium seems to fit, but doesn't (major
pain within an hour or so).

------
ScottBurson
My favorite is the Neutral Posture 9700 (the 8000 series back with the
headrest and deep contour seat). Though it's more conventional-looking than an
Aeron, I think it's much more comfortable. It's very adjustable (including an
inflatable lumbar pillow) and leans back far enough to nap in.

------
seltzered_
not mentioned in the article, but I like the swopper. it's a wobbly stool that
uses a car spring. think medicine ball without the ball crushing. costs about
400ish.

beyond that i just work standing up on a kitchen counter.

~~~
rsl7
I've had a swopper for a good five years or so in my home office. It's good
for a time, but I ended up getting a second chair to go with it. Seems
ridiculous but I like to switch between standing and sitting in various ways.
I guess I just can't sit still.

------
whichdan
Anyone write code in an Eames?

~~~
timr
If you're talking about the Eames Management chairs, I've done it. They're
surprisingly good, given that the arms are fixed and, well...metal. You just
have to adjust the height so that your elbows aren't clonking on the armrests
while you work at a desk.

The Eames put a lot of thought into ergonomics and quality, so their stuff is
better than your standard OfficeMax special. But I'd still pay for a Steelcase
Leap or an Aeron (especially since they're cheaper on the used market).

~~~
rdl
I hate those chairs, mainly because you can't take off the armrests. We had a
designer propose the EQ3 version for an office, and there was almost open
revolt -- some people love aerons and some people just tolerate them, but
there wasn't another single chair which was at least ok for everyone and liked
by most people.

I've really never understood Eames fetishization in general.

~~~
timr
Yeah, it wouldn't be my first choice for an office chair either. I use a Leap
at work (not a big fan of Aerons because of the lack of adjustments), but I
have a knockoff Eames at home, and I've been surprised at how comfortable the
thing is for long coding sessions. I definitely bought it for the looks,
though. ;-)

------
dakrisht
Absolutely nothing better than an Aeron chair

