Ask HN: Best Office Chair?
My home desk-chair is nearly ten years old at this point, and wasn't anything special even when it was new. This is starting to become pretty noticeable now that I'm using it for eight hours every day.
Anybody have recommendations for their favorite office/desk chair? I don't want anything huge or ungainly, and ideally not one of those garish "gamer chairs". Something minimalist but comfy, and durable, and good for your back. I've really enjoyed those mesh-based chairs in the past, though I don't remember any specific brands.
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 150 ms ] threadThey also have fantastic warranties, I had it maybe 12 years when the gas strut failed, the tech drove up from 2 towns away to replace it the next day in my home office.
Look at other local sources as well.
Assuming you’ll continue to use it, this really is a “hurts once when you buy it, rather than a little every time you use it” thing.
I went and sat in a bunch of high end office chairs including the Herman Miller Aeron, Herman Miller Embody, and Steelcase Gesture. I feel like the HM chairs are a lot more "opinionated" about how you sit, and sitting wrong will be punished with pain (e.g. back of the legs for folding your legs under the chair). I have heard that shorter people find them more comfortable though (6'1" here).
The Steelcase Gesture is a good chair too, but the arms on the Leap are leaps and bounds better (fixed Vs. semi-lock on the Gesture). I just feel like for computer/mouse users, having fixed arms makes a lot more sense than infinitely moveable ones that don't lock as well.
It was absolutely the right decision to spend almost $1K on a chair. I've already owned it longer than any other chair and it remains comfortable after a few initial weeks of tweaking.
I have two and spent 350 each on them.
I did not have the luxury of trying other high end chairs, though, so I couldn't offer any comparisons. I bought it secondhand for ~$350 sight unseen.
Then we went WFH due to the pandemic and I took a trip to the office and brought home mine from there.
Great chairs!
I can agree, it's probably the better of these 3 I have. It's a tank and Steelcase told me it doesn't come apart and it's shipped assembled. My favorite part is that it reclines instead of rocking.
I worked in one company that had them and the difference is astonishing.
Right now we use Kinnarps; something like this in black, maybe an older model: https://www.kinnarps.com/products/seating/task-chairs/plus/
The adjustment options are meh, they get super warm, I find myself shifting in place a lot.
Before that the company I was working for didn’t put any real value in the chairs they bought, think ASDA/Walmart office chairs, but used for a decade or more.
Office chairs aren’t often invested in by most companies in the UK or Sweden I think.
Anyway, When I was working on an Aeron I could sit comfortably for hours and hours. The only downside is that it “clicks” more than other chairs with a big hollow clunk... maybe the other downside is that I’m seated much longer.
After using one at work I went and bought one even though it cost me >1% of my annual salary at the time. I don’t regret it at all.
They are also not for everyone - some people I know hate it. But, Herman Miller is an amazing company with strong engineering culture - they’ve essentially perfected what an ergonomic chair should comprise of.
Perhaps you should try a different size. Aeron comes in A, B and C sizes. This can make or break your opinion.
Firstly, figure out if you want / need a neck rest. This turns out to be important for me, and I would not want a chair that doesn't have one (this point could be expanded with exceptions).
Next, adjustability is key. Some things are standard (backrest angle, height), but many are rarer. For me, being able to adjust the height of the armrest was eye-opening. Without this, you will either slouch in the chair, or hold your elbows in the air, neither of which are ideal.
Lastly, a word about sturdiness and durability. Some chairs start to misbehave as they age, e.g. I once had a cheap office chair which started to "list" slightly. I didn't pay much attention until I noticed frequent cramps on one side of my back, and realised it's because I'm sitting at a few degrees angle to the right.
Overall my advice would be: get the right chair (for you), sit correctly in it, and do plenty of exercise. The best chair in the world doesn't help enough if you sit for 14 hours every day, without any of the latter.
For OP: Personally I don't have a super fancy chair, cost me about 80-100 euro IIRC but don't even know what "brand" it is. Generic office chair :P
At $150 I find it comfortable enough to sit in all day without issue, which is rare even among more expensive chairs I’ve tried. One of our employees has ergonomic issues and loves it. I really like having the ability to adjust seat tilt and back tilt separately, as well as initial back height. The only downside is the armrests don’t go low enough to fit under your desk easily, so we generally leave the armrests off when building them
$240 right now. I prefer it over the tp9000 because of the lumbar support. Great chair at that price--unbeatable in my opinion.
The following are somewhat pricey options.
In my opinion the Knoll Regeneration is pretty good.
Hermann Miller chairs are also good, but the Aeron is probably the least ergonomic thing they sell now – and definitely not "minimal". The Setu might fit your criteria.
Just remember, the ideal chair for six hours of sitting doesn't exist; your goal should be to keep changing your body position as much as is feasible.
https://www.painscience.com/articles/chair-trouble.php
https://store.flokk.com/us/en-gb/products/hag-capisco?store=...
HAG Capisco is not cheap, it is an investment (that will hopefully last for at least 10 years). It fixed my chronic neck pain using regular office chairs.
Before buying it, I suggest you go to a retail shop / showroom to try it.
If you do try to return the chair, note that it's a PITA to disassemble.
What is the price?
I also like the fact that it's a good looking minimalist chair which is nice when you care about your interior design and not having a bulky black office chair in your house
- First week: Oh, interesting chair
- Week 2-4: I can’t really find a comfortable position, constantly fidgeting with table height and chair settings
- Week 4-8: Mild pain in back, rather stand than use the chair
Then I moved office to a super normal supportive chair, which was a relief and all pain disappeared immediately.
I think of it almost like barefoot running/standing desk, you’ll have to gradually get used to it and especially if you have a weak core (I’m guessing), it might provide to little support for you for quite a while.
So the price of the chair isn't the full price, since you need some additional hardware too. But, that said, it has been a transformative change for myself and when I was grinding 12-14 hours every day for months on end this chair ended up fixing my back pain. (I'd been using pretty "meh" chairs for the first few weeks)
The price may feel high but the price of physical therapy for fixing your back muscles is much more expensive. And, in our profession, your only expenses are : Chair, desk, and computer setup.
Do yourself a favor and make a conscious decision to better your health. ;)
The only imperfection is that I bought the additional headrest later, but was unable to adjust its height for some reason, so I returned it. But I think using the chair without the headrest actually fits its philosophy more, since it's easier to sit in all directions without the obstruction.
The worst thing is that it's so comfortable I can sit in it for many hours straight, so I don't get up and move around as much.
I have this one with an electric-height desk (custom built) and switch between chair and treadmill. I would recommend it. However, the treadmill, when not used, is taking a lot of place.
○ Viasit F1 Move
○ Sedus Swing Up
○ Profim Accis Pro
○ Aeris 3Dee
○ Köhl Anteo Up with AirSeat
○ Rovo .. "Ergo Balance" models
YMMV. Bodies are different etc. I'm very interested in hearing about more options as I haven't ordered just yet.
https://www.agr-ev.de/de/ratgeber-produkte/produkte/2837-akt...
[1] https://varierchairs.com/product/variable-balans-quickship/
[1] https://varierchairs.com/product/gravity/
I use a very uncomfy IKEA wooden step to sit on. I've got a standing desk for years and had a treadmill for a while. But those are loud and take up too much space.
You don't WANT to be comfortable. You need to move your body and be forced to stand up as much as you can. Otherwise your body will wither. Every artificial "support" will tell you body it doesn't need to support that part on it's own.
That's true for all walks of life really. Don't be too comfy. Nature will find a way to fuck you over.
You can be uncomfortable outside of your focus or leisure time and be perfectly healthy.
I'm almost 2m tall so always had back and chair problems so I took the opportunity to switch my desk to a standing one for 4 months with a college who went on a project abroad. It was hell from the first to the last day. Not only was standing problematic, it distracted me so much I got angry and used every opportunity to get away from it and to sit and talk to other colleges in their offices (been told about it at some point because I didn't even realise it).
I'd say if you're not OK with it after 4 months, you probably won't be after 4 years.
I joined a swimming club again. It helped.
I also hear you can get Aerons and other similar chairs for around $300 on Craigslist/FB marketplace when companies are trying to offload them en masse.
If you're not budget conscious, look at the Herman Miller Aeron, Steelcase Leap V2, Steelcase Gesture, or Humanscale Freedom. Budget, seems to be a serious crapshoot. Lots of people like the top end Ikea chairs and those will cost 1/4 as much, but depends on if they fit your body and if you're ok with rigid arms.
Steelcase Leap V2 seems like the winner to me. Most adjustable, with a soft seat (Aeron has hard edged bottom mesh... and looks like an insect). Humanscale Freedom with headrest looks best IMO but not as comfortable and couldn't find good remanufactured ones.
Lots of refurbished/second hand options.
I ended up going with a remanufactured (starts with refurbished, gets cleaned up nicely, reupholstered and rebuilt). Half price for a chair that I hope feels like new.
BTOD (https://www.btod.com/) and Crandall (https://www.crandalloffice.com/) look like they sell the same product (and Crandall is the "factory" for both). If you go this route, see what price works better for you after promo codes and tax are factored in.
I went with this BTOD Leap V2: https://www.btod.com/steelcase-leap-v2. Ordered yesterday. Fingers crossed that it feels like new.
I can't believe a great $300 or $400 (new) chair that's fully adjustable doesn't exist.
$450 for separate lumbar support: https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/9518879/WorkPro-12000...
How long have you had it and how do you like it?
I'm surprised there isn't a modern/stylish chair that can compete with HM/Steelcase and hit the $400ish range. Maybe I just don't understand enough about the materials and manufacturing costs necessary, but seems like this should be doable -- and the deeper I research brands who try this (like Autonomous.ai), the more I read about the chairs being creaky, poppy, and sometimes uncomfortable.
A Casper/Purple/Saatva for office chairs seems ripe for this climate (WFH).
I get them from Madison Seating used, with very little (if any) visible wear. $250-350 that way.