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Ask HN: Chairs for use w/ standing desks?

5 points by alanh ↗ HN
Yes, that is a bit ironic, but it’s a serious question:

I am now happy to have a standing desk at work. It is not the expensive kind that rapidly changes height, and I do get tired of standing all day. Thus, I’d really like to get a “tall chair” to use sometimes in front of my standing setup.

I’m hoping for recommendations for such a chair.

I understand it’s lovely (and ergonomic) to have something solid to rest one’s feet upon while sitting, so my ideal setup would involve a chair with a nice, adjustable footrest, or perhaps another object suitable as a footrest.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and suggestions!

7 comments

[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 28.4 ms ] thread
ekianjo
Why don't you get a chair like the ones they use in bars? They are usually very tall, and used in similar settings (people at bar counters can either choose to stand or sit and are at about the same height in both cases).
fakeer
My heels hurt if I walk I stand for more than 15 minutes continuously. It's not a severe pan so I do it anyway but I do not feel as comfortable as I used to do 1-2 years ago. I am 27. In Bangalore.

I've seen doctors here. All of them I don't have plantar fasciitis and so, but failed to pinpoint the reason. Doctors in Manipal kept me waiting for 6-7 months for the camera in their dynamic gait analysis machine to be fixed. More than an year and it's till not fixed. They anyway wanted to give me some silicon gel or other thing in my shoe to compensate for my high arch. Then I saw a physiotherapist and he said there's no problem I just need to do some stretching. Didn't help either.

So, I started seeing doctors on this "Standing vs Sitting" phenomenon on Internet which gained fame in last one year. They all said it's bull.

alanh
Hmm. My chiropractor says that standing is good and that alternating between sitting and standing is better!
fakeer
Yeah. Right.

See, people make it sound as if you have to keep standing or work standing for durations like 6-7-8 hours. Which is just very difficult. It's not good for your feet either.

caw
It depends on how much you're willing to pay for them, but the category is "stools", even though you would think of a bar stool rather than a really tall chair. They come in "ergonomic" as well--a few of the well known chair manufacturers also make their ergo chairs in stool version, like Steelcase's Leap http://store.steelcase.com/products/leap-stool/

I have the chair version of this at work, and I like the adjustable arm rests, but overall find my Herman Miller Embody more comfortable. Personal preference though.

See if your employer has a preferred supplier for office furniture, the price you see on the sticker isn't the price you pay (around Christmas time, we get discounts of up to 40% for personal purchases)

sixQuarks
It took me 3 weeks to be able to stand up all day and not have my legs hurt badly.

Here is the chair you want - it's from Ikea and only $16.99

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10152700/

I used it sparingly for the first 3 weeks. Now I never use it, so I recommend you don't spend much money on a chair.

Just train your legs to get used to standing up. A lot of people say it only takes 1 week, but it can take much longer than that, but eventually they will get used to it.