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Do you like your chair?
I'm looking for a new office chair to replace my old Ikea one, and I'm curious what people recommend. I'm looking at the Autonomous ErgoChair 2, but I'm not completely sold on it. I've heard amazing things about Steelcase and Herman Miller, but I can't justify paying $1k on a chair.
What do you have and would you recommend it?
Edit: I went to a used office supply store and got the Steelcase Gesture. Thanks for all the input!
I have this. I picked it up at a used office supply store for $200. One of the benefits of being in an area where small tech companies start up and fail all the time. There were approximately 50 other chairs the day I came in and got this - I got to choose the one with basically zero wear and no stains.
From what I understand, you can pick up used office supplies typically for around 60-75% off depending on location. If there's any used office supply stores nearby, I'd give them a ring.
The impression I'm getting is look for used first. I am really liking the idea of not contributing to a landfill as well.
Anyway, I'm checking out a used office supply store that advertises Steelcase and Herman Miller chairs. The upside is I might get to try them out. With the Autonomous I had to buy something without trying it.
I have a Herman Miller Aeron (two of them, actually, though one is currently locked in my employer's empty office…), purchased used online for about $300. I will strongly second buying used. High-end office furniture is very durable, and parts are easily available and repairs generally straightforward. (Supply on the used market tends to be pretty good, too, as the primary buyers new are corporations who are not especially price-sensitive and furnish and then liquidate an entire office at once.)
I bought my first Aeron sight unseen, and liked it, so it worked out, but I definitely do recommend going to a place with a showroom and sitting in the chair you want before you buy it. There is no such thing as a chair that is perfect for everyone, and it would suck to drop hundreds of dollars on a high-end chair that you find uncomfortable and have to replace.
I had a Leap for a long time. The armrests got a lot of wear over time; wasn't a fan of how the rubbery protection would come out and the foam underneath would also eventually get damaged.
Beyond that, I loved it, but honestly nowadays I have a simple $80 AmazonBasics office chair and it does the job just fine, I don't see such a huge difference with my old Leap and I'm sitting on it for my entire work day.
I think I got kinda fooled by the adage that, if you're spending a lot of time on something, you shouldn't hesitate to spend on it. It's true; you want something good quality if it's going to support your body for a huge part of your life (bed, chairs, etc)… but it doesn't take a lot of money to make a high quality chair.
I got this one because I was having back trouble. It's nice. Works for me.
I am among those who use Herman Miller chairs. I've been using them for about 30 years now and they've always worked out really well for me once I adjust them appropriately. Most of them were purchased by my employers, but I did have an Ergon 3 I owned myself. It lasted something like 20 years and they even sent someone out to replace a part that had been recalled on it once. It was well worth the ~$600 it cost at the time. These days I use an Aeron that my employer gave me when we moved buildings and they replaced our chairs at work with new ones. As mentioned you can often find them used for less and they tend to last quite a long time.
Yes, but I also don't recommend it, you can get something cheaper.
I got a DXRacer Tank because I'm 6'4 and currently 290lbs. While I'm fixing the latter, the former is permanent. It's been treating me good for sitting in front of my computer all day (12-16 hours), though. My logic was if people buy these to sit in front of a computer playing games for eight hours or longer, then it's the way to go. I'd also say this logic is severely flawed.
I've heard you can find killer ergonomic chairs cheap on Craigslist often enough. A dude I watch stream got a couple of Herman Millers for like $300 a pop, and there's obviously @Gaywallet's Steelcase Leap. If I could do it again, I'd see about doing that.
Well timed thread! I'll share my thoughts, but I'm here for advice too really.
I've spent the last year sitting on an extremely mediocre, very cheap IKEA chair that I bought when hurriedly setting up a more permanent office corner in my living room. I've been going back and forth on options for months, hesitating on cost and choice paralysis, and ultimately doing nothing about it.
The IKEA chair finally broke last week, so I have no choice but to invest in a replacement. I'm leaning towards a Herman Miller Sayl - it's one of their cheaper models (although still not cheap), relatively well reviewed (most seem to settle on it being not the absolute best out there, but a strong contender), and it looks awesome (for an office chair!). That last point isn't the most important in the world, but since it'll be on display in the main space of my home it does matter to me - Steelcase are a bit too... officey, and the high back of the Aeron would make it more dominant in the room. I'd be particularly interested to hear if anyone has real world feedback about it, positive or negative.
[Edit] Update, six weeks on. Got the Sayl a bit over a month ago, absolutely love it. Prefer it to the Aeron I had in an old office, in fact, although in retrospect that may not have been adjusted very well to my posture. Either way, I'm incredibly pleased.
Went for the optional lumbar support, but I have to say for me it doesn't seem to add a huge amount - I'd be fine without it. Height adjustable arms are a must, but the option with angle adjustment as well seems unnecessary. If anyone ever digs up this post and wants to discuss the four thousand other customisation options, I'll be more than happy to!
I'm happy with it! I'm a believer that the best office chair is the Aeron, but the Sayl is 90% as good for half the price.
It basically feels like an Aeron with a bit less lumbar support, and fabric instead of a mesh bottom. I used to find the moving armrests a bit annoying, but now I'm used to it.
Thanks so much - this is pretty much exactly what I'd hoped to hear. Sounds like quality is there, just perhaps worth finding one to try, if I can, since both you and @WendigoTulpa mentioned the lumbar support.
I used Sayls at my university's library.
I didn't hate it but also wouldn't buy one myself even if I had the money. I'd prefer something with an adjustable lumbar support since that's a problem for me and most office chairs don't work.
Much appreciate the information - I don't normally struggle too much with lumbar supports, but it's extremely helpful to know that's something I should be focusing on. I'll need to find out whether COVID restrictions allow me to see one in person and/or trial it at home for a week or two.
I have a Secret Lab Titan. I like it overall, but I’ve had a weird experience with it. I recommend it for folks who are larger statures.
Drawbacks:
However, the good stuff:
Overall I like it, and it was less expensive than an Aeron which was also what I was exploring. I recommend it only if you’re larger than 5’10” and 170lbs.
The Secretlabs chairs are basically actually good quality versions of the the DX racers (and similar) chairs. I have a Titan (Softweave fabric) as well and can heartily recommend it.
I have this one - I'm pretty damn happy with it, and I've had it for I think 10 years now. It's still holding up well, but it's getting a bit wobbly here and there, but nothing too bad yet. I might see if they can help me out getting it rigid again.
Don't go cheap on office chairs. I'd say the 300-400€ I spent when I got this one were well spent, though the people advocating for used deals are right too. I wouldn't really go cheaper for a new one.
The mesh surfaces are gold. I would never go back to leather or synthetic leather. Gets too sticky in the summer.
The one thing I would do differently now is: I think I'd like to get a headrest.
That said, I do have trouble with my back. Not sure if it's the lacking head rest, the way I sit or my lack of movement recently, but I really don't think it's the chair. All those adjustment bits and bobs do help.
What do you mean by “gold?” I’m guessing not actual gold?
Indeed, heh.
I mean that the mesh backrest and seat are quite useful. I do like the the material, even though it seems like the inferior option. I'd call it the utilitarian option.
I should clarify: My backrest is the relatively course, transparent-ish mesh. The seat is a cushion covered in some kind of synthetic fiber cloth. If your seat is mesh, I'd advise caution. My brother has such a chair, and the mesh's gotta end in some kind of frame somewhere. That frame was just short of your knee pit, and it would cut off circulation on me. What I mean is that a textile seat cover is better than leather, because even a little bit of sweating will get very swampy.
Isn't Autonomous the company rebranding cheap chairs from Alibaba? I have seen a charge like that leveled at them numerous times. Here's one such instance, and the reviewer mentions a poor quality seat cushion.
My two cents: I found the Leap stool to be less comfortable than the Leap chair.
While we're on the subject, I'd like to ask, who the fuck are car seats designed for? Any car I've ever driven has actual CONCAVITY in the lumbar area. There is 100% zero attempt at making something for any sized human.
Maybe I have had bad luck with my toyotas, but jeez you think they'd make them a little more adjustable at least.
My guess: They don't want a protrusion in the lumbar area, in case you get rear ended. Seems like a bad time to get a protrusion jammed up the most fucked part of your spine.
Could also be a bit of designing for people who like to assume the shape of a dollop of yogurt in their car seat because it's cool.
Oh my chair! It's old and beaten and I even hated it when it was new. Buying the cheapest one available surely isn't the best idea, but what can I say, I live on a budget.
I think that the best solution is that I never sit on it for more than one hour. I get up, do something else for at least 15 minutes and then continue my work. My back feels better this way.
I just have a regular mesh backed chair I got from Staples - this one. I'm pretty pleased with it!
However, I would like to +1 the idea of at least taking a look around for a used chair first. If I could buy my work chair (which I believe is a Herman Miller Verus) at a 60% discount I would do it in a hot second.
I do! It is a gaming chair that is basically a copy of the chair the Modern Vintage Gamer uses (a coincidence). It was expensive for Brazil, not so much in the US. Either a national brand licensed or stole the design. It is quite large and very comfortable. I can literally make it into a bed. Perfect to spend a lot of time using the computer.