I’m Looking for a good office chair.
Thanks! Found a good price for a Steelcase Amia.
I bought a used Herman Miller about 12 years ago for around $700. Worth every penny. It still feels the same as the day I got it. I would have spent more on cheaper chairs over the same period of time.
I’ve got a used Embody and my wife has a used Leap v2 (steelcase). Picked em up via office liquidations.
I’ve had a Leap V2 for the last couple of years, and really like it so far.
That’s how I got mine. It’s the best way to buy good office furniture. I’ve heard good things about Steelcase.
I’ve lobbied for standing desks since I got mine and not about to stop ! If you’re able, consider getting one. Mine changed my life. I alternate between standing and sitting throughout the day. And it’s not just a matter of comfort or back pain (which btw is completely gone): I’m generally more awake, active and productive now. Before that I worked standing up for about a year and a half, and while the change was good, that was excessive, and my knees started to hurt after some time. That’s when I understood that what really matters for long-term comfort and health at a desk job is movement. All the best,
Don’t stop with just the chair. Make sure you keyboard and monitors are at the right heights. Consider getting an ergonomic keyboard and mouse (or trackball). The positions of your shoulders arms and wrists have a significant impact on overall comfort. They will also keep you from developing an RSI.
Don’t think they used to be called this but I’ve been using a decent Staples mesh chair for 4 years now and it’s AMAZING without having to spend 300 dollars. It’s either this one or a slightly more expensive one made out of nicer materials
Herman Miller Aeron. Tested reliable and proven.
Get an office chair and not one of those “gaming chairs”
Source: I use a “gaming chair” and it sucks ass
Secret lab is used but a lot of at home workers without issues but you gotta spring for it
I have a secret labs chair and use it a lot for working at home. I often sit for more than 14 hours on it, never had any back pain ir felt uncomfortable. Unfortunately I have one of the older generations and the arm rests are slowly deteriorating and falling apart, otherwise it’s pretty good.
I’m a fan of the Alera ALEEL42ME10B Elusion Series Mesh Mid-Back Multifunction Chair ($180 at time of posting). I use it both at home and work
I bought it in November 2021 and it’s still going strong
The one at work has been there since before i was hired (5 1/2 years ago)I got this at the start of the pandemic and it has worked out perfect for me. I would have gone for a normal Herman miller but there’s not much of used market in my location and I’m not paying HM prices.
Got a refurbished steelcase leap V2 from Crandall after my budget office chair shit the bed. been really enjoying it. My ass and back are very comfortable.
Go to a brick and mortar store like Staples and try them out yourself.
The chair that suits one person will be agony another.
You have to find out for yourself.
Second this. Don’t get a gaming one, go to an office store. They build them expecting people to need to sit in them for hours.
Don’t cheap out either. Remember the most important things to never cheap out on are things that go between you and the ground. Chairs, mattresses, shoes.
Personally I found a great mesh one that doesn’t get hot in the summer and is still very supportive after 5 years
I second the mesh chair. I got this one at Staples for $100 a couple weeks ago and my ass is thanking me. I was using a fancy gaming chair before that felt like sitting on concrete.
I use a flexispot standing desk converter (it’s like a big tray that goes on top of a fixed desk). I highly recommend doing so if you’re going to be at a desk for hours every day.
My chair is nice af, and was provided by my workplace. If you can afford to go Herman-Miller (we’re talking $1300+ for a new chair), do so. Your spine and butt and entire skeleton will thank you. Mine’s an Aeron model
No headrest though :( I’m not too happy with mine, maybe because it’s too large (got the extra size as recommended by sales guy)
Got a refurbished Aeron for Christmas and love it.
Herman Miller
AeronEmbody and Steelcase Leap are both good.Check out Crandall’s Office Furniture for good refurbished chairs.
Edited because apparently the Embody is just way better.
My Aeron is nearly 10 years old and still great
I’ve owned £80 chairs that lasted that long though. Everything except the cheapest nastiest chairs from Amazon should be lasting 10 years.
If I bought a £1000 chair, I’d expect to be leaving it to somebody in my will.
That’s fair.
Will echo the aeron. Have had mine for about 5 years, rock solid.
Bought one from a guy who refurbishes them for $500. Definely get it used and look at Craigslist/Facebook marketplace for local deals. May luck out.
I got a refurbished Aeron for $400. The thing was originally manufactured in 2002 and it is still rock solid.
That’s it, these two. There are more expensive options in those two brands, but these are the baseline. They are actual professional chairs, not Chinese gamer chair bullshit like the stuff that gets marketed everywhere. Because they last forever due to actually being well built, you can oftentimes find them second hand.
When work from home first started during covid, lots of offices liquidated. I got my steealcase leap V2s for $200 a pop.
I highly recommend the Steelcase Leap (v2, is what I have).
However, you may need the headrest, and they are extremely expensive/hard to find, just a warning.
I got my Steelcase from a place that resold them, so it was like 275 Canadian. Still, a great chair.
I have the headrest, don’t recall it being terribly expensive, but I also don’t think it’s that great.
The last time I found one it was 200 USD (which is basically what I paid for the entire chair).
Wow, if you got a Steelcase Leap V2 for $200 that’s a damn good deal!
That said, I think I paid like, maybe, $70 for mine direct from Crandalls. Might’ve even been less than that, I’d have to go look for the receipt.
Sorry, to be clear I got it for 275 CDN, which is roughly 200 USD.
But when it comes to the headrests I cannot find anything for under roughly that price. :/
Yeah, that’s a good deal IMO. Strange, I can’t find headrests for it now though. Maybe they stopped making them or jacked prices up during the pandemic…
Heck the aeron!
I used to work in the warehouse where we shipped them. They’re good chairs. If you’re gonna spend that money though, get the Embody. Make sure to get the correct size. After hours of lugging designer couches around and other overly heavy stuff, sitting in an Embody chair makes the hurt stop immediately.
I’m not a promoter and they stopped paying me over some stupid shit a coworker pulled. It’s just a damn good chair. The eames lounge is also sick, but so incredibly expensive.
I have the Haworth Fern chair below and love it. It is expensive, but worth it in my opinion. You don’t want to skimp on something you sit in all day- and I could sit in this chair all day without pain.
My only other piece of advice is to schedule breaks to stand and stretch. I had a standing desk for a while and I did not care for it. I never got used to standing and working- maybe I am just not coordinated enough. But taking standing breaks helped with my back pain and improved my focus.
Good luck!
https://store.haworth.com/products/fern-office-chair?sku=SFTE-U0-7S01A6,4H_FT,MB_SL,TR_7,PM_P
I have a Hayworth Zody but would also recommend steelcase gesture, knoll generation, and Herman miller aeron. I got mine from the used office furniture store in town for 200. Ordered new arm rest caps to replace the old ones and it is going strong several years later. Also second those that suggest standing desks, used office furniture place again for that, I have a $1200 steelcase that was 200ish but like new.
Steelcase Karman. All the comfort and ergonomics of an Aeron, but far lighter, and better materials.
It’s one of those, “if you spend a third of your life in it, it’s worth a little extra” things.
My husband and I both have been using Tempur-Pedic office chairs for about 15 years. Starting in 2004, we both worked desk jobs from home (he still does, I only recently shifted careers) and both play video games so we have used the shit out of our chairs, and they are still good. I like that the seat is wide enough so I can fold my legs up under me if I want to.
