Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair • Hacker News Board

Re: Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair

#51

Post by coldtea » Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 9:05 AM UTC

Freak_NL wrote: post #49

coldtea wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's just that the brand seems tainted. Only in the SV and startup echo-bubble. Which is some tens of thousands of people. In contrast, Herman Miller have sold million(s) of them all over the world (Wikipedia has the line "America's best-selling chair").

> Only in the SV and startup echo-bubble. I'm in neither, but I guess this is just something that stuck to us in the software business in general.

>I'm in neither

Yeah, but you're the type of person who reads HN, so its informationally (is that a word?) close to both :-)

The connotation also spread a little to journalists and media covering the dot-com era, but still nothing that the average Joe would be aware of.

Re: Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair

#52

Post by cyberferret » Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 9:12 AM UTC

Freak_NL wrote: post #36

Ironically, a couple of articles below this one this headline shows up: > The Tech Bubble Didn’t Burst This Year. Just Wait (bloomberg.com) Do others have this strong association with the first internet tech bubble and Aeron chairs? For me there is a strong visual link between the floundering tech companies of that era and the images of the seemingly ubiquitous Aeron chair in the offices being cleared. Not to belittl…

Strange - I thought I was the only one who thought the same. I live over on the other side of the world from Silicon Valley, but my recollection of the dot com bubble burst was of seeing tons of these chairs on clearance auctions and looking like lost robots in empty abandoned startup offices. These and foosball tables seem to epitomise the 'startup office fitout' in my mind.

Re: Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair

#53

Post by bshimmin » Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 9:30 AM UTC

cantrevealname wrote: post #50

Several people here mentioned that they hate the mesh fabric of the Aeron chairs because it tears over time, because it feels "like sitting in a hammock and putting pressure in unwanted areas causing numbness", and because the hard plastic rim under the mesh presses into your thigh. For everyone who likes the basic Herman Miller shape but not the mesh, I recommend the older Herman Miller Equa and Equa 2 chairs: https…

I have a Herman Miller Sayl (http://www.hermanmiller.co.uk/products/seating/performance-w...), which is a bit cheaper than an Aeron and also, I think, more comfortable for those who don't like the mesh. They come in fairly cheerful colours - I have a white one with a bright orange seat. I'm not sure they're as ergonomically sound as an Aeron, but I've been very happy with mine for the last five years (I did tear one of the armrests in an office move, but they sent a replacement free of charge).

Re: Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair

#54

Post by thenomad » Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 9:34 AM UTC

mixedbit wrote: post #31

I was considering Aeron but I've read reviews that its adjustments are not very flexible, especially taller people were complaining that is is hard for them to adjust Aeron in a way that the chair is comfortable. Aeron has larger size, but it seems to be intended for taller and thicker, not for taller and thin. I ended up buying Hag H05. It isn't as popular, but I'm very satisfied with it (Using it for about 5 years…

I didn't buy an Aeron as its back is too short for me to lean back against comfortably. So I got the next model down, the Mirra - which I've had for more than a decade and is absolutely awesome.

Re: Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair

#55

Post by tonyedgecombe » Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 9:47 AM UTC

mixedbit wrote: post #31

I was considering Aeron but I've read reviews that its adjustments are not very flexible, especially taller people were complaining that is is hard for them to adjust Aeron in a way that the chair is comfortable. Aeron has larger size, but it seems to be intended for taller and thicker, not for taller and thin. I ended up buying Hag H05. It isn't as popular, but I'm very satisfied with it (Using it for about 5 years…

I'm tall and thin and found the larger model fine, the only problem I had was I couldn't find a second hand one so had to buy new.

Re: Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair

#56

Post by glippiglop » Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 9:55 AM UTC

grogenaut wrote: post #27

Wow, this is just full of people who don't like the aeron. I agree it's expensive. I just buy used ones on craigslist for $375. I just wait till there is one. I've got 3. I've had a work aeron since 2002. Love the things they work for me. I know plenty of people they don't work for. I used several other ergonomic chairs and they pinched the nerves at the back of my knees and caused the outsides of my feet to go numb.…

Agreed, I bought a used one 10 years ago and I'm sitting on it right now. Before that I was replacing foam office chairs every few years due to wear or degassing, but not so with the Aeron. The only maintenance I've had to do is replace the foam at the seat's edge and clean it occasionally.

The build quality of these chairs is amazing when I consider the tens of thousands of hours I've been sitting in this thing.

Re: Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair

#57

Post by tempestn » Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 10:07 AM UTC

jahewson wrote: post #29

zhenrydoanz wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give me some recommendation ?, i looking for a cheap office chair but ergonomic

Here's the problem: cheap office chairs are not ergonomic. If you're not willing to pay for two-axis adjustable armrests, adjustable seat pan depth, adjustable recline, proper padding, and lumbar support, then you don't have an ergonomic chair. I'd recommend buying an expensive ergonomic chair from Craigslist or an office furniture liquidation company. You can pick up a great chair at 1/3 the retail price. You should…

The other problem is that cheap chairs will often feel pretty good when you first sit in them. But because they're made with cheap, low-density foam, they quickly pancake, and lose any semblance of comfort and ergonomics they might have had.

I used to do the $100 chair every year or two thing too. Then I bought a Steelcase Leap (for considerably more than $100), and while it's only been a year or so, it looks and feels as good as when I bought it. I would have loved to have found one for $200-300, but even buying new it was well worth it.

Re: Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair

#58

Post by paddy_m » Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 10:16 AM UTC

I bought two Aeron chairs, $10 each at separate times.

The first chair was being pushed down the street by a guy who looked borderline homeless. He was about to go into the Bowling Green subway station. I said "Are you selling that chair", he said "How much would you offer?". I offered $10, he said "great, I didn't really want to carry this all the way home". I had a pang of regret and thought I had possibly walked into some type of high design sting operation. I asked "Do you own this chair?", he replied "My office was renovating and they were throwing it out." Good enough for me.

The second chair came a couple of weeks later. I was walking down Broadway by the bull, about 100 yards from the first place. One of the street vendors was sitting on an Aeron. I asked if he would sell me the chair, he said sure, $20. As I was inspecting it, a woman walked by and said "That's a nice chair, it's not a real Aeron like they have at my office, but it's a nice chair". The hydraulic cylinder was broken on this one, the chair only sat at the lowest position, when you would pick it up, the cylinder extended. I offered him $10 and he accepted. It was a genuine Aeron. I ordered a new cylinder for this chair and it is like new, the cylinder was around $90.

Both of these sales happened within my first 3 months of moving downtown. I have never seen another Aeron chair for sale on that street or any other. I looked.

Re: Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair

#59

Post by aedron » Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 10:47 AM UTC

petemill wrote: post #30

grogenaut wrote: post #27

Wow, this is just full of people who don't like the aeron. I agree it's expensive. I just buy used ones on craigslist for $375. I just wait till there is one. I've got 3. I've had a work aeron since 2002. Love the things they work for me. I know plenty of people they don't work for. I used several other ergonomic chairs and they pinched the nerves at the back of my knees and caused the outsides of my feet to go numb.…

- More adjustable arm rests (they go back and forward too) - New mesh material which is apparently more supportive - New back support mechanism which is a combination of the two previous options (which you could not put together) - both the lumbar and the pelvis supports - Chair is angled 1.8 degrees further forward - Tilt mechanism causes the chair to hug your body more, with less latency - A new white-ish color opt…

I have an Aeron and a Mirra 2. The Mirra is both better looking, better constructed and more ergonomic. There are more adjustments, and the mechanisms are very intuitive and integrated into the design. Perhaps the new Aeron will bring it up to par.

Besides, the Mirra 2 is beautiful, while the Aeron is... debatable. This is mine: http://www.hermanmiller.com/content/dam/hermanmiller/page_as...

Re: Herman Miller Launches New Aeron Chair

#60

Post by flyinglizard » Fri, Oct 21, 2016, 10:47 AM UTC

I have an Aeron, like many others, but I tried their new stuff (like the Embody and Mira) and they just felt plasticky and cheap (obviously they're expensive as all HM products). The Embody, their flagship chair, is complete trash in my eyes. It's absurdly uncomfortable during long periods, to the point a friend of mine bought one and sold it few months later at 50% off because he had back aches, and another friend just brought his to the company's office where it's left deserted among the cheap conference room seating, and bought something else to use at home.

It seems like HM haven't managed to top the original Aeron, and all they did since is making new stuff that's cheaper to manufacture. I suspect this new Aeron is yet another attempt at reducing manufacturing costs (replacing metals with plastics etc) but we'll see. If it's really better than the original, I'll pick one when my 12-years warranty ends in couple of years.