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Ask HN: Best Office Chair?

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Re: Ask HN: Best Office Chair?

#81

Post by dhoerl »

I had an old Staples office chair and started having terrible Piriformis pains in my hip - I think it was a broken spring pushing on the hip but who knows.

I kept reading about different chairs, and as many have mentioned, the most important aspect for programmers is to move around and get up from time to time.

I ended up trying a "SONGMICS Standing Desk Chair, Adjustable Height Ergonomic Standing Stool", which I got from Amazon.

Trust me, you won't sit in one position all day, and my butt does get a bit sore when I sit for 2 hours, but after a week the hip issue disappeared, and its been nine months now and I'm satisfied with it.

The one aspect of this particular stool is that it pivots a bit so you can option to shift some weight onto your feet.

Not that I don't dream of a comfy captains chair (I did read and archive this discussion), but its an option you might want to consider.

Re: Ask HN: Best Office Chair?

#82

Post by gwittel »

The best chair varies person to person. There are some good things to try in this thread, but ultimately trying one for a few minutes in a store is not adequate. Buy from somewhere with a good return policy and support.

Years ago I'd tried a Humanscale Freedom. In store it felt great. After a day I was sore. After a week I couldn't sit in it for more than 5 minutes without a fiery pain running up and down my back. Back it went.

I ended up with a Steelcase Think with the mesh back (I liked it was lighter and simpler vs the Leap), and have been using it for 12 years. 7 of those were working from home full time.

In the end what works for me (good chair, fully adjustable thin keyboard tray, height adjustable monitor) may not be right for you. There are no absolutes in ergo. But the guidelines around monitor height, arm angles and positioning, etc are a place to start.

Even with the right chair, take a look at the rest of your setup. Wrist/shoulder pain -- Is your keyboard or mouse position OK? Are you using a wrist rest when you should have none? Shoulder/neck/back pain -- How about your monitor height, do you hunch or lean a lot?

Re: Ask HN: Best Office Chair?

#83

Post by malyk »

Someone1234 wrote: post #4

Steelcase Leap. 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 Steelc…

I bought one with my own money for the office after having one for my wife who worked from home for a couple of years.

Then we went WFH due to the pandemic and I took a trip to the office and brought home mine from there.

Great chairs!

Re: Ask HN: Best Office Chair?

#86

Post by vlokshin »

aggie wrote: post #61
vlokshin wrote: post #52

Just went pretty deep in researching these... 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 adjusta…

I have a fully-adjustable chair from Office Depot similar to this one for $350: https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/448575/WorkPro-Quantu... $450 for separate lumbar support: https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/9518879/WorkPro-12000...

Head good things about the WorkPros. Wish the design was a bit better.

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).

Re: Ask HN: Best Office Chair?

#87

Post by cpr »

vlokshin wrote: post #52

Just went pretty deep in researching these... 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 adjusta…

+1 Humanscale Freedom. Been using for years in various home offices, and still loving.

I get them from Madison Seating used, with very little (if any) visible wear. $250-350 that way.

Re: Ask HN: Best Office Chair?

#88

Post by b3b0p »

Someone1234 wrote: post #4

Steelcase Leap. 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 Steelc…

I have a leather Leap, Embody (every option), Aeron (every option; upgrade).

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.

Re: Ask HN: Best Office Chair?

#89

Post by nextos »

chiefsucker wrote: post #23

If you want something minimalist I can recommend the HÅG Capisco. It looks a little bit weird, but is really comfy once you get used to it. The chair supports active sitting which means you won’t sit in one position for eight hours straight, instead the chair will invite you to move around and try out other seating positions which will inevitably lead to more movement and stronger muscles. https://store.flokk.com/us/…

Lots of chairs from the same designer of the Capisco, Peter Opsvik, are sold by Varier. They are really good.

Re: Ask HN: Best Office Chair?

#90

Post by systemvoltage »

oyebenny wrote: post #15
systemvoltage wrote: post #10

Aeron. Look no further.

Wow, didn't realize that these were actually recommended. I have grown to dislike these so much because these chairs are in every company I've worked for. Ugh.

I disagree. I think Aeron chair is a masterpiece of ergonomics engineering.

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.

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