In Search of the Perfect Computer Chair?

mantid asks: "Many slashdot readers are certainly sitting at computers for 8, 10, 12, even 24 hours at a time... What are you sitting on? As I get older, I realize the importance of ergonomics more and more. I've been happy with my cheap Herman Miller, but now I'm switching jobs and have to select again. How important is your seating, and what has worked for you? In high school I sat on a stool for hours as I ran a BBS but that just doesn't cut it anymore."

Comments

Cartwright

[linuxonceleron]

I've got a big red office chair from cartwright which is perfect for long hours of working at the computer. I had gotten it for free from a company which was doing remodeling, but I believe it had cost about ~$700, but I'm sure there's cheaper things out there. The qualities of it which make it suited to such use(abuse?) are the fact that it is well padded, has wheels that roll smoothly, even over wires lying on the ground and that it can lean back which is important for relaxing. I think cloth is prolly more comfortable than leather, especially for extended use, as you don't want your ass to get stuck to your chair after hours of coding.

Aeron

[stubob]

As funny as it was to see a link to "cheap Herman Miller," Aerons kick ass. It's the official chair of Office Hockey. Strange website, though. Rather than embed a 3d viewer, they give you the object model to run in 3dStudio. That's a new one.

I hope this won't start as big of a flame-war as vi vs. emacs. AskSlashdot is a strange category: it either gets like 12 posts or 500+.

The HumanScale Freedom chair

[MemRaven]

I highly recommend the HumanScale FreedomChair. My whole office has them, and they're great chairs. The back and seat is made of this hard-ish gel stuff (it's better than it sounds) which stays cool regardless of how long you sit. And the fabric is this Neoprene fabric which wicks away moisture. So it's got the cool, non-sweaty Back capabilities of the Aeron, but it's actually soft.

They're a little more than the Aeron, but if you're looking in that price range an extra $50-$100 isn't going to kill you.

Re:The HumanScale Freedom chair

[buildboy]

The URL is http://www.humanscale.com/home.html . I recently visited the Boston office to try out the chair, and loved it; I ordered one for my house and got my employer to order one for work as well. A few interesting bits of information:

It's actually cheaper to order directly from Humanscale then from a reseler. The standard discount is like 30%.

The chair without the headrest but with the gel is about $750; with the headrest, it's about $950.

Aeron.

[NetJunkie]

No doubt, the Aeron from Herman Miller. EXCELLENT chair that comes in several sizes, and is fully adjustable. I love mine. They go for about $700-750 but worth EVERY penny.

It's really worth the time to find one to try out.

Aeron dissenting opinion

[alienmole]

I seem to be in the minority, but I have to say I basically hate the Aeron chair. I'm sitting in one right now. I liked it for a couple of days after I bought it, but I'm actively shopping for another one now. I'm considering the Humanscale Freedom.

My main complaint with the Aeron is the mesh material - I find it uncomfortable and abrasive. I've taken to sitting on a pad to mitigate that. (It's not that I'm heavy, either: 6'3" and 165 pounds.)

I like having a lumbar support, but the Aeron's digs into my back no matter how I set it up. I also find the adjustments aren't that good: it doesn't allow you to lock the back in a fixed position, only to limit how far back it tilts. The armrest height adjustments are way too inconvenient to adjust the arms as often as I like to, depending on what I'm doing. Finally, it's low-backed and has no headrest, which of course I knew when I bought it, but I'm regretting it now.

I had an Obus Forme chair for about six years, and I would unquestionably rate it as a better chair than the Aeron in every respect. However, I still didn't consider it the perfect chair. If the Humanscale Freedom doesn't do it for me, I think I'm going to have to look to other planets for a solution - perhaps Cassini will discover a chair-making race on Titan...

Re:Aeron dissenting opinion

[alienmole]

Mine locks back in the fixed position just fine.

I'm guessing you're referring to when it's completely upright or tilted forward, in which case the Aeron's "tilt limiter" has the effect of locking the back in the upright position. That's not what I'm talking about.

I want to be able to tilt the back backwards to the angle I want, and then lock the back in that position so that if I lean forward briefly or shift position, the back doesn't tilt forward with me. Since the tilt limiter only limits backward tilt, not forward tilt, it doesn't allow this.

Re:Ball chair?

[mr.ska]

They can also be found if you search for "birth ball". Among many other things, they're apparently quite popular with midwives and Doulas for labour (birthing) assistance.

The one my wife has is a 75cm ball, and they are available from 45cm all the way up to 85cm in 10cm increments. We got ours through a local pharmacy/medical supply store. Check the box to see which size fits your body frame.

The reasoning behind using one of these balls along the same lines as those backless kneeling-type chairs: it forces you to sit upright. But as an added bonus, because it's a ball, it also forces you to put your feet out in front of you and flat on the floor. (You can try balancing with one leg, but I didn't fare very well. YMMV.)

Warning: wear pants, or buy a ball cover. The type of plastic ours is made with seems to really like leg hair. Ouch.

Stokke Variable

[The Pim]

I don't like office chairs. No doubt due to unforgivable mistakes in my upbringing, I cannot stay in a reasonable position in a chair for more than a short time. I inevitably end up slouched, or with foot/feet on the chair, or at an angle to the keyboard, or leaning on an arm-rest (which really makes my shoulders sore!). This is ok for lounging, but awful for working. I admit I haven't used an expensive chair, but I have sampled a few, and I think they're still incompatible with my fidgeting.

I just bought a Stokke Variable. It's one of the half-kneeling breed, but with runners beneath (like a rocking chair). The kneeling posture makes it easier to sit straight, and the rocking satisfies my need to squirm a bit without putting me in an awkward position. Basically, it allows sitting to be an active endeavor, which strikes me as healthier than finding a single perfect pose (the Stokke web page goes into this at more length, eg "Some Thoughs about Sitting in General).

I must warn that I have only had the Variable for about a week, so I can't be sure I will like it in the long term (my cow-orker does, though). Also, it's nearly impossible to get Stokke furniture in the US. (There's a store in MA where I live and apparantly another in NM; the Stokke site itself has no information on US distributers.)

Expensive Hermann-Miller

[cmaxx]

Get an Aeron specifically for your height and weight (three main sizes istr). Lovely.