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Best Chair For Desktop Coding?

Posted by timothy on from the because-an-army-marches-on-its-back dept.

wifeoflurker writes "Can someone give me recommendations for a desk chair to give my husband as a Father's Day gift? He currently uses a cheap one he got from Office Max, but I want him to have a really comfortable one. He spends his life in this chair (coding and lurking on Slashdot). I don't have time to research good chairs on the internet today (I'm chasing my 10 month old around, and she seems to get into the most mischief when I'm staring at the computer screen), so I figured a few folks here might share their personal recommendations." Has there been any great progress in the state of the art (of sitting) since the last time readers sought recommendations for back-friendly chairs a few years back, or the perfect computer chair nearly a decade back? Is there even such a thing as a back-friendly chair, or should we all be in astronaut-style lounge workstations?

28 of 742 comments (clear)

  1. Herman Miller Aeron... by HerculesMO · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I know there are a lot of contenders in this arena -- and honestly, at the price it seems very high.

    But think about it -- you own a car that you like. You spend maybe what, an hour, or two a day in it? You spend maybe $400 for the car payment plus insurance and gas.

    And you sit in a chair for 5-7 hours a day. You should make a good investment for the sake of your back, your butt, and your comfort. I have the Aeron and the only quip I have with it, is that it doesn't match the height of my desk (which is actually a writing desk, incorrect height for a mouse/keyboard).

    I like the Aeron -- it has a lot of adjustments, it's built very solid, it has a good warranty and you can get them serviced a LOT of places (casters and such). It's NOT cheap, but refer to what I said earlier on why you SHOULD spend the money.

    --
    The price is always right if someone else is paying.
    1. Re:Herman Miller Aeron... by trybywrench · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I have to second the Herman Miller Aeron. I finally bit the bullet and bought one and I've really noticed a difference with respect to fatigue. I would say I can write for about 2 more hours then usual with the Aeron.

      No one wants to invest in a good chair but you have to think about the fact that your chair is in use from the time you sit down at your computer to the time you get up. It's the most utilized piece of computer gear you have. A lot of people skimp on monitors too even though it's the second most utilized piece of hardware.

      A solid chair and a solid monitor then keyboard/mouse goes very very far in keeping you productive.

      --
      I came to the datacenter drunk with a fake ID, don't you want to be just like me?
    2. Re:Herman Miller Aeron... by CowboyNealOption · · Score: 4, Interesting

      How about $40 for a cheap chair and a $300 gift certificate to a good massage therapist?

    3. Re:Herman Miller Aeron... by Skye16 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The Aeron destroys my back. I don't get enough shoulder support. Maybe I just have a freakishly tall torso or something, but I need my shoulders to bear the brunt of the weight of my back. My lower back, at this point, cannot support my weight while sitting anymore (2 microdisectomies, two more blown discs above those - it's not a pretty sight!)

    4. Re:Herman Miller Aeron... by ottothecow · · Score: 2, Interesting
      At home I have a herman miller caper task chair (the wheeled, height adjustable one) and I really like it. A lot of people dislike the fact that it is hard but really a well designed chair shouldnt need excessive padding to be comfortable as long as it is a good shape (sizing and proper fit in a chair is important...why do you think the aeron comes in so many sizes). The incredibly long warranty is great too, the back started to have troulbe after a move damaged it and it was replaced free of charge including shipping the chair to the local repair center...YEARS after owning it. Only complaint is the lack of a recline lockout (the aeron has this).

      At work I have a steelcase leap which rocks but I only just started so I cant talk much about the chair (2 days sitting on it and counting).

      --
      Bottles.
    5. Re:Herman Miller Aeron... by Thelasko · · Score: 5, Interesting

      What I would personally recommend is that you just tell him you want to get him a chair, and research it with him. If you go this route, I would put a picture of an Aeron in a card and give it to him. Let him know that you'll buy it for him, if that's the chair he decides to get.

      I learned that trick from a buddy of mine who's mom would always get pissed off at the gifts family would buy her. She would want a stove, and they bought her a stove, but it wasn't the stove she wanted. Next year she wanted a dishwasher, so they gave her a picture of a dishwasher, and let her pick it out herself.
      --
      One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
    6. Re:Herman Miller Aeron... by h4rm0ny · · Score: 2, Interesting


      Personally I think all of these are merely the best attempt at the wrong solution. The best thing for your back (and I know this because it's what I use), is a stand up desk. You get used to it quite quickly and you feel all the better for it. Many or most are adjustable so you can lower them to chair height when you want to. But you very quickly find it odd and sluggish to sit down.

      I'm serious - this is by far the best option imo.

      --

      Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
  2. Ikea Markus Chair by DeionXxX · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have this chair at home and I love it...

    http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00103102

    It was well worth the $200.

    The high back lets you recline fully when enjoying a movie. It's very comfortable and has a bunch of options to set height, back stiffness / angle it reclines to.

  3. Swiss Ball! by polyp2000 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    this might sound a little crazy but a pilates / swiss ball is the absolute daddy. Once you are used to it its really very comfortable, balancing is fairly easy and kind of forces you into the right posture.

    N.

    --
    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
    1. Re:Swiss Ball! by CastrTroy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I found the kneeling chair. It looks like it would be really uncomfortable, and with no back support you would get tired, but something about it just puts your entire body in the right position.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    2. Re:Swiss Ball! by lawaetf1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There was a study done a couple years ago using MRI scans that showed the best posture is actually slouching back in the chair with the feet flat on the floor. Weight is taken off the spine. Exercise balls, in my opinion, are lousy chairs. You can still sit with terrible posture, they provide no back support (leaving your spine compressing all day), and can be dangerous. Pop them all!

      --
      CommentBot 0.7a running with args "-module irritate,disagree -target random"
    3. Re:Swiss Ball! by Gnavpot · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I found the kneeling chair. It looks like it would be really uncomfortable

      I have used the original Variable Balans for 20 years at home, and recently I persuaded my employer to buy one for work too. I easily easily spend more than 12 hours daily in those two chairs.

      I consider them extremely comfortable. However, my chairs are of the rocking chair type: http://www.varierfurniture.com/default.aspx?menu=693

      I have tried one of the models with a fixed bottom frame (or whatever you call that in English), and it was not nearly as comfortable. A few hours, and my shins hurt. I think the angles were a little different, but the main reason was probably that it couldn't rock so I had to sit in the exact same position all the time.

      One word of warning:
      It took me several years to get used to the chair.
    4. Re:Swiss Ball! by jhol13 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I don't get tired sitting for hours at a time When my back is "in the bad mood" I can sit for hours in almost any chair.

      But then I cannot get up. The pain is intolerable. It can take several minutes of considerable pain and miniature manoeuvres before I am up - with pain.

      The chair is not the problem, the problem is the back - it needs muscle movements (to circulate blood).

      During those days I use a kneeling chair which in practice "forces" me to get up often. This is extremely good thing (for me).

      I cannot use any chair which is "comfortable" to sit four hours. Obviously I use a comfortable chair, but the point is that the chairs I use are easy to get of. And I do walk around often as otherwise ...
  4. Excerice ball by QuantumRiff · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I know everyone is different, but I have used an excercise ball at home, and really like it. It forces good posture, (one of the biggest problems with back pain) and even works the abs and back muscles to stay sitting up straight. At a former company I worked at, I had a pretty cool chair with no back (until we hired somebody with an acutal medical back problem, and they gave it to him), it had 2 "pads" one was lower, for your knees, and the upper pad was for sitting on. It worked similar to the excercise ball.

    --

    What are we going to do tonight Brain?
    1. Re:Excerice ball by QuantumRiff · · Score: 3, Interesting

      To reply to my own post, since a picture is worth a thousand words, these are examples of the Kneeling chairs

      --

      What are we going to do tonight Brain?
    2. Re:Excerice ball by greg1104 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Those kneeling chairs were really awesome for me...when I was 20. Too much coding on one of them later in life left both my knees and my hips in bad shape from all the pressure it was putting on them.

      There's actually a big clue to found in that observation: many people pick a chair based on it not aggrevating whatever their current symptoms are. But if it instead aggrevates others, that's not really an improvement.

  5. Car seat by davidbrit2 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Car seats are, after all, designed to be used for hours at a time. I've always wanted to stop by the junk yard, find a nice seat, and mount/weld it to some kind of base. The reclining feature would be nice for those all-nighters.

  6. Researcher sees future where people walk at work by Paul+Fernhout · · Score: 5, Interesting

    http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-06-07-office-fit_x.htm
    "Sitting at their desks is about the last thing workers would do in Dr. James Levine's office of the future.
    Dr. James Levine keeps a 1 mph pace on his treadmill while checking his e-mail.at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
    Instead of being sedentary in front of their computers, they'd stand. But instead of standing still, they'd walk on a treadmill. And instead of meeting around a conference table, they'd talk business while walking laps on a track."

    But just a standing desk with a tall stool to alternate with can work wonders for back pain and good posture.
    The walking is probably better on the knees though.

    --
    A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
  7. desks are terrible! by trwww · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I work at a computer 10-14 hrs a day and I can't sit at a desk. It would drive me nuts. I set up my office with couches and use Belkin Cushtop Stands.

  8. Humanscale Freedom chair by eison · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Humanscale Freedom chair (with headrest option). About the only way to spend more on a computer chair than an Aeron, but it's a better chair. Seat stays level and slides when you lean forward/back, and headrest automatically comes up, so it's easy to adjust position comfortably.

    --
    is competition good, or is duplication of effort bad?
  9. http://www.treychair.com/ by sn_moore · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://www.treychair.com/
    More than a chair, apparently...

  10. Aeron and RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) by kmahan · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've owned an Aeron for several years. I used to sit in it for 8 to 10 hours a day working. After a couple of years I started experiencing the symptoms of RLS. Very annoying. I went to docs for the usual diagnostics/drugs. Nothing really helped.

    One day my wife was talking to the manager of a Relax The Back store and my RLS came up. Upon hearing that I used an Aeron chair he said "That could be the problem. The way the front area of the chair where the legs go over is designed can cause problems with circulation and such." (I heard this second hand from my wife). I switched to a more traditional office chair. Within a month my RLS symptoms were gone.

    So no scientific proof and I haven't felt like switching back to see the Aeron was the problem. But I'm a lot happier now.

    --
    Invalid Checksum. Retrying.
  11. May I suggest opposite? by mapkinase · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "He spends his life in this chair" That cannot be good.

    May be you should buy him something that will lure him OUT of his chair?

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  12. Actually, your humor is misplaced by melted · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Microsoft is remarkably family friendly, compared to other tech companies (including Google). If you ever plan on actually having a family, or if your current employer does not give a shit if you ever see your children, Microsoft is a great place to work.

  13. Maybe that is what went wrong? by LibertineR · · Score: 5, Interesting
    15 years ago, when old timers like me were sweating to ship, it was practically a divorce announcement a week, in my group. Weeks before deadlines, sleeping in our offices, doing build, after build after build, nobody would have considered Redmond to be family friendly.

    In fact, if you needed family time, you were considered a bit suspect, or a whiny little bitch.

    But, in those days, we shipped indeed, and our stock price was ever-rising. Back then, you could even tell an under-achiever that they sucked without fear of a lawsuit.

    But, Win95 shipped, Exchange shipped, Office shipped, and left a trail of dead or dying competitors in our wake.

    Now?

    Vista.

    Enough said.

    Family Friendly hasn't done crap for shareholders, IMHO.

    1. Re:Maybe that is what went wrong? by LibertineR · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I also own a software/consulting company. However, unlike you, I decided to pay my dues early, so that now, like you, I can work when I feel like it, because I have a couple dozen souls who want to live like me, in say 10 years or so? Right now, while they are young, eager and smarter than me, I am going to work their asses off, so that our company can afford to send them off with the money to do whatever they want, as Microsoft did for me.

      I'm constantly searching for 20-somethings who are more concerned about how their eventual children will live in 2020, than how they themselves are living right now. These people are getting harder and harder to find, even though anyone who works for me gets any hardware, toy, gadget, etc, that they feel will help them do their job better, no questions asked, just like when I worked at Microsoft.

      Its a different mindset these days, and while you think your folks are productive, I would comfortably assume that were you up against us on a project, my people would eat your lunch. We work until we ship. THEN we play. If you need to change diapers between builds, you probably don't want to work for me.

      I have dived the wrecks of Belize, with the NEW wife (younger and cuter, since I am smarter and richer) and have a great time. Like you say, its a choice. You are happy with yours, I am ecstatic with mine. Good luck.

  14. Re:Everyone will say "Aeron" -- for good reason: by edmicman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Has there ever been a breakdown of the profit margin on the Aeron, relative to the cost of the parts and labor? I'm genuinely curious....they seem to be very highly recommended by almost everyone, and the only real criticism seems to be the cost. Could they be priced to fly off the shelves at $500, or are they purposely priced higher to achieve that "prestige" quality, a la Apple?

  15. armrests = bad? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    One of the main attributes I check in an office chair is whether it has armrests. Most people seem to love them, but I hate them. So before you go buy him a chair as a surprise, find out his thoughts on the matter. One thing I found while sitting in every chair at Office Max several years ago is that the ones my dad really liked were the same ones that hurt me as soon as I sat down in them. So whatever you think is supremely comfortable may be his worst nightmare. If you don't mind ruining the surprise, have him pick out the chair himself.