Office chair recs

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lightheir
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Office chair recs

Post by lightheir »

Any good recs for an office chair?

I'd prefer it not to be a big massive job - the Aeron is very nice but it's too big in general for my small office.

I have a cheap $50 chair now that worked fine for awhile, but it's developed a really annoying squeak that's not fixable by tightening any of the visible screws (I tried them all.)

Any recs?
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Ged
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by Ged »

For a constrained space I would recommend a Steelcase Criterion purchased either from Ebay or an online source. I used one for 3-4 years and found it very durable, and quite comfortable.

It's sad but true that cheap chairs are cheap for a reason.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/steelcase-criterion-chair
davebarnes
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Aeron

Post by davebarnes »

Bought one on 1995 and sat in it for 8+ hours/day until last year. 17 years.
Now sitting in its replacement. Different color though. Went from black to grey.
I would never own any other office chair.
A nerd living in Denver
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matjen
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by matjen »

My former wife used to be in charge of selling seating in the Midwest for a major furniture manufacturer. I had the chance to sit in a lot of chairs in our home office, their office, and my three office moves. My favorite (especially for a home office) continues to be the Knoll Chadwick. It was designed by the guy who did the Aeron. For me it is perfect sized. Very comfortable and very maneuverable. It does not have some of the glitzy presence of more expensive chairs but it is a great one regarding all the things that really count. Sitting in a Knoll Life chair the past 5 years but prefer the Chadwick.

http://www.knoll.com/product/chadwick%3Fsection=Design
Last edited by matjen on Sun Aug 25, 2013 4:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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maitrina
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by maitrina »

I can recommend the Zody by Haworth. Super nice. My a** may not look like much but it seeks and knows comfort.
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Anon1234
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by Anon1234 »

maitrina wrote:I can recommend the Zody by Haworth. Super nice. My a** may not look like much but it seeks and knows comfort.
I have Zody Task at work, and I like it. Some testers got the Aeron when the office-update team was evaluating chairs. Apparently the testers liked the Haworth Zody Task better. Starts at $750. $900 for the version I have (with the extra adjustability, but no polished aluminum or leather).
http://store.haworth.com/hs/seating/des ... /zody-task
earlyout
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by earlyout »

Ged wrote:For a constrained space I would recommend a Steelcase Criterion purchased either from Ebay or an online source. I used one for 3-4 years and found it very durable, and quite comfortable.

It's sad but true that cheap chairs are cheap for a reason.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/steelcase-criterion-chair
I've been using one almost daily for 13+ years. I has held up very well -- both the fabric and the mechanics. It is very easy to remove the arms so it can be made much smaller than it appears in the pictures.
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englishgirl
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by englishgirl »

We got these for our office: http://www.officemax.com/office-furnitu ... 1&ssp=true

They had lots of rave reviews on Office Max and Amazon, and I managed to get them on sale for $120. Very comfortable, and good looking. They also work well in a small office.
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harrychan
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by harrychan »

You just need to go and try to sit on them. What anyone on this board recommend may not be fit for your posture, arm, purpose. I've tried chairs that go near $700 and just didn't feel comfortable.
This is not legal or certified financial advice but you know that already.
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Rob5TCP
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by Rob5TCP »

Here is a Bogleheads.org post on this from a few years ago.


http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=67055

I originally bought the HumanScale chair and hated it. I exchanged it for the Steelcase Leaps chair and have no regrets.
I ended up buying from a company that deals in new/excellent condition second hand office furniture. I was able to go
to their warehouse and try out several chairs first.

Here is the Steelcase Leaps
http://www.steelcase.com/en/products/ca ... rview.aspx


Here is where I bought it.
http://www.designerseating.com/Office-C ... 1-301-226/
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Ged
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by Ged »

Rob5TCP wrote:Here is a Bogleheads.org post on this from a few years ago.


http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=67055

I originally bought the HumanScale chair and hated it. I exchanged it for the Steelcase Leaps chair and have no regrets.
I ended up buying from a company that deals in new/excellent condition second hand office furniture. I was able to go
to their warehouse and try out several chairs first.

Here is the Steelcase Leaps
http://www.steelcase.com/en/products/ca ... rview.aspx


Here is where I bought it.
http://www.designerseating.com/Office-C ... 1-301-226/

I have 3 Leap chairs myself. I really like them. The reason I didn't recommend them is they may not work well if your space is tight.
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Frobie
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by Frobie »

I thought the title of this thread was "Office chair races".

I am disappointed.
Wading Ashore
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by Wading Ashore »

Vitra has been very good. Expensive, but worth it, IMHO.
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Saving$
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by Saving$ »

Does anyone have any experience with the ones Costco sells? It is quite comfortable in the store? I like the $90 price also.
http://www.costco.com/Tessaire-Mesh-Tas ... 37958.html
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linuxology
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by linuxology »

switch to a standing desk....
justus
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by justus »

Rob5TCP wrote: I originally bought the HumanScale chair and hated it. I exchanged it for the Steelcase Leaps chair and have no regrets.
I ended up buying from a company that deals in new/excellent condition second hand office furniture. I was able to go
to their warehouse and try out several chairs first.
I've sat in plenty of uncomfortable home office chairs and hadn't realized what a difference a good chair makes. I do a lot of work and studying at home, so I figured I'd get a lot of use out of it. I went to a local company that deals in second-hand office furniture to find a commercial grade office chair at a good price. I went looking for a Steelcase Leap, but wound up with a similar chair from Steelcase. I paid about $300 and don't regret my purchase.
tim1999
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by tim1999 »

My home office chair is an old leather Herman Miller Eames that I was lucky to buy used for pretty much nothing. Doesn't take up much space.

My office chair at work is some uncomfortable generic cloth thing that they give everyone who isn't in senior management. I'd bring my own chair in, but don't want to look like some self-important jerk, and would be worried about getting it out of there should they suddenly decide to get rid of me.
carolinaman
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by carolinaman »

I bought a used Herman Miller Aeron for $450 off of Craigslist this year. It was one year old and in perfect condition. It is a great chair and has done wonders for my back. I was having back problems at the time and felt my desk chair was part of the problem. The guy I bought it from had a warehouse full of used office furniture. He buys from companies who are moving or replacing chairs. I highly recommend this chair although the new price is stiff. You can probably get a good used one for half the price.
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Sunny Sarkar
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by Sunny Sarkar »

I like my $14 Ikea chair at home better than Herman Miller at work - what's wrong with me?
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davebarnes
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psycho

Post by davebarnes »

Sunny Sarkar wrote:I like my $14 Ikea chair at home better than Herman Miller at work - what's wrong with me?
Many things, but we are not your shrink.
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Topic Author
lightheir
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by lightheir »

OP here with an update that hopefully some will find helpful -

I ended up buying a Zody Haworth office chair. Was $800ish, shipped, direct from the company. Took about 4 weeks to arrive.

It's the nicest office chair I've used, either at work (a lot of fancy chairs at the places I've worked) or at home. Not a large oversized chair so it doesn't dominate the room or desk, but super sturdy, squeak free, and modern stylish. It's pretty much exactly what I was looking for in a high-end office chair and I suspect I will keep this chair forever.


On the flip side though, I will also add that I have to be frank here - the comfort level between my Haworth vs my $60 Staples generic black office chair is near zero. In fact, I consider both chairs identical in comfort. Granted, I have no special physical needs, and the Zody is wayyy more adjustable but there was nothing wrong comfortwise with my original desk chair. Now that I have both chairs side by side in my office, I can say that at least for me, comfortwise, I would have been 100% fine with that $60 office chair - wouldn't have missed much at all, and would have been just as comfortable and productive. I got the Zody mainly because I needed a 2nd chair, and yes, I can now afford a 'nicer' office chair with better materials and less squeaking.

The Haworth is clearly a better chair - no squeaking (the $60 chair has developed squeaks that cannot be fixed by tightening screws and is annoying) and looks far, far, nicer, and the materials are far better so it will definitely last longer, but if you are cash strapped I would have no hesitation telling you to just go to the local Staples, sit on a few chairs to find the one that's comfortable for $50-80, and just go with it and just suck up the little squeaks that will inevitably develop, and pocket the $600+ difference.
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victorb
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Re: Office chair recs

Post by victorb »

We have 2 Steelcase Leap chairs and just love them.

http://store.steelcase.com/brochures/leap
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