Ask HN: What kind of desk chair do you use?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=749852

by daveambrose • 17 years ago

11 11 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

After a few months with my $35 office chair from Staples, I'm starting to feel the ache in my back. I needed a chair quickly but I looked over long-standing comfort as I can't adjust any conditions on it - the chair moves up and down, only. I'm now on the market for a much needed alternate.

So HN, what kind of desk chair do you use for work and where did you find it?

bkbleikamp• 17 years ago

Interesting post on this topic: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/01/27/office-chair...

I also use a terrible chair and am looking at investing in a more ergonomic one.

daveambrose• 17 years ago

Good tip. Thanks for the share.

It seems the top manufacturers are Humanscale, Herman Miller, Knoll, etc.

jsmakr• 17 years ago

I'm seriously considering the newest Herman Miller Embody, Aeron, or maybe the Steelcase Think.

Love the look of the Embody, willing to spend $1,200, and reviews so far are great but is it worth the extra $$ over the Aeron which has been around longer and also has great reviews.

I sit at home for hours at a time per day and been using a $200 Staples chair. I've had bad back and hip discomfort for years which I've gotten pretty used to but now starting to really hate. I probably should have spent the money on a great chair form the beginning.

Would love to know what you end up with...@jsmakr on Twitter

spooneybarger• 17 years ago

I have a human scale freedom chair with head rest.

I felt like a moron paying over a grand for a chair.

I had tons of lower back and leg problems.

I sucked it up and bought the chair.

2 months later, my back and leg problems went away.

I sit in the chair anywhere from 6-12 hours 5 days a week.

I've been doing that for 2 years.

Best $1200 I ever spent.

arthurk• 17 years ago

"Markus" from Ikea

Xichekolas• 17 years ago

Herman Miller Mirra

I prefer it over the Aeron and any other chair I've sat in.

rdl• 17 years ago

I use an Aeron; I actually found this one for free, but in the past I've bought used for $250-350. I did actually buy a new aeron once, and then had it air-freighted for $300...and it was entirely worthwhile, sitting in it 15h/day, 7 days a week, for a year or two, and then selling it for the price I paid.

(relatively inexpensive) capital goods like chairs, good IPS LCD panels (3 x 24, or 1 x 30), laptops, etc. I'm quite comfortable spending money on, as long as I need them, and get a great price -- it's really only consumables and recurring costs I try to minimize whenever possible. And even there, I am more than 5-10x as good at bringing in revenue when I have $5-25 meals vs. ramen or beans, so false economy is false.

christofd• 17 years ago

Used to have a swiss Giroflex 33-7777 (about a grand -> http://www.giroflex.com/content/produkte/giroflex_33.php?pro... )... now just a decent Staples office chair -> not much difference

ohlol• 17 years ago

At my last job (just left), I used a Steelcase think - http://www.steelcase.com/na/think_products.aspx?f=11845

I found it in a bunch of office junk that we had in storage. Everyone else at work sits in cheap Ikea chairs, sadly.

It's a great chair.

domodomo• 17 years ago

My wife got me a Steelcase Think for Christmas. Damn, I love this chair.

We heard about it from Boing Boing: http://www.boingboing.net/2006/10/05/steelcase_think_self.ht...

dylanz• 17 years ago

daveambross... stop before you make any rash moves, and listen to me (someone with chronic back pain from crushed discs).

get two cheap metal telescopic saw horses, put a cheap foldable table or a raw wooden door on them, and then invest a ergonomic and comfortable architects stool.

now, you can sit and work, or, push the stool aside and stand and work. trust me, trust me, trust me... and you'll thank me later.

Ask HN: What kind of desk chair do you use?

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