Asymmetrical Information

Slate should have included chairs by Neutral Posture, the best to be found anywhere.

http://www.neutralposture.com/

Get yourself the most comfortable recliner with an excellent footrest you can find and a swing-away air desk. If you are going to work at home, why suffer with a management-approved upright backbreaker?

I had a Mirra at my last job. We had our choice of three Herman Miller chairs (including the Aeron) and it was my first choice after trying them all out for a few minutes each.

A few minutes wasn't enough. Once I actually got the thing it was like a pair of corrective shoes--after a couple of hours I had aches and pains in places I hadn't ever before. Luckily the myriad adjustments allowed me to move the pain points around during the day. The Mirra and my body eventually achieved some kind of truce but I'd never buy one for myself, even at half the price. Color me disappointed.

Should you decide to try the Aeron, be sure to go and test out each of the three sizes. While I am pretty much middle-sized, the proportions of my legs are such that both the small- and middle-sized Aerons are uncomfortable for long sitting. The large size fits my legs, but the back support barely adjusts far enough for me. Some people simply can't adjust any of the three sizes to be comfortable.

My only complaint about them once I found the proper size was that the mesh was very nice in the summer when the office was warm, but colder than non-mesh chairs in the winter when the office was chilly.

Many reputable office furniture companies are willing to supply a loaner for 3-5 days. That's how I discovered I didn't like the Aeron. After spending 3 weeks trying out different chairs from different companies I chose the Steelcase Leap, and am still very happy with it 5 years later.

$200? Bah. The best chair I have EVER found is $130 at Office Depot. And as someone who gets repetitive stress injuries at the drop of a hat and sits at a computer for 12 hours a day (hey, I didn't say it was a *good* plan), I've got some experience on this front. This is something of a petite person's chair width-wise, though, so your mileage may vary. I love the size -- I have narrow shoulders and the arms on most office chairs are too wide for me, making me splay my elbows out and pinching nerves in my neck -- but I can see how broad-shouldered guys might have some trouble with this chair. But anybody else should definitely give it a test-spin.

Intermediate Humor 205: It seems that my sense of humor is lost on Rob. Can anyone explain to Rob the humorous (or attempted humorous) point of my post. Hint: Irony is involved.

MB

I got my Aeron at a going out of business sale, they are usually easy to find at them. The going rate was $300 I think.

My husband watched me try chair after chair, looking for one where the back support would fit a 5' 3" woman. He's now promoting a winning business idea of finding all the office equipment that's suited for average height women rather than average height men, and wants the founder to call it "The Stumpy Broad." (Okay, he's silly about names, but I wish someone would open the business.)

My main ergonomic solution is a laptop and working all over the house. I find that now that I can move the keyboard and the monitor, I relocate before any position causes any twinges (except for sitting up in bed for that "one last, just 90 seconds" look at e-mail and blogs that turns to last two hours).

The chair I have at my computer at home is a fake leather black high back with swivel base we bought at Staples for about $40. Staples runs them in their ads fairly often. Don't know how long it will last, but it's comfortable (I'm 6' tall. I'll sit in it to watch the TV that's next to the computer.

I second the vote for Neutral Posture. Great chairs. But, if I bought one I'd be using someone else's money...

If you can find a way to expense, just buy yourself a nice leather couch and an extension cord for the laptop. And maybe an oversized pillow. Works great!!

Sorry for the off-topic post... there seems to be something wonky with your feed link. Can you direct me to your correct feed? Thanks!

aeron can be very very bad, as it doesn't provide much in the way of support. It also can cause problems when you're not in a normal desk position thanks to the external frame cutting into flesh and cutting off circulation.

I spent 18 months in an Aeron doing strat consulting at about 80-100 hours weekly and it was great, within those limits.

minor note: never been in an office that was cold in the winter and warm in the summer. I've always run into too much AC in summer and too much heat in winter.

At home, I have an ordinary, leatherette, executive-style office chair from Staples. I think the brand is Global. I paid $99 for it. It's more comfortable than my Aeron at work and it's lasted just fine for over two years.

I have to vote for the Steelcase leap, too. Amazing chair, well worth the cost. Mine's 6 years old, and like new. I like it much better than the Aerons. Extremely expensive, but one of the best purchased I've ever made.

Wife & I have several different models of Staples' office chairs... all seem to have enough adjustment capabilities, are affordable, and since we spend 10+ hours/day in them, sufficiently comfy! Recommend a Staples product that suits your style & comfort needs.

(Mine is a high-back cloth-covered one..)

not sure why you care about the use price of these chairs unless you're planning to sell it sometime soon.
If the Staples chair depreciates too fast for you, thn you might consider buying a used one.

I've been sitting on a P70 invertebral for the last 4 years ( and my wife has had one for at least 5) You can get them from Topdeq here for $232 plus shipping. It's not sexy, but it's comfortable, and it lasts. I know people who love the Aeron, and others who hate it.

You will never be sorry you bought an Aeron. They are worth every penny and will save your back and arms a lot of strain. I blogged about mine http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2005/11/1801-most-wonderful-chair-in-world-if.html

We have Steelcase here at work - quite durable, if the older models are any indication, and reasonably comfortable. I find doing regular back excercise is more related to my sitting comfort than chair specifics, but YMMV.

Office Max sells an Aeron replica for $200 that has gotten very positive reviews

I've bought chairs at Costco and SAMS that were surprisingly good.

Try them out, sit in them, find one that works for your body.

Here is an interesting Review of the MIRRA chair:

http://www.pixelsurgeon.com/reviews/review.php?id=439

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=115555&&An=browse

I used an Aeron chair for about five weeks. By the end of the five weeks I was practically crippled. I traded it with a cube mate for a normal three-way adjusting cloth chair and have never been happier.

In addition, I have been using a United task chair with arms for ten years. It was purchased for me in 1995, and when that company went out of business in 2001 I bought it from them and have been using it at home ever since. It is fantastic.

I can adjust the height, seat angle, back angle and arm heights. It also has a deeply padded - about three inch - seat pan and is still very comfortable after all these years.

This is not a cheap chair - I think the company spent about $500 on it in 1995 - but it has lasted all this time and looks like it will last several more years. I had a succession of $29 and $39 chairs from Staples/Office Depot/Office Max for years that not only didn't hold up but were very uncomfortable.

I just went to Office Depot and looked for something that had a back support that didn't end up below my shoulder blades. I ended up with an armless cloth-padded chair that cost me $100 and that I still like for long term.

Lesson? Find something that you like, not something that somebody else tells you is comfortable. My mother-in-law, who is a good six inches shorter than me, kept trying to sell me on a different chair model... until I pointed out to her that it was too darned short.

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