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Office Chair Recommendations

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I have the Branch task chair for a year and it is still quite good. The cushion is still very supportive. Here is their ergonomic chair.

www.branchfurniture.com

Ergonomic Chair

Overview Designed in Italy and featuring eight points of adjustment, the Branch Ergonomic Chair delivers an exceptional range of ergonomic support for bodies of all shapes and sizes. Benefits Eight points of adjustment for a complete fit: 3D armrests, height, tilt and tilt tension, seat depth...
www.branchfurniture.com www.branchfurniture.com
 
I upgraded from a fabric/mesh Steelcase Leap to a full leather Steelcase Gesture about a year ago. About $2k for it. Worth it for the quality. Still use the Leap in another room. It's about 8 years old and still looks new.
 
I started working more from home during the COVID lockdown back in 2020 & developed back pain as a result of sitting so much. I ended up getting a Backstrong (now the "Axion", I guess) chair:

all33.com

Best Ergonomic Chair for Back Pain

All33 - Welcome to the Revolution of Athletic Sitting™
all33.com all33.com

Thread:

Interesting new ergonomic chair

The "Backstrong": https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/336764497/the-backstrong-chair-fixes-how-you-sit-let-it-do-t/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-backstrong-chair-fixes-how-you-sit-design I'm curious how this compares to a classic Aeron or Embody. The price (currently $250) is...
forums.anandtech.com

My review:

Interesting new ergonomic chair

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forums.anandtech.com

The cushion material does wear down over time. NYT's Wirecutter reviews picked out Purple as the best seat cushion:

Seat Cushions

Purple Seat Cushions relieve pressure better than memory foam. Great for drivers, office workers, travelers, or people with back pain. Free shipping!
purple.com purple.com

Downside is the price increase (both on the chair & the Purple cushion). The Kickstarter chair was $250 & now it's $1,000. I had back pain from sitting, got a Backstrong chair, got used to it (it's a bit weird), no more back pain now. So for me, it was worth the investment, as I sit at the computer a lot & don't have to deal with pain from sitting anymore.
 
Kaido said:
I started working more from home during the COVID lockdown back in 2020 & developed back pain as a result of sitting so much. I ended up getting a Backstrong (now the "Axion", I guess) chair:

all33.com

Best Ergonomic Chair for Back Pain

All33 - Welcome to the Revolution of Athletic Sitting™
all33.com all33.com

Thread:

Interesting new ergonomic chair

The "Backstrong": https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/336764497/the-backstrong-chair-fixes-how-you-sit-let-it-do-t/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-backstrong-chair-fixes-how-you-sit-design I'm curious how this compares to a classic Aeron or Embody. The price (currently $250) is...
forums.anandtech.com

My review:

Interesting new ergonomic chair

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
forums.anandtech.com

The cushion material does wear down over time. NYT's Wirecutter reviews picked out Purple as the best seat cushion:

Seat Cushions

Purple Seat Cushions relieve pressure better than memory foam. Great for drivers, office workers, travelers, or people with back pain. Free shipping!
purple.com purple.com

Downside is the price increase (both on the chair & the Purple cushion). The Kickstarter chair was $250 & now it's $1,000. I had back pain from sitting, got a Backstrong chair, got used to it (it's a bit weird), no more back pain now. So for me, it was worth the investment, as I sit at the computer a lot & don't have to deal with pain from sitting anymore.
Click to expand...
I had a Backstrong, and gave it away. My butt would start to hurt if I sat in it more than 2 hours. I also got one of those purple cushions, which I love. However it would move around too much in the Backstrong. My wife loves the purple too, so I rarely use it now.
 
Muadib said:
I had a Backstrong, and gave it away. My butt would start to hurt if I sat in it more than 2 hours. I also got one of those purple cushions, which I love. However it would move around too much in the Backstrong. My wife loves the purple too, so I rarely use it now.
Click to expand...

I don't really know if there's a truly universal solution for office chairs because everyone's body is so different. They should have day rentals of office chairs so you can sit in them & see if they work for you for more than a couple hours, haha!
 
Kaido said:
I don't really know if there's a truly universal solution for office chairs because everyone's body is so different. They should have day rentals of office chairs so you can sit in them & see if they work for you for more than a couple hours, haha!
Click to expand...
I agree! Why isn't this a thing???
 
I have a lower back disc issue and have a BodyBilt J-Mechanism chair and it works really well for my use case

Kaido said:
I don't really know if there's a truly universal solution for office chairs because everyone's body is so different. They should have day rentals of office chairs so you can sit in them & see if they work for you for more than a couple hours, haha!
Click to expand...

One of the orgs I've worked with is big on ergonomics. Apparently they have a program that, with a Doctor's note, they'll let you participate in a chair program that sounds pretty awesome. I guess they have a big room with a bunch of chairs and you work 1:1 with someone to find your top couple fit+comfort chairs. Then you get to try each of your top picks on a loaner basis for 1 month in your office. Someone trained in ergonomics brings each trial chair to you and spends some time making sure height, lumbar, arm rests are all 'correct' for you. Then at the end of the trial program you get to pick the best chair for you and buy it for you. I'll admit I was a bit jealous when I heard about it
 
Exterous said:
One of the orgs I've worked with is big on ergonomics. Apparently they have a program that, with a Doctor's note, they'll let you participate in a chair program that sounds pretty awesome. I guess they have a big room with a bunch of chairs and you work 1:1 with someone to find your top couple fit+comfort chairs. Then you get to try each of your top picks on a loaner basis for 1 month in your office. Someone trained in ergonomics brings each trial chair to you and spends some time making sure height, lumbar, arm rests are all 'correct' for you. Then at the end of the trial program you get to pick the best chair for you and buy it for you. I'll admit I was a bit jealous when I heard about it
Click to expand...

I install a lot of ergonomic equipment in my job (chairs, monitor arm mounts, mice, keyboards, etc.) and it gets VERY expensive to pay out for things like surgeries due to long-term strain & injury issues. That kind of trial program would be amazing!!

There are so many different kinds of a mice too...a few of them include the vertical "sharkfin" mouse:

1673901299667.png

Wiimote-style "air mouse" that supports gestures:


1673901338366.png

Ring mice with a tiny trackball for your thumb:

1673913350975.png

"Rats" aka trackballs, which can be used with fingertips or palms, or the more ergonomic ones that use your thumb:

1673901271073.png

Multi-gesture touchpads to use fingers with:

1673913435723.png

It's nice to have options other than ye ole ball mice!! haha
 
To close the loop on this: my old Staples office chair started to fall apart shortly after I started this thread. The armrest on it was splitting and actually made a hole or two in the elbow of a sweatshirt I had 🙁. So, after the comments here and on r/officechairs, I ended up getting a Steelcase Leap. Arrived today; so far, it's been quite comfortable.
 
I know I'm late to this, but I've tried a bunch and for me nothing beats a used Aeron C. I have sit-stand desks, so I bought a bumpy, rocking platform thing to stand on. I use it when I'm sitting too and it's just about perfect - I'm 6'2" and 205lbs (188cm / 93kg). I've tried the stereotypical huge gaming chairs like the SecretLab Titan and I can't stand them. When these Aerons die, if they do, I might buy replacements new.
 
Zorba said:
This is what my wife and I use at home (Steelecase Leap V2): https://www.madisonseating.com/leap-chair-v2-by-steelcase.html

My company has them exclusively in the office and after 2 years of WFH on crappy staples chairs we finally broke down and bought these. Instant improvement. I have no idea how Madison Seating has them so cheap, but they were legit.
Click to expand...
Killer chair, i have one and was looking for another. The price at that site is so low b/c they are returns/open box and the warranty is through the seller vs steelcase.
 
RichieZ said:
Killer chair, i have one and was looking for another. The price at that site is so low b/c they are returns/open box and the warranty is through the seller vs steelcase.
Click to expand...
Interesting, I didn't notice the open box all the way at the bottom. Our chairs appeared to be brand new, except they did lack the normal Steel case tags.
 
Brainonska511 said:
To close the loop on this: my old Staples office chair started to fall apart shortly after I started this thread. The armrest on it was splitting and actually made a hole or two in the elbow of a sweatshirt I had 🙁. So, after the comments here and on r/officechairs, I ended up getting a Steelcase Leap. Arrived today; so far, it's been quite comfortable.
Click to expand...
Where'd you get it?
 
Zorba said:
Where'd you get it?
Click to expand...
I ended up buying it direct, since it allowed me to take advantage of a $150 coupon AmEx offered, and because many of the sites selling official factory returns weren't offering enough of a discount to make those routes worth it. I guess Madison had used/remanufactured versions relatively cheap, but some recent circumstances made me kind of price agnostic, so it further played into the direct-buy option.
 
IronWing said:
If you live in a medium to largish city, check out used office furniture stores. You might save a bundle.
Click to expand...
That's where I got my Steelcase chairs. Really nice. I have 3. Bought them from a used office furniture store which was staffed by a guy I worked with at my volunteer gig. He was the main guy there. Bought them one at a time, IIRC. Had them a long time now. They hold up nicely.
 
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