Office / Computer Chair Recommendations?

[Puddy_Tat]

As I'm now officially on work from home almost all the time, I probably spend as much time in my computer chair as anywhere else.

The chair I've got is not bad - I got it second hand for about ten quid must be 10 years or so ago when i was not working regularly so had to watch the pennies. It has got a label on that suggests it came from a corporate office rather than it being a cheap home one, but it's not as comfortable as it was, and work say i ought to have one with a label saying it meets fire regulations (i think it's fairly low risk but still...)

any recommendations for good varieties / places to get one from? there's almost too much choice out there.

i'm slightly taller / heavier than the average, but not significantly so. Not that keen on one with arms as the arm-rests usually come up too high even on their lowest setting.

budget of maybe 200 - 300 quid.

any bright ideas welcome.

 

[danski]

If you can still get them for £300 (got mine over ten years ago for that) a Herman Miller ‘Aeron’ would at least be worth checking out. They last forever and all parts are replaceable (trigger’s broom?!).

 

[MBV]

Will your employer fund a chair or let you have one from the office?

 

[contadino]

I used to spend a lot of time in Herman Miller Aerons and thought they were great, but I tried one again recently and found it quite uncomfortable after more than an hour or so. Maybe due to....ahem...change in my build over the last 30 years.

My wife's recently got a Humanscale Freedom chair which is superb. When mines up for renewal, I'll be getting myself one for sure.

Not hers (which is green), but this is the one...

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I'm currently using a wooden dining chair. I had a nice leather office chair on wheels, but it ended causing me more discomfort. Took me a while to clock as its comfy! I also need to find a better one when funds allow.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

thanks for the thoughts so far

Will your employer fund a chair or let you have one from the office?

yes and no.

staff who got moved on to the hybrid contract (it's mainly wfh with going in to the office once or twice a month) got a one-off payment of about £ 200 after tax with no restrictions on what you could spend it on, and no need to account for it, although a work-station assessment (self declaration rather than anyone coming to look at it) for your home 'office' was necessary.

i joined while wfh-ing was still an unofficial / emergency thing, but on the understanding i was unlikely ever to have to start going to the office regularly (office is about 70 miles from home - i probably wouldn't have gone for the job if it had involved moving house in a hurry)

i think some people who had been there before covid took a chair home with them (on the basis that it was pretty hard to find a chair on the occasions i went in to the other office building that's now been closed down) - i'm not sure how that's been settled, but didn't apply to me.

there is a deal where individuals can buy a chair from employer's regular office chair supplier at a discount on their retail price - i have tried one but wasn't all that impressed.

Not hers (which is green), but this is the one...

that looks like something i had at the office in a previous job - although without the head-rest bit. not sure i'd worked somewhere they had put instructions on how the chairs work on the intranet before...

 

[RoyReed]

Definitely Herman Miller Aeron. I got mine second hand on eBay when that was quite a new thing (maybe 20 years ago). It only cost me £120 and the guy I bought it from even got one of his guys to drop it off for me next time he was working in the area - 2 days later. I've probably used it every single day since then. Best bargain ever.

There's plenty on eBay for £300 or less.

 

[souljacker]

I bought a gaming chair for my office last time round. An Anda Seat. Cost about £200 and has lumbar support, loads of adjustable pieces and is really comfy (and I'm a big lad).

 

[surreybrowncap]

 

[Puddy_Tat]

View attachment 387502

but but

 

[weltweit]

I have my own padding.

Hence a simple wooden kitchen chair is fine for my office chair.

 

[newbie]

Definitely Herman Miller Aeron. I got mine second hand on eBay when that was quite a new thing (maybe 20 years ago). It only cost me £120 and the guy I bought it from even got one of his guys to drop it off for me next time he was working in the area - 2 days later. I've probably used it every single day since then. Best bargain ever.

There's plenty on eBay for £300 or less.

Yeh, another vote for Aeron- mine is 20-odd years old, bought in the aftermath of a slipped disk from a junk(ish) shop in Brick Lane if such a thing could be imagined in this day and age. I've tried various other upmarker chairs over the years, none have stood up to the comparison.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

hmm

looks like the aeron is a lot more expensive than the humanscale one - and is the seat cushion really a curve from back to middle to front? i'm not sure it looks comfortable, think i'd want to test drive one.

can find the humanscale one - what seems to be a general trader on e-bay has got a few 'steam cleaned' at 150 quid a go, or there's an office furniture sales place not far away that's got them 'refurbished' with 1 year guarantee for 230 quid - on the basis i've had one as my work office chair in the past, i'm inclined to go with this

going to leave it until next month either way - this month is a bit expensive with one thing and another...

 

[UrbaneFox]

View attachment 387502

That's your home office isn't it?

 

[newbie]

I spent 12-18 months in serious pain with a succession of slipped disks. I bought a good chair and have never had backache since. Correlation or causation? no idea but it was worth every penny.

As for the seat, I had to replace mine because of a lifelong screwdriver-in-the-back-pocket habit which destroys jeans and makes holes in mesh seats. You'll only find out if you think it's comfortable by sitting in one and wondering if you could do that 8 or more hours a day, potentially for the rest of your life.

 

[Epona]

wondering if you could do that 8 or more hours a day, potentially for the rest of your life.

Fuck me that's a depressing thought

 

[newbie]

Fuck me that's a depressing thought

Well, it's not compulsory but

Many adults in the UK spend around 9 hours a day sitting. This includes watching TV, using a computer, reading, doing homework, travelling by car, bus or train but does not include sleeping.

Why we should sit less

There is increasing evidence that spending too much time sitting is bad for your health.

www.nhs.uk

 

[Epona]

Well, it's not compulsory but

Why we should sit less

There is increasing evidence that spending too much time sitting is bad for your health.

www.nhs.uk

As a work related thing (as per the theme of this thread) it is depressing indeed!

I have a lovely comfy seat which is purely for leisure. Just me and my lovely cat, but it's not at a desk.

(Just to clarify, when I was doing work where I was on my feet all day, it was impossible to come home and sit in a typical office desk/chair type arrangement and be comfortable due to relative heights of desk and chair and leg length (I have fairly short legs) so I have a different setup, it's not a case of one size fits all. I sit here a lot and prefer what I have currently over a typical office chair, I could work from here happily - not sure that work and happily belong in the same sentence mind!)

 

[newbie]

fair enough, long may that last

I almost never had work that involved sitting all day. As a result my knees are rather creaky and retirement has a lot of days of 9+ hours sitting.

 

[Epona]

fair enough, long may that last

I almost never had work that involved sitting all day. As a result my knees are rather creaky and retirement has a lot of days of 9+ hours sitting.

Yeah I used to sit in an office chair at a desk because it was what I was used to, but when I was working as a painter/decorator for a while I just couldn't come home and sit at a desk, it was too uncomfortable even with a good chair- my feet were throbbing. I do have a particular issue with my feet in that I was born with something similar to club feet due to a soft tissue disorder and they had to be straightened and are completely flat (I have feet like a duck LOL), but I sometimes have to elevate them cos they hurt a lot when I have been standing during the day, and due to my other dodgy joints (also due to the same soft tissue disorder) I couldn't comfortably do that at a desk with an office chair.

So I relocated myself (and my desktop PC!) to an Ikea sofa which is quite low down and haven't looked back. We got it second hand, I hope they haven't discontinued this particular one, because it suits me perfectly and this one won't last forever. I even spent 3 weeks sleeping propped upright on it when I had swine flu and couldn't breath when laying down due to my lungs filling up with gunk. Most comfortable and suited to me thing I have ever sat in. It's not going to suit everyone, but it suits me very well even for hours in front of a monitor.

 

[surreybrowncap]

That's your home office isn't it?

Yes - I only allow people with Oyster Cards to enter........

 

[platinumsage]

I hate Herman Miller Aerons, heavy, awkward, unconformable things.

I've got one of these which is great but I'd probably only recommend it for someone of average build or below.