Chair recommendations

[Yzeets]

The chair I have is about 4 years old and really starting to wear down and hurting my back, I'm pretty much sitting on metal bars. I've been looking for a new comfy chair around 100-150$ but reading reviews on amazon is like watching the news. I've gone around and tested chairs and just haven't found anything I like, any recommendations? most of the chairs I saw people buying on here were around 300-500$ which is way out of my budget for a chair.

[vivalarevolución]

Getting a good chair will cost a lot.  A lot. The higher end brands, like Herman Miller, Steelcase, Body Bilt, they are going to cost more than $500 for their lower-end products.  I would check used office furniture stores for your price range to get a good deal. In a lot of those places, you can negotiate for lower than the list price.

Personally, I decided to stop sitting all day and created a standing work station with a stool for when I get tired of standing.  You don't need as comfortable of a chair because you won't be sitting in it all day.

[TotalChaos]

1. Buy any random office chair that resembles ur old one.  Make sure the arm rests are removable.

2. Buy 2 rectangular Memory Foam pillows from Wal-Mart or wherever.

Ur done 

[swagpiratex]

I think the cheap recommendation is the Ikea Markus.

[Jocelyn]

I don't understand the obsession with chairs that have wheels and arm rests. I have one of these and it's SOOOOOOO comfy - http://www.amazon.com/Flash-Furniture-HA-MC320AF-NVY-GG-Hercules-Upholstered/dp/B006O6NFPG

Actually, I got mine from Bison office via buy.com and it was only ~$30 shipped

[kittykatmax]

Try to find a used Steelcase Leap.  Amazing chair and worth every penny, but out of your price range when new. 

[Glod]

This is kind of off topic if your looking for an affordable chair option but we had a chair thread somewhere... ah here
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=37338.0
also http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=34779.0

basically a thread about awesome chairs and $ well spent

[llovro]

http://www.spinalis.com/
I recommend spinalis. I have spinalis navigator and it's soooo sweet. Really awesome chair and it's also really good for your back.

[ElectronicFur]

Considering the amount of time spent sitting in a chair I think it's a worthwhile investment to get a good one that suits your ergo requirements.

I saved by buying a second-hand Aeron Miller. The good thing about the high end chairs like this is that they are hard-wearing, and mine was as good as new. And parts are easily available if needed.

Have a look on Fleabay and second-hand furniture shops.

Cheers,
EF

[fohat.digs]

Arm rests are essential for me.

A good gel seat cushion will make a bad seat tolerable, at the minimum.

[guilleguillaume]

I'm really disappointed about the abusive prices we have here. For the price of a Herman Miller Embody I could only buy a SAYL here...

Also when looking for some other unkown brands with high quality chairs you won't go lower than 700€ for something that in my opinion feels cheap...

I've been looking for a good chair on the past months and my search is useless.

[Glod]

abusive prices?

the Embody is one of the best things I've ever purchased in my entire life and its well worth the cost. The materials are top quality, the build is solid, its actually designed for those like me that have to sit in a chair almost all the time. Back pain went away, i feel more energy when i get up to break instead of those feeling of "its not worth moving around, i hurt too much", its not a gimmick and its functional, its not some designer thing because there are much prettier things out than the embody.

[guilleguillaume]

abusive prices?

the Embody is one of the best things I've ever purchased in my entire life and its well worth the cost. The materials are top quality, the build is solid, its actually designed for those like me that have to sit in a chair almost all the time. Back pain went away, i feel more energy when i get up to break instead of those feeling of "its not worth moving around, i hurt too much", its not a gimmick and its functional, its not some designer thing because there are much prettier things out than the embody.

I think you should re-read my post 

I'm not saying the USA Retail price is abusive, instead I'm saying that here in my country(Spain) Herman Miller are sold for abusive prices compared to yours.

You can buy an Embody for $ 1199 in the official store and I'm saying that for that price I can only buy a SAYL chair here in some shops. Some Herman Miller chairs are sold here for 2000€ when you can buy them at Herman Miller for less money.

[Glod]

ohhhhh yeah ok, yeah that doesn't sound good

[aggiejy]

I think if I were shopping in the $100-$150 range, I might focus on used higher end chairs instead.  Perhaps you'll need to raise your range a bit, but every now and then you can find a Herman Miller Aeron for pretty cheap used.  One that is 10 years old is generally in better condition than a $150 chair 3 months old.  And if it's not, you can replace every part on it easily. Other good brands are Steelcase and HumanScale.  There just seems to be a *big* jump in quality between the cheap chairs and the expensive chairs.  If you sit a lot (and/or want your chair to last) I think a used Herman Miller or equivalent is hard to beat.

(FWIW: I had a Aeron for 11 years before moving to an Embody.  I bought both from Herman Miller and can attest to the awesome warranty service, not that you need it until maybe 6-7 years for basic tuneups.  But, I sit all day every day... $1500 for a chair isn't worth it to everyone.)

[coherentleverage]

According to recent findings about health damages from sitting, you might even consider yourself lucky to have a chair that is uncomfortable.
The earlier comment about standing up is spot on.

Your bad chair will automaticaly limit your time spent sitting. Or does it?
If not, get an even more uncomfortable chair. Or rip off even more of the padding 

[GV]

I cannot recommend a specific chair based on personal experience. But after considerable research I'm going for a Nightingale CXO. (I was initially attracted to the SteelCase Leap during the recent sale but numerous negative online user reviews wound up changing my mind.) At $900-$1100 it's a lot for a chair but unlike a lot of its competitors in that price range the CXO looks like it is built to last.

Unlike the Aeron Uber Chair the CXO has a breathable slightly padded backrest and memory foam in the seat. And while the Leap uses a hard-plastic insert for its lumbar support the CXO uses a padded contoured adjustable lumbar support.


Here are the names of three online retailers and the prices for the options I want: headrest, hardwood floor casters. I thought that I might want a different fabric than the stock "Matrix" but after receiving fabric swatches from Nightingale I think that Matrix is the best choice.

Seating Zone: $937. Hard-floor caster  No fabric choice. Optional colors available in the Matrix fabric. The backrest remains black while the seat, headrest and lumbar support are a different color.

Healthy Back $960 Headrest  No caster/fabric choice.
The Human Solution $1018  Fabric choice. Price match guarantee available…

Nightingale CXO Webpage: http://www.nightingalechairs.com/cxo_home.html

Smart Furniture will have the CXO in a couple of weeks; it's pricing will be comparable to The Human Solution. Be sure to carefully read each store's return policy as they are different...  As of this writing the Seating Zone is the online retailer to beat.