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geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: urlwolf on Wed, 29 December 2010, 04:34:16
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I've been hunting for a good ergonomic chair.
This is even harder in EU, where most US brands are more than double the US price, and in euro (!). Aerons are 1500 eur new (!).
I've sat in maybe 100 chairs now. All have pathetic armrests. Either too hard, or too far apart, or don't go low enough. Even those with decent adjustability fail one way or another. Aerons are the only ones that do well here, but I refuse to pay the silly EU price.
The worst thing is, this is not that difficult a problem. How hard would it be to make armrest that can stay static on one position, this position being pretty much anywhere on the chair area they live in? And how about not having sharp edges, and being and soft as running sneackers soles?
FAIL.
Anyone cares to recommend something?
I'm buying a standing table and knee chair too. Of course no armrest. I can only type for a few hours a day before I feel I need armrests, hence the chair...
My current chair is a vitra:
http://www.vitra.com/de-de/office/products/medapro/overview/
armrests are hard and don't go low enough.
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The chair I'd recommend is absurdly expensive, but it has gel armrests and is easily far and away the most amazing (task) chair I've ever sat in:
Freedom Chair (Humanscale) (http://www.humanscale.com/products/product_detail.cfm?group=FreedomTaskChair)
Sold a used one for about $350 that my friend picked up at a second hand store for $25 (the bastard!). I did a marathon session sitting in it for nearly 36 hours without feeling the need to stretch or readjust anything on the chair while I researched it and placed the listing for him and was very sorry to see it go by the end of the auction. Had I known about it before I made the listing I would have bought it myself. It was also the model with the gel seat as well, and I think that had a lot to do with the comfort factor, but the chair itself has won many awards. It was designed by Neils Diffrient for Humanscale, and no joke its really terrific enough that I'm willing to buy one someday when I have the cash, even at retail if I have to. (That's a lesson I learned with the purchase of my TempurPedic mattress which I have appreciated more and more with every passing day despite the fact that it cost much more than my big screen tv and surround sound speaker set from Sony - lasted longer too...)
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You should get a nice cushy office chair like mine. My chair's got great armrests.
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=12683&stc=1&d=1285707328)
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=12684&stc=1&d=1285707379)
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=12685&stc=1&d=1285707472)
Wow those pictures sure are getting old. My computer lab's not that clean!
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i ended up taking the arm rests off of my ergohuman chair, ended up being better. I know it sounds ridiculous especially when these armrests are like 8lbs each (they are made of like cast iron or something, but really soft foam rests) But they just didn't match up well with my body/keyboard wall mount if the armrests were 6in lower i think they'd be perfect.
You might end up not wanting armrests, took me a week to get used to not falling out of my chair, cuz i'm used to using my armrests to "lift off".
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i ended up taking the arm rests off of my ergohuman chair, ended up being better. I know it sounds ridiculous especially when these armrests are like 8lbs each (they are made of like cast iron or something, but really soft foam rests) But they just didn't match up well with my body/keyboard wall mount if the armrests were 6in lower i think they'd be perfect.
You might end up not wanting armrests, took me a week to get used to not falling out of my chair, cuz i'm used to using my armrests to "lift off".
I use the arm rests on my chair when I type. They're lower than the table surface, and I rest my elbows on them while typing to reduce fatigue and keep my wrists elevated.
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I use this high-end device:
(http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/1548/product2.jpg)
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Once upon a time, in an appalachian hollow far far away, bladamson was a but a young thing, a mere shadow of the odd creature which he was to become.
At the time, the creature responsible for spawning this creature known as bladamson had the ugliest green 1968 Ford pickup truck known to man. Or at least the parts of it that were not covered with rust were green, though that may have just been some sort of moss or mold or something.
Anyway, one night this particular creature was out spotlighting deer. When he returned to the Childhood Lair of Bladamson, he forgot to turn off said spotlight (there may have been some alcohol involved in this process).
That night, the creatures within the Lair were awakened by a strange flickering orange light coming from outside. Up sprang the creatures, and they rushed outside to see what was amiss...
And lo, the 1968 Ford Pickup Truck was all aflame. With a mighty "Yee Haw!", the patriarch of the clan leapt into his burning pickup truck, so as to pull it away from the Lair, so that the lair would not burn... Then, upon his leaping out, several buckets of water were thrown upon both himself and his flaming chariot.
And then we went back to bed. And the truck smouldered.
In the morning, the creatures gathered around to survey the damage. Melted parts were pried away with crowbars, and the charred remains of the seat were pulled out. The pedals and gearshift knob were burned away. But strangely enough, the thing still ran.
The patriarch of the clan then placed an upended 5 gallon bucket upon a 50 lb bag of dog food inside of his chariot and declared it a "new seat".
We rode around in that thing like that for several months.
It was very unergonomic. Even moreso than the cheapo $60 executive chair upon which I am sitting now.
And they all lived happily ever after.
The End.
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Work: Steelcase Leap w/good armrests. I usually have them all the way down.
Home: $60 Officemax special without armrests.
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I use this high-end device
a helmet of some sort? ;)
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My mother bought this chair 2 years ago, im totally in love with it, its AWESOME: Jerrik Chair from IKEA... with the armrest its like 500$ :( :( Couple settings, nothing fancy though, back support is incredible...this thing is...get one.
I cant afford it but one day I will... until then i got a 200$ chair that is terrible (bought at Staples in canada) ...
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The first thing I normally do to chairs is remove the armrests. But the chair I have now -- a realspace pro 9000 (basically this (http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690690/Realspace-PRO-9000-Series-60percent-Recycled/) without the head rest) -- they are actually pretty nice. Height adjustable, and three settings on the angle they make to the desk. Square, and about 30 degrees on either side. For me, both angled in is perfect.
I'm not particularly tall (about 183cm), but the low setting on the armrests is actually too low for my arms when I'm sitting properly in the chair -- my shoulders are too high for my arms to reach the armrests. So I imagine that would be low enough. But I could be wrong.
It's a mesh chair though. A lot of people seem to dislike them, but I get too hot in chairs that aren't mesh.
Edit: I'm not sure if they are available in Europe. But I seem to recall seeing either Office Depot or Staples in London, so maybe?
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The first thing I normally do to chairs is remove the armrests. But the chair I have now -- a realspace pro 9000 (basically this (http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690690/Realspace-PRO-9000-Series-60percent-Recycled/) without the head rest) -- they are actually pretty nice. Height adjustable, and three settings on the angle they make to the desk. Square, and about 30 degrees on either side. For me, both angled in is perfect.
I'm not particularly tall (about 183cm), but the low setting on the armrests is actually too low for my arms when I'm sitting properly in the chair -- my shoulders are too high for my arms to reach the armrests. So I imagine that would be low enough. But I could be wrong.
It's a mesh chair though. A lot of people seem to dislike them, but I get too hot in chairs that aren't mesh.
Edit: I'm not sure if they are available in Europe. But I seem to recall seeing either Office Depot or Staples in London, so maybe?
that must be the office depot branded version of this
http://www.beyondtheofficedoor.com/EUR-ME7ERG.php (http://www.beyondtheofficedoor.com/EUR-ME7ERG.php)
which is what i have, i think yours is just missing the lumbar support (which is really nice btw)
if so, did you assemble it and go, omg these armrests weight a ton! if so then it's the same chair lol, those armrests can probably withstand a 40mph crash
your 183cm is about 6ft and i'm 5 10 and i have to remove the armrests cuz they get in way, i'd want them lower but it's not possible (chair is puenmatically as low as it can go).
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I asked on vark.com how come herman miller can sell x3 the us price in EU and I got: "most is arrogance on the part of the companies involved". Well, that kind of arrogance should be punished in an open market. It's also a testament that local EU products in that niche are not competitive enough, because otherwise the US product would never sell. I sure as hell would not encourage this behavior with my wallet.
I think I'll remove armrests (cutting, not possible otherwise). Or get another chair eventually.
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I have the armrests fitted on my table... myself I'm standing on a balance board.
works great.
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that must be the office depot branded version of this
http://www.beyondtheofficedoor.com/EUR-ME7ERG.php (http://www.beyondtheofficedoor.com/EUR-ME7ERG.php)
which is what i have, i think yours is just missing the lumbar support (which is really nice btw)
if so, did you assemble it and go, omg these armrests weight a ton! if so then it's the same chair lol, those armrests can probably withstand a 40mph crash
your 183cm is about 6ft and i'm 5 10 and i have to remove the armrests cuz they get in way, i'd want them lower but it's not possible (chair is puenmatically as low as it can go).
Looks basically the same. I think that's a bit higher end than the one I have, though.
I'm actually 5' 11". I just put it in metric, as that was what the OP used.
I think it's definitely an issue of where your height is. If yours is mainly in the leg, that would account for the difference. Mine is mainly my torso.
And also how you sit, of course.
You must have an insanely low desk. This chair goes LOOOOOWWWW. If I put it as low as it goes, my keyboard is almost at shoulder height, and my knees are above my lap if my feet are comfortably flat on the floor.
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zmurf: interesting, I just built myself a very similar setup. Also standing table.
Where did you get those armrests?
And why the balance board?
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zmurf: interesting, I just built myself a very similar setup. Also standing table.
Where did you get those armrests?
And why the balance board?
The armrest was bought in a local office supply shop. But I guess many office suppliers have similar armrests. Unfortunately I can't seem to find anyone who sells anything similar... :(
About the balance board. I like to stand when I work... I have much easier keeping my concentration up that way. Also I get much less fatigue in arms, shoulders, back and neck by standing. The balance board helps in that way that I have to stand in an ergonomic correct position to be able to keep my balance. It also helps keeping my ankles and calves strong. Something I have great use of since I like running, trekking and cross country skiing.
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You must have an insanely low desk. This chair goes LOOOOOWWWW. If I put it as low as it goes, my keyboard is almost at shoulder height, and my knees are above my lap if my feet are comfortably flat on the floor.
my keyboard tray is wall mounted and can adjust in a wide range vertically, it's just more comfortable to have the tray basically 2in from my lap and my body makes all 90degrees.
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I found my a place that sells the kind of armrests I have... it is a Swedish site, but you will probably be able to find something similar somewhere else.
http://www.ergoff.se/moess-och-alternativa-pekdon/29-underarmsstod-nomus-navigator.html
http://www.ergoff.se/moess-och-alternativa-pekdon/34-underarmsstod-deluxe-asymmetrisk-smal.html
http://www.ergoff.se/12-underarmsstod
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At work i have a chair i really like, particularly for it's armrests. It's a norwegian brand - håg h04 4600. Spell it hag if you dont have that letter available.
The armrests are sort of backwards, so while they support your arms, they dont protrude far enough ahead to interfere with the desk. They can also be individually raised or lowered if you one higher up than the other for whatever reason.
Just google for it, and you'll find lots of images and webshops selling it. The 4600 one is probably quite expensive, but they have cheaper versions of the h04.
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I have the armrests fitted on my table... myself I'm standing on a balance board.
works great.
That sure is a different kind of setup. If my joints could handle standing for that long maybe I would have done something like that.
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I'm no longer young and naive enough to think that I'm invincible so I've started to give a **** about ergonomics. I was seriously considering picking up two of these but decided to add the money towards my first mechanical keyboard.
They look like they're pretty versatile, cheap and designed quite well. Sorry for the huge pic it was the only pic they had.
(http://115.68.5.20/img/product/etc/easyarmpad.jpg)
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I am dealing with the same issues on finding a good chair. Right now I am using a neglected "dinning" room chair (no arm rests). I dig the flat seat, but the back is not straight enough. I had been looking at kneeling chairs but the problem is everyone I happened to stumble into was poorly built; not having a wood shop is unfortunate. By the way the attachable arm/mouse pad is interesting, though it could get "chafey" after a while.
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the attachable 'big' armrest, while very interesting, won't work for me. The armrests are already too high on the minimum setting (my height is in my legs more than the torso I guess).
I'm using my standing table now, and so far I love it.
I also have a kneeling chair, and the problem there is that the foam is useless, so you basically sit on a piece of wood. Not bad fro 1-2 hrs. I combine all sitting, kneeling and standing positions.
I also have a nice reclining chair for relaxing during breaks. just learn that if I sit there and think instead of reading blogs, I get much more rest.