THIS THREAD IS OLD GO HERE: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=37338.0
new OP courtesy of gunner100. still figuring out how to change the OP to give him editing privleges. -KAWA
This is a work in progress, I'm busy with school so this will take some time to complete.
If you own or have sat in any of these chairs, please post your comments in this thread and I'll update this post accordingly. I'm listing the most popular chairs here; if you've sat in the less known high-end chairs, post your opinions here!
Online Retailers:
SmartFurniture,
TheHumanSolutionI highly recommend purchasing from SmartFurniture. Their customer service is great, and I got a 5% discount through their offer system. They are also having a 10% off Steelcase sale near the end of November if anyone is interested in purchasing a chair from them
Herman Miller
Aeron - $629.00 base, no arms
Embody - $1,099.00 base, no arms
Mirra - $599.00 base, fixed arms
Sayl - $399.00 base, fixed arms
Steelcase
Leap - $769.00 base, no arms
Most expensive of the steelcase chairs, with the most features, and also the most well known by Steelcase.
Amia - $519.00 base, no arms
The little brother to the Leap, with most of its features for only about 2/3 the price. It has a slightly different curve on its back, compared to the Leap.
Think - $629.00 base, no arms.
Humanscale
Freedom - $899.00 base, w/ arms
Liberty - $879.00 base w/ arms
Diffrient - $659.00 base, no arms
Knoll
Generation - $711.00 base, no arms
ReGeneration - $541.00/$643.00 base, no arms
Others
OLD OP
in this thread: let's all share our stories of suffering and let input nirvana guide is to...
input nirvanamy problem: my effing back always hurts.
context: i have a family history of bad backs; my grandmother threw out her back at around 40, 3 slipped discs. my dad had two herniated discs at 30 something (i'm sure having three kids didn't help), etc. etc. etc.
i've been having pretty bad back pain for the last 6mos to a year. it's mostly in my upper back, but my lower back often feels as if it's been pre-injured when i work it or my lower abs during my major core workouts (bootcamp-style free-body-weight training mostly, gymnastics style stretching).
it's very clearly due to my chair and desk position, i think, and is most alleviated when i use my office workstation, which utilizes no desk surface, a free-floating ergotron LX arm and a pure and trackball on a laptop with a herman miller mirra.
things i've though about: keyboard arms/trays, buying a real chair, lowering my desk (did this, moved pain to my upper back), removing cheap chair's arm rests (did this), kneeling chairs,
i do often change position and/or workstation, and that definitely does help, but it would be nice to have an affordable workstation at home that i could use for an extended period of time without spending a fortune.