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Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
Hi chairgoons, a kind of addendum to the question on the last page, if you can't spend more than about $300 on a chair, is there really any meaningful difference in comfort or durability between a $250 chair and a $100 one?

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Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
Yeah the Hyken is the best sub-$200 chair I know of (I'm 6' and it was fine for me) and I wonder if the WorkPro (thanks IE!) is really upgrade enough over it to be worth twice the price.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
For what it's worth I ordered something from Staples two days ago that claimed 2 day shipping, and as soon as ordered it the landing page said "lol just kidding, it's not actually in stock we'll let you know when it ships."

I don't have any immediate need of the item (obviously, or I wouldn't have ordered it from Staples) but that's just straight-up lying to get sales and it's scummy.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
If it’s just not comfortable for you then it is what it is, but the upside of the mesh is that it lasts. With any padded chair anywhere near the Hyken’s sub-$200 price tag the padding will quickly wear out and you’ll be feeling the hard plastic on your rear end within a year. The Hyken I had years ago I finally chucked when the arms fell apart and the riser gave out after ~5 years, but there was still nothing wrong with the seat itself.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
Have you considered borrowing a lathe and making one yourself?

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
As far as I know, absent investing time in bargain/closeout/surplus hunting, you're probably not going to find anything in the ~$250 range that is meaningfully better than the ~$150 Hyken.

Chairs that are actually really ergonomically good for your legs/back start at like $600 maybe.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
My last Hyken lasted about 4 years before the armrests peeled all to poo poo and the air went out of the pump so it wouldn't rise anymore. It's about the best you can do for $150 I think (and if you can wait it out it not infrequently goes on sale for $100-120, or did before The Great Covid Chair Rush). The big reason why is that the bottom is also mesh, not just the back, so you won't be feeling the plastic beneath the cheap cushion jamming into your rear end after a month, like you will with any cushioned chair under $800.

Not everyone likes the feel of sitting on the mesh, though, and that goes triple if you wear shorts (um, or less) a lot while sitting in your chair. Going to your local Staples to test if possible is recommended.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
IMO the only options really worth considering are ~$150 every 3-4 years for something in the Elusion/Hyken group or laying out the four digits for a Real Chair that will last most of your life. I don't think you get nearly enough value in that $600 range over an Elusion to justify the expense given you're halfway to a Real Chair at that point.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
Holy poo poo, I bought a Hyken for $150 six months ago and now it's $300? Have the prices of Steelcase and HM chairs doubled since February too?

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
It's the same as for anything else, the Good Chairs are what they are. (It's Herman Miller or Steelcase pretty much. They are expensive but they are worth it if you can spare the cash.)

Don't buy anything that's labeled ~GAMER~ or that looks stereotypically ~GAMER~ unless you really like excruciating lumbar pain!

Here's Ffycchi's big ol' effortpost from page 99:

Ffycchi posted:

Ffycchi's Offical Sit your rear end down in a new chair post

So after reading through quite a few posts here and only seeing "just buy hermann miller" and "all budget chairs are absolutely poo poo" I figured I would use my extensive experience of sitting on my arse in many layers of hell to give my expertise to this thread! Don't worry I've taken out any and all referral links or amazon tracking crap from the URL's. I'm not here to make money.


poo poo Tier:
Do not buy these, your back and/or arse will regret it as you age.



Literally any gaming/racing chair.
Price: $150-600

Seriously, anything that looks like this... Just don't. I don't care that your favourite streamer uses them, he gets paid to sit in them. If I got some endorsement deal tossing me six figures for just sitting in a chair while making more money doing my actual job, I would sit in them too!

I am not going to give it the courtesy of a buy it here link. If you want it, use google.

They are not ergonomic, they will fall apart quickly, the PU material will peel off, they are not good for you as you age.

poo poo tier is actually too nice for these, I wouldn't use them as a toilet. I'm going to ST that.


6mo/1year Tier:
Called because after that, throw it out. Support is gone, dead, deflated, deceased, disabled, et cetera.



Amazon Basics/ any other AMAZERN MESH BACKED "EERGONERMICZ" chair
Price: $99-300

Compared to the poo poo tier chair this is like sitting your arse on a golden throne....fooooor a month or two. After that, you might as well throw it in a bin. Consider this almost any "Mesh ergonomic chair" you see on amazon with a FEW exceptions. Just good luck digging through all the chinesium clones, fake reviews, and fake review websites to find them. I spent mooooonths on them trying to find my "perfect chair" I must have bought and sent back 30-40 of these chairs to amazon after a week of being like "oh wow...This is actually terrible. I would rather sit on a giant dildo."


The Office Depot Chair
Price: $150-300

Do you want to look like a fat cat executive? Get yourself an Office Depot Special! With PU Leather guaranteed not to start cracking and ripping off for at least 3 weeks! Oh and some of them have this air bladder plastic cushion thing under the foam that eventually breaks in some odd way and then fills up with air from the hydraulic release and you end up with one arsecheek higher than the other.....Ask me how I know...No really, I'm not kidding. I guess it would work great if you've been shot in the arse and were an arsecheek amputee or something, but for everyone else....Don't bother.


5 year tier:
No silly name here, tier is its lifespan



Eurotech Seating Ergohuman
Price range: $300-600 depending on scalpers because global pandemic chair shortage( :dafuq: )
https://www.amazon.com/Eurotech-Seating-Ergohuman-ME7ERG-Managers/dp/B01N6QL0UM

First of my recommended chairs. If you aren't paying for it. If your boss says "new chairs for the conference room!!!" but is too cheap to get the Hermann Miller/Steelcase(hereafter known as HM/SC) chairs Get these. They could probably last 10 years in a small business conference room where they aren't used terribly much, Otherwise they are overpriced for what you get. Good chair...Yeah. But at this price point id get a better used chair or something else from farther down below.

The problem with these mesh chairs is they are basically unrepairable once the mesh starts to sag, which generally starts at around 2 years, and becomes absolutely impossible to use without wanting to stab yourself in the back after 5. But hey, its for the conference room, not you. And hey, they look professional for the price so that will assuage the boss' need to stroke his ego.


Staples Hyken Task Chair
Price: $120-230(sales depending)
https://www.staples.com/Staples-Hyken-Technical-Mesh-Task-Chair-Black/product_990119



Disclaimer: I have not used this chair, it has been added due to enough comments on comfort and reliability to be tiered. Please ask others for review.


10 year tier:
See previous answer


Alera Elusion Series(comes in mid back and high back, It comes in black and white as well.)
Price: $150-300
https://www.amazon.com/Alera-ALEEL42ME10B-Elusion-Mid-Back-Multifunction/dp/B003G4OJK4/
Do not get the series II, I repeat DO NOT GET THE SERIES II, it basically takes away all the ergonomic adjustment that makes this good.

If you're on a budget stop looking. As I've stated in many previous posts, no you won't get "SUPREME SPACE AGE MATERIALS" or a great warranty...It's a chair. Dare I say a good chair. Get a pair of 20$ memory foam armrest covers(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M8F9IYC/ if you're too lazy to do the research yourself.) And its a chair that will last you a good amount of time in a good amount of comfort.

One of the big benefits of this chair is its adjustment, My 5'1" 100 pound wife can fit on it. My 6'1" 200 Pound arse can sit on it. My 6'7" 300 pound friend can sit on it(though not recommended? if youre that size id really recommend getting a HM/SC...or a gym membership....You're hitting the edge of what you can do with physics chairs at this point mate.)


IKEA Markus Office Chair
Price: $199.00
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/markus-office-chair-vissle-dark-gray-90289172/

If it fits you it's a great chair. It doesn't have much in terms of adjustment. I would highly recommend going to your local IKEA and just sitting in one and getting a feel for it. I've heard many complaints about the armrests as well. This one comes down to personal taste/fitting which I really can't advise you on.


30 Year Tier
Wait...HOW MUCH??!!


Now we get into the big boy tier. This is where Pricing, support(warranty not physical), and material quality go up exponentially. If you can find a local office reseller and can find them there, I would highly recommend doing that because you can get them for up to a quarter of the original sticker price.

I am actually NOT going to write review's for each of these individually past this point, all of them are great chairs with lots of OHGODMYWALLET options and can last you up to 30 years with a 12 year+ warranty. Some people have even said their's have lasted longer than 30 but I'm not going down that rabbit hole of differences in construction, materials, etc of different decades...Lets just leave it at "solid option"


Hermann Miller Mirra 2
Price: $795-1500(options)
https://store.hermanmiller.com/office/office-chairs/mirra-2-task-chair/1453.html

HM Mirra Disclaimer: This chair is the IKEA Markus of the big boys. If it fits, you'll love it. if not, you will likely hate it. I have heard about a 50/50 ratio. It doesn't fit me and some other larger people I know, but it does fit others, so I highly recommend testing before buying this specific chair.


Steelcase Leap Office Chair
Price: $899-2000(options)
https://store.steelcase.com/seating/office-chairs/leap


Hermann Miller Aeron
Price: $1395-2500(options)
https://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/office-chairs/aeron-chairs/


Hermann Miller Embody
Price: $1635-3000
https://store.hermanmiller.com/office/office-chairs/embody-task-chair/4737.html


gently caress you money tier:


Do you want to be part of the elite club of gamers??!!
Do you want to show off your cock buying power to everyone who walks in your house??!!
Do you want to show how invested in crypto you are and how you can make your guest's money too??!!
Boy have I got the chair for you!


Hermann Miller x Logitech G Embody Gaming Chair
Price: $1595
https://store.hermanmiller.com/gaming/herman-miller-x-logitech-g-embody-gaming-chair/2517590.html

It's literally just an embody with Logitech branding, gamer aesthetic, and like $40 cheaper because at this price do you really want to have that edgy of a chair?

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
Buying poo poo from Amazon has gotten to be really unpleasant for a lot of categories, there is just so much outright fraud going on. Like if you complain that you received a fraudulent item they'll give you an RMA to send it back but they won't punish the offender, or if they try to the offending company just dissolves and reappears under a different name. Not sure there's any good solution to that but it means the only really reliable way to get a genuine item in actually new condition is to buy it direct from the manufacturer, at significantly higher cost and often with long shipping delays.

21st Century Problems™

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X

Lead out in cuffs posted:

I guess just requoting this list that should probably be in the OP (or an OP of a new thread?)

(Quoting for myself too.)

Ffycchi's effortpost is cool and good but prices are like 50% higher across the board now compared to when he wrote it, especially on the low end of the market.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
The Vimes Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness applies here. It's actually cheaper in the long run to lay out the $1500 for a chair that will last 25 years than to repeatedly spend $300 on a chair that will last maybe 3 or 4 years. But you have to be able to lay out the big bucks up front.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
For about a month, yeah

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X

Heck Yes! Loam! posted:

My Costco generic office chair has finally died. My wife wants me to get a good ergo chair but I am having a hard time with the price tag or the idea of a used chair.

I really like the HM Embody, but my god it is expensive. For those that have purchased it retail, was it worth it or should I not be a stupid person and get a used high end chair like a pleb?

You are definitely in the wrong thread if you're hoping to hear any opinion but "spend four figures on a chair it's worth it."

The thing is--if you can afford the initial outlay, you will spend less money on chairs over the course of your life if you spend the four figures on a chair that will last 15 years or more, rather than low-mid three figures on a chair that will last 5 years tops, probably less. Vimes "Boots" Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness in action.

If your wife doesn't actually know or care about the difference then sure whatever go cheap, but any chair advertising itself as ~ergonomic~ that costs much less than $500 is ripping you off. They fall apart quickly. She and you should be aware that the price of low/midmarket office chairs has more than doubled across the board in the past two years, though.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
My desk is an unpaneled interior door laid across two saw horses

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
You guys are aware that reddit is a creative writing website and everything posted there is fiction, right?

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X

autojive posted:

Don't do gaming chairs

Should be the thread title really.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
I recommend you just let her buy whichever chair she's most attracted to, she will end up with a piece of poo poo no matter what you do.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
Just in case anyone else reading this with a similar question is paying attention, the correct answer in that price range (assuming you can't afford the $1200 for a chair that will last decades; the Vimes "Boots" Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness applies extremely hard to desk chairs) is probably the Alera Elusion.

The Amazon reviews on Alera products have been trending downhill the last year or so. As always with reviews it's impossible to tell if that's a genuine decline in build quality, the result of cheap counterfeiters getting involved, or sockpuppeting by competitors.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
Back surgery and opioid addiction are two things that are a lot more expensive than a good chair.

If you flat out can't afford it then it's what it is, the Vimes "Boots" Theory of Socioecomomic Unfairness is a real kick in the balls. But if you can afford the up front cost by any possible means, you'll spend a lot less money in the long run.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
UPS is actually unionized, at least where I live. The drivers I've talked to still get worked to death and micromanaged to a ridiculously dehumanizing degree, but at least the pay and benefits are solid and at least the drivers with enough seniority can't be forced to work unscheduled overtime.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
You will need your spine's approval, however

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
Yeah the cheap chairs are optimized for feeling great when you first sit down in them, but the effect lasts about eight hours and then is gone forever. That's a separate and additional problem from the ergonomics being bad.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X

Zarin posted:

To add to that, the thread recommendation for a budget chair is generally to try and find one of the common thread-recommend chairs used (office furniture liquidators, FBmarketplace, etc.)

Liquidators are great, but unfortunately they're only a viable option if you live in or near a major city. You can occasionally find a home run on Marketplace et. al. but you have to be prepared to put in a lot of grinding legwork looking for it.

Unfortunately chairs are one arena where the Vimes "Boots" Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness is very real and very felt. If you just can't put up $1200 up front then you're going to pay more for your chairs and your chiropractor in the long run than the richer person who just pays the $1200 for the better chair.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
I note from that post that the Staples Hyken is on sale right now for $160+tax+shipping (so $200-ish). If your budget can't stretch beyond a few hundo then this chair is the best you're going to do in that range. Note that if you're heavy the mesh will sink over time so you'll want to also invest in a memory foam cushion or somesuch to help with that.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X
And we also invariably push Herman Miller products.

Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X

Thanks Ants posted:

And on the warranty point, a chair that is sold on Amazon with a ten year warranty but requires shipping back to China effectively doesn't have a warranty. If the warranty isn't on-site service, shipping replacement parts for you to self-install, or a collection by the company without you having to find a box to put it in, then it's worthless.

This is an extremely true and important post.

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Eric the Mauve
May 8, 2012

Making you happy for a buck since 199X

PirateBob posted:

Where are the good posts in this thread? Where's the actual reliable info? The OP doesn't have poo poo.

It's here:

Ffycchi posted:

Ffycchi's Offical Sit your rear end down in a new chair post

So after reading through quite a few posts here and only seeing "just buy hermann miller" and "all budget chairs are absolutely poo poo" I figured I would use my extensive experience of sitting on my arse in many layers of hell to give my expertise to this thread! Don't worry I've taken out any and all referral links or amazon tracking crap from the URL's. I'm not here to make money.


poo poo Tier:
Do not buy these, your back and/or arse will regret it as you age.



Literally any gaming/racing chair.
Price: $150-600

Seriously, anything that looks like this... Just don't. I don't care that your favourite streamer uses them, he gets paid to sit in them. If I got some endorsement deal tossing me six figures for just sitting in a chair while making more money doing my actual job, I would sit in them too!

I am not going to give it the courtesy of a buy it here link. If you want it, use google.

They are not ergonomic, they will fall apart quickly, the PU material will peel off, they are not good for you as you age.

poo poo tier is actually too nice for these, I wouldn't use them as a toilet. I'm going to ST that.


6mo/1year Tier:
Called because after that, throw it out. Support is gone, dead, deflated, deceased, disabled, et cetera.



Amazon Basics/ any other AMAZERN MESH BACKED "EERGONERMICZ" chair
Price: $99-300

Compared to the poo poo tier chair this is like sitting your arse on a golden throne....fooooor a month or two. After that, you might as well throw it in a bin. Consider this almost any "Mesh ergonomic chair" you see on amazon with a FEW exceptions. Just good luck digging through all the chinesium clones, fake reviews, and fake review websites to find them. I spent mooooonths on them trying to find my "perfect chair" I must have bought and sent back 30-40 of these chairs to amazon after a week of being like "oh wow...This is actually terrible. I would rather sit on a giant dildo."


The Office Depot Chair
Price: $150-300

Do you want to look like a fat cat executive? Get yourself an Office Depot Special! With PU Leather guaranteed not to start cracking and ripping off for at least 3 weeks! Oh and some of them have this air bladder plastic cushion thing under the foam that eventually breaks in some odd way and then fills up with air from the hydraulic release and you end up with one arsecheek higher than the other.....Ask me how I know...No really, I'm not kidding. I guess it would work great if you've been shot in the arse and were an arsecheek amputee or something, but for everyone else....Don't bother.


5 year tier:
No silly name here, tier is its lifespan



Eurotech Seating Ergohuman
Price range: $300-600 depending on scalpers because global pandemic chair shortage( :dafuq: )
https://www.amazon.com/Eurotech-Seating-Ergohuman-ME7ERG-Managers/dp/B01N6QL0UM

First of my recommended chairs. If you aren't paying for it. If your boss says "new chairs for the conference room!!!" but is too cheap to get the Hermann Miller/Steelcase(hereafter known as HM/SC) chairs Get these. They could probably last 10 years in a small business conference room where they aren't used terribly much, Otherwise they are overpriced for what you get. Good chair...Yeah. But at this price point id get a better used chair or something else from farther down below.

The problem with these mesh chairs is they are basically unrepairable once the mesh starts to sag, which generally starts at around 2 years, and becomes absolutely impossible to use without wanting to stab yourself in the back after 5. But hey, its for the conference room, not you. And hey, they look professional for the price so that will assuage the boss' need to stroke his ego.


Staples Hyken Task Chair
Price: $120-230(sales depending)
https://www.staples.com/Staples-Hyken-Technical-Mesh-Task-Chair-Black/product_990119



Disclaimer: I have not used this chair, it has been added due to enough comments on comfort and reliability to be tiered. Please ask others for review.


10 year tier:
See previous answer


Alera Elusion Series(comes in mid back and high back, It comes in black and white as well.)
Price: $150-300
https://www.amazon.com/Alera-ALEEL42ME10B-Elusion-Mid-Back-Multifunction/dp/B003G4OJK4/
Do not get the series II, I repeat DO NOT GET THE SERIES II, it basically takes away all the ergonomic adjustment that makes this good.

If you're on a budget stop looking. As I've stated in many previous posts, no you won't get "SUPREME SPACE AGE MATERIALS" or a great warranty...It's a chair. Dare I say a good chair. Get a pair of 20$ memory foam armrest covers(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M8F9IYC/ if you're too lazy to do the research yourself.) And its a chair that will last you a good amount of time in a good amount of comfort.

One of the big benefits of this chair is its adjustment, My 5'1" 100 pound wife can fit on it. My 6'1" 200 Pound arse can sit on it. My 6'7" 300 pound friend can sit on it(though not recommended? if youre that size id really recommend getting a HM/SC...or a gym membership....You're hitting the edge of what you can do with physics chairs at this point mate.)


IKEA Markus Office Chair
Price: $199.00
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/markus-office-chair-vissle-dark-gray-90289172/

If it fits you it's a great chair. It doesn't have much in terms of adjustment. I would highly recommend going to your local IKEA and just sitting in one and getting a feel for it. I've heard many complaints about the armrests as well. This one comes down to personal taste/fitting which I really can't advise you on.


30 Year Tier
Wait...HOW MUCH??!!


Now we get into the big boy tier. This is where Pricing, support(warranty not physical), and material quality go up exponentially. If you can find a local office reseller and can find them there, I would highly recommend doing that because you can get them for up to a quarter of the original sticker price.

I am actually NOT going to write review's for each of these individually past this point, all of them are great chairs with lots of OHGODMYWALLET options and can last you up to 30 years with a 12 year+ warranty. Some people have even said their's have lasted longer than 30 but I'm not going down that rabbit hole of differences in construction, materials, etc of different decades...Lets just leave it at "solid option"


Hermann Miller Mirra 2
Price: $795-1500(options)
https://store.hermanmiller.com/office/office-chairs/mirra-2-task-chair/1453.html

HM Mirra Disclaimer: This chair is the IKEA Markus of the big boys. If it fits, you'll love it. if not, you will likely hate it. I have heard about a 50/50 ratio. It doesn't fit me and some other larger people I know, but it does fit others, so I highly recommend testing before buying this specific chair.


Steelcase Leap Office Chair
Price: $899-2000(options)
https://store.steelcase.com/seating/office-chairs/leap


Hermann Miller Aeron
Price: $1395-2500(options)
https://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/office-chairs/aeron-chairs/


Hermann Miller Embody
Price: $1635-3000
https://store.hermanmiller.com/office/office-chairs/embody-task-chair/4737.html


gently caress you money tier:


Do you want to be part of the elite club of gamers??!!
Do you want to show off your cock buying power to everyone who walks in your house??!!
Do you want to show how invested in crypto you are and how you can make your guest's money too??!!
Boy have I got the chair for you!


Hermann Miller x Logitech G Embody Gaming Chair
Price: $1595
https://store.hermanmiller.com/gaming/herman-miller-x-logitech-g-embody-gaming-chair/2517590.html

It's literally just an embody with Logitech branding, gamer aesthetic, and like $40 cheaper because at this price do you really want to have that edgy of a chair?

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

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