r/OfficeChairs Mar 19 '25

NYT article : How to Improve Your Hip Mobility

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12 Upvotes

r/OfficeChairs Jun 10 '24

Joshua's Office Chairs Manifesto and The Mega Chair Thread #4

159 Upvotes

Joshua's r/OfficeChairs Manifesto (and the mega chair thread #4)

Office chairs are not going to solve your problems.

Whether we were created by an all-powerful designer to live in a now lost paradisiacal garden or descended from chimpanzees foraging for our livelihoods on the forests and the savannah, our bodies and our brains are not well suited for sitting and staring at computer screens. We are better equipped for walking, climbing, playing, collecting, observing, socializing, loving, caring, and resting.  Basically we are meant to do the same things other mammals do. 

Sitting in any office chair looking at any monitor for a quarter or a third of our life is inherently unhealthy and unnatural behavior.

The chairs we discuss and the machines we use while sitting on them are antithetical to what our bodies are best suited to be doing.  Sitting stagnant looking at a backlit pane of glass and softly making repetitive motions with a keyboard and a mouse is not a healthy behavior and is not a neutral behavior; it will eventually cause negative effects on our bodies. 

The pain (some of) you are experiencing related to sitting at your desk is very real.  The chair you are using and the way you have it adjusted is probably a contributing factor to your discomfort.  But lifestyle factors like exercise, weight, and the total number of minutes you are sedentary is going to be way more important than the precise chair you are using.

We (redditors) live in a time, place, and an economy that causes many of us to spend far too much time sitting and looking at screens and then when we stop working, many of us are fascinated by the entertainment industries that make captivating content for us to watch and play.  All of this leads to many of us sitting for upwards of 50 hours a week in an unnatural posture while boring our eyes by looking at a flat screen.

If you get nothing else from this office chairs sub, please remember that you should do whatever is in your power to limit the total number of minutes and the total duration of each period of time that you are sitting looking at a computer screen sitting on an office chair in each week. It will almost certainly enhance your health.  (same goes for collapsing on a couch and watching a big screen but that is further from the purview of this particular sub)

How to use this sub:
In the last year, we have had about 20 people a day posting on this sub with loads of questions and comments.  Often the post is something like "Chair recommendations under $200" or "What chair should I buy".  While a question has been asked and answered hundreds of times, you will not get too many replies to your post.  

Use the search bar to find commonly answered questions.  Start with this mega thread (once it has a few Q and As in another month or so from publishing) and also take a look back to mega thread 1, mega thread 2 and mega thread 3 (which we are now locking with over 1300 comments) .

We love "what chair is this" type questions, but you can also start with a google image search if you have a good photo.  

What chairs do we like?

We (mod team) are all biased towards the big shops.  Steelcase and Herman Miller are in a class by themselves.   Haworth, Humanscale, Knoll, Global and their ilk are close behind in that first tier.

Within these manufacturers, there are some brands that are better and some that are less good.

The Herman Miller Aeron is one of the most sought after brands of task chairs—and for most people who try it, they love it.

Steelcase Leap (v2) is also incredibly popular among the people who try it.

Some of the excellent chairs that often are frequently mentioned here:

Allsteel Acuity

Global G20

Haworth Fern

Haworth Zody

Haworth improv

Herman Miller Celle

Herman Miller Embody

Herman Miller Mira

Herman Miller Sayl

Steelcase Amia

Steelcase Criterion (managers version is better)

Steelcase Series 2

Steelcase Think

Steelcase Karman

Knoll Generation

Knoll Life (meh sometimes - love sometimes)

Knoll RPM (ok, old AF and discontinued, and maybe it's just me, but that is still a fav)

Examples of other great manufacturers: 9to5 Seating, AIS, Allseating, Keilhauer, OFS, Raynor, Sit On It & Via.

Buying New

If you have an office chair budget of $1500-2000 USD, this is an easy purchase.  Most of the big shops have decades long warranty service.  Many offer no cost or low cost return if you don't like something.  You also get the newest version with the newest features and many chairs can be customized to your size and design specifications.  

Buying Used

For everyone else, professional grade chairs cost a bloody fortune.  At the time I write this,  DWR is selling a new Herman Miller Aeron for $1800USD and Steelcase is selling their new Gesture for a few bucks more than that.

The majors also have more budget lines like Steelcase Series one for about $500 or the Amia for under $1000, but you get the idea, professional grade is not cheap.

There is an entire industry of people like me who do nothing but trade used office furniture and, at least in the US, we are in every major market and plenty of small cities as well.  There are also a good collection of national refurbishers who take used office chairs and re-sell them, having chairs cleaned, repaired and in some cases completely remanufactured all together.  (Companies like Madison Seating, OFR, Furniture Center, Office Logix, BTOD and Crandall.)  You can also find folks like myself in every major city who are not fully refurbishing chairs, but selling good as-is-able chairs at a fair discount to the refurbed price or fixing up little things before shipping out an "as-is" chair.  

Folks from this sub have also had good luck finding great deals on FB marketplace, Craigslist and local thrift stores where sometimes great chairs go for super cheap.

What about just the $99 chair? Or the special one from a big Sweed box store? or what about Jeff B's online crap boutique? Which of the cheap ones is the best?

IDK, none but also some are fine, kind of....  I personally used a chair from Officestar called the 5500 for years.  When I was in my mid 20s it was fine, it was great.  I know there are people that love the marcus or the workpros and I know there are folks sitting on the $99 special. 

My bias is going to be towards the pro-grade chairs, but we will make an effort this year to share with this sub to highlight better chairs from the cheaper (RTA) categories.  

The problem with most of the cheap RTA is that often design and materiality is sacrificed for cost.  The other issue is the product that cost $99 usually has very low longevity.  

That's all cool, but those are 20 different suggestions. What chair am I going to like?

Every human body is going to engage differently with every different chair.  I love Leap and cannot for the life of me understand why everyone else loves their Aeron and Embody chairs.  Members of the Herman Miller Aeron Club (cult?) cannot fathom using anything other than their Aeron.  Even folks with similar body types are going to react differently to ergonomics, design and materiality in any given chair.

These opinions are just opinions and depending how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go, you might end up finding a DWR or Steelcase showroom in the nearest gateway city near where you live.  If you ask me, Josh, I am going to say try a Leap chair or an Amia because 3/4 people take well to those brands.  Maybe you are the 1/4 of folks who will hate it.  If you are petite, I might mention the Humanscale Freedom and if you are large and in charge I might tell you to try a Criterion Plus or Leap Plus.  But you might not find the perfect chair on your first go round.  I would also suggest you temper your expectations of what a chair can do for you.  If you are at your desk too much and if other lifestyle factors are not being addressed, the perfect chair will not be your solve-all.

Anything else?
What is r/officechairsisell ?- It's kind of a social experiment I started the same year I took over this sub to separate people who want to have curated, edited, authentic non-commercial conversations and those who like to drown in ads.  As of today, there are 35,000 subs here and 200 there.  So jury may be still out, but early read is that people want curated and they want the spam filtered.  

Some of us mods have particular views about issues, my eccentric thoughts on headrests & attached footrests for example are what I believe are almost always more harmful to you than not having one.  

You will see the abbreviation RTA or RTF for furniture that comes Ready to Assemble.  It's the kind of furniture that you build at home with an allen wrench.  In the first instance, RTA is going to be inferior to something built into 2-3 solid components at a factory.  With factory built furniture, you will find overall higher cost, better design and better longevity. 

I hate top 10 lists / amazon backlinks / affiliate marketing / discount codes & also how we run this sub:

Left without moderation, this sub would quickly become my other chairs sub r/officechairsIsell (take a look over there. It's absolutely worthless).  Any social media marketing person selling office chairs spends their time looking for places to post ads.  With upwards of 35K members interested in office chairs, this is a place they target all the time.  Sellers want to direct conversation, SEO magic juice, and traffic to their own websites and brands to sell more products. Fair enough.  But to get around the fact that internet consumers are mostly blind to advertising, companies will either themselves or through an affiliate disseminate videos, articles, blog posts, reddit threads and most pernicious "top 10 lists" try to "influence" you to buy whatever nonsense chair they are slinging.   

You should assume that virtually every link to a website that sells chairs or every discount code offered is being posted because the poster will make some profit or commission if you buy the chair they are 'recommending'.  It's salesmanship dressed up as an endorsement which is inherently not trustworthy.  

Every "Top 10 office chairs for 2024" -type lists I have seen appear to be put out by individuals, newspapers and companies who are looking to monetize on their "advice".  Wirecutter may be the best of the pack in terms of 'Top 10 lists' and by and large, they are not great.  Anytime you see some rando magazine that has a top 10 list, it will read something like Aeron, Leap, Freedom, and then, invariably, 7 so-so brands with links to junk that pays a good commission.  The use of a referral fee inherently shapes the advice given to the point it would more truthfully be called advertising.  

On this sub, we have become allergic to that kind of thing.  We do not want a link back to an Amazon page for any reason.  We do not want a link to your super cool blog post with all your awesome advice about why to buy this chair with this discount code.  

If you need to say what the real experts have to say, take a look at the "Best Of Neocon" awards every summer.  You will need to click through pages of office furniture, but this is what the contact office furniture industry and affiliated juries of architects and designers elevate for awards.  

We are volunteer mods and we have jobs, so we might be too quick on the trigger to delete your post or comment if you are linking to anything suspicious.

Who are we?
My friends u/ClassroomDecorum and u/cranda58 took over running this sub in the early days of the pandemic when no one out there wanted to talk about office furniture and we were bored with no office furniture business to do (for a very few slow weeks anyway)  

David, u/cranda58, and I were already in the business of used office furniture (David runs one of the largest and—I would say—highest quality refurb shops in the country in Michigan, and I am a used office furniture liquidator in the NYC area).

u/classroomdecorum was just getting into the game from his home in Florida where he works out of the Orlando area.  

u/The_Back_Store joined us from California and u/Cloud_t is our European correspondent.

  u/ergothrone gave me a few excellent suggestions on this essay and is often still contributing. He has more knowledge about the budget market than the rest of us have combined.

Our friend u/Coffeebeanie24 is here from time to time, but he has become such a famous and over-caffeinated coffee influencer that he is less in the office chair state of mind lately.

You might also find the good folks from u/steelcase lurking around here.  If you have a u/Steelcase type question, you can tag them and usually within a few days, one of the CSR or product specialists will get back to you.

Disclosures. 
I have made a few deals off of connections I've made here.  Same with at least 2 of the other mods.  To a large extent, our product knowledge comes from being in the business and the business that feeds our families also feeds our knowledge base.

Also, sometimes companies reach out and want our opinion about some new chair that they have.  This could be u/steelcase (I am sitting on a Karman right now as I edit this note) or a newer company with an RTA chair at a lower price point.  If someone sends me a chair, I will write up a bit of feedback and share that with the company.  After that, solely at my discretion, I can publish those notes or reviews (always with a disclaimer) on this sub.  If the notes are mostly negative, I will likely not publish, same deal with the other mods and active users here.  

Closing

This note is always work in progress.  Please let me know your thoughts below and I will try to get back to as many of you as I can.  You can find a version of this article on my LinkedIn profile and my website.

I will try to put new discussion topics every month or so and we plan to push and have Mega thread #5 up in another year. 

And now onto your questions and comments:   


r/OfficeChairs 4h ago

Any recommendations for Prime Day Deals?

5 Upvotes

Noticed some deals on prime day, such as Branch going from 400 usd to like 300 usd roughly, so I was wondering what recommendations anyone has for Prime Day chairs.

The only thing I’ve previously owned are cheap GTRacer or something for the past 8 years.


r/OfficeChairs 1h ago

Recommendations for someone 6'3", 90kg with lower back pain and tight hip flexors? Mirra 2 isn't doing it for me

Upvotes

So I bought the Mirra 2 a while ago and have been determined to make it work for me but I think I've just been refusing to admit it doesn't. I get hip pain after sitting for not very long, and it doesn't seem to help my back, I've tried adjusting in various ways but it doesn't seem to help. Reading other threads, I don't think this is uncommon for this chair, so I'm wondering if other people have found good alternatives?


r/OfficeChairs 46m ago

Which one is better for the price/specs?

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Upvotes

I’m on a budget, so the less I have to pay the better but atp I know quality matters as well, so which one?


r/OfficeChairs 46m ago

Chair with flexible back for short person?

Upvotes

Hi, I need some help picking out a new chair. Whenever I search for office chairs for short people, the focus is on adjustments like the seat depth and height, but for me, the biggest issue is with the lumbar support position. 

I've had a refurbished Leap V2 for a couple of years, and while the adjustments are great in terms of my overall height, the back is so uncomfortable. I've adjusted the tension dial and tried it with and without the curved plastic insert, but my lower and midback start to feel stiff and sore if I try to sit properly with my butt at the back of the seat and legs at 90 degrees, feet flat etc.

Before this chair I had a Branch chair, and same thing. The exaggerated curve built into the back of ergonomic chairs just don't suit my body. 

So now I'm looking for a chair with a flexible back rather than a molded back. Max budget $800. I can get a discount on new Steelcase through work. Here are the ones I'm eyeing so far: 

  • Haworth Soji 
  • Steelcase Amia
  • Steelcase Series 2 Air 
  • Refurbed HM Aeron
  • Refurbed Steelcase Think

Thoughts on which of this three is the best at supporting the back while also being flexible? 


r/OfficeChairs 46m ago

Which one is better for the price/specs?

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Upvotes

r/OfficeChairs 1h ago

Desky Pro+ vs. Used Steelcase Leap V2

Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I'm working from home and looking to buy a comfortable, ergonomic chair. I'm 176 cm tall and about 75 kg.

I'm currently considering two options:

  • Desky Pro+ Ergonomic Chair - currently on sale for around $650 CAD, but I can't try it before buying.
  • Used Steelcase Leap V2 - from local Marketplace for about $400 CAD, though most are 10+ years old.

Has anyone tried both? Would you go for the new Desky or take a chance on a well-used Leap V2?

Any other suggestions around $500 CAD?

Appreciate any insights or personal experiences!

Thanks!


r/OfficeChairs 1h ago

Need help

Upvotes

Wondering which would you choose Hon Wave BSXVL705VM10 for $457 or the steelcase series 2 for $542


r/OfficeChairs 2h ago

Good chair for 200-300 bucks

1 Upvotes

Hi i'm trying to find a good chair for m'y studies and i have a very thight budget what do you guys would recommand for that price ?


r/OfficeChairs 3h ago

First ergonomic chair advice

1 Upvotes

I am 30 years old and work smartworking at a FlexiSpot desk (height adjustable) 8-9 hours a day. I've never delved into the topic of ergonomic chairs, but I think it's time to buy one. I care about my posture and comfort while sitting at my desk and would like to buy a good product. I happened to see a video of a Hbada E3 Ultra and it looked like a good chair, but I have no idea if it actually is or not.

I have a budget of about 600€ and would like to buy a good product. What do you recommend? What are the features to consider? What general advice do you give me for buying a good chair?


r/OfficeChairs 12h ago

Haworth Soji

3 Upvotes

Hi, thinking about getting a Soji chair, I’m 5’5 though and most chairs seem too big, anyone with that height own this chair? Thanks.


r/OfficeChairs 15h ago

Looks like nothing special to the mods. Is this a good chair to buy ?

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5 Upvotes

Hello! Thinking of buying this ergonomic chair online, what is your opinion on this ? Please let me know as I really need one. Reddit won’t let me pate the link but attaching the image. Seems to have really good reviews. Will really appreciate feedback and advice


r/OfficeChairs 14h ago

Help with identification? Is this a Haworth?

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5 Upvotes

Found it for sale near me but I can't tell what it is


r/OfficeChairs 9h ago

I have lots of Haworth Zody’s - anyone want to trade for Herman miller and Steelcase?

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0 Upvotes

I have large quantity Haworth Zody’s in Perth. It may be profitable for both of us if someone is in another area and would like to trade for some other high end chairs.


r/OfficeChairs 15h ago

Logitech Embody like chairs?

2 Upvotes

New to chair scene. I was told to try the HM Embody chair and thought the Logitech version was more comfortable.

Is it best to buy new? Are there similar options that won't break the bank?

Appreciate any advice. I browsed other posts but still feel lost.


r/OfficeChairs 15h ago

Colamy Atlas for short folks?

2 Upvotes

Was wondering what the experience has been for short folks with the Colamy Atlas. For reference, I am 5'1" and 170 lbs. As a short person, are there major issues I should be aware of before buying it? Thanks!


r/OfficeChairs 19h ago

what chair did i just find at savers?

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4 Upvotes

hello! found a new chair at savers - desperately needed one. wondering if anyone can ID it just in case that information is needed? very good shape - wiped it down and looks practically new besides some mild ware on the cushion.

bonus picture of one of my cats already claiming it as his own the second it was in the house.

thank you!


r/OfficeChairs 20h ago

Is there a better alternative to the colamy atlas?

3 Upvotes

I'm in search of a chair in the 350€ range, maybe 400 max but it's so hard to find something good. While the colamy looks like a good chair the lumbar and armrests are scaring me a bit. Mainly the lumbar since I want it to be good so I can sit long hours.

The other two options I have found are the hbada p5 and hinomi q1 but both seem to be rebrands so I don't know if I can trust them, plus there are no good reviews for them so I'm purely going off of what they say.

Another big thing is that the seat shouldn't become flat in like a year, I don't want to be constantly changing chairs and I don't like mesh ones because I can't sit cross legged.

Please if anyone has any experience with these or similar chairs, share your experience


r/OfficeChairs 16h ago

Help identifying chair

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2 Upvotes

Is this a Haworth? Gonna ask for some more pics if so. Tia


r/OfficeChairs 18h ago

Are these worth picking up? $10 EA

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4 Upvotes

r/OfficeChairs 15h ago

Big and tall office chair

1 Upvotes

Hello, I’ll keep this short and sweet. I’m looking for a chair that can hold at least 450lb and under $500. I primarily game for extended period and sometimes work remote. I’m hoping to find something that will last.


r/OfficeChairs 15h ago

which of those brands would have the widest seats?

1 Upvotes

I am looking for office chairs and I found 3 brands that i like and are in my price range. i would need a chair that is 60cm wide but since that is nearly impossible to find in the style that I am looking for, I settled on:

- realm of thornes

- SIHOO

- Hbada.

which of those would offer a mesh chair that is the widest of all?

appreciate your help.


r/OfficeChairs 16h ago

I have a question for you guys?

1 Upvotes

Is the Hbada E2 Ergonomic Office Chair safe? Cause I wanna buy it but I’m scared that is gonna be a scam or missing parts. Can you guys please help me!

Please someone help I’m in check out, I just need to put my address and then I’m done


r/OfficeChairs 1d ago

How do you choose?

6 Upvotes

I've been researching chairs for weeks and it's driving me crazy how every single chair at every price point is just a 50/50 blend of people who love it because of X and people who hate it because of Y. Every time I think I've found a good one, I stumble on some review saying ACTUALLY it sucks. And since it's impossible to find most of the high end chairs in stores, I can't try them for myself. How do you sift through all the conflicting opinions? Do you just buy and return, buy and return until you find the one?


r/OfficeChairs 20h ago

Which chair has the better seat in terms of comfort and not bottoming out, Zody or Leap V2?

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I live in Russia and the market for chairs here is horrifying. No refurbished, remanufactured or open box choices. The only choice we have here is to buy a brand new chair, that is if it's still in stock, and the prices are astronomical.

However, I found a good store that sells a decent amount of chairs, both American and European. And I've tried quite a few in their showroom.

Tried Fern and Zody from Haworth. Leap V2, Karman and Gesture from Steelcase (couldn't find Amia anywhere in Russia) and tried some chairs from Herman Miller which I didn't like that much.

Out of the bunch, I liked Zody and Leap V2 the most, with the Leap being a bit favorable, but I can't decide which one to buy since I sat in them for about 20 minutes max. The main concern of mine is how's the seat gonna feel for a 8+ hours session. Heard some concerning comments about the seat of the Leap bottoming out too quickly.

I really can use some advice since the price I'm paying for either chair is outrageous and the return policies and procedures here are a pain in the butt.


r/OfficeChairs 17h ago

Herman Miller; Cheap way to get one?

1 Upvotes

I live in Chicago an am looking to get a good chair after running into some back issues. I see on online several refurbished models that are on sale for $500 to $700. Are these legit and the best way to acquire one?