I’m in the market for a new home office chair. My 8 yr old Herman Miller Aeron chair is on loan, and my backup $50 chair is totally busted.
Anyone have any recommendations ? It needs to be useful for those regular 18 hour days 🙂
I’m a bit on a budget, but chairs are usually good for a few years so I don’t mind paying a bit extra. I also have a pretty big discount I can use on any Steelcase chair, so I’m looking at those more carefully.
Raanan Bar-Cohen 
We seem to by in sync with our productivity purchases. I’m in the same boat.
I haven’t used it yet, but the Herman Miller Embody ($1,000-$1,400) is my leading contender. And yes, it comes in normal colors like black. 🙂 But the Steelcase Leap is also a contender. Your big discount might swing the balance. There has to be a place in SF that you can try these out.
@mark — nice. The biggest thing I like about my old Aeron is that it breathes – that mesh stuff just seems to work really well.
It’s funny I actually miss the really old school “computer chairs” where your knees were bent — remember those ? A friend of mine had one, seemed really novel at the time — similar to this: http://www.bluehen.com/images/Jobri/kneeling_chair/wood_accent/kneeling_chair_wood_main.jpg
There’s a reason that innovation drives an industry. The Leap chair is industry leading and sets a standard for office chairs. I’ve had mine for only a couple of months now, and regret not purchasing one sooner. Also, Steelcase has a really innovative online site, so you don’t necessarily have to go through a dealer.
@curious — glad you like that chair. Your use of “innovation” and “innovative” in a comment feel a bit spammy, but I’ll take your word for it 🙂
I would suggest a used Aeron. You can pick one up for about $425 in basically new condition and they last forever. Good thing about doing that is if you ever want to sell it, you can get almost exactly what you paid for it (+/- $50) assuming you keep it in good condition. Cheaper than renting. Other, less durable chairs (fabric specifically) don’t hold their value as well. I though the Leap WorkLounge was super comfortable but a bit pricey. The standard Leap just didn’t do it for me.
Personally, I would give the Amia chair by Steelcase a look. Aesthetically, it may not make you do a double take like an Aeron might, but it is sneaky pretty.
The guts are like the Think chair, so it has the comfort and offers less sticker shock than the others even b4 your discount. I wouldn’t buy a cheap mattress or a cheap chair, so bump the IKEA thought process.
I asked around about this on Twitter, and got some really good responses that I oughtta blog. A friend of mine is at Herman Miller, and she sent me the research behind the Embody — if money were no object, that’d be my pick. (Matt Haughey got one and said he loves it too.)
The used Aeron route is a good option in any town with a Craigslist, and on the low end CB2 apparently has a pretty decent cheap option for less than $200.
Thanks Anil.
I somehow missed the news of this new Herman Miller chair — looks interesting. Plus they have a showroom here in SF I may go check out: http://www.hermanmiller.com/Contact/Showrooms. The price is on the high end, but if you convince yourself to divide by 10 ( for years you’ll have the chair ) it’s not so bad 🙂
I’ve had my Aeron for 10 years and it’s still just as good as when I purchased it. I haven’t tried a steelcase, but I really like the mesh seat and back on my Aeron. Couldn’t live without it now! I agree with Barry, just pickup a used one, they are a great price now.
I love my Steelcase Please, because its back is always aligned with my back. I’ve tried both Leap and Aeron and the Please is better for 8+ hours of sitting on it. Unfortunately, as far as I can they see from their website, Steelcase offers it only in Europe and Asia.
Raanan,
I love Think for breathability or Leap for long-term sitting (but I am a little biased).
Being an intern for Steelcase, I am obviously a little biased. However, after being involved heavily in some competitive stuff lately and actually applying the “butt-test” to various chairs, I think that a Steelcase option would be your best bet. My personal favorite is the Think Chair, because of its look and comfort. However, the Leap chair is definitely more suited to your situation. Biases aside though, price is going to be high either way, but you know you’re paying for quality with any of the options. From a money standpoint, it seems most reasonable to utilize the discount you get at Steelcase. Strictly based on the fact that either way your getting a high quality chair, but by using your discount, you’re getting it for less.