whats a good chair for leaning back in, if any ?? I always eventually break my desk chairs because I constantly lean back in them.

I can not spend more than $200 for a desk chair.


Thanks

Can anyone give me info on the Haworth "Zody" chair?

Tried one out today and liked it. Fully loaded it's about 900$ CAD. Reminded me of the embody but not sure yet. Would love to hear some opinions.

http://www.haworth.com/Brix?pageID=2040

You have to remember, chrome base finish is $300 extra.

I went to my local Ikea and tried out the Markus, even with the tension dialed all the way up the recline is just far too loose. If I lean any back at all it went all the way back. Anyone who has one had this problem? Do y'all just lock it so it does not recline?

If anyone is interested in making me an offer, I have a size C (largest of three sizes) Herman Miller Aeron with the following options:

- highly adjustable with posture fit (this is a significant option)
- black leather armpads
- all three sets of casters: std, hard floor & deep carpet

Its got the carbon colored frame and navy blue seating material. I paid $1,058 for it new last November. I got it from Home Office Solutions. Its in great condition.

I bought it without ever trying one out because several people I know have them and they all love them. I should have tried one out before buying it. It just isn't for me. I want something leather & with a higher back.

Shoot me a pm with questions or an offer if you are interested.

I lock it when in upright position and unlock it when I want to recline (and keep it unlocked).

I paid about 1100 including taxes for my Embody chair without the chrome base.

You can lock it in intermediate positions if you only want to recline partway.

been doing ergonomics for a living (partially) for about ten years now. some comments on this thread.
a lot of you are spending a lot of money on chairs. some of it well spent, some of it horribly.
if it's from a reputable chair manufacturer (HM, Steelcase, Humanscale, etc) it's a good start. if it's from a big box store (Ikea, computer warehouse type, etc) it's probably not such a great chair...sorry.

the HM Aerons are well built chairs, but I have issues with their adjustability. they come sized, so, if you get one, make sure you have the right size. Haven't sat in an embody yet, but I've heard it's a decent chair. don't get fooled by the hype crap they have on the promotional brouchures, though. all that stuff about helping get air into your lungs...really?

humanscales are solid (I'd get a freedom if I really gave a crap about my own workstation). steelcase leap are solid.

for the less balla here, look at the office master line. solid chairs in the 3-4 bill range. arms are purchased sepearately.

in general, you want to look at adjustability and durability. if a chair has a crap load of features and is priced at 200 or so, it will break down on you in a year of full time use.

for adjustability, look for a couple of things:
seat pan should tilt and seat depth should adjust. tilt is obvious. depth is controlled by either the back moving or the pan itself moving (forward or back). this helps with fitting a chair to different sized people.

back should move up and down. recline should lock in place. a chair can have the best lumbar and upper back support design, but it doesn't mean **** if the back doesn't adjust to actually meet the user's lumbar and upper back.

arms, if you have them, should go up and down and in and out, at a minimum. arms aren't supposed to be used to rest your arms while you're actually working. they're there for support for when you're taking a break (small pause in typing, etc).

chair should go up and down (yes, some chairs don't do this).

you should not buy a chair without sitting in it first. Aerons are great chairs for some people and horrible for others. I think they're solidly built and adjustable enough (they get around the adjustable seat pan thing by offering different sized seats), but hate sitting in them. all people are built differently, so no one chair is going to fit and please everyone.

when you test run a chair, make sure that there are no hard edges (the other reason i don't like the aerons) because those can press into your body and cut off circulation/restrict movement. if a seat pan is too large (or you have very short upper legs) you can also run into a similar problem. you want approximately one to two inches of gap between the edge of the seat pan and the back of your calf. too small of a gap and you're pressing into your calf and too much and you're pressing into your hamstring.

couple of comments on "alternative" seating styles. excercise balls are ok, I guess, but they can be dangerous because they're not very stable. plus, the benefit of sitting on them ("but it strengthens my core muscles...") is only derived by those who don't need it. the ones who have back problems from sitting in office furniture are the ones who aren't strong enough to use excercise balls effectively in the first place.
kneeling chairs are great for your back...but lock your legs in a cramped static posture that cuts of circulation to your legs and feet.

if anyone has more questions on ergonomics, furniture or fishing in the bay area, let me know.

oh, also, there's a store in San Leandro called Ergoworks that has a great lineup of chairs, desks, keyboard trays, document holders and other ergo equipment, for those in the bay area.

I'm looking for a chair with a mousepad on the arm, anyone know of a good chair like this?

Could you elaborate on this? Because right now it just looks like you're giving us a line based on what's good for your business. Do you know anything about the ikea chairs? Or is it just a "they're cheap and I don't sell them therefore it's "probably" crap"?

I don't sell chairs. I'm currently running an environmental health and safety department for a medium sized company. the ergonomics that I do, is on the user side, including workstation evaluations and workstation design, training and regulatory program management.
when talking about Ikea and similar chairs, think about what they're built for. home office use does not equate to 40 hours (or more) a week, 50 weeks a year of use, whereas office work usually does. the paradigm has changed slightly in recent years with the advent of energy drinks and online rpgs (there are whole classes of new ergonomic injuries associated with gaming), and I'm guessing that the amount of wear a chair goes through in a typical 2
+2er's place is greater than normal because of the number of online poker players we have here. an ikea chair that was built for an hour or two a night of paying bills and flirting online behind your spouse's back is not going to stand up to the rigors of fulltime use.

I wouldn't necessarily go with a mouse tray on your chair arm. if you want something for a desk, look at trays like this

http://www.ergoindemand.com/mouse-tray.htm

have you actually evaluated an ikea chair? Specifically, the ones mentioned in this thread?

not the one that's been mentioned itt, but I have evaluated workers who have brought in ikea chairs.

if you like it, get it. I don't have some magical banhammer that will reach across the internet and strike down anyone who isn't sitting in what i've determined to be an adequate chair. all I offer here is a professional opinion on some of these chairs and professional insight in the evaluation of ergonomic products. what you do with my posts is up to you.

if you really think Ikea (or any other low end furniture manufacturer) is going to strike gold and offer it for hundreds of dollars less than a true ergonomic product, then, by all means, save the money.
design of a chair is probably much more involved than most realize. A friend and collegue of mine who is one of the top ergonomists in the area has been on design teams for humanscale and a few other companies. He told me about months of work with other ergonomists, engineers and designers trying to come up with a chair that is functional, sturdy and, hopefully, stylish enough to take to market. chairs from these companies won't make it to market unless they've been given the stamp of approval from the team involved.
Ikea's in the business of delivering affordable, stylish furniture. they offer products for a completely different market than the office furniture market, and their products are not intended to be put through the abuse that an office chair is. It's for home users who aren't tied to their workstations for 8 hours a day, week after week, month after month.
I really don't think I need to closely evaluate any particular Ikea product to be able to tell you that it's not suitable for full time workstation duty. I've seen enough of their products to understand that they aren't manufacturing with this market in mind and can reasonably assume that I would not recommend any of their chairs for this setting.
I stated here and in my previous post that my recommendations are based on an assumed office workstation setting (online poker grinders and gamers would fall into this category because of the time spent in the chairs). if that wasn't clear, I apologize.

I appreciate the idea, but I'm really looking for a chair with the mousepad on the armrest. Anybody seen one like this?

This is so true.

Earlier in this thread I posted about selling my Aeron - it sold about a day after posting an ad in the marketplace forum.

So I went to a local office supply store who carries Steelcase chairs, among many other good brands. I intended to buy a Leap Worklounge after seeing Raptor's comments and doing some other internet research on them. The salesman there talked me into a regular Leap chair, which I sat in for 5-10 minutes right after trying out the Worklounge. He says the regular Leap chair is much better for sitting at the computer for long periods of time because youre more upright than in the Worklounge.

The Leap has been way way better for my back than the Aeron. I did like the way the Aeron stayed cool, and the bottom padding on the Leap leaves something to be desired after sitting for several hours, but other than that, the Leap is a great chair. I was having a lot of low back aches and pains when I had the Aeron, and they have been gone ever since I bought the Leap.

I'm in the market for a new desk chair. I'm pretty tall and I have some lower back issues. The Embody sounds pretty damn good, as does the Steelcase Leap regular. Has anyone tried the Lifeform Ultimate Executive chair?

is that your price point, or are you looking at those chairs because of the fit/size?
if they're all good chairs with good adjustability and all made by reputable companies.
if you just want a chair that fits and is cheaper, take a look at the office master zesta ZA94. the arms are extra, but it's a very solid task chair and made for larger (taller) frames. I'm 6'0" and it's fine, but I've also put people up to 6'5" in them and they love it. very reasonable, too at about $500 (I'm guessing retail's about there) with the arms.
best bet, though is to sit in all of the chairs you're considering and see for yourself. not sure where you are, but if you're in the bay area, I can point you to some retail showrooms that have most of these chairs and knowledgable sales staff.

Thanks for the info m2d, but unfortunately there aren't many (if any) places to try these chairs out in Kansas City. I'm really just trying to find the best chair for my height/back, then worry about price secondarily. That's why I want as much input as I can gather from 2p2 and other sources. Hopefully I order a chair that can be returned if it isn't a comfortable fit for me.

After looking around I narrowed it down to a Ikea Klappe($299) or a "like new" Steelcase Leap($350 on ebay). I decided on the Steelcase. I will post my thoughts when I get it. They also sell used Steelcase leaps without arms for $250.

I'll be ordering a Herman Miller Embody when I get back from Vegas on the 7th, I'll let you guys know how it is when I get it. Found it for ~$1k online.

umm link?