The Swopper intrigues me.
Back in the 80s, a friend of mine had a kneeling chair that was just about the most comfortable thing upon which I have ever sat. Some years later I bought one for myself, but made the mistake of getting a cheap one, and it was more akin to a torture machine–really hard on the knees. Moral of the story: don’t skimp on kneeling chairs.
I bought a ball for work. I need to buy one size smaller, though, as I’m a bit high for the desk.
I didn’t buy the ball because I want help with my back. I defy my age category by not having any back issues whatsoever. Rather, I bought it because I wanted to have fun at work. Now when I fidget, I can bounce around. Plus, reclining has a whole new dimension to it. My students are envious.
Sure, I think the really nice chairs like the Aeron or Mirra would be great, but there’s no way that kind of expense would be okayed in these days of cost-cutting.
At any rate, I just tell people I’m having a ball at work.
I don’t know how available they are in the states, but I swear by Spinalis chairs.
They aren’t cheap but it’s money well spent - it’s kinda like sitting on a ball, but more stable. After having one at work for few months, I had to get one for home too.
I’ve got the classic Aeron at work and the Ergohuman at home. I prefer the Ergohuman for the neck rest - got a good deal too, “only” $500 for a new one, IIRC - but both are very nice chairs.
I absolutely love my Freedom chair. It was purchased about 2 years ago, and so far it’s totally holding up and as comfortable as ever.
Just ordered the ergo human. $70 coupon code available drops the price down to around $540, right at the limit. Plus, new from the distributor lets me return it if I hate it.
Where from?
Bought from thehumansolution.com. Coupon for ergohuman chairs is err… “ergohuman”.
Googling for <website> coupon code is usually worth the time.
I had both an Aeron and a Steelcase Leap, and personally I preferred the Leap by a mile - so that’s what I use today.
I had the opposite experience. A used Aeron I had died, so I replaced it with a Leap. But I never warmed up to the leap – just felt too hard and rigid. Replaced it with a new Aeron.
That said, I just ordered a Mirra to check it out. Damn you, Wumpus!
Has anyone tried the Herman Miller Setu? I know it’s a lot less adjustable than the Aeron or the Mirra–in fact, it has no manual adjustments at all aside from height–but it does flex naturally, and I like that it has no hard edge beneath the legs, just mesh. I hate having anything poking into the back of my thighs. (It looks like the Mirra chair has a flexible front, so that would probably work, too). It’s also relatively inexpensive for a Miller chair, starting at just under $500.
I found a local store that has the Swopper in their showroom. I’m going to check that out, as well.
So I sat on a Swopper. It’s… interesting. Surprisingly comfortable, and the bounciness appeals to my chronic fidgety side. On the downside, it concentrates a lot of pressure onto a relatively small area of your ass, and I worry that it would become uncomfortable after long computer sessions. Also–no reclining.
So instead, I’ve narrowed my chair considerations down to the Herman Miller Mirra, the Steelcase Amia, and the Steelcase Think. And of those, I’m sort of leaning towards the Think, which has a couple of features that really appeal to me. It has the same highly-adjustable arms that the more expensive Leap has, and I really like the reclining motion, where the back of the chair reclines while the seat and the arms remain mostly parallel to the floor. This makes it a lot easier to type while reclining, and it’s a lot more comfortable (keeps your feet on the floor, doesn’t raise the edge of the seat into the back of your thighs). My last chair worked that way; my current chair just tilts back, seat and all, and I like it a lot less. The Think also has an option for a mesh back, and the seat is also open on the bottom, so it should breathe nicely.
The Amia has a lot of the Think’s features for less money, but the back is enclosed (so no mesh option) and the seat is a typical foam pad on a solid platform. It also doesn’t have the Think’s recline motion (the seat and back pivot back together). And it’s not really THAT much less money.
I’m pretty sure I’d like the Mirra, but it’s about $150 more than a similarly configured Think, and it looks like the seat tilts back when you recline, like the Amia. Mesh seat and open back are both good, though.
I’m sort of shooting in the dark with all of these options, since I have no stores anywhere near me that carry these chairs. I’ve found a store with a great return policy–Smart Furniture–so I’ll probably order from them. They’ll take a chair back within 365 days for any reason (provided that it’s still in new condition), and if you return within 30 days, they’ll even pay for the return shipping. For anyone else shopping chairs, they are well worth checking out, because they also allow for way more customization options than most of the other online chair retailers. With the Herman Miller chairs, for example, you can choose each individual feature (arm type, lumbar support, seat depth adjustment). Most other stores force you to choose between basic and fully loaded, and then just let you pick colors. Smart Furniture also offers some options for free that other stores charge extra for (replacing standard casters with hard floor casters, for example).
I’ve had the Think at work (I like it, nicely adjustable) and the Ergohuman at home (love it, but mine is always drifting up to max height now, annoying).
I want to try the Mirra.
FWIW I’ve had a Swopper for a few years but eventually switched to an Aero. One problem with the Swopper is that the textile covering kept rubbing off, but more importantly sitting on it is really tiring. I can well believe that it exercises the back muscles and stuff but I’d rather exercise my muscles during weight training and relax when I’m sitting in my chair…
I now have my Ergohuman chair. It’s great so far, 10 minutes in. Reminds me a lot of my Aeron at work, but was cheaper.
I’m sure I’ll be playing with adjustments for a while.
Cool, hope it works out. Make sure and give us a report down the line.
My Leap has been serving me well for 8 years.
Is this a good deal on a Leap chair? Some local furniture place has them for $399 “gently used”: http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/fud/1705004489.html
I’m not familiar enough with Leap’s to even recognize what options are on that. I could really use a new chair.
Has anyone tried out the new SAYL chair from Herman Miller? I’m finally about to order a ‘real’ chair, and have been mostly leaning toward the Mirra. Just found out about that chair yesterday, though. It’s appealing in that it’s cheaper. Saw one review that looked pretty decent.
I bought the Embody this past December.