Good choice, Herman-Miller chairs are bulletproof. I probably talked about it earlier in this thread 10 years ago, but I’ve had my Aeron since the late 90s.
If I needed to buy a new one (which I won’t, because I would just get the Aeron fixed) I would probably go with a Herman-Miller Embody.
I have the embody and I have mixed feelings about it, especially given the price. I think the Mirra 2 might be better.
I love my Aeron at home. I had something else at work (no idea what, honestly) that was just “meh.” A few months ago, however, a co-worker left for another company. The Aeron which was formerly in his office is now in my office. Classic case of, “You’ll be missed. Can I have yer stuff?”
Yeah I can’t speak to the Embody or Mirra directly, but the Aeron is definitely worth the money. Cheap chairs aren’t comfortable and break after a year.
Does anyone have any recommendations for someone who weighs almost 300lbs? I would rather not spend more than $300 too. Thanks. Amazon doesn’t have an “Heavy Duty” tag/filter.
https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/836787/Serta-Smart-Layers-Hensley-Executive-Big/
The bonded leather will only last so long, but it holds up pretty well otherwise. It might sell all the time for 200 but it’s down to 140/50 all the time.
This one too.
https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/304574/Serta-Smart-Layers-Jennings-Super-Task/
My office chair is a folding captains chair like you take to the beach or fourth of July in the park. I should prooooobably get a new one. It hurts my back sometimes. But it was $20, so meh.
Perhaps I am a little too cheap. Are any of the sub $200 chairs worth it?
I strongly recommend not going cheap on chair. A good chair will last you 10-20 years and you use it a lot.
What IS the current recommendation for expensive but amazing office chair? Still the venerable Aeron?
While I can’t make any recommendations, I’ll just remind people to keep the material in mind if they have any animals in the house; strong leather for dogs, microfiber for cats, C4 for anything else.
FWIW, I screwed around with a bunch of cheap-ass chairs for a few years, then shopped around and bought an Aeron - I’ve been quite happy with it (and the build quality is quite good - I haven’t had any problems in it, and I’m reaching my 5-year chair-nniversary (plus I share it with a teenager who is pretty careless)).
Yeah I’ve had my Aeron since the late 90s. The seat broke (actually cracked) maybe 7-8 years ago and they fixed it under warranty. Been fine since; replaced the lumbar cushion and one of the arms has a crack in the vinyl that I haven’t gotten around to replacing yet.
Don’t cheap out on furniture. Particularly if you’re overweight.
Leap Chair is the best. I have 2 and my 315 lb friend bought one, my 280lb dad bought one, we all love them.
Agreed about the Leap Chair. They are great. I used one for years at work, and when the office moved to a new location the company let us take our old chairs home if we wanted so now I’m using that same chair at home. It’s fantastic, but there was no way I was going to pay retail for one no matter how good it was; luckily I didn’t have to.
My advice is going to be strictly on the CHEAP end of the scale.
I’ve been using the same Office Depot special for about 20 years now. Cost me about $170 back then (on sale). It’s a heavy cloth fabric with plastic armrests and the frame is built like a tank. Very comfortable as well, with a high back and lumbar support. If you buy a chair with the 5-legs-with wheels set-up, make damn sure the frame and those legs are metal under the plastic covers, not just more reinforced plastic.
At my other rig in the other room, I use a cheaper Office Depot Special. It’s my third chair in 20 years (each cost under $100 on sale) because the legs were composed of nothing but plastic reinforced with more plastic, and each time a chair broke, it was because one of those all-plastic legs broke. Amazingly, the plastic-and-metal wheels never did; just the legs. Pro-tip: if you do have a wheeled chair that breaks, before you throw it away, pop the wheels off. They are interchangeable with most other chair wheels, and it’s good to have spares.
With regard to cloth chairs (and for all furniture I guess, including car upholstery), is Scotchgard still worth getting? I have it on my main office chair from 20 years ago, and the stuff still seems to repel stains!
I ask because IIRC, they had to reformulate it a few years ago (fluorocarbons maybe?), and I was wondering if it is still effective after that reformulation. I don’t see it advertised any more.
Wow, those are really ugly! I have been looking at the following chair, which is slightly more stylish. What do you think?
I can only see the bottom half of that webpage due to bad design. Are your sure they’re okay for big people? Also, can I recline in them, or is this the wrong type of chair if you do a lot of reclining?
Haha. Well I certainly wouldn’t call my office stylish. I pick function over anything else. That other one seems okay. I don’t know anything about the brand, but that back looks pretty short. Do you plan on leaning back at all?
My main suggestion would be to go to a store and plonk your ass down in each to decide which you prefer. It’s kind of a personal thing. I really do love my Aeron, though. Bought in 1998, sitting on it right now.
I’m still using my Steelcase Leap I got in the early 2000’s. The initial buy was a bit painful, but absolutely worth it.