I've been meaning to make an investment in a low-end Aeron (do they exist?) or an Aeron knock-off. . .I've been through 2 chairs in the past 2 years and it is seriously interfering w/ my work. I'll actually even go to my school's computer lab for extended periods of time if I have a lot of work to do since their chairs are so comfortable to sit in while working.<p>I know it's not just me and I'm not trying to act as if I'm a special case, but the biggest problem I see w/ office chairs is they don't support a proper posture while sitting at a computer. For instance, I often find myself slouching or trying to reconfigure my arm-chair height so I can jump from the keyboard to the mouse w/o much effort.<p>Again not to sound like a special case, but I have extremely long legs (high-waist line, like a woman...) and short torso, I don't know if this physical feature is affecting my posture in normal office chairs, but Aeron seems to effect my posture enough that it makes a huge difference.
If you have tried the Aeron and it is working for you then my advice is... buy an Aeron. Why are you trying to save nickels and dimes on a problem that is interfering with your work? You will spend more time searching and auditioning an alternative chair -- which will end up costing plenty, itself -- than the money you save will be worth.<p>My Aeron is nearly ten years old. A new Aeron costs $850 up front from Amazon; that works out to about $7 a month. It beats pain.<p>Recently my chair broke (the hydraulic unit sort of exploded). Fortunately Aerons have a <i>twelve year</i> warranty, so in about an hour a tech is scheduled to visit my home office and fix it, for free.<p>If you really cannot stomach spending money for a new Aeron buy a used Aeron. (But you might want to call and make sure that the sweet, sweet warranty will transfer! ;) Then, if you decide later that another chair is better, you can sell the Aeron used and not lose much money in the bargain.
<i>low-end Aeron (do they exist?)</i><p>Some of my coworkers saw an ad on Craigslist for a recording studio that was going out of business. They were selling everything, from mixing boards and microphones to computers and Aeron chairs. They got genuine Aeron chairs for about $250 each. Try looking on Craigslist or in the Pennysaver for going out of business type sales.
Previously on HN:<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=585693" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=585693</a><p>Ergohuman is the closest I can find to the Aeron, but I haven't tried one yet. They're also pretty close to Aeron in price, around $600:<p><a href="http://ergohuman.com/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://ergohuman.com/index.html</a><p>Realspace Pro 9000 is close too:<p><a href="http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690690/Realspace-PRO-9000-Series-60percent-Recycled/" rel="nofollow">http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690690/Realspace-PRO-9...</a><p>A Slate article looking for the 'best desk chair':<p><a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2131646/" rel="nofollow">http://www.slate.com/id/2131646/</a><p>Some others worth looking at:<p>Herman Miller Ecua XR:<p><a href="http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductGroup.aspx?Prodid=11300477&whse=BC&topnav=" rel="nofollow">http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductGroup.aspx?Prodid=113004...</a><p>Humanscale Liberty:<p><a href="http://www.thehumansolution.com/liberty.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.thehumansolution.com/liberty.html</a><p>Hayworth Zody:<p><a href="http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/review-haworth-zody-chair-20080326/" rel="nofollow">http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/review-haworth-zody-cha...</a><p>Realspace BT2:<p><a href="http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/392830/Realspace-BT2-Big-And-Tall-High/" rel="nofollow">http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/392830/Realspace-BT2-B...</a> (I randomly found this one in Office Depot recently, and liked how it felt so much I bookmarked its page. I'm not Big & Tall, just average, but this chair's posture & lumbar support felt great)<p>Here's a fake Aeron:<p><a href="http://www.coolchairz.com/solid-metal-mesh-chair--metallic-trim-amp-frame.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.coolchairz.com/solid-metal-mesh-chair--metallic-t...</a><p>Lots more at <a href="http://www.ergodepot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.ergodepot.com/</a><p>Even a TED Talk on sitting:<p><a href="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/niels_diffrient_rethinks_the_way_we_sit_at_work.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/niels_diffrient_rethinks_...</a>
I am obese [1]. When I sit in one of those cheapy ($150 or so) office chairs from the office stores, I find that the gas cylinders last about 6 months before my fat a@@ squeezes the gas out of them. Since they're cheap imports, the only way to get a replacement gas cylinder is to buy a new chair. So I was spending $250-350/year on office chairs at home.<p>I've had my Aeron for 4 years now. No new cylinders. So the $800 I spent more than paid for itself. If I had stayed using office chairs, I'd have spent more than $1k on them.<p>Notes:<p>1 - Getting run over by a car, and being unable to be as physically active as I used to be didn't help.
Not exactly what you're asking, but I took a chance on replacing my chair entirely with an inflatable exercise ball, and I'm quite happy with the result. It took a week or so to get used to, but my balance has somewhat improved and my lowe back actually seems a little stronger. I'm also putting the money I saved on a chair into buying an adjustable height desk so I can stand & work when I get tired of bouncing on said ball.
One that was recommended to me on here before (and I ended up buying - thanks HN!) was the Markus from Ikea - <a href="http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20103101" rel="nofollow">http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20103101</a><p>It's a lovely chair for working in, very comfortable and with a decent head / neck support.
After having issues multiple times with my back as a result of the way I sit (and the amount of time I sit) for work, my opinion is work standing up as much as possible.<p>That or get one of the exercise balls to sit on when you must sit, it forces correct posture.
Whatever you do, I wouldn't buy the Realspace Pro/Quantum from Office Depot. They may have since fixed the design, but for my current version:<p>The design for attaching the seatback to the base is poor - all that is holding it up is two metal plates attached to eachother at (about) a 60 degree angle with 2 screws. There is a "slot" one goes into but it is just plastic. Due to this the screws holding up the back have a tendency to snap in half.<p>Both of my screws broke after 1 month, causing me to go crashing onto the floor. They had a "recall" and distributed a repair kit with new screws but one new screw has already snapped for me. To really fix this chair they would have to do much more than distribute a new pair of screws. Hopefully they have in newer chairs, but I wouldn't risk $250 on it.<p>This may have to do with weight and height - I'm 6'4 and 190 lbs, so I would place much more stress on the screws than someone shorter. I still wouldn't risk it though.<p>See:
<a href="http://www.quantumchair.com/recall/cpsc.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.quantumchair.com/recall/cpsc.html</a>
Imho, Aeron chairs are overrated, because they lack good neck and head support.<p>I use a Vitra Headline. Most comfortable task chair in the world. I can code on it for days without feeling that my head is getting heavy and I need to sleep. It's so much relaxing fun I regularly have to drag myself away from the monitor at 3am to go to bed. Truly a revolution.
While not necessarily cheaper, the Haworth Zody chairs are an option (I <i>love</i> mine), as are several Steelcase chairs (e.g. the Leap). You might have better luck if you watch craigslist for all three, but remember that the fit of the actual chair is probably as important as the general design.
>I'll actually even go to my school's computer lab for extended periods of time if I have a lot of work to do since their chairs are so comfortable to sit in while working.<p>So what kind of chairs do they have? School labs aren't known for having Aerons.
I own an Aeron, and I used to have a Mirra at work. If I had my money back, I'd go for the Mirra instead. It's still in the luxury price range, but a bit cheaper, and to me it felt better. I used to spend more time sitting in the 'proper' position in the Mirra, while in the Aeron I'll often slouch, cross legs, and otherwise change posture. Maybe I never managed to adjust the Aeron just right. Mirra is less configurable, but it just worked for me, so I count that as a plus.<p>Even cheaper chairs are a significant investment, so I suggest just try sitting on as many as you can, and don't buy one that you couldn't try.
Get a Celle. I find them more comfortable that Aerons and way cheaper. <a href="http://www.hermanmiller.com/Products/Celle-Chairs" rel="nofollow">http://www.hermanmiller.com/Products/Celle-Chairs</a>
I picked mine up used on craigslist for about $400.(If you are willing to wait for it you can get it cheaper) It has so far lasted longer than a "cheaper" staples chair that goes for 100-200 bucks and has no degradation in utility. I love it and I am kicking my self in the ass for not buying it sooner.<p>BTW... the price that they list on craigslist is usually an ideal price that they would like to get. You should be able to knock off 50-100 bucks off the price by haggling in person and be willing to walk away from a deal.
Another option is the Swopper chair.
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/A-801-Black-Swopper-Chair/dp/B00079EH3U" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/A-801-Black-Swopper-Chair/dp/B00079EH3...</a><p>It looks like a barstool and feels a bit like a high-tech, firm, adjustable exercise ball. Easily my favorite office chair and vastly better, in my opinion, than Aerons.
I can't recommend the Steelcase Leap enough. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I found the Aeron chairs to be somewhat uncomfortable. The Steelcase Leap, on the otherhand... I've had it for a year and couldn't imagine working without one.<p>I found mine for $100 on Craiglist, so maybe try there.
<i>I'll actually even go to my school's computer lab for extended periods of time if I have a lot of work to do since their chairs are so comfortable to sit in while working.</i><p>So what chairs do they have? Probably not Aerons?
If those work fine for you, why not buy just that.
The Quantum Mesh Chair from Office Depot is pretty nice, and about $300 new.<p>Double-check the seat height, though. I'm 5'11" and at the highest setting it's almost too low. I'm not entirely sure if they come in different sizes or if its one-size-fits-all.
We use these at our office:<p><a href="http://www.sitonit.net/home/product-overview.asp?product=focus" rel="nofollow">http://www.sitonit.net/home/product-overview.asp?product=foc...</a><p>They are not as good as aerons but they are significantly cheaper, around $250.
I've seen a bunch of Aeron chairs on Craigslist (Baltimore) for around $450. I suggest just subscribing to the Aeron search results and waiting until you see one at your price point.
I have had an Aeron chair almost since it came out. The same one have been traveling with me across continents for 12 years or so.<p>Don't get the nock off get the real thing.