Ask YC: Cheap alternatives to Aeron chairs?

Here we go about the chairs again....now I know you said you wanted a cheap chair, but I am asking you to reconsider. I've done a lot of tech work, I've started a few companies, they did well (in case your curious), I've done everything from living off of lintel soup and working out of university libraries and crashing where I can to having decked out offices.....I will not surrender my chair. It took me a while to get a good chair of my own, and I'm a very frugal person, and I've bought things and realized later they weren't the premium...but the chair is wroth it.<p>Occasionally I get up and move to another part of the country, sell of all my furniture, most of my clothes, so that my move is many boxes, mostly filled with journals and research notebooks, sometimes a few systems, and sometimes just hard drives. I even give away most of my clothes. My friends find this amusing. After this last move, I had no bed for many months, perhaps half a year, and I didn't find it to be all that important until I ran into a cute girl I liked, got distracted from work, and bought one. However, I got a good chair and a desk right off the bat, as the first furniture I got.<p>I have an Aeron and a Freedom chair, depending where I'm at - at home it's the Freedom chair, and I love it. Last night I saw a ted talk, low and behold, they are talking about the chair, <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 went upstairs and sat in the chair again after the talk, to appreciate how much I like it. I don't think about it much when I'm sitting in it, and that's the incredible thing -- I frequently got irritated with my chair years back. Product link: <a href="http://www.humanscale.com/products/freedom_index.cfm" rel="nofollow">http://www.humanscale.com/products/freedom_index.cfm</a><p>a grand on a chair isn't bad...my laptop cost me more, and it gets less use.

Spend the money and get your Aeron, or something of equal quality. I use the Steelcase Think. Your chair is one of the biggest factors in how many hours you are able to work, how well or poorly your back is aligned, and how comfortable you feel. Do -not- skimp on your chair; trim down spending on building your computer or on that second display if you need to.<p>If you're serious about your work, spending as much on a good chair as you do on your computer (usually less; a quarter as much for me) isn't begging too much. you can make the money back with the longer hours it lets you sit comfortably for and in the hospital bills you'll avoid from having a properly aligned back. It's also important to lift weights daily if you're going to be sitting in a chair all day working. It'll fix any adverse effects sitting from extended periods has and give you energy.<p>If you have trouble finding the money to afford the necessities for your work, I am always asked by clients to refer them to coders, and there are many freelance gigs floating around out there if you look.

I've had my Aeron for a couple of years now (bought it new for quite a bit more than $400) and I really don't get all the fuss.<p>It's not that adjustable: control the armrest height, how far you can recline, and the tension of the spring that holds you there. Mine has the newer style lumbar support, which is undeniably a hack. I keep it away from my back; it does nothing but push me further to the front of the chair. My biggest gripe, however, is the comfort of the seat. That damn plastic bar running across the front creates a horrible pressure point and probably increases the likelihood of DVT.<p>While I'm no advocate of the Aeron, I'm also unaware of any good alternatives. Looking forward to seeing what others suggest.

After sitting in a $800 Steelcase chair for over a year, I switched to a medicine ball and I'm never going back. It's impossible to slouch, and the constant subtle movements keep the blood in my legs and feet flowing. It's unbelievably fantastic.<p>Here's the one I bought from Amazon. It's absurdly durable (gym quality) and comes with a small pump to inflate it. For less than $20, it completely changed my desk posture. Even IKEA can't beat that.<p><a href="http://bit.ly/n3hQb" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/n3hQb</a><p>It also fits easily in my backpack when deflated, which is good when one decides abruptly to move across the country.

Just 2 days ago i watched a TED Talk by Niels Diffrient: Rethinking the way we sit down. "Design legend Niels Diffrient talks about his life in industrial design (and the reason he became a designer instead of a jet pilot). He details his quest to completely rethink the office chair starting from one fundamental data set: the human body."<p>Its the Freedom Task Chair by Humanscale. <a href="http://www.humanscale.com/products/freedom_index.cfm" rel="nofollow">http://www.humanscale.com/products/freedom_index.cfm</a><p>I think they are better than Aerons; not sure about the price though.

Raynor chairs (quality) are sold under an Office Depot brand.<p>I own this chair. I believe it is the rebranded version of the Raynor Enjoy (once sold in Europe):<p><a href="http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/277968/Realspace-PRO-Maverick-Multifunction-High-Back/" rel="nofollow">http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/277968/Realspace-PRO-M...</a><p>I looked hard at this chair. It is a rebranded Raynor Ergohuman:<p><a href="http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690690/Realspace-PRO-9000-Series-Recycled-Mid/" rel="nofollow">http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690690/Realspace-PRO-9...</a>

IKEA has the Markus at USD 199<p>They work fairly well.<p><a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00103102" rel="nofollow">http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00103102</a>

Equa XR: Quality of Herman Miller. Bargain prices of Costco.<p><a href="http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductGroup.aspx?Prodid=11300477&#38;whse=BC&#38;topnav=" rel="nofollow">http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductGroup.aspx?Prodid=113004...</a>

Herman Miller's Mirra chair is more affordable than the Aeron. I have been sitting on one every day for almost four years and I am very happy with it.

In addition to this question it would be good to know where to go to try out all of these chairs that are mentioned. Most places I've been only have the cheap ones out for trial.

As a somewhat heavy guy (230 lbs), I've found that some of the knockoff office chairs you can get cheaply ($100 or less) from Staples/Office Max/etc can fail in the pneumatic lift system. In fact many chairs at the above retailers have a tag suggesting a maximum weight limit of 200 lbs.<p>I bought this one a few years ago and it's still holding up perfectly. It has plenty of adjustments to it:<p><a href="http://www.ergonomichome.com/zmeofch.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ergonomichome.com/zmeofch.html</a>

My take on high-end vs. cheaper Staples office chair:<p>I used to think you need the absolute best office chair out there: I had some German high-end chair and then a Swiss Giroflex 33 (Model 33-7777... below on that page <a href="http://www.giroflex.com/content/produkte/giroflex_33.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.giroflex.com/content/produkte/giroflex_33.php</a>), both around a thousand bucks.<p>Now I'm sitting comfortably in some decent Staples office chair (adjustable armrests, mesh back, leather seat), that I picked up for 150 bucks.<p>Not much difference.<p>The MAIN thing is that your posture is good, and that once in a while you stretch and exercise!<p>Advice for founders and small business: buy a decent but cheap Staples office chair at first (not the comfy big one, but the lean adjustable kind with good armrests, so you can relax your arms while you're typing). The high-end market doesn't really improve your experience that much.<p>OTOH, if you have the spare cash to blow... a high-end office chair IS marginally better.

"What other alternatives are there?"<p>Unfortunately, I'm not sure there is one.<p>The problem is, as far as I can tell, there aren't any, or at least there weren't three years ago when I last looked. None of the knockoffs have the combination of support and breathability that makes the Aeron unusual.<p>One thing I'll say: if you're looking for Aerons, make sure you get one with lumbar support, which makes a tremendous difference. I've heard good things about Steelcase chairs -- see <a href="http://www.steelcase.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.steelcase.com</a> -- but they're not cheap either. We talk about them briefly here: <a href="http://blog.seliger.com/2008/06/15/tools-of-the-trade—what-a-grant-writer-should-have" rel="nofollow">http://blog.seliger.com/2008/06/15/tools-of-the-trade—what-a...</a> .

I started using an Ergohuman about 3 months ago and am quite pleased. IIRC (and correct me if I'm wrong), the adjustable lumbar support and/or headrest on the Aeron are extra. They come standard on the Ergohuman.<p><a href="http://ergohuman.com/ergohuman-me7erg.htm" rel="nofollow">http://ergohuman.com/ergohuman-me7erg.htm</a><p>(PS: drewcrawford already linked an Office Depot rebranded version for cheaper, so please up-mod him too if you found this helpful :) <a href="http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690690/Realspace-PRO-9000-Series-Recycled-Mid/" rel="nofollow">http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690690/Realspace-PRO-9...</a>)

I've had my $400 used Aeron for 10 years at home and it is as good as new. All that time I have seen at least 5 lesser chairs crumble underneath me from normal daily use. Do the math.

Used Aeron chair... I love mine, but got it new a few years back, totally worth the $.<p>I tried all kinds of chairs before and the Aeron is the best. Exercise balls popped, cheap ones broke, and standing got old quickly.<p>You could also try standing up or using a treadmill but the treadmill I have doesn't have a good enough motor for long sessions at slow speed.

A lot of offices are moving / closing often these days, you'll probably have a pretty good chance of finding something on craigslist.<p>Another alternative just to throw it in there:<p>The EQ3 Twist chair is interesting. Made out of bungy chords, it flexes but is extremely supportive. I got mine because I've never felt like sitting straight up automatically when getting into a chair, other than this one. It's not in the same realm as the Aeron, in fact it probably leaves funny rope patterns on your butt after awhile, but ergonomically, it's probably better to stand and move around once in awhile for circulation.<p>At the office I sit on one of those super geek inflatable balls =( $25 and you get used to it after awhile.<p>I also don't have a horrible back or anything, so take the above two options with a grain of salt!<p>goodluck!

On a related note, has anyone had problems with cats and mesh chairs? It just seems like something they'd have fun poking their claws into and that worries me a bit about the investment.

Just coming out of college in this economy, I don’t think an Aeron chair is a good choice. I will advice to just get something comfortable; I kea will be a good place to look.

I would wait until you meet two requirements: 1. Have income where spending $400 isn't a big deal and 2. have projects that take up so much of your time where you need a chair to ease the burden of sitting that long<p>Just getting out of college doesn't fulfill those 2 requirements. Wait until the amount of work you do demands that you get a chair that costs that much. It seems you would have a lot bigger things to worry about and focus your time on than evaluating chairs.

I'm not sure what I'm missing, but what's so special about an Aeron chair? It sounds like it's real comfortable, but what does it have that other chairs don't?

Ebay is a decent source if you live somewhere without an active enough Craigslist like I do. You're unlikely to get one below $400 there due to shipping though.<p>On the other hand, I've used one for 4 years now, and I highly recommend it. It really is that damn good, and if there are two things in life you shouldn't cheap out on, it's a bed and your primary work chair, in that order.

The EPRI heavy-duty exercise ball <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016L8Q3A" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016L8Q3A</a> works pretty well, and is only $40 or so. It keeps you moving slightly (bouncing, rolling), which is good for us autistic types who'd otherwise be jiggling a knee, etc.

I purchased this chair from www.coolchairz.com for only $219.99 w/Free Shipping. Very strong and sturdy chair and I give it about an 8 on the comfort scale<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>

I like the herman miller caper, same mesh, low cost, very comfortable and attractive. well, i like the looks.

Go to staples and sit down on a few see which one feels comfortable. Make sure it has lumbar support.

ha ha, I am sitting on an Aeron chair while I am reading this. Eat your heart out! (sorry)<p>(edit) Wow! You guys can be very sensitive sometimes. Can't we mix a little humour with out tech talk?<p>How about a "used" Aeron chair at a low price? They are guaranteed for an insane time, ... something like 12 years. Seriously, find someone who is upgrading to the latest generation of Aeron and pick up a classic that is only 5 yrs old and still great!