[rotten42]

Ok…I will write a bit of a review. I’ve been a designer in the office furniture industry for 21 years….I’ve been around the block a few times. Here are my opinions:

Herman Miller:
I know these chairs well because I used to be the design director at COI. Their three most popular chairs are The Aeron, Mirra (Mirra2) and Embody to some degree.
Aeron: Everybody loves the Aeron....mainly because how it looks. The chair came out in 1992 and besides the update to the newer posture fit lumbar support there is nothing new in this chair. It sits ok but there are far better chairs ergonomically speaking on the market now. COI always stocks these chairs….never buy these things retail! Ever! Even when Costco was selling them in the US, Herman Miller dealerships would not support the warranty. I know the chair well. I have two of these at home.

http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/performance-work-chairs/aeron-chairs.html

The Mirra is an interesting chair with a lot of flex in the back support. I like the chair but what I found was that people either loved the chair or hated it. Very polarizing. Usually women liked it better than men. It costs quite a bit less than the Aeron.

http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/performance-work-chairs/mirra-chairs.html


Embody…hate the chair. Think it is way over priced. The Embody’s mechanism drops users significantly away from their monitor and the arms pull away from the work surface when reclining. It is an awkward set up for the back vs seat mechanism. For a chair this expensive you would expect the arms to have both pivot and depth adjustment.

http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/performance-work-chairs/embody-chairs.html

The local dealer for Herman Miller is Contemporary Office Interiors.


Haworth:
I was also the deisgn director at the local Haworth dealer for a while.

Very Task: This is their newest chair. I don’t know a lot about it other then I’ve heard that is sells well and prices well.

http://www.haworth.com/home/seating/task/very-task

Zody: This is their premium task chair. It sits really nice and there is a lot of adjustment in the lumbar support. (side note – most people tend to set their lumbar support way to high on their back) It’s the only chair to be endorsed by the American Physical Therapy Association. (Take that with a grain of salt). Like I said, with ergonomic chairs the right chair is different for everybody. That said, I prefer this over the Aeron for comfort.

http://www.haworth.com/home/seating/task/zody-task

X99: Nice looking chair….hit or miss for comfort.

http://www.haworth.com/home/seating/task/x99-task


The local dealers are Heritage Business Interiors (HBI) and Office Concepts.

Humanscale:
Freedom Chair: It is more a personal thing but I really like this chair. Gel filled seat is very comfortable. I like the headrest option too because I recline quite a bit. Designed by Niels Diffirient. This guy has had a hand in many of the top chairs out there.

http://www.humanscale.com/products/product_detail.cfm?group=FreedomTaskChairWithHeadr est

I think HBI also sells these.

Steelcase:
Leap: This is what I presently sit in at work. It is a higher end chair with a lot of adjustablity. I find the chair good but not my favorite. That said I would pick this chair and the Zody over the Aeron. Price can vary quite a bit depending on options. They also have Leap + for people up to 500lbs. Tough chair!

http://www.steelcase.com/en/products/category/seating/task/leap/pages/overview.aspx

Think: This is a good ergonomic chair at a more reasonable price range for some. 3D knit back or fully uphgolstered. Adjustable and removeable head rest available.

http://www.steelcase.com/en/products/category/seating/task/think/pages/overview.aspx

Gesture: You can’t really get this one yet. The pre-order sales for Steelcase are sold out till January I think. This will be the best chair on the market. We have a couple here at work that we have been sending out on demo. If you move around a lot in your chair, this one is the chair for you. I’m not going to go into all the details. If this sort of thing interests you, go to the web page to read about the research that went into the chair. Basicly, this is the first chair to be design specificly for all new postures that come with using tablets, cell phones and other portable devices.

http://www.steelcase.com/en/products/category/seating/task/gesture/pages/overview.aspx

The local dealer is RGO

Allsteel
#19: Not the most ergonomic chair but cool looking. You see this thing in movies all the time. Rather expensive though. I call this the Bat-chair.

http://www.allsteeloffice.com/products/seating/work/19

Acuity: This is the chair I sit in at home. It has a very nice seat/back mechanisim that opens you up as you recline. Many chairs don’t do that. It has a passive lumbar support that you feel lower in your back where it is generally needed. Price can vary greatly in how you dress it up.

http://www.allsteeloffice.com/products/seating/work/Acuity#tab=Benefits


Scout: This is mid market ergonomic chair. When I once had an Alsteel dealership I sold these my the truck load. Looks better with the mesh back than the upholstered back. One feature I forgot to mention that you should look for in all chairs is a seat slider. This is especially important for people with longer legs. This chair is priced just below the Mirra chair. That said I know where you can get some of these for around $200.

http://www.allsteeloffice.com/products/seating/work/Scout


Not sure who the dealer is now. The Allsteel website will have that information.


Other manufactuers:
Global: Unless you know your chairs well, stay away from them. They do make some very nice higher end chairs but also make a sh*t load of crap chairs that you typically see at the budget stores.
Knoll: Don’t like therir chairs. I just never found one that I felt comfortable in.

The bottom like for any of these chairs is to sit in one! If possible have someone give you a demo so you know the features. Spend a bit of money. It will be worth it. The task chair is the most import part of your workstation set up. It is the part you are in contact with the most. Spend less on the desk and more on the chair.