CrunchGear

There is another option in the Via Swoop category; used in a few offices that I’ve seen. It is a giant exercise ball that people balance on while working at their desk. It probably takes a little more work than the Via but is also useful for those exercise breaks that we all take (oh wait; I take a junk food, not exercise break…oh well).

The option that I’d truly like to see is the tall stool with the coordinating tall desk, similar to an architectural drafting desk. Standing and occassional rest on the stool would overall be better for my posture. It would also be similar to another popular environment; the neighborhood bar/pub on a busy night.

really like your idea with the taller stool and bar-like computer counter –for now though, I may just go out today and buy a large exercise ball and see if that’s really workable - manageable. If so, finally, sitting at a computer could have the potential of being good for my body instead of driving it toward being broken down.

What is it about these chairs that push the pricepoint so high? I just dont get it.

I’m guessing it’s because of the chair design that the prices are so high. It aligns your spine and gives you a proper posture. They should start making couches and sofas.

Haha, nice chairs. Having to switch between two completely different environments, one being my summer internship/work environment where I sit in an Aeron chair all day long, and my school environment where I slouch in class, in my dorm, and hunch and crowd for viewing space while playing video games in my dorm room, a good chair can make a day go by in a breeze (along with a nice tech blog to keep up with), and a bad chair can make a long lecture even longer.

One thing that is pretty common sense but underrated is that a lot of these chairs can do your spine and back wonders, but only if you know how to sit in them properly. My design class last year conducted a case study on ergonomic chairs (we had a lot of chairs, including the Herman-Miller Mirra, Aeron, and also a Grahl, which is a 2000 dollar super-ergo chair). We tested the chairs throughout the engineering and comp sci departments, video taping the subjects sitting and using the chairs.

After studying a lot of tape, we found that most of the users really didn’t sit in the chairs properly at all. A lot of ergonometric problems aren’t related to the design of the chair, but rather the use of the chair. Sure you can make a great chair, but why bother if the user doesn’t know how to sit in a chair properly. So rather than buying new chairs in hopes of reducing your chiropracter costs, maybe you should re-visit and re-educate yourself on how you sit down in your seat.

/End engineering design rant.

So this is a question for Blake Robinson, the author of this review - What is your opinion about the HumanScale Freedom? I noticed you talked about Liberty but why not Freedom? I was just curious as to why it did not make the list. I realize that Liberty is an office chair and Freedom is a task chair but if you can shed some light on Freedom that would be great. Thanks.

Great reviews..

I’m a huge fan of herman miller chairs. We currently have Mirra chairs, and at home I have the older aeron chair. Sitting for 10-12 hours, hell, just 2 hours in a crappy chair kills me. I have a bad back and the great lumbar support and the adjustable arm rests really make a difference.

Think about how much you spend for a car that you sit for 1-2 hours a day. Now isn’t $800 worth it for something you sit in for 8+ hours a day?

Many of us in the decentralized/mobile workforce (read: work-at-home) have pets; with hair and claws and a tendency to scratch. Are any of these known to be major hair magnets — the kind that attracts it, but can’t ever be cleaned of it ? Will those textiles hold well under occasional scratching ?

Those chairs look great… until I sit on them. They seem to be designed for the universal 5′6″-5′10″ range, but easily turn into disappointing torture devices and flip-overs for guys my height (6′2″). Are these chairs available in taller formats ? (preferably one with a headrest too for these occasional napping sessions after 20-hour days)

The Leap isn’t the only option from Steelcase. They also make a chair called the Think, which is cheaper, lighter, and much more attractive (IMO). After an extremely long and exhaustive search, I bought one and reviewed it on our blog here:

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/4/11/111741/521

I’ve had the Think for about 9 months now, and it holds up well, though it’s starting to creak a bit when I move around. That’s true of all these ergo chairs, though.

As a bonus, Steelcase is an environmentally progressive company (though in fairness, Herman Miller is too). And the Think is particularly eco-friendly, in part because it’s made from a minimum number of parts, which can easily be switched out if they break.

Funny thing - I actually offered to write a piece like this a month ago for Web Worker Daily but Om never replied after our first email exchange.

As a very large person, I always realized how important a good chair is, but not until I got my new chair this month did I realize the absolute importance.

I had a pretty good “task” chair from Office Max for a couple years now. I need one that the arms move out vertically for my size. It was a good chair but really never had the “comfort” that I wanted.

Now I went with a “big and tall” chair made of leather and so far it is so much more comfortable. When I sit back, it supports my neck and shoulders and I have felt so much less stress from it. The only issue is that because of my size I can’t always sit back like I should.

I think one thing about the stress level - it really is amazing how much more relaxed I feel when the stress is off my back and shoulders while typing. Never realized it but it helps so much.

Anyway great writeup Blake.

So basically no reasonably-priced chairs?

What all these chair manufacturers and ergonomic pundits fail to mention is that the key to healthy productivity does not rely simply on the chair, but the desk–an adjustable height desk.

Our bodies did not evolve to sit hours at a time. By doing so, not only do we risk back problems but also poor circulation to the legs, muscle atrophy and clogged arteries. This is why investing in an adjustable height desk is jsut as important, if not more, than an expensive task chair. The act of siting down/standing up throughout the work day is a much more natural way to work than the blood clotting position of sitting down all day.

So for those of you debating which chair to get, look for an adjsutable laptop stand or pneumatic bar table where work siting/standing in a more natural fashion.

I only just recently purchased a Steelcase home office chair; a leather Leap. I cannot believe what a difference it makes! My former home office chair was purchased from an office store. I knew that long hours in that home office chair bothered me, but I was not prepared for what a pure joy this Leap has been. I am 47 year old woman, 5 foot 8, somewhat overweight, minimal back problems who tends to spend too much time at the computer both in the office and at home. I highly recommend this chair and the Think chair that another writer mentioned. Both have excellent lumbar support and ample seat depth which for me at my age and height are important!

Check out the IKEA Vitamin for $44.99. It is much like the VIA Swopper.

Interesting article. Our site provides similar functionality but focusing on exercises. If anyone has any good chairs that they sell or own, we would be more than willing to give you 5 free pre-roll ads on our site. We deliver over 3,000 unique exercise, stretch, yoga or pilates routines a day.

feel free to contact me directly.

Stay Active & Happy New Year.
Jason
http://www.TheWorkStationWorkout.com

WTH? There’s no summary! Which chair did you like the best? How does each chair work with different body types/people? What about which chair works best with which sitting position?

You have a long way to go before this website can compare with reviews like those in magazines or even newspapers!

In CrunchGear’s defense, SlashChick, a blog is a completely different form of media from magazines and newspapers. Blogs don’t typically print full length and comprehensive reviews like magazines do. And when they do (as in the case here), they are considered more like a feature.

Anyway, a quick low-down or summary of pros and cons would have been nice– but, geez, give them a break! It’s a blog being a blog, not attempting to be a magazine. Comparing the two is like apples and oranges.

The chair is just one part of the formula. Without my Kinesis Advantage keyboard, I’d still be crippled by computers. And then there’s the height of your desk — always too high for women 5′4″ and under. It’s a big issue, and I don’t see my great chair on your list.

I worked with a terrific ergonomist, Joel Kendall, http://www.kenebowe.com/information4.html to learn how to make my workstation ergonomically correct. It’s a process. One everyone ought to start today.

I adore my Eurotech Ergohuman chair. Comes in Leather or Mesh. They can be found for @$500 on ebay. My back has never been happier.

-Jeff O’Hara
http://blog.zemote.com

Great roundup. I grew up in an office furniture selling family so it’s great to see people focusing on this when we’re sitting at computers so much. I’ve tried most of these and the Swopper is my favorite.

I reviewed it recently on my blog:
http://www.conversionrater.com/index.php/2006/11/29/swopper-chair-review-and-recommendation/

You forgot what I think is the most advanced chair nowadays: http://plasma2system.com/

Happy new year!

I don’t understand the complaints about the prices of these chairs.
I am sitting in my 10-year old Herman Miller Aeron chair quite comfortably.
The price was $1100 USD (inc tax) in 1996 and that means it has cost me 5 cents per hour.
For comparison, my computer tends to cost about 100 cents/hour.
The chair is inexpensive and very comfortable.
My business partner (and wife) has a Humanscale Freedom chair ($1300) which replaced her Aeron. She loves and I don’t as I prefer the mesh seat of the Aeron.
I still don’t understand why companies who hire professionals with fully burdened costs of $100K per annum will only buy $79 chairs.

I have both a Steelcase Leap, and a Swopper. It took a few months to get used to the Swopper, but eventually I grew into using it full time and gave the Leap to my father. For most of us who spend 8 hours a day in front of the computer, our posture really suffers from sitting. With the Swopper however, I found an immediate improvement in my posture. I’m sitting and standing more straight now than at any time in my life. If you are sitting on the Swopper properly, it subtly works the lower back and ab muscles. BTW, my uncle and my sister both have one of those exercise balls that they sit on to work and they both swear by it. Just the ball, not the stand. Those exercise balls only cost about $25, so are a good option for those not willing to shill out $500 plus for a chair.

I miss one type of chair in your review. The knee chair.

What about the Allsteel #19 chair?
http://del.icio.us/ClintJCL/Allsteel

I would have liked to have seen that included in the roundup.

Blake,

Great timing on this article! I’ve been researching ergonomic furniture options for my home office as my current furniture is becoming very uncomfortable the more I use it. One option that I have found quite interesting is the Plasma 2 system (http://www.plasma2system.com) from HealthPostures. It comes with a completely adjustable chair with supported sitting and standing positions along with a height adjustable monitor/keyboard positioning unit. I like the option of being able work in a standing position as well as sitting in order to change things up during the day.

Unfortunately, the cost for entire unit appears to be ~$2,200+shipping and I have not been able to test it out in person. Perhaps, you would have more luck finding one and giving it a test run for your follow-up article.

Another ergonomic system I found interesting was the Microsphere (http://www.microsphere.com). It costs around $1,500 for a base unit, but seems to take up more space than the Plasma2 and does not integrate with your current furniture. Although, it does look pretty cool and offers many great ergonomic features.

Everyone may be missing the mark here. I remember hearing several weeks ago about a study saying that sitting upright is actually harder on the spine than slouching. I found this:

CHICAGO, Nov. 28 (UPI) — Research presented in Chicago has suggested that sitting up straight is more stressful on the back than slouching.

“Dr. Waseem Amir Bashir, who led the study at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland, said at the meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago sitting with a straight back and thighs parallel to the floor increases the stress on the lower back’s lumbar discs, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.”

“‘Really the best position is what you get in a La-Z-Boy, although that wouldn’t work well for someone using a computer,’ Bashir said.”

“Bashir and his colleagues based their findings on magnetic resonance imaging data from 22 healthy volunteers who were asked to pose in various sitting positions. They found that leaning forward in a chair, as computer users often to, is even more stressful on the spine than sitting upright.”
—
This is a great opportunity for La-Z-Boy to come out with a computer lounger and finally fix the problem for good. I’m all for it.

I’ve got a funky disc in my lower back and all these chairs have a convex curve where my lower back would rest so they are pure torture for me to sit in. Hence, it is my opinion that these chairs are all a scam.

I like the angle rickdog’ uncovered - that a recloned position is actually best for the back. The scientists quoted state ‘but that won’t work for a computer; not so: you can make it work with a alaptop or even with a desktop machine: I’m 6′3″ and have had back trouble for years and tried all kinds of office chairs including some expensive ergo ones. BUT after all this I find what really works is the La-Z-Boy reclining position for work. I use an IKEA POANG armchair with footstool http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=7&langId=-20&catalogId=10103&productId=25952
with a Apple Mac Book and Wireless trackball explorer, which rests on the wide arm rest of this type of chair. I find it the perfect working position - relaxed enough to really work instead of fighting an upright posture or slouching uncomfortably and absolutely perfect for lumbar support etc - there’s really o stress on any part of the body. I can recommend trying this to anyone. Plus whe you’re on the phone you it’s also a natural position. You’ll need some kind of heat-resistant or padded mat for the laptop to go on for long periods of course.

Anyone looking for a more healthy, comfortable and productive work environment - give this a try ;-)

Those who like working in a reclining position or on the couch should check out a lap desk. (Also good for low coffee tables and other sub-optimal notebook setups.)

Mine has a wood top and a beanbag cushion on the bottom.

FYI– I use a wireless mouse and a small piece of wood with a mousepad on it on the couch next to me, or velcroed to the chair arm.

I’m kind of amazed that no one makes a freestanding platform of this kind, with it’s own base that you could move around next to your chair, couch, etc, like a floor lamp.

(Maybe someone does).

We’ve had Aeron’s for a couple years and love them. We almost got the Mirra’s but they were too narrow for my…errr…larger associate.

I’ve got the Humanscale Freedom chair, and it’s an amazing seat. I did the math of how often I’d use my chair, and how many years I expected to keep it, and it made the pricetag worth it. I’ve had it for about a year now, and I haven’t regretted it once.