I was starting to get back and neck pain about 8 years ago and this chair basically changed my life. It feels invisible. I never feel it is pressuring me.
PS: I had no idea it is this expensive. Long story short: I bought it at production price because a company imported about thirty units for another company which went bankrupt. So the intermediate company was selling it at cost - basically half of the price on the website. But to be fair, most of us spend one third of our days on those chairs - so the investment is worth it. I have had mine for 8 years and it is still going strong.
I have been using an Herman Miller Aeron as well since about 8 years.
At the time the price was steep but I swallowed it.
Overall, people trying it for the first time seem to be amazed by the feel of the mesh, and my experience confirms that the mesh part itself is indeed truly excellent.
However, I never really got comfortable with the feel of the front edge of the chair under my legs, which I find too hard. And generally speaking, the way the frame is built make it really uncomfortable to use the chair in any other position than the standard sitting one. I wish often that I had a chair that I could cross one or both of my legs lotus-style, sit sideways or even in reverse, with the chair’s back in front, like you can with regular dining room chairs.
With time, my conclusion is that aiming for a single “best-practice” posture does not work. You need the flexibility to change your posture often, even if just for a few minutes. I am alternating between a bean bag with my laptop on its own, the aeron when at the desk with the laptop connected to external monitors/mouse/keyboard via a single-cable thunderbolt dock and the base of a low-cost office chair (I removed the back of it) to cross my legs on or simply change posture from the Aeron.
I used a Kneelsit for about 5 years, and was quite happy with it, largely because of the rocking motion of the seat. Unfortunately they are no longer being made, and finding one on the used market is challenging.
My current favorite is a Steelcase Leap V2 which can be found quite affordably on the used market. I still swap to an exercise ball occasionally, but the Leap is great for long periods of prolonged hacking.
I switched to using an electronic height adjustable desk a few years ago with the intention of alternating between sitting and standing. I used the chair so infrequently that I no longer even have one around and stand for 100% of my time at the computer. I haven’t encountered any problems with standing up for an entire working day.
I can highly recommend the flexibility that a height adjustable desk gives you, even if you don’t find standing up works out you can still adjust the desk to the perfect sitting height. IKEA sell reasonably priced electric and manual height adjustable desks.
I actually have an adjustable standing desk and use it quite a bit. My desk is u-shaped though so I can’t really use the rest of it without a chair. Plus I find that I prefer sitting when I have meetings.
Totally with you on the standing desk, but I still need a chair for sometimes.
I would exercise caution about standing for long periods tbh:
Among the many risk factors for varicose veins, such as family history, aging, pregnancy, obesity, and leg trauma, one of the greatest risks is standing for long periods. This risk is prominent among working populations, where employees in certain occupations must stand for long periods of time without being able to walk or sit during a shift. In operating rooms, for example, nurses and doctors must stand for many hours during surgical procedures. Similarly, direct care nurses, hairdressers, and store clerks spend large fractions of their working time standing without the ability to sit down.
When we think about natural human behaviour we just weren’t intended to stand for long hours per day. Walking, yes, sitting in a squat position, yes, lying down even - but not standing in one place for long periods.
I also have a standing desk, which I enjoy. To @AstonJ 's point though, I pace when I’m thinking, and tend to sit if the immediate road is clear and I will actually be typing for a while (as opposed to debugging, research, or all the other activities that can surround general computer use and programming specifically).
I’m actually also in the market for a chair though, and a friend recommended https://www.madisonseating.com which has many of those high end chairs for much lower rates. I haven’t bought one there myself yet, though I likely will soon.
It looks like that one rocks, while the one in the picture you posted is stationary (apart from the wheels). Do you think there’s an advantage to having the rocking motion?
I’ve updated the link in the first post to the chair I originally had in mind when I first came across that type
In answer to your question Darin, the rocking ability allows you to change your sitting position - so you can go from the kneeling position, to sitting position more easily, like this:
It also encourages more movement, which long term will be more comfortable as we tend to not want to be in a rigid form for long periods. (In fairness the kneeling stool I have now also allows me to do things like put one or two legs forward - just without the benefit of the weight redistributing being able to change angle of the seat.)
This is also a good review and explanation:
If you want one with a backrest, they also have a different version:
Another quick point on posture - ideally we want to be doing exercises like deadlifts as a good chair won’t be enough to fix years of sitting badly or because of the inactivity often associated with programming/office work. Exercises that target the core are excellent and many you can do from home …just make sure you watch plenty of videos on getting the form right
I just finished putting together my Bungee Chair (I got the one in black) and my first impression is extremely positive. We’ll see how it does after a couple of days worth of use.
Immediate positives:
Assembly is very quick. I was worried I’d have to install each bungee strap myself but it comes in the box with the wheels already on the bottom and all of the cords attached. Assembly is nothing more than attaching the base plate to the bottom (4 screws), attaching the back to the bottom (2 screws) and attaching the arms (2 screws each).
The wheels surprised me. I’ve got this chair on a wood floor and this is the first rolling chair in my house that rolls smoothly, doesn’t make loud noises and doesn’t leave me concerned that it’s hurting the floor when I move. I saw a comment about that somewhere else where I was reading up on the chair, but now I know what they mean.
The chair feels like it supports my back very well and doesn’t leave me feeling like I need to lean forward to be productive. A lot of the more comfortable office chair will recline back slightly, but this actually feels like it gives a light push on my lower back when I’m sitting up straight so my posture generally matches when I’m standing as well.
Height adjustment meets my needs. Feels sturdy, looks nice.
First impressions so far; this is going to be a keeper. I’ll see how it does after a couple of days of coding, but I really like what I see so far.
My favorite chair is a hard wooden banker’s chair my roomate left on his way out 30 years ago. Everything works for somebody and nothing works for everybody.
