advice on computer/ office chair please

scottyboy76

Not only is ours a disgrace visually, anymore a bare piece of wood would be more comfortable.

Budget is about 200 to 300 bucks.

Comfort for myself (two back surgerys), but more importantly, deb (back reconstruction and spine cancer), who plays games, searches internet etc for hours every day.

Any real world advice as to particular chair you have used or designs of chairs.

I have seen chairs with just a mesh looking material instead of cushioned fabric or leather, but have never used one.

Any help is appreciated as our last purchase, after looking for days on the computer, then spending a couple hours at stores trying to sit for long periods of time in chairs did not pay off.

Thanks as always

chumlie

I would look at craigslist for a high quality leather executive office chair.

Glowrdr

I've sat in the mesh ones around different offices - and while they are definately comfy, they seem to lack support. Don't get me wrong - there is some support there, but there is something missing.

I'm also in the market for a new chair, and I've been eying a nice one at Costco for $200. You really just need to get out and sit in a few. An example - Costco sells 3 at their store. I just looked to verify the price, and I see a mesh back one for $179, or one for $3200. It would appear that the sky is the limit for comfort

Syndil

Call me crazy but I'm a self-described office-chair connoisseur.

Mesh ones can be hit or miss. They are all essentially knockoffs of the Aeron chair by Herman Miller, which is a decent chair, as it should be at around ~$600. Still not one of my favorites for comfort, however. If you add the lumbar support it negates the effect of having a mesh back, and you can end up with a sweaty band on your back. The knockoffs just imitate the look of the Aeron without necessarily the comfort or ergonomics. They are definitely not all created equal.

If sitting for long periods of time is something you and your wife both do, then I think you should probably consider upping your budget and considering the cost an investment in your health, especially with your back issues. That said, I feel pretty confident in recommending a Steelcase Leap chair. Many of the businesses I have worked for in the Louisville area use them, and for good reason. Great chairs, very durable, very adjustable. Designed for people who sit 8 hours a day or more. But unless you can find a bargain on a used one, it will probably give you sticker shock.

http://store.steelcase.com/brochures/leap/

Not really sure what to do with only $300.

scottyboy76

Good info, syndil thanks for a name to key in on, would not be out of the question to put one on a credit card, one of the ones offering no interest, the longest right now is 18 months int. free.

As important as this is the budget could be stretched, also you gave me a name to check for used, or discounted somewhere.

Gadabout

To help save some money, if it was a doctor recommendation / prescription, could you get it through your insurance? If that fails, it might qualify for the medical cafeteria 125 plan or whatever your company calls it. (before tax dollars into a fund to be spent on medical things)

Wish I could be more help,
Scott

scottyboy76

Thanks for the thoughts gadabout, will check into something along those lines.

as far as the steelcase leap, I found it online for roughly 450 new, definitely doable, but Im kinda thinkin more along the lines of a big thick padded full chair on wheels.

More an executive chair rather than desk or work chair.

Syndil

Yeah the Steelcase Leap actually comes in many sizes. For $450 you must have been looking at one of the smaller armless task chairs. For an executive-sized Leap you'd be looking at more like $800-$1000.

F1nut

I don't know if they still sell it, but the Staples #21840 is the most comfortable executive type chair I've sat on. IIRC, it was in your budget range. I hated Herman Miller's Aeron.

PubFiction

http://www.officemax.com/office-furniture/chairs/product-prod3110014?cm_mmc=Googlepla-_-Office%20Furniture-_-Chairs-_-NULL&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=22290691

I have about 5 of these in my house.

They are not at the top of your range you can typically pick them up around $130 with a 20% officemax coupon / bag which should come to you in the paper or be emailed to you at various times.

What I like about it is that it has all the adjustments including lumbar, and you can remove the arms if you want. What I tend to do is reverse them. Most office chairs of the higher end type have fixed arms which are part of the support, while task chairs have adjustable and removable arms, but task chairs are typically lower quality, with almost no padding and short backs.

We use these chairs alot and I am happy with almost everything about them except they could use a little more padding on the seat center. But I would not missing going and trying one out at any officemax.

PubFiction

Oh comes in brown too if you want that.