Aeron Chairs As Stupidity Barometers

McSpew writes: "This article at Salon describes how much startup venture money went to buying $700 Aeron chairs. Personally, I think Aerons suck. I'm sitting in one now and my back is killing me--I can never get this damn chair adjusted right, or to get it to stay in a configuration close to comfortable for very long. The wonderful high-tech mesh fabric acts like sandpaper and wears holes in my pants. I honestly miss the boring chair I had at my last job. Am I the only person who hates Aerons?" Aerons are stylish, but not everyone finds them the comfortable work chairs they're supposed to be. Here's one that looks truly comfortable.

Sticking with my old huge metal office chair...

[tre]

The Aeron chair definately appears nice, but I've had the same huge old comfortable office chair for years and my butt would miss it, even if my mind didn't ;)

I think the keys to stick with, in chair buying, are:
- a metal main structure (base/leg[s]/armrests)
- a very comfortable and cushy fabric for any part of the chair that touches the body.
- no problem swiveling, tilting, and comfortably laying all the way back or sitting totally, for lack of a better word, "erect".

I guess what it comes down to is, at least your not on the floor.

[FYI] another Aeron chair link:
http://www.comfortliving.com/aeron.htm [comfortliving.com]

...and for those with back/neck injuries!

[peterarm]

Right on! I bought an Aeron C size, but the damn thing wobbled side-to-side a bit, which was REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING. (I think it's only the C ones that did that, but my legs were too long for a B--and my big fat ass didn't fit! :-)

So I returned it and bought a Freedom chair (the one with the headrest, it kicks ass) from the nearest place in the bay area I could find [galvins.com]. It makes the Aeron look cheap (it's more than $1000 USD with the headrest), but it's just amazing. I was in a car accident a year ago and after it I was having problems sitting and coding for hours and hours on end, but with this chair (and chiropractic :-) I can do that again happily.

I know that spending more than $1000 USD for a chair (which is more than $1500 CAD, so it seemed even worse for me since I'm Canadian, eh) seems insane, but think of how many hours you spend in your office chair, and then think of how many hours you spend in your car (even with a long commute). So which do you think you get more benefit out of having extra comfort with?

If anyone here is thinking of buying an Aeron, at least sit in a Freedom chair first...

Re:aerons are great...

[dhamsaic]

it really doesn't take that long. you need to know what you want going into it. i'd say maybe 25 minutes tops. the problem is, however, most people a) aren't sure of what they need and b) don't want to spend the time to do it. some tips:

• chair height - your feet should rest flat on the ground. if your desk is too high to permit this, get a footrest of some type. your legs should not be hanging off the chair. the weight of your legs pulls your knees down against the chair, restricting blood flow.
• arm height - your arms should be beside you, hanging naturally, but resting on the arm rests. there also should not be any stress on your shoulders, but they shouldn't be pushed up either. a relaxed position is best. this goes hand in hand with chair height - your arms should be parallel to the desk surface.
• lumbar support - this is a bit trickier, but really, you need to find something that makes you feel relaxed in an upright position.
• tilt - i prefer none for most tasks, because it means i'm sitting properly and not ruining my back (something i do here at work with the shitty chairs). tilt is *very* easily adjustable on the aeron though, so don't worry about this too much. you can change it in seconds.

anyway, it really isn't as bothersome as i originally made it out to be. it takes a little time, but it's well worth it.

hope this helps, should you ever have the chance to sit in one.

700?

[supabeast!]

"$700 Aeron chairs."

Try $1200. My last employer (The now bankrupt consulting firm marchFIRST.) had 10,000 of them in a Chicago warehouse, because there was never enough money to send them out.

The real loser in this is Herman-Miller, maker of the chairs. When Herman-Miller and its vendors sold these chairs in bulk to all the dotcoms, they sold on credit with NO SECURITY. That means there is no collateral, including the chairs themselves. Now the chairs are being sold out of bankruptcy to other firms for pennies on the dollar, hampering further sales.

aerons are great...

[dhamsaic]

once you get them adjusted properly.

i use and aeron at home. when i first got it, i spend a considerable amount of time getting it adjusted to suit me perfectly. that means setting the height so your feet rest on the ground, setting up the lumbar support properly, getting the correct tilt both forward and backward, getting the armrest height set properly, etc. it can be a chore, but if you take the time to do it, it truly is one of the most comfortable chairs.

one thing i've always hated about being a computer geek was what we here at work refer to as sweaty-ass . you know - you've been sitting in the same chair for 6 hours coding or browsing or quaking or whatever and the heat and humidity make for a relatively uncomfortable rear. the aerson's mesh works wonders for this - i can sit in that chair for an hour or two or ten and not have any trouble whatsoever. and i've never had any problem with it wearing out my clothes or anything. i'd guess that the poster doesn't have the chair set up correctly and therefore fidgets quite a bit, meaning extra wear on the clothes.

anyway, if you can invest the time and money, you can have a comfortable and healthy chair with the aeron.

Gotta have the right size

[michael_cain]

They come (or at least when my company bought them they came) in three different sizes. If you have the wrong size, it's impossible to adjust it to be comfortable. I use the large -- with the small or the medium, the front edge of the seat hits the back of my thighs at an uncomfortable place. I'm only 5'10" (177 cm) and my legs aren't particularly long -- I suspect that tall people might have a problem all the sizes.

Re:aerons are great...

[Turtle Master]

I had an Aeron for about a month. By that time, the mesh was sagging enough that it felt like I was sitting on a friggin toilet. I guess they're OK for 100lb dweebs, but for a fat-assed bubba like me, they suck.

As far as price goes, Aerons aren't even at the high end of office chairs! The one I'm sitting on now (Body-Built) cost about $1,200US, and is worth every penny. It's a *lot* cheaper than back surgery. Anyone that is a cheapskate with the tools they use to make a living, has gotta be an idiot.