OT: Office chairs - Herman Miller Embody

[timwat]

This one's pretty OT.

 

So my wife and I were window shopping in San Francisco last week and stalled into a Herman Miller store. Many of us are familiar with their Aeron office chair - expensive, ergonomic - it's a staple in a lot of office environments. I'm sitting in one at work right now.

 

Well, at the store I sat in one of their newer (?) Embody chairs, which has some sort of articulated frame in the back that molds to your spine. There's a version that's a partnership with Logitech for gamers, it's almost identical to the office version.

 

Anyway, the point is...the Embody was shockingly comfortable and supportive. I mean, I've never wanted a $1,700 office chair more. 

 

Does anyone know of a similar alternative / substitute / option that provides similar support? Man, was it a great work chair experience sitting in that thing...

[tfort]

I saw this comparison. They recommend the Steelcase, have some cheaper options also:

https://www.techgearlab.com/topics/small-and-home-office/best-office-chair

 

[Threadslayer]

I've had an Aeron Type C for years in my home office, and the comfort  difference becomes apparent after about 6 hours of sitting in one position. Spending that much time sitting in a normal office chair will put you in the orthopedic ward.

[OB Dave]

In my dotcom days I had an Aeron because it was The Thing To Have, and to be honest I didn't really like it that much. I ended up selling it. I'm a big fan of the bungee chair that The Container Store sells. It's pretty inexpensive as office chairs go, and I find it to be really comfortable. 

[timwat]

Yup I have an Aeron at work - the employer has tons of them, and I was assigned one. I find it generally comfortable, and able to adjust things to fit my frame.

 

But it seemed to me after sitting in it at the store, that the Embody is a whole different experience. I don't want to go all fan boy on it, but it is far more than an "incremental" improvement over the Aeron. It felt to me like the chair was gripping itself to my spine (in a very good way), and gently positioning me forward (which, of course, for those of us who work on multiple screens and a computer keyboard all day, is a good thing). Also, because I'm relatively short (5'5"), the customizable seat pan length felt really nice.

 

Okay, enough gushing. Suffice to say IMHO the chair is significantly different (and better) than the Aeron, or any other chair I've tried in recent memory.

[o0Ampy0o]

If you are tempted by reviews of alternatives make sure to try one for yourself. You may disagree and come away feeling better about the money invested in the one you like best even if it turns out to be the most expensive office chair available.

[Stokely]

Now that I'm working from home--and don't ever intend to go back to an office, especially not one of the "open office" abominations--I should really invest in a better chair.   Our company's office had one good thing about it, decent mesh chairs.  They might have been Aerons, I don't recall, all I know is that I could sit all day on one and it never bothered my back.

(realizing WFH was so great was the one good thing that came from covid...well, that and maybe the advances in RNA vaccine tech.)

Because I have a leg with poor circulation I tend to either sit in a la-z-boy with foot rest, or use my piano bench with a gaming chair to keep it elevated, so there's that! 

[ProfD]

Only America can we over-price any and everything.  Just a matter of creating the hype.

 

I've been sitting in office chairs for almost 35 years and counting.  None of them has been a Herman Miller.  My spine is fine. YMMV.  😎

[Stokely]

Not entirely disagreeing with you as hype is definitely a thing, but in my own 30 or so years of sitting in offices, I've had plenty of bad chairs that were not comfortable after hours.  With the mesh ones at my current job (which I now never see :D) there is a big difference in comfort.  I tried knee chairs a couple times and even a big exercise ball when that was a fad

I do get up and move around pretty often, taking a fair number of mini-walks.  

[TommyRude]

Seems there's probably a lot of those expensive chairs for sale on the cheap in the bay area, with all the tech companies going remote they must have liquidated all of their office furniture?

[ProfD]

2 hours ago, TommyRude said:

Seems there's probably a lot of those expensive chairs for sale on the cheap in the bay area, with all the tech companies going remote they must have liquidated all of their office furniture?

That's the best way to buy one if they're really that great.😁😎

[o0Ampy0o]

On 3/29/2022 at 8:09 AM, TommyRude said:

Seems there's probably a lot of those expensive chairs for sale on the cheap in the bay area, with all the tech companies going remote they must have liquidated all of their office furniture?

 

It is total BS. The reason-of-the-moment was manufactured in order to sell something at an ever fleeting "bargain."