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Comment by xvector | Hacker News Reader

ALWAYS try a chair in person first, whether Herman Miller or Steelcase. DO NOT order blind and try to "tough it out" to see if a chair is for you.

The thing is, high end chairs differ radically in comfort. I thought the Embody was a great chair but the Aeron outdid it. I thought the Aeron was great but the Mira was better. For me, of course.

If I ordered online I wouldn't have known this. At the most I'd have returned the Embody for an Aeron but not found the chair that suits me best - the Steelcase Gesture ;)

To answer your question, I would recommend going to a furniture store and trying chairs from Herman Miller and Steelcase.

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Counterpoint - I’ve had multiple experiences in furniture buying where I think a chair or couch is comfortable in the store, only to dislike it once I take it home and sit on it for a long time.

Meanwhile, when I got my Aeron, I didn’t like it for the first few days, and even thought about sending it back. But now that I’ve adjusted to it, I love it, and I can confidently say it’s the most comfortable office chair I’ve ever tried.

It’s hard to evaluate comfort in a short period. Ergonomics is all about support, and I personally find that something that is more firm and maybe less comfortable on my first try is actually more comfortable in the long haul.

It’s hard to turn this into concrete advice, other than that you probably want to just make sure there is a good return policy for whatever you buy, and to make sure you buy a product with a good reputation.

>Counterpoint - I’ve had multiple experiences in furniture buying where I think a chair or couch is comfortable in the store, only to dislike it once I take it home and sit on it for a long time.

This has been every chair I've ever tried.

I agree that it takes time to properly evaluate a chair, but doing so in a showroom as opposed to repeatedly ordering and returning from an online store will save you a lot of time and effort.

I guess I lucked out... I bought an Aeron on-line (on-sale) directly from the factory in Medium (because I'm medium). Most comfortable, adjustable chair I've ever had. It has two kinds of castors, for hard or carpeted floors. I have hard, so I ordered those castors. I roll back and forth between my desk and my workbench constantly, fast, and it brings a smile to my face.

Also, this is the only chair I've had whose height adjustment is rock solid. All the others, which were not as comfortable to begin with, started to leak after a few years.

For carpeted floors, good lard get a thick, extra large floor mat. Hard floor casters always.

Leaks are related to worn-out cylinders. They're easy to change. There's nothing wrong with the chair itself unless it's physically-damaged.

This, 100%.

1) Familiarize yourself with basic chair adjustments. Every high-end chair will have some combination of these.

2) Go to a furniture store (or used furniture store) and try out every chair. Don't forget to tinker with the adjustments.

I tried a variety of Herman Miller & Steelcase chairs, and somewhat surprisingly landed on an Amia. Not the most expensive chair they had in inventory, but it felt the best when dialed in. (And even better than the Leap V2s we had at an old job)

I second this. I was sold on the Embody and went to try it and I thought it wasn't for me almost as soon as I sat on it. I ended up getting a Cosm which surprise me personally, because I sort of liked all the knobs in all the other chairs, but I really liked how it adjusted to my body. Try all the chairs with an open mind and listen to your body

I was trying chairs at Design Within Reach recently and I couldn't agree more. I went in expecting to like the Embody best, but the Cosm just really seemed to click with me. It's comfortable without having to adjust anything

I love Aeron but sometimes like I like fold my leg and lay it on the edge of the base. I know it’s not ergo but I sometimes do it when laying back. It’s hard plastic unlike Steelcase Leap.

It bothered me so much, had to return the chair which was a huge hassle.

So even if you try to sit on it in a showroom, you gotta actually use it for a few days.

I could never find a good place or time to go try them out, so I just ordered a Steelcase Gesture from Amazon. It helped me get over the analysis paralysis, it's very comfortable, and I'm sitting in the chair while writing this.

6'5 / 240 and I have an Aeron Size B that just baaarely fits. Size C for most people > 5'9" / 175 cm.

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