Let's talk about chairs. | Hacker News Reader

Let's talk about chairs.

3 pointsmikepurvis5 comments

Just wondering what people are sitting on these days. If your organization can't (or won't) shell out for Herman Miller, are there options that are still better than the $200 Staples special?

What are my best bets in terms of comfort and expected lifespan, for $400, $600, and $800?

Thanks!

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Previously:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2754949 (July 2011)

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2471659 (April-ish 2011)

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2518898 (89 days old)

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=585693

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1449842

(Not trying to be coy, just trying to be helpful, but search is valuable in this case.)

I just finished purchasing new chairs since we're moving out of a furnished startup building into our own digs in Mountain View, CA. I don't know where you live but around Silicon Valley, there are tons of quality used furniture resellers who get their inventory from the local giants like Oracle, Apple, Intel, etc. when they need to upgrade.

We decided to go with Knoll Life chairs with full adjustments (no lumbar) for our employees and we got a few NeutralPostures just in case people didn't like the mesh back on the Knoll chairs. We paid ~$240/chair and they were steam cleaned and tested before being delivered. These chairs retail for $800+ with the options that we have.

The only thing is there is no warranty since they're used. If you go with a higher quality new chair from Herman Miller and such, you normally get a 10+ year warranty and you can expect a high level of customer service. Take a look at the Sayl chair which comes in under $400.

I sit on an Ikea stool. I'm essentially spending my summer doing sysadmin gruntwork at a tiny data center in an outbuilding in someone's backyard for less than the median wage of a Wal-Mart "sales associate", so perhaps that is to be expected. On a related note, if anyone has a use for an intern with functional programming experience please let me know.

You can find Aerons online (ebay, craigslist) for a fraction of retail. I am currently sitting in a full-featured Aeron that I got for $400. I bought it 6 months ago and have no complaints so far.

Stand. Get a motorized desk, like a geekdesk, and stand most of the day. You'll live longer.

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