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Comment by msluyter | Hacker News Reader

Personally, I hate Aeron chairs with a passion. Obviously, the overall point here is to keep developers happy, so I'd presume FogCreek allows developers to opt for different/better chairs. I just don't understand why these are considered the pinnacle of comfort.

Is it just me? Am I the only person who finds everything about them to hideously uncomfortable, from the jabby knife in the back lumbar support to the circulation killing front steel bar that makes it impossible to perch on the edge if you so desire? </rant>

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Aeron chairs are outdated. Big ergonomic advances have been made since it's inception. On major drawback is that an Aeron needs to be properly fitted (comes in different sizes) and adjusted. And even then it still won't work for some people.

There are better chairs out there these days (including Miller's own Embody mentioned in the article). And most of them are a bit cheaper too.

It definitely isn't just you - we have one in our office, and it's used by the newest hire (who joined 2 months ago) because nobody else wanted to use it, so it was the spare chair when he arrived.

Jeff Atwood on chairs: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/07/investing-in-a-qual...

An Aeron of the wrong size will definitely kill circulation in your thighs. The difference is surprisingly obvious once you try the various sizes.

Try the Herman Miller Mirra, it's a lower chair in their line but the back structure makes it far superior to the Aeron.

I've read that the plastic chair back feels good at first, but gets uncomfortable. I seem to recall something about H.M. listing it as rated for three hours (?), making it a "task" chair rather than a "work" chair (if I understand the nomenclature). What's your experience been with it?

I have been using a Mirra fulltime for more than 2 years. When my former employer was getting new offices and furniture, I piggybacked on their chair order so I could get a discount on two chairs for the home office.

I now work from home and think it was one of the best investments I've made in myself. The chair is very comfortable and they adjust very well for tall or very short people (my wife).

Rating: Would buy again

Thanks for that.

Can you compare it to any other chairs? Most of us (myself included, with the Aeron) love their first ergo-chair, making it hard to compare them. :-)

In the past I have used an Aeron for about a year. The Mirra comes very close to the adjustability and I would say is just as comfortable.

Take out the back support. AAAAAH, so comfy.

Sounds like the height or tilt adjust was out of wack if the front bar is putting that much pressure on the back of your legs (I literally cannot stand eating dinner on square bar stools, I empathize with leg circulation getting shut off, and was one of the reasons I bought one of these).

Glad to hear others say it. I lusted after one because I read Joel for years. I finally got mine, perfectly fitted and adjusted. And I never had such back pain (I don't normally have any!), I ended up giving it to my wife and using a $60 chair from Ikea that is so much more comfortable.

I HATE these chairs too. However, someone recently told me that they come in different sizes, so maybe mine was just the wrong size for me. I've also heard that what seems comfortable might not be best for you too.

There are 3 back rest configurations too: Lower back support, lubar support and no support.

I'm most comfortable with the no support option. You can convert either of the other two to this option by removing the black thing (it slides off sort of).

As far as sizes go, most tall and/or slightly overweight men need the C sized one, but definitely get a proper sized one.

If you go to high end office stores (sam flax here in atlanta) they'll have a few different sizes.

circulation killing front steel bar that makes it impossible to perch on the edge if you so desire?

I definitely hate that one, but I must confess the mesh is worth it over standard cushions.

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