Office chair recommendations

I have a cheap one from ikea and its one of the comfiest chairs I've had in a long time.

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/renberget-swivel-chair-bomstad-black-90503285/

Used/refurb Aeron. I think prices have calmed down now after the great WFH rush. 

How often are you using it? If you're working from home full-time then you'll be sat in it a minimum of a third of your life during the working week so it's worth spending a good amount on something decent (see also: beds). If by "office" you mean "somewhere I play World of Warcraft on Thursday evenings" then not so much.

The chair I have is a Secret Labs, it's amazing and it seems to be the de facto choice I see on Teams meetings. I can't recommend it enough, but it is rather spendy.

I got a GiroFlex G64 from a (no defunct) refurbished office equipment supplier.
It’s very comfy and a very sold bit of kit. Cost £150 ish I think.
I’d be looking on eBay for old office spec stuff.

Used/refurb Aeron +1

I recently switched from a Secretlab Titan (decent enough gaming style chair) to a HM Embody (the Logitech version), it's noticeably more comfortable for long periods but £1000 (via eBay stock clearance site) is hard to justify if you're only sitting in it for a couple of hours at a time. I thought I'd miss having a headrest to but haven't so far.

Same as @lunge Giroflex G64 refurb off ebay for £150 with postage, not cheap but three years down the line it's exactly as when I got it, weighs an absolute tonne mind!

I've got a similar Ikea one to the above, but what I don't like is the arm rests are quite high and catch the underside of the desk unless I have the chair lower than I'd like. You can't remve the armrests either as they hold the back of the chair on.

Orangebox - has plenty of adjustability and lumbar support. Not a budget choice though

Used/refurb Aeron.

Very quick search shows these are around ~£500-600 for a refurb chair. Is that the going rate for a fairly good chair? or are these considered towards the posh end?

How often are you using it?

2 days a week doing a full working day ~8am - 6pm. Remaining days I will be in the actual office.

GiroFlex G64

Thank you. I will take a look at these too.

Left field suggestion - seems to have helped my lower back issues...

Not for slumping in, but surprisingly comfy in an odd way. Cheaper ripoffs exist, but avoid the mega cheap ones with castors as they miss the point of the rocking balance action.

https://varierchairs.com/kneeling-chairs/variable-balans/

I picked up a refurbished Humanscale Liberty Task Chair from https://corporatespec.com for £250 about 2 years ago. It gets used 3-4 days a week and have been a great improvement.

In terms of the condition of the chair, I would be hard pushed to tell it wasn't brand new.

I bought a steelcase leap 2 second hand chair from an online office store. £250 and as said above I'd have been hard pushed to know it was used. It's way more comfy than the chair I had in the office which was some mesh affair.

Brand new these things are £800 plus

these considered towards the posh end?

Definitely near the posh end. But they are very nice. The Mirra is slightly cheaper, but still expensive (it's what I've got and I've never regretted spending the money). 

I bought a Steelcase Please v2 brand new off eBay for £200 during lockdown. It’s hugely adjustable and I’ve been sitting comfortably in it ever since. I think it looks quite nice as these things go as well. 

I have a Humanscale Diffrient World Task Chair too. It’s brilliant and I’m in it most of the week.

+1 on Cougar's comment above<br /><br />I gave up on a very 'comfy' gaming chair for the home office about a month into lockdown as it was killing my back

Went for a Noblechairs HERO Gaming Chair black edition.Looks much more office than gaming. Initially felt rock hard but for all-day comfort and support, sitting not slouching, excellent. I got the pu-hybrid one after reviews as cool in summer, wipe-clean, durable - all true - versus leather or cloth. Looks like new, or would if I dusted it.... Available for less now, amazingly, than then £425 I paid and suitable for the larger owner/pilot.

The matching footstool only comes in leather, think. Got one. nothing special.

Full-time WFH IT, lots of sitting

Left field suggestion – seems to have helped my lower back issues…

Interested! I just want to sit with my hips not flexed to 90°, but sit/stand stools getva bit uncomfortable after a while.

Does your low back not get tired holding you upright for all that time?

I spent lockdown on a simple wooden dining chair with chrome legs and a curved single seat and back. Key was the cushion I sat on to rotate hips forwards more like a kneeling chair. I now use a second hand leather Vietri with a cushion behind to pad my back. No issues with either. It’s beautiful.

Aerons at work are ok if small. I rather fancy a tilt stool next having sat on the pad in basically the same position.

By used. 

I really like my secret lab titan, had it about a year and a half now, I think, but I don't have much to compare it to other than standard IT drone office chairs.

Manages to look cool without looking over the top like some more gamer type chairs, but more importantly it's built well and shows no signs of wear, and really comfy.. Firm padding which I wasn't sure about at first but I appreciate it now.

Yeah, the firm padding is needed if it going to be used for any length of time, much like bike saddles. The first chair I got during the initial lock down was a cheap one and was really comfy to start with but after a couple of hours you could almost feel the hard base of the chair. The firmer padding now is actually really comfortable for longer sitting sessions

I have a Knoll Life which I bought used, it had been refurbed.

I only WFH and don't regret spending the money on it, it's simply comfy all day.

Spares available on the bay but built like a tank.

I'd definately buy a refurb professional chair rather than an Ikea one if the budget stretches that far.

Secret labs for me. Full time WFH. Expensive but if it lasts until I retire (less than 10 years) then the amortized cost / day won't be excessive by any means.

I also thought it was a bit firm to start with but was happy to be proved wrong.

Sitting on a cheapo office chair for a relatively short period triggered my back issues - ironically that was in the office on a new chair provided by my company.

Since going 100% home based in 2016, I've got an Aeron (new! check me out!) and I'm very happy with it.  I sit in it 8 hrs plus a day, 5 days a week, and I don't even feel stiff/fatigued.  Recommended.

Getting one new was a bit extravagant - but I don't regret it, still great VFM in my opinion.

I went to the showroom and tried them all out - the cheaper Herman Millers are also good - but they are noticeably more flimsy, so just take extra care if buying second hand

Bought a steelcase refurb for my lad who was on it 8 hours plus a day doing uni from home. Made a huge difference compared to the one I borrowed from work. £200 or so mid covid.

I have a cheap one from ikea and its one of the comfiest chairs I’ve had in a long time.
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/renberget-swivel-chair-bomstad-black-90503285//blockquote >
I went for a not quite as cheap Ikea one - https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/millberget-swivel-chair-murum-black-20489396/. Been my main office chair for about 4 years now, and starting to look slightly worn, but very comfy, cheap and I do use it 5 days a week at least.

 

Just spotted on Corporatespec the Boss Felix for £130 ish. We have those in the office and they're really nice.

Had this one for a couple of years now, still feels good and the arms flip up if you have desk clattering issues

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07V512CJR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

+1 Secret Labs

I bought a Herman Miller Aeron 2nd had from ebay.  It was horrible to sit on for long period of time, always felt it was tilting to the left and forward ( no matter how much I adjusted it).

I bought an IKEA office chair instead which is much nicer

Another secretllab user here, I bought the omega chair in charcoal softweave fabric from 2020 as i'm only 5ft 6, was considerably cheaper back then, also bought one for a mates kid but as he's now 15 and almost 6ft 4" I guess I'll be buying him the new Titan chair soon

Sitting on a cheapo office chair for a relatively short period triggered my back issues – ironically that was in the office on a new chair provided by my company.

Back when the office I worked in had a furniture refresh, I googled the new chairs. The first hit was "winner of 'World's Most Uncomfortable Office Chair' five years running!"

They were an utterly stupid design, they had a springy back but you couldn't lock it in place so unless you were bolt upright it was constantly pushing against you; and if you were bolt upright then it provided no support at all. I wedged half of a broken Cisco AP under the strut to keep the %^&*ing thing in place.

Can recommend https://www.wellworking.co.uk/ for a decent selection of new and sale/ex-demo options.  I'm currently sitting on an ex-demo Hag Futu bought from them a few months ago to replace a worn-out IKEA chair.  Very happy with it.

As has been said, if your going to be sat on it for exteded periods of time, it's well worth spending a good few hundred quid on something decent.

Yeah, the firm padding is needed if it going to be used for any length of time, much like bike saddles. The first chair I got during the initial lock down was a cheap one and was really comfy to start with but after a couple of hours you could almost feel the hard base of the chair. The firmer padding now is actually really comfortable for longer sitting sessions

Yeah, a chair that feels lovely and plush (for want of a better word) from brand new, you may find the stuffing collapses and compresses over time, and then becomes very uncomfortable.

That's why I like the Secret labs titan, (which also comes in Small, regular and XL sizes) which are not cheap by any means, and teh Herman miller stuff is another step up in cost again (ingnoring second hand/refurbished prices).

I've not tried the herman miller stuff (too expensive for me at brand new prices) some people swear by certain models of thiers, some just swear about them, but reading between the lines it's very 'model' dependent, depending on your personal physiology.

Put it this way, after over a year of heavy use, I've got no intention of replacing my sectret lab titan XL unless it catastrophicaly fails and there's no spares available for it. Comes in a good range of different style trims aswell.

Also worth bearing in mind that no matter how good the chair is you may need to work on your posture to get the most from it. If you default to a hunched over position then the super supportive back of the chair you spent £100's on isn't doing anything.

Unfunnily enough, I was just reading about the CEO of MillerKnoll who seems a bit... toxic. (Maker of Herman Miller if you don't get the connection).

Put a bonus structure in place that effectively couldn't be met, so canceled employee bonuses while getting $6.4m of her own. Nice.

https://twitter.com/Carnage4Life/status/1648156650937917442

Prompted by this thread to go looking, and this outfit looks to have decent stock of refurbished.. anyone used them...

https://www.barkhamofficefurniture.co.uk/chairs-3-c.asp

Been on a similar journey to many on here.

Tried a refurb Aeron but it had way too much play and side to side slop that drove me mad.

It was comfy but I couldn't justify that much money for a chair that felt like it was already on it's last legs so it went back.

Went down the 'business friendly gaming chair route' and ended up with a Noble Chairs Hero Black Edition (basically a Secret Labs Titan, same factory, different logos) and have been very happy with it.

Was thinking I'd like a new Aeron one day when/if this one dies but that CEO video is putting me right off, one of my key justifications for dropping serious cash on a domestically produced product is that you'd like to think the employees are treated more fairly.. hmmm.

I've been sat on a dining table chair since lockdown and it's not great for my back. I did get a refurbished Humanscale Diffrient world but the mesh sagged on the seat and touched the frame after a few hours sat on it. I've been pontificating about what to get instead since!!! So this thread is a good prompt.

Anyone else hate office chairs with arm rests? (and have an armless recommendation?) I just feel i can never get the chair close enough to the desk with them!

@mat the armrests on nearly all (at least high end) office chairs can be removed. Like you I find most just get in the way.

I’ve got a Herman Millar Cosm and the “leaf” arms on that are the exception for me - they’re set way back so they’re not in the way whilst sitting close and typing but useful when you’re not.

Anyone else hate office chairs with arm rests?

Me, generally. I've taken them off most chairs I've had in the office. It also comes in handy when someone moves and a game of musical chairs breaks out, everyone stealing everyone else's; no-one wants mine and if they do then it's readily identifiable.

I haven't done this with the Secret Labs and I'm not quite sure why, they just don't seem to be annoying in the same way most do. They are very adjustable though and I have them set up weirdly asymmetrically for some reason.

a trip to the Herman Miller showroom and a large bill. Along with my decent coffee machine, best money I’ve ever spent.

Any fool can be uncomfortable and under caffienated! 😀

 They are very adjustable though and I have them set up weirdly asymmetrically for some reason.

I've set mine up asymmetrically too, to have the seat height correct, the right hand rest will hit the desk but it's the correct height for my mousing hand, the left hand rest I've lowered down a couple of notches so it just slides under the desk when I pivot the chair to stand up. But you can remove the arm rest completeley if you want to.

I'm guessing if you are left handed you've basically done the mirror opposite of what I've done with mine.

I have to have my arm rest for my mousing arm at teh correct height relative to desk surface height, or else I get terrible RSI in my hand/forearm.

I’ve been sat on a dining table chair since lockdown and it’s not great for my back.

God, I did that at the start of lockdown... never again...

As has been said, it's a bit like buying a matress, if your going to be spending 5-8 hours a day on the thing, it's worth spending some money on.

Got a second hand Secret Labs for us, been away all week and want to see how good it is!

I love mine.

I tried a mate's first before buying. I said "it's almost perfect, but it's just too big." He replied "I got the XL version." Sold.

Yeah, I've still got not complaints about my secret lab titan XL evo.

As said, they come in regular size and small size too, depending on your height/weight.

You have to take a bit of time to adjust the various adjustments properly, but It just does its job...I think it took me a month or two to fine tune it, adjusting bits here and there.

The top parts of the arm rests can rattle a bit, but that kinda comes with the territory unless you want fixed/non-adjustable arm rest.

*there was an issue with the lumbar adjustment being creaky/defective on some circa 2021 models which are replaced free of charge by way of them sending you a whole new back rest, but I'm not sure that would apply if you buy one second hand.