Computer Chair for Long Usage (HM Aeron?)

[Reversed]

Hey guys,

So I'm in the market for a new computer chair, since the dining chair is a real pain in the butt at the moment, literally, and I sit in it for 16 hours to 24 hours a day.

Initially I was leaning towards the Herman Miller Aeron(I need to sit in one first and for a long time before I truly consider it, I use a Herman Miller Mirra at work).

However, friends and their families advise that I shouldn't pay a thousand dollars for a chair, especially for one that's mesh and plastic. They advise buying cheap $100 - $350 dollar chairs and exercise gym balls instead(Their advice and thoughts on the bottom.)

So at the moment, I prefer Mesh because I like to stay cool and have strong breathe-ability in my chair after long hours. I'll also accept leather if it has the same properties(I hate heat).

I justified the Aeron by a few factors:
1. Cost per annum over warranty life: $1000 / 12 years warranty = ~$83.35 per year.
2. Mesh (Cooler than PU leather chair).
3. I'm young and I hear adults at 30 talking about their physical pains and I'd like to invest in a ergonomic chair to mitigate or postpone the pains to a later date.
4. I sit on my chair pretty much all day (16 hours min. small breaks in between but accumulates to 16+ in a day) except for usual life activities (shopping, gym, hygiene). So I think I should invest in a good chair.
5. If its as comfortable as my HM Mirra I should be able to work continuously without pain. Though this also makes this chair an issue, it means you're not getting up away from the chair because you don't feel the need to take a break.

My friends and their families advice of why not to buy the aeron:
1. It's just a chair, any will do because Australian standards have chairs meet health requirements.
2. Exercise ball is much better for your ergonomics (for me, I don't think I can maintain perfect posture for 16 hours straight).
3. It's a hype.
4. You see mesh chairs everywhere and they're less than a quarter of the price and have the same properties.
5. The chair is just mesh, it will sag, rip, break as any other mesh chair as easily.
6. The money should be invested in a genuine leather chair instead.
7. No-one should buy a chair like that for that much, buy an officeworks one, they last over 5 years(I think they last like 1 - 2 years).
8. Buy a chair that has 5 year warranty, that will last longer and several decades and will be a fraction of the price.
9. It's an old design, newer designs are better.
10. The chair won't last 12 years (whys the 12 year warranty there o.o?).
11. Reviewers probably don't sit in these chairs for long hours like you do, they won't last at your rate.
12. It's a waste of money.
13. A chair is a chair.
14. You're working out at the gym, the bi-product of this effort will make an ergonomic chair pointless.

So I'd like to ask, why I should and should not buy this chair(Aeron) and/or what would be a wise thought process when buying a chair (price, quality, etc.).

Thoughts?

Thank you

 

[iam2thecrowe]

the problem with buying a chair to sit in for long periods, is that you cant test one for that long, unless you go to officeworks, and spend a good few hours sitting in one of their chairs. but anything is going to be more comfortable than a dining chair. Also, what the hell are you doing that you need to sit for 16-24hrs straight? that is seriously bad for your health regardless of chair.......unless your in a wheel chair.....even then its good to get out of it and get into bed and get some sleep.

 

[ssddx]

$100-300 office chairs you can buy at any office store are typically complete junk.

i need to buy a new chair almost every single year.

we used some high quality chairs at work (not sure if they were herman miller or not) and they were so much better built that i could easily imagine them lasting 5 if not 10+ years. there is a huge difference in quality.

while $1000 is alot of money to pay for a chair... if it has a 12 year no-questions-asked warranty (not just a limited warranty which doesnt cover squat) then it would be worthwhile. you would be paying no more than you would for a new $100 chair every year and will not have to deal with a half broken chair for half a year.

--------------------

I justified the Aeron by a few factors:
1. Cost per annum over warranty life: $1000 / 12 years warranty = ~$83.35 per year.
this is how i figure it as well...
2. Mesh (Cooler than PU leather chair).
true. it might sag eventually but hopefully thats warranty covered. leather chairs will surface wear very quickly also.
3. I'm young and I hear adults at 30 talking about their physical pains and I'd like to invest in a ergonomic chair to mitigate or postpone the pains to a later date.
this can be better accomplished by getting out of your chair (dont sit on it for 16-24 hours a day, get up and go outside). while a good chair is better than a bad one its not going to fix the fact that you are sitting on your butt
4. I sit on my chair pretty much all day (16 hours min. small breaks in between but accumulates to 16+ in a day) except for usual life activities (shopping, gym, hygiene). So I think I should invest in a good chair.
makes sense to me
5. If its as comfortable as my HM Mirra I should be able to work continuously without pain. Though this also makes this chair an issue, it means you're not getting up away from the chair because you don't feel the need to take a break.
you already sit on your butt all day so what is the difference? as long as you get up off and on like you do now then nothing would have changed

My friends and their families advice of why not to buy the aeron:
1. It's just a chair, any will do because Australian standards have chairs meet health requirements.
and most chairs wear out very quickly and break within a year. this is the same as saying any car will do or any shirt will do. they all do the same thing. while technically true they all do it differently and some are better than others
2. Exercise ball is much better for your ergonomics (for me, I don't think I can maintain perfect posture for 16 hours straight).
i have heard about exercise balls being good for posture however you may get tired sitting on one for that long.
3. It's a hype.
while partially true they became such a big name because they are better than other products. its easy to say something expensive is all hype but i doubt they did the research or have sat in herman miller chairs before. there is a big difference between good chairs and bad ones.
4. You see mesh chairs everywhere and they're less than a quarter of the price and have the same properties.
they have some of the same properties yes. key word some. they do not have the same build quality though
5. The chair is just mesh, it will sag, rip, break as any other mesh chair as easily.
and the padding in leather chairs breaks down rather quickly. the surface of the leather will also wear rather quickly. whats the difference?
6. The money should be invested in a genuine leather chair instead.
some expensive solidly built leather chairs are definitely of the same build quality of the herman miller chairs. however they arent cool and the heavy built ones are not as ergonomic.
7. No-one should buy a chair like that for that much, buy an officeworks one, they last over 5 years(I think they last like 1 - 2 years).
officeworks? they look like standard chairs we buy over here. they will break. typically they are plywood construction with some bolts in the sides which crack out in under a year. its very rare to find one built with actual metal. asking for 5 years out of one is to be very optimistic
8. Buy a chair that has 5 year warranty, that will last longer and several decades and will be a fraction of the price.
if you can buy a 5 year warranty chair for cheaper then perhaps that is true. however is it a full warranty or limited? while i agree there are other options to the expensive herman miller chairs none of them are what i would call cheap.
9. It's an old design, newer designs are better.
tell that to your parents (haha). joking aside perhaps the reason why it still sells is that it was a good design to begin with. look around the house and count the number of things based on old designs that you still use. its quite a large list i will bet. newer is not always better.
10. The chair won't last 12 years (whys the 12 year warranty there o.o?).
if it doesnt last 12 years then that is what the warranty is for. anyways how are they to know it wont last 12 years?
11. Reviewers probably don't sit in these chairs for long hours like you do, they won't last at your rate.
while completely true its also possible to read reviews from people who have owned the chairs for a long time since they are "older models". its also possible to see how many old herman miller chairs are still in your office and going strong.
12. It's a waste of money.
so is buying a $3000 television, paying for cable tv with ads, buying a brand new car, paying $150/month for a cell phone, etcetera. whats the point?
13. A chair is a chair.
and a sandwich is a sandwich even if its been sitting outside for a year. i'm sure they like picking out clothes they like, cars they like and food they like so what is wrong with picking out a chair that you like which works better for you? its easy to say something is pointless when you dont know any better.
14. You're working out at the gym, the bi-product of this effort will make an ergonomic chair pointless.
completely false. i could work my forearms out in the gym every day and stretch every day and still get carpal tunnel from using a keyboard. while staying in good physical condition does help its not going to make up for poor ergonomics.

 

[Reversed]

Thank you for your answers, especially ssddx, that's really thorough, I appreciate your input a lot!

And to answer iam2thecrowe's question, I basically am in my chair 16 - 24 hours a chair accumulatively, 24 occurs on some occasions, when its on a day I'm suppose to take a break from gym(a break once a week), I can let loose I whip out a personal web project and I'm just unstoppable, too much fun and the momentum can keep my going for days (its happened many times especially when its the holiday period).

I pretty much sit in my chair all day as I: do work, then do my hobbies (web design and development, photoshop), take a break (play a game), watch tv/movie, tutor my sibling, talk with family, talk with friends through VOIP, etc. Yep, life revolves around me being in my chair lol.

Of course this isn't all week long, since I do have social commitments but my week is usually like this most of the time.