Recommend me a gaming chair

Went to check what's the deal with this Aeron chair. Googled it. Read the description, the specs. Seemed nice. Looked at the price. Closed the tab. Fin.

slazev wrote:

Went to check what's the deal with this Aeron chair. Googled it. Read the description, the specs. Seemed nice. Looked at the price. Closed the tab. Fin.

You'll spend more replacing other sh*ttier chairs in the time it would take you to wear out one Aeron.

If you can wear out an Aeron? Of the people I know that bought one they all just kind of still have them. In at least one case 16 years later, and that dude is huge. I think I talked about him upthread. And I know at least one person that's pushing 10 years on a used one he bought for $400 off craigslist.

Thin_J wrote:
slazev wrote:

Went to check what's the deal with this Aeron chair. Googled it. Read the description, the specs. Seemed nice. Looked at the price. Closed the tab. Fin.

You'll spend more replacing other sh*ttier chairs in the time it would take you to wear out one Aeron.

If you can wear out an Aeron? Of the people I know that bought one they all just kind of still have them. In at least one case 16 years later, and that dude is huge. I think I talked about him upthread. And I know at least one person that's pushing 10 years on a used one he bought for $400 off craigslist.

I've seen Aeron mesh seats start to wear out toward the front. My guess is that users were folding a leg under their thigh, so there's shoe bits rubbing against it.

Mind you, my office has Aerons that were refurbs in ... 2004?

IMAGE(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0_98yoqA1sY/maxresdefault.jpg)

Thin_J wrote:
slazev wrote:

Went to check what's the deal with this Aeron chair. Googled it. Read the description, the specs. Seemed nice. Looked at the price. Closed the tab. Fin.

You'll spend more replacing other sh*ttier chairs in the time it would take you to wear out one Aeron.

If you can wear out an Aeron? Of the people I know that bought one they all just kind of still have them. In at least one case 16 years later, and that dude is huge. I think I talked about him upthread. And I know at least one person that's pushing 10 years on a used one he bought for $400 off craigslist.

I guess we'll see.
My DXRacer is still pretty new.

garion333 back in 2011 wrote:

In all honesty, let me know how an Ikea chair holds up because when it falls apart space might be an issue.

(I'm serious about the first part.)

Well, I'd say it held up until about now. It's started to break down. For $149, I got about 6 years and two cross-country moves out of it. Not terrible. It can still be sat in, but it's no longer up to being my chair for 8+ hour workdays.

I started watching Craigslist recently and came across someone selling a Knoll Chadwick (an Aeron-like chair designed by one of the Aeron's two designers, Don Chadwick). Only owned 6 months, barely used, and with an asking price that I talked down to $120. Needless to say, I jumped on that. Still keeping my eyes peeled on Craigslist for any Aeron Cs, but the Chadwick is doing me right for the time being.

My Ikea Markus has not lasted well. The cylinder on it is starting to fail and it's 2-3 years old. I have to re-set the height on it every day. It seems to hold position while being sat in, but when I come back the next day, it's sunk. I suspect it's going to be a fast transition to less and less functional.

I'm going Aeron next.

Not sure if it helps but I am one of those annoying yoga desk ball people. I love it. Don't think I could go back.

So, I bought an Aeron.

Had a business trip yesterday up to San Jose, so suddenly I found myself going from a place with zero Aerons on Craigslist to the place that's ground zero for used Aerons.

Managed to find someone selling a Aeron C down in Campbell, which would be more or less on my way back south. Talked them down to a $300 asking price.

Sitting in them both back to back drove home how good the Chadwick is. It's a little different feel - the suspension is a bit firmer, doesn't dip down as much. The Chadwick seat is a bit more firm, though not punishing or anything. It's been pretty great to sit in. Enough so that if I knew someone that was in the market for a new chair and was looking at Aerons, I would suggest them also try the Chadwick, and not just as a "cheaper" alternative.

One initial disappointment with the Aeron is that it sits a little lower than the Chadwick. Enough so that I'm consciously re-positioning my legs from how I want them to be. (The Chadwick was already slightly lower than the Markus I'm replacing.) My solution to this is that I just ordered some extra large replacement casters that will add some height to the Aeron. Once I can get the Aeron sitting a little higher, the Chadwick will probably become my wife's work chair.

I have to say that I'm feeling pretty damn good about how much quality desk chair I've purchased with a $420 outlay. I'm much more willing to buy a used chair when it's a full mesh chair, and not a fabric chair with foam padding to soak in god-knows-what. I gave them both a gentle once-over with some water and upholstery cleaner. They look pretty pristine.

Hobear wrote:

Not sure if it helps but I am one of those annoying yoga desk ball people. I love it. Don't think I could go back.

The spinal compression that's been observed with balance balls used as chairs leave me cold on the idea of using one as an all-day work chair - however, I have thought about using one on a more short-term basis, like in the living room if I'm playing a console game or something.

I'm much more willing to buy a used chair when it's a full mesh chair, and not a fabric chair with foam padding to soak in god-knows-what.

There is a tiny bit of foam on an Aeron chair, just under the front lip to keep the front of the chair from pinching. That seems to be removable and replaceable, although I've never needed to.

The mesh itself... that stuff is incredibly durable. I have no idea what it's made of, but it wears like iron. I suspect that something else is almost certain to fail before the fabric does. It doesn't stretch, it doesn't wear, it just... stays exactly the same, month after month, year after year.

So, I'm loving the Aeron. The 4" replacement casters were just what the doctor ordered. They look a tad ridiculous, but the added seat height was just what I needed.

I had some trouble finding the right lean configuration. The chair has an option for forward tilt, but sitting all the way forward makes me feel like I'm leaning downhill and going to fall off. On the other hand, having the forward tilt disengaged meant the chair didn't lean forward enough for me. That position is perfectly fine for relaxed seating and light computer use, but when I'm in this chair, I'm either writing code or PC gaming.

Eventually, I found the winning combination (for me) of having forward tilt engaged, having the tilt lock disengaged, and balancing the tilt tension such that I naturally sat in a range balanced more forward than the non-tilt forward position, but further back than the forward-tilt forward position.

That was a surprising amount of work for the seating position that the Chadwick and Markus both pretty much put me in by default, but I'm satisfied with the end result. (Actually, the Chadwick did kind of have me sloped downhill a bit too by default, but it was less complicated to adjust.)

I knew the Aeron would require some tweaking, though, so I wasn't put off by that.

I also added a headrest attachment for when I do lean back in the chair. One thing I missed about the Markus was the high back and head rest. Between the headrest and the chair being the big "C" version of the Aeron, I feel like I get enough of the same head and shoulders support that I don't miss the full-on tall back of the Markus anymore.

Also...

Malor wrote:

The mesh itself... that stuff is incredibly durable. I have no idea what it's made of, but it wears like iron. I suspect that something else is almost certain to fail before the fabric does. It doesn't stretch, it doesn't wear, it just... stays exactly the same, month after month, year after year.

... this is so true. If I showed anyone this chair and told them it was brand new, nothing in the mesh would reveal me to be a liar. It looks like it just came out of the box. The only thing on my chair that doesn't look new is that some of the plastic exterior bits around the frame have been scuffed. But those scuffs were basically the entire extent of the "wear" of this Aeron that I got for $300.

Legion - are you unusually tall? Just wondering, when your solution was to buy higher casters, why couldn't you simply raise the seat on it's cylinder? Was it already at the top end of it's travel?

Jonman wrote:

Legion - are you unusually tall?

Nope. I'm 6-foot even.

Just wondering, when your solution was to buy higher casters, why couldn't you simply raise the seat on it's cylinder? Was it already at the top end of it's travel?

Yes, chair's already as high as it can go.

The Markus seat went up to about 22". Most chairs, including the Aeron, max out around 20". But then the Aeron drops even lower in practice when you sit in it and the suspension lowers you, whereas that firm seat of the Markus kept you at 22". For me, the Aeron was just too low, but adding 2 more inches of height with the 4" casters elevated it to where I want it to be.

*Legion* wrote:
Jonman wrote:

Legion - are you unusually tall?

Nope. I'm 6-foot even.

Just wondering, when your solution was to buy higher casters, why couldn't you simply raise the seat on it's cylinder? Was it already at the top end of it's travel?

Yes, chair's already as high as it can go.

The Markus seat went up to about 22". Most chairs, including the Aeron, max out around 20". But then the Aeron drops even lower in practice when you sit in it and the suspension lowers you, whereas that firm seat of the Markus kept you at 22". For me, the Aeron was just too low, but adding 2 more inches of height with the 4" casters elevated it to where I want it to be.

Cool. Thanks. I'm a mere 5'8", so not a problem I've run into.

After years of having a busted old chair I finally sprang for something nice (I work from home a ton too), and got me a DXRacer King series (I'm 6'4")...LOVE IT. I also sprang for 5" casters for the carpet I have in my office. I had two of those carpet mats, but they were constantly buckling and catching my toes, which....ouch...

No more mats now, and SUPER comfy chair. A little pricey, but nowhere near a Herman Miller, and my butt can't tell the difference.

I'm currently debating between DXracer and an Aeron myself (used Aeron's around 300 about the same as DXRacer), anyone have preferences or reviews?

The Aeron is flat out a better chair in every single respect.

Arise!

Sitting on the couch for the last few months my back is making me look into a chair I can sit at for work and for gaming. I am not going to spend as much as the things in this thread but I am look at this one for $100 (roughly)

Anyone have experience with it or an opinion. And I don't mean - you really have to spend $500 to get a good chair type opinion. I am not doing that!

Shuanghu Gaming Chair Office

IMAGE(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61FwwAwB%2BqL._AC_SL1500_.jpg)

I ended up replacing my gaming chair (Fabric is terrible when you have 3 dogs who shed), and went with the Secret Lab Titan. It's a great chair, had it for a month or so now. Granted, it's above the price you want to spend for a chair (They run around $400), but so far I'm really happy with the purchase.

I asked on a Facebook group - Gaming Dads - and unlike most internet opinions there was agreement - don't buy one. So I am looking for an office chair with a high back which is what I like about the gaming chairs.

I have found this one in the price range I am willing to pay. You are not alone DeThroned in recommending more expensive ones but I just can't do it!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VKT1TSS...

IMAGE(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/710V-3Gyj7L._AC_SL1500_.jpg)

Definitely check out local used office furniture stores. Offices spend huge money on fancy stuff and then close down on a fairly regular basis, so you can often find some insane deals on lightly used chairs. I picked up a slick mesh chair years ago for maybe 15% of retail cost.

Having gone from a cheaper high-back chair (IKEA Markus -$200) to an expensive-ass chair (Nobel Hero) at the start of the pandemic, the difference is night-and-day. Old chair meant I'd get out of it with back pain after a work day. New chair, no back pain.

If you absolutely have to stay on the cheaper end, my advice is to avoid the gamer-chairs, and aim for a straight-up office chair, particularly as currently, every business is in the process of downsizing their offices in anticipation of a more-virtual future so the used office furniture places have a glut of inventory. But you'll get more bang for your buck there. The sub-$200 gamer chairs tend to all be sh*t, where you can get a legit comfortable sturdy office chair in that price range.

One final point - a good piece of advice I took from the cycling world and apply to everything - pay the most you can for the gear that touches your body. In the bike world, that means saddle and pedals, in the PC world, that means chair, keyboard and mouse. Yes, my chair was absurdly expensive, but by god it's comfortable, and I'm spending a 40-hour work week in it, plus additional gaming time. It's far and away the chair I sit in the most at home, so I consider paying for comfort there is money well spent.

Hah, old thread.

I'm currently sitting in the Aeron that I posted about in 2017. Sit in it 8 hours every workday, and sit in it for PC gaming as well.

I've replaced the gas cylinder on it once, and I also removed the original old style lumbar pillow and installed the PostureFit kit. The mesh still has no sign of actual wear. Looks as good as it did in 2017, which looked nearly as good as it did new, I imagine.

I have also since purchased two other Aeron chairs to refurbish and use. One is in my wife's home office, the other is in my office as a secondary PC chair. Each of the two additional chairs were about $300 as well. (I wasn't actively looking for the third one, but I have some local Craigslist saved searches for Aerons, and it was too good to pass up. If I find a fourth, I may get it and fix it up to give to my parents.)

Still give buying a used Aeron my highest recommendation. These chairs are gonna outlast me.

Another vote for the Aeron. Purchased two for $400 each from a used office furniture store for my wife and I to work from home. Best WFH purchase we ever made.

Yeah looking around for used high-end chairs is the way to go. Recently picked up two fully-decked out 3yr old Steelcase Leap V2 chairs for $300 each after finding an ad on craigslist. The Leaps are not quite as good as the Think chairs, the back support is just a minor step below IMO, but still a chair I'm able to sit in for the entire work day being comfortable.

Definitely want to fully test out used chairs before buying them. The person I got them from had 6 and three were basically like new. The others had some issues like the arms being loose, lumbar support not movable, and one you couldn't raise the height up/down. Cosmetic stuff like scratches or the plastic on the arms being a bit worn I wasn't worried about. So go prepared knowing all the settings the chairs offer and test them all out to make sure they work.

So I have an Apollo Drafting Chair. My house had a built in standing height desk when we bought it in 2015 and this was one of the few chairs I could find that was tall enough to sit at the desk.

Now the armrest foam started coming off a few months ago, after a year of full WFH days. It's getting bad now, so thinking of replacement. Maybe I can just get a part for the arm.

But do any of these highly recommended chairs (Aeron) have drafting height versions?

Or maybe I should buy a new house and a regular size chair haha.

Secretlab chairs seem to be highly recommended. Are they good? Durable, especially near the high end of their weight limit?

I bought a SecretLab Titan chair in January 2020, and love it. Very comfortable. I got the "L" size. I'm (ahem) a little bit above the "max weight" amount, but it's held up very solidly so far. Very easy to accidentally fall asleep in after a long day.

Tha't s exactly the kind of information I needed, Merphle, thanks so much from Dr. Incurable and I!