A few questions for people with ergonomic office chairs

[jon86]

Hi,

I am looking for an ergonomic office chair and plan to visit an office furniture showroom tomorrow to test some out. Before I do so, I would like to ask some questions to people who have ergonomic chairs already.

- What chair do you have and does it have a headrest?
- How far can the chair recline? I am looking to use mine in full upright, semi-recline and full recline modes. I will spend many hours in semi- and full- recline with an ottoman or my (tall'ish) bed.
- Does the chair provide good lumber support?

I would like to get a chair that has a headrest and have picked out these five to try:

- Steelcase Leap
- Humanscale Freedom
- Ergohuman (the showroom only has one)
- Okamura Contessa
- Orangebox Spina

I want to try the model of chair I buy before I get one and I don't live near an IKEA so the IKEA Markus is not being considered. I did try some chairs in Staples but didn't like any so they are not being considered either.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions for anymore to try? I am going to be visiting Hunts Office Furniture showroom which boasts that it is the largest showroom of its kind in the UK. http://www.huntsoffice.co.uk/


Thank you for your time,
Jon

 

[Simon42]

I've got the Steelcase Leap and also used a Humanscale Freedom - both great chairs and each has their own advantages.

The Leap is all about adjustability so it should almost everyone, and the back rest design is very clever with the flexible design with variable tension. I also like the fact that the arm rests do not tilt up when reclining which is good for sitting at a desk and leaning back.

The Freedom is all about simplicity and reclines much further than the Leap. The seat has (or did when I last looked) the option of a special gel layer inside for extra comfort. It also has a headrest option but I didn't find that positioned correctly or comfortable for me.

The two reasons I prefer the Leap are that although the balanced recline in the Freedom is nice, I prefer to be able to vary the ease of reclining and secondly the arm rests recline with the chair which makes typing whilst slightly reclined less comfortable.

 

[Adrianr]

I've got a Humanscale freedom with headrest and I've tried the Okamura chair as well as the Embody, Aeron and a few others. The freedom has good lumbar support and very good support in general, but I just don't find it a comfy chair. It's good to work in as it doesn't really let you nod off, but if I were to spend my money again I'd like to try a Leap or Freedom long term. The problem is ergonomic chairs are especially personal, and you can't find out what's wrong with one untill you've sat in it for a good length of time. Test runs at a shop often aren't enough.

However I will say if money were no object the Okamura chair with the Cruise workstation is just superb to work in. Everything is reclined back, you work low down, nothing feels slouched or under pressure. Beats even the Embody with a regular desk for me.

The other thing to consider is 99% of the time peoples desks are too high. You need to have your seat low enough so you can rest your feet on the floor without hanging off the edge applying pressure to the backs if your thighs. Then you must be able to work on the desk without tending your shoulders upwards (fastest way to feel stiff).

Lots of shops will let you trial chairs if buying new. Definitely do this if you are

 

[jon86]

...

Thank you for your input. That's really helpful to know. Just out of interest, do you think I might find that the chair does not recline enough for me? I like to spend hours in a reclined position with my feet up on an ottoman watching DVDs on my laptop, etc.

...

That's great to hear, thanks. Which Okamura chair did you try? It sounds like you tried the Cruise workstation (chair)? Unfortunately I don't have £3500 to spend () and I'll be testing the Okamura equivalent of the Steelcase Leap called the Okamura Contessa.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I will also be trying out the Orangebox Spina.

 

[Simon42]

Just out of interest, do you think I might find that the chair does not recline enough for me? I like to spend hours in a reclined position with my feet up on an ottoman watching DVDs on my laptop, etc.

For me the recline is plenty enough for that - any more and I would get a stiff neck even with a headrest. The back support is also good when reclined which is something I found a little lacking in some chairs, especially those with mesh backs.

 

[jon86]

That's excellent to hear, thank you. I might try the Steelcase Think when I am there, although I think the Leap will be the better chair.