Chair selection is difficult!

tomd96 · 15 Jun 2017 at 12:34

Hi all,

I've been reading reviews and forums in the hope of finding a new chair, but there's so many conflicting comments that it's tricky to find something I could buy with any real confidence.

I've had my current office chair for about 6 years and it's very good quality with decent adjustments available, but the top of the backrest is only about level with the middle of my shoulders and I'd really like a chair with a headrest as the lack of one on my current chair can be uncomfortable for longer sessions. It's primarily used for gaming, and for info I'm 6'5 and 100kg/16st.

The noblechairs look good in reviews and specs, but the Q&A thread is concerning. I'm interested in the Icon when it becomes available as it seems they've made improvements from the Epic, but of course it will be a long time before long-term reliability can be assessed.

Can anyone recommend a reliable, comfortable chair with decent adjustments and a tall back with headrest? Should I just give noblechairs a go? The ~£300 price range would be nice to stick to, but I don't mind the idea of paying more for a chair that is likely to last significantly longer. If I did go for noble, I'd probably end up going for the real leather option.

Cheers!

Beasty · 15 Jun 2017 at 15:38

I'm in the same boat really, worried the Epic chair is too firm but I prefer the look of it compared to the Icon.

hornetstinger · 15 Jun 2017 at 15:39

can't see the point of "gaming chairs" unless they have lock out castors or they lock into a steering wheel frame and then unable to move backwards or rotate.

MissChief · 15 Jun 2017 at 15:48

I have the leather epic chair and no issues with quality on the chair itself. I'm 6ft and my head goes into the middle of the headrest. It's VERY firm for the first few weeks but is not breaking in and is more comfortable.

tomd96 · 16 Jun 2017 at 08:02

Thanks for the replies so far.

hornetstinger said:
can't see the point of "gaming chairs" unless they have lock out castors or they lock into a steering wheel frame and then unable to move backwards or rotate.

I'm not specifically after a "gaming" chair, just a comfortable, durable chair for my home office/PC gaming space that has a high back with a headrest, which seems difficult to find among the higher-end "office" chairs. I use a Humanscale Freedom at work and it's OK but not something I'd choose for myself, and the Aeron which I used at my last job was nice but doesn't come with a headrest as standard and I'm not sure about buying second hand (would rather not spend £1,000 for a new one.) Gaming chairs seem the best fit for what I'm after, there's just no apparent consensus on whether they are worth the investment quality-wise.

MissChief said:
I have the leather epic chair and no issues with quality on the chair itself. I'm 6ft and my head goes into the middle of the headrest. It's VERY firm for the first few weeks but is not breaking in and is more comfortable.

Thanks for the feedback. How long have you had the chair? Would you have described it as uncomfortable due to the initial firmness, or good from the start and simply improving over time?

Glanza · 16 Jun 2017 at 11:36

Have you looked at getting a 'proper' chair i.e Steelcase leap or a Hermon Miller?

tomd96 · 16 Jun 2017 at 12:04

Glanza said:
Have you looked at getting a 'proper' chair i.e Steelcase leap or a Hermon Miller?

I mentioned my experience of Herman Miller and Humanscale in my second post. I'm struggling to find anywhere online to look properly at Steelcase - it looks like they have a version of the Leap with a headrest based on their own website, but I can't find it for sale in the UK and their US prices are all more than $1k for the ones with headrests. Any guidance for where to find them would be appreciated, but there seems to be a theme that, unless spending a lot more, "proper" office chairs don't include headrests, which is the whole point of me looking for a new chair.

Glanza · 16 Jun 2017 at 12:13

tomd96 said:
I mentioned my experience of Herman Miller and Humanscale in my second post. I'm struggling to find anywhere online to look properly at Steelcase - it looks like they have a version of the Leap with a headrest based on their own website, but I can't find it for sale in the UK and their US prices are all more than $1k for the ones with headrests. Any guidance for where to find them would be appreciated, but there seems to be a theme that, unless spending a lot more, "proper" office chairs don't include headrests, which is the whole point of me looking for a new chair.

From past posts on here you need to look at 2nd hand places that refurb then like http://officeresale.co.uk/browsebybrand/?brands[]=7

hornetstinger · 16 Jun 2017 at 14:25

What about Ikea Markus?

MissChief · 16 Jun 2017 at 14:28

I did find the chair overly hard to begin with but it's very comfortable now. I've had it about three weeks and it gets sat on for three to four hours most nights.

tomd96 · 16 Jun 2017 at 14:46

Glanza said:
From past posts on here you need to look at 2nd hand places that refurb then like http://officeresale.co.uk/browsebybrand/?brands[]=7

Thanks very much for the link. It seems that the Steelcase options might not be quite tall enough and would rely on ordering online and second hand to keep the price in line with what I'd want to spend, so I'm hesitant there.

There are aftermarket headrests for the Aeron available online for about £150, but not much in the way of reviews. Has anyone tried one of the headrests? Even with a second-hand Aeron though, that would mean spending around £600 for something with limited warranty and unknown history. Of course, Herman Miller has a good reputation for durability.

I do like the idea of a mesh chair like the Aeron as my home office can get very warm in the summer... my current chair is leather though and hasn't caused any significant discomfort in hotter weather.

hornetstinger said:
What about Ikea Markus?

My wife has a Markus and the height and headrest are good and comfortable, but the armrests don't have the adjustments I am used to and want to retain - I regularly raise or lower the armrests on my existing chair depending on what I'm doing, e.g. higher for keyboard and mouse usage, lower when gaming with a controller. A shame, as the Markus is certainly a much cheaper option!

MissChief said:
I did find the chair overly hard to begin with but it's very comfortable now. I've had it about three weeks and it gets sat on for three to four hours most nights.

Good to know that it's not taken a great deal of time to improve!

I think at the moment the leading choices are a second-hand Aeron with an aftermarket headrest, or noblechairs. I'll probably wait for reviews on the Icon before deciding anything, but if anyone has any other suggestions I'd be very happy to look at more options

tomd96 · 18 Jun 2017 at 09:11

Any thoughts on the Ergohuman chairs? They seem like a more affordable Aeron competitor and are available in mesh with a headrest. Around £500 new with a 10 year warranty

BigBANGtheory · 18 Jul 2017 at 17:55

tomd96 said:
I mentioned my experience of Herman Miller and Humanscale in my second post. I'm struggling to find anywhere online to look properly at Steelcase - it looks like they have a version of the Leap with a headrest based on their own website, but I can't find it for sale in the UK and their US prices are all more than $1k for the ones with headrests. Any guidance for where to find them would be appreciated, but there seems to be a theme that, unless spending a lot more, "proper" office chairs don't include headrests, which is the whole point of me looking for a new chair.

The headrests are expensive add-ons ordered at the time of purchase, you cannot (to my knowledge) go to a Steelcase and buy just a headrest; as a bare minimum you'd have to buy the entire back rest system with headrest. Its the same in the 2nd hand market too with headrest fitted chairs commanding a high premium over the standard versions cos fewer people/companies will pay the extra.

You have to buy new Steelcase chairs and parts through dealers, there are several in the UK and they will cost 1-3K for the top of the line models. In my case I registered my interest with a 2nd hand supplier and just waited until they got one in. I think in your case you are forced to try before you buy because you are not an average build my advice would be not to rush into it but pay good money for a good quality 2nd hand unit. Personally I don't find the headrest that useful its mostly atheistic but then I am 5'7".

craarc · 19 Jul 2017 at 10:24

no argument maybe except for price range but RH extend 220. Ten years in replaced one roller and had base recovered. luckily for me i picked a couple up on the cheap, but they can run out at over £1300 with all the options new.
however they do re refurbished or if your lucky to find one in a office sale.
if you can find one jump at it, you spend all your pc/gaming time in it so its worth the investment.

http://www.rhchairs.co.uk/office-chairs/rh-extend/

tomd96 · 19 Jul 2017 at 13:27

Thanks for the additional replies. Unfortunately further investigation showed that the standard size chairs from Steelcase, Ergohuman and RH Extend all appear to be too small. Ergohuman for example DO offer chairs that would be tall enough for me but only by spending more than twice the price of their normal chair! The ~£500-600 standard chair suddenly turned into a £1200 one from their Bodybilt range because I'm too tall. My current chair is very much of that "classic" ergonomic office chair type and is a great chair, but not ideal for leaning back and relaxing while gaming.

I've ordered a Noblechairs Icon as it seemed like the best overall option available to me. The back height including headrest is shown as about the same as an IKEA Markus, which is a comfortable height for me, and of course the Icon has many more adjustments etc and should be higher quality. Hopefully I'll be happy with it!

craarc · 20 Jul 2017 at 10:25

Good luck with it.they do look nice i must admit.

one thing though i will say about the Rh extend 220 being to small? (the 220 isn't a standard chair the standard chairs yes they are not that big)
The back rest height on the 220 is 620 mm and that's with out the neck-rest, which can also be extended by nearly 30 cm i believe. the back rest top can be extended to 725 mm above the seat base.
so the backrest has a huge range of height adjustments with neck-rest height above the seat is something like 755+ mm max. that's quite a lot
will need to check when at home. but im sure the max height from seat base to top of "neck-rest" is about 755 mm the noble is 860 mm to top of "head-rest" so 11 cm more from neck to top of head.
i would guess that the RH chair has a higher shoulder height position than the noble but the nobles overall height is taller, but bear in mind that is a head support on the noble and the RH is a neck support.

but yes with all the bits it easily also turns it into a £1000+ chair

be interesting to see how you find it. i was tempted by them but cant justify the expense especially when i have two rh220 sitting at home with only one in use.

tomd96 · 20 Jul 2017 at 14:45

craarc said:
Good luck with it.they do look nice i must admit.

one thing though i will say about the Rh extend 220 being to small? (the 220 isn't a standard chair the standard chairs yes they are not that big)
The back rest height on the 220 is 620 mm and that's with out the neck-rest, which can also be extended by nearly 30 cm i believe. the back rest top can be extended to 725 mm above the seat base.
so the backrest has a huge range of height adjustments with neck-rest height above the seat is something like 755+ mm max. that's quite a lot
will need to check when at home. but im sure the max height from seat base to top of "neck-rest" is about 755 mm the noble is 860 mm to top of "head-rest" so 11 cm more from neck to top of head.
i would guess that the RH chair has a higher shoulder height position than the noble but the nobles overall height is taller, but bear in mind that is a head support on the noble and the RH is a neck support.

but yes with all the bits it easily also turns it into a £1000+ chair

be interesting to see how you find it. i was tempted by them but cant justify the expense especially when i have two rh220 sitting at home with only one in use.

The 860mm height of the Noble would allow me to actually use the headrest, anything lower wouldn't - my experience with the IKEA Markus helped me to confirm that. The key idea is to have an actual headrest to lean back on, and unfortunately the neck-rest on the RH doesn't look like what I'm after. Thanks again for the suggestion though - it's been surprising how difficult it is to find anything online beyond Herman Miller, Humanscale and gaming chairs so this thread has helped me to find chairs I doubt I'd have known to look at from my own searches.

The leather Icons are due in the next week or so and I'll give an update on my thoughts once I've been able to try it out

Bluntwrapped · 21 Jul 2017 at 08:14

I was tempted to go for one of the leather epic ones but the lumbar support seems lacking. I haven't had the chance to try one but I'd be worried my back would end up aching after a few hours sitting at my desk.
(I've had problems with my back ever since I had muscle spasm a few years ago)

Has anyone tried any of the Maxnomic chairs? A few of them look quite good and some come with adjustable lumbar support.

tayroc · 21 Jul 2017 at 10:05

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. I wanted a chair that's actually long enough and meant for long sittings. So, herman miller, etc may be good quality chairs but it's irrelevant.
I was tempted to try the ICON model. I watched the review on youtube by techchap. It looked great, it seemed comfortable but it had just one problem for me. The lumbar support should be build into the chair. I can let it slide that they didn't do this in their first model but in 2017, they should've taken care of that.
I always thought the cushions were a bit crap. You can always buy cushions on amazon but now they give you some for free and that's supposed to be the finished product?

Then, the worst part is that the lower back pillow isn't even held in place by anything. It's Probably great chair to sit in but it should've been better.

As far as higher end chairs. One guy referred me to what he called "24/7 chairs". Turns out, they are very similar in design. It looks like a regular car seat. Apparently, these are used by security surveillance people and the like. Everything in it is adjustable. However, above my desired price range(they are €1k+)

This continues to be a very difficult market to be in. All chairs seem to have something going for them and something going against them.
I researched the maxnomic office comfort. It does have adjustable lumbar support. However, the seat appears to have a hard area which hurts the tailbone. I've seen several complaints about that.

I really hate coming into a hobby/market and having to pay thousands to get "the best option". I just want a decent chair with this kind of design for under €500. Damn

Bluntwrapped · 21 Jul 2017 at 10:25

tayroc said:
I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. I wanted a chair that's actually long enough and meant for long sittings. So, herman miller, etc may be good quality chairs but it's irrelevant.
I was tempted to try the ICON model. I watched the review on youtube by techchap. It looked great, it seemed comfortable but it had just one problem for me. The lumbar support should be build into the chair. I can let it slide that they didn't do this in their first model but in 2017, they should've taken care of that.
I always thought the cushions were a bit crap. You can always buy cushions on amazon but now they give you some for free and that's supposed to be the finished product?

Then, the worst part is that the lower back pillow isn't even held in place by anything. It's Probably great chair to sit in but it should've been better.

As far as higher end chairs. One guy referred me o what he called "24/7 chairs". Turns out, they are very similar in design. It looks a regular car seat. Apparently, these are used by security surveillance people and the like. Everything in it is adjustable. However, above my desired price range(they are €1k+)

This continues to be a very difficult market to be in. All chairs seem to have something going for them and something going against them.
I researched the maxnomic office comfort. It does have adjustable lumbar support. However, the seat appears to have a hard area which hurts the tailbone. I've seen several complaints about that.

I really hate coming into a hobby/market and having to pay thousands to get "the best option". I just want a decent chair with this kind of design for under €500. Damn

I completely agree with the point you made on the ergonomic consideration, especially in 2017. If a chair doesn't fit fundamental requirements of the human body, especially in regards to something which is supposedly designed for extended periods of sitting, then it seems a bit of a design failure tbh. They do look lovely and the quality seems great but the more I read about it the more I think racing seats should have never made it to the office environment.

A couple of flimsy cushions seem a ***** fix for poor ergonomic design.

I think I'll take a trip to IKEA this weekend and see what they have on display.