How To Choose A Chair Online?

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MGP

MGP

MGP

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Selection of many things, especially computer parts, online is fairly easy: decide a budget, read the specification, check a couple of reviews and part with your money.

Chairs are going to be a lot more subjective. You are going to spend a lot of time in a chair. It's got to be right and feel comfortable.

I can select a chair's colour scheme and cloth type. I can often see if the back or whole chair tilts, or other adjustments. Some suppliers might give some dimensions. But the human body shape does differ in height, girth and unfortunately weight. One size most definitely will not fit all.

A chair is a big heavy item so ordering in the hope it's right, and then finding it isn't comfortable and returning under DSR isn't going to be viable.

So in a nutshell, if I can't do the obvious of parking my backside on a sample in a showroom somewhere (and I've checked out the usual suspect high street stores and found their standard "home office" chairs wanting, especially as very few have any headrest support), how do I know if any of the OcUK ranges will suit me?
 
Video review is all you can do really. In terms of size etc you can only have a guesstimate of what it'll look/feel like.
 
Hadn't really thought about video reviews, thanks. Just have to hope that the reviewer looks like they have a similar physique (read blubber) to me.
 
There are some nice chairs in Ikea if you have any nearby. The problem with chairs, as you say, is you really can't get a feel for it until you've actually sat down in it yourself.
 
MGP said:
So in a nutshell, if I can't do the obvious of parking my backside on a sample in a showroom somewhere, how do I know if any of the OcUK ranges will suit me?
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Frankly I think the concept of a "gaming chair" is stupid. What does it even mean? A decent chair is a decent chair regardless of which activity you're doing whilst sat in it.

Just get a Herman Miller. They can be adjusted quite a lot so will suit your personal requirements and the chair itself will probably outlive you. I appreciate they're a bit pricey but if you're gonna be using it regularly then it really is a false economy to buy brand new chairs in the £100-250 range.
 
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Steelcase Leap V2 off ebay for £200, you'll not find better for that amount. If you don't mind spending a lot then get a brand new Herman Miller.
 
How much are those Herman Miller Chairs :eek: However you swing it that is in the unaffordable price bracket. I'd also be very concerned at that price range as to whether the fabric is indeed sufficiently durable to last the 20+ years I'd be expecting.

A £100 - £200 chair might seem a false economy, but if you can consider you could replace it 4 or so times before you are in the price bracket of the HM stuff, it's viable. My last home office type £100 chair did me 5+ years before the fabric gave out, just a shame that model is no longer available or I'd have bought another without a doubt.

I'm not looking specifically at a gaming chair. My needs are general purpose. Indeed most of the reviews of the more racing bucket car seat gaming shapes suggest they can be restrictive. But head support is a must for when you want to slouch back and watch a bit of video stuff, rather than simply gaming, or even being occasionally productive on the PC. To that extent very few of the office chairs I'm seeing offer a headrest, pointing me towards gaming.

I also suspect I'm wanting the more leather, or synthetic leather fabric, rather than cloth. When your sat gaming those snacks and spillages of booze during those laugh out loud moments are inevitable. As at least one of the reviews pointed out cloth doesn't clean easily.
 
I'm currently the owner of a Herman Miller Aeron chair and a Chinese branded copy of the HM chair.

To be very honest, I doubt HM Chair actually worth their full price, as you can easily find a refurbished one on the bay for significantly less. However, when comparing with Chinese copy, which cost about half of the second hand HM chair, it's very clear that HM uses some very premium and material comparing to their copied counterpart.

For example, mesh in HM chairs are very smooth and comfortable to sit on, but those in the Chinese counterpart are rough and stiff, despite the similar look.

However, it's important to note that I'm a small-sized student from Hong Kong, and the ergonomics of the HM Aeron suits me very well, and it might not suit others as much. But the important thing to note is that the premium price tag of HM really does result in a superior material used. But after all, I'd suggest getting a preowned one, as it's just much cheaper than getting a new one :)
 
Yeah I recommend picking up a second-hand HM if it's an option. I'd much rather pay around £200 for a second-hand HM than a brand new £200 gaming chair.
 
sniffy said:
Frankly I think the concept of a "gaming chair" is stupid. What does it even mean? A decent chair is a decent chair regardless of which activity you're doing whilst sat in it.
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Not so.
Many chairs in the general mid and high-end (£1-300) brackets are designed around specific purposes or time spent in them.
'Ergonomic' ones are often either designed for specific difficulties or encourange frequent posture changes.
Others are designed for use in static PC use, for people who are up and down from their desks, for high counter and draftsmans' desk use, and so on.

I generally would look to one designed for 24hr usage, for both comfort and durability. Ideally one with as many different adjustment points as possible.
The good shops will have specs including min-max seat height, max load, dimensions and all that.

The gaming chairs OCUK stock tend to be quite firm for long-term support, rather than soft and squishy which more often leads to discomfort.
They're pretty good and quite adjustable, but I think a dedicated 24hr office chair would be more to my own personal liking.


MGP said:
how do I know if any of the OcUK ranges will suit me?
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Find a mate who has one and go play on his/her rig for a few hours. That's what I did, anyway.
 
Leather chairs from asda for about £40 or tesco etc. I got one and its lasted. Tho I do need a new one but for the price and comfort I'm thinking of getting another one of them.
 
sniffy said:
Well I was working on the assumption he's a PC gamer so will be sat at a desk.
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But there are different chairs for active, static and all sorts of desk-based activities.
"Gaming" chairs essentially include some of the features on semi-static ones, with pretty colours and bumped up price tags tacked on in order to make it a "Gaming" product... IMO, anyway.

I'd suggest just going to a comprehensive swivel chair specialist and picking something based on requirements.
However, I personally am attempting to build my own by ripping the seat out of a BMW...!! :D
 
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