Looking for advice for a new chair

eurokage said:
Respectfully disagree, HM Aeron or Steelcase Leap/Gesture will be more comfortable for long sitting sessions than a typical gaming chair.
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Respectfully disagree again. Different chairs suit different people. Whilst it's dead easy to keep trotting out the buy a steelcase or Herman miller as they are great chairs, they will not suit everyone. Equally the people saying that gaming chairs are uncomfortable and no one should buy one, that's incorrect - they are absolutely fine for some people.

I've got an expensive but generic ergonomic chair at work (provided by our HSE department) and it's merely ok, it's certainly not what I'd class as comfortable. And yet I've got a cheap £50 IKEA chair, a 15 year old Argos executive chair and the kids have Noblechairs, and I find all of them to be more comfortable.

Ultimately you need to try before you buy, and ideally (but not normally possible) and extended trial
 
The problem is that "comfortable" doesn't necessarily mean "healthy" (a bit like food really I guess).

I've spent the last 20+ years in generic "comfortable" gaming chairs, and - while it was fine while I was younger - a few years ago I started getting quite a bit of back pain after longer sessions, especially after sitting in a chair working all day as well. I ended up getting a 2nd hand Herman Miller celle, and within a couple of weeks, no more back pain.

It's far from "comfortable", having a relatively hard plastic back and minimal padding on the seat*, but despite that, I wouldn't go back to a gaming seat now.

I'm definitely not suggesting everyone needs to go out and buy a £1000 chair (mine cost me £50!), but equally, just because it feels soft and relaxing to sit in, doesn't mean it's doing your spine any favours!


* The seat padding has pretty much deteriorated to nothing now, so I'm looking at making a new cushion for it (or if that fails replacing the chair completely), but the chair is 18 years old, and otherwise works perfectly, so can't really complain!
 
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I've been through a few chairs, especially of late. Mainly because of back problems, which I think are due to years of bad seating posture and probably just getting fat and old (49)...
  • 2018 - GT Omega Racing Chair (£189); Put up with this for a quite a while, but the build quality wasn't great. You get what you pay for I suppose, but I would avoid these cheaper options.
  • 2021 - Real Leather Noble Hero (£490); Way better quality than the above, with more padding and bigger seat. I still have this, although the leather has worn a bit. These have gone-up since I got mine, yikes... £600 now.
  • 2023 - Herman Millar Sayl (£700); Started working from home and had setup a separate desk, so needed another chair. I'd say for '9-5 working use' (i.e. not gaming), these are great, even though they look tiny when you first seem them.
  • 2025 - Herman Millar Embody Logitech (£1170); I just got this in the sale, as upgrade on the Noble, mainly because I wanted something that'd force me to sit properly.
The Embody is comfortable, but even at the sale price I'm not yet convinced that it's worth it. I'm still getting used to it though, and I'm finding myself swapping back to the Noble occasionally... especially if I'm doing some late-night gaming and feel like slouching a bit. I might get the aftermarket headrest for the Embody, which maybe will make a difference.

I'd recommend going to John Lewis (as mentioned by someone else). They stock a few different chairs, including the Herman's, then at least you can try a few.

Avoid the cheap options though, they might look nice in the pictures but they are no good for prolonged use.
 
Had the Boulies Master gaming chair for 2 years now and very happy with it
6ft3tall and 14stone.
 
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