Ask Lemmy

Get an office chair and not one of those "gaming chairs"

Source: I use a "gaming chair" and it sucks ass

Go to a brick and mortar store like Staples and try them out yourself.

The chair that suits one person will be agony another.

You have to find out for yourself.

Steelcase. They make good office chairs that you can get used for decent money.

Got a refurbished steelcase leap V2 from Crandall after my budget office chair shit the bed. been really enjoying it. My ass and back are very comfortable.

Herman Miller

Going to go a bit against the grain on this one and recommend SecretLab. It does have that "gaming chair" aesthetic, but it is a great chair IMO.

I work from home, sit on my ass for 8 hours straight, and occasionally game right after work into the evening. I can park my ass in that thing and sit for 16 hours no problem (obviously getting up to take short breaks etc). It is super comfortable. I own the mesh one, instead of the leather/pleather, and I think it's the way to go.

Furthermore, the customer service is excellent. I needed to replace the armrest after 4 years as it was beginning to crack. My model didn't come with the snap on/snap off armrests, so I had to send an email to customer support to see if there was something they could do. Not only did they inform me it was actually easily replaceable, they sent me instructions, and gave me 50% of the replacement cost, which was only $20CAD, as I was just over the warranty at that point. It might be a 3 year warranty, but I can't quite remember, possibly 4.

My circle of friends largely work from home as well, and many of them have SecretLab chairs, and they also love them. No back problems, super comfy, breathable.

The only downside I can really think of is that it is a fairly heavy chair, as the base uses a large amount of metal, and the price tag can be expensive, at around $500-$700CAD if you purchase new.

They are also sized to fit your height and weight. I own the Titan 2020 model, and I love it.

Hope this helps!

I work for a company that specializes in ergonomic work setups and the OTs recommend Ergocentric chairs at least 90% of the time.

They're expensive, but if you are having health issues due to sitting then your employer has a "duty to accommodate" to get you a better setup.

We also often recommend sit-stand desks because too comfy of a chair can just cause different problems from lack of movement.

Had a Marcus from IKEA for years, switched out to a Herman Miller Embody and I can sit in it for hours without any butt or back pain. I do wish I had a headrest on the Embody but its not the end of the world.

The HM range is expensive but with the 12 year warranty they're well worth the cost compared to cheap ones you'll likely replace.

The most important thing, no chair can solve the problem of uninterrupted sitting for 8+ hours. No matter what you spend or what materials they use. Sitting for 8+ hours will slowly do permanent damage to your body. No matter what chair you sit in, stand up occasionally, take little walks, do exercises or calisthenics or something, whatever feels right for you.

I'm Autistic and when I play videogames I can get so hyperfocused that I don't realise the outside world has moved forward a whole day. Until something physically interrupts my gameplay. So I set timers now, and I strictly obey them. Nothing short of surgery will ever heal my tailbone issue, but I can at least prevent it from getting worse.

I also have a standing desk, so I will swap it between standing and sitting every 2 hours if I don't want to take breaks. And I have a VR headset for using my computer from different chairs; a recliner, a kitchen chair, anything different from my computer chair. I also use the VR headset for most of my non-computer gaming. It has become my current console gaming platform.

VR games are a great way to spend 8+ hours uninterrupted in a game without causing body problems, lol. Plus, if it's mixed reality, you can still do real life stuff while playing, like walking over and getting a glass of water or talking to and interacting with the other people in the room. In full Virtual reality it's still a good idea to have timers set, just as a check-in, if you have been standing still in the game, your knees could need some exercise, if you are hungry or thirsty or have to go to the bathroom... you know, the kinds of things you might not notice while the game is running, hehe.

I have had a Herman Miller Sayl chair for 7 years. I work from home.and game in it, it's plenty comfortable for 10+ hours if you need to sit that long.

Only downside is no headrest. Upside is more affordable and less weird looking than the Aeron.

Steelcase leap v2 from Crandall online.

They're an official remanufacturee, so they put new cylinders, new casters and other parts like fresh foam and fabric on them.

Mine was a grade B and honestly, I couldn't find a single mark or scratch on it.

Herman Miller Aeron

Surprisingly this chair has come out highly in reviews when compared to 4 figure chairs. I have it and can say it is very comfortable. It’s not going to be the best of the best, however if your budget doesn’t stretch to more than mid-3 figures this could be a good alternative.

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/markus-office-chair-vissle-dark-grey-30261152/

https://www.shortlist.com/lists/best-office-chairs-401080

I sit all day and have a degenerative disc condition. I've been sitting in the same Herman Miller Embody for ~~22~~ 17 years. HM had to come refresh it once, but otherwise its been fantastic for SO long now. It's the same model that LG now sells as a gaming chair.

Edit: I mathed wrong first thing in the morning, and added 5 years to how long I've had the chair.

I can't recommend steelcase enough. I bought my wife and I a couple chairs from them at the start of covid, and the clip on the lumbar support for my chair broke recently. They shipped me an entirely new chair and told me to keep or donate the other one.

I've been working from home about 90% of the time since the pandemic lockdown era. I had a cheap office chair and had noticed my back starting to hurt after a few hours in it per day. I eventually wound up getting a Humanscale Freedom headrest chair, which has been awesome. These chairs are stupid expensive, but I bought mine used, and reeking of the previous owner's perfume. It took months for the smell to completely go away, but I saved about $1,000 over buying one new, and it is otherwise in mint condition.

Use an office chair instead of a gaming chair..

I bought a used Herman Miller about 12 years ago for around $700. Worth every penny. It still feels the same as the day I got it. I would have spent more on cheaper chairs over the same period of time.

You got good replies already, so here is a related lifehack: set a timer to sound an alarm every hour during your sitting time, and when it rings, always go for a 10 minute walk/stretching session.

Bring your phone and headset if you are too busy and keep working if you have to, but make that physical activity a top priority.

When the pandemic started I went to Staples and bought a new chair for home. I spent around $120 and 3 months later I was looking for a new chair. I asked some friends and the top recommendation was SecretLab chairs. I ordered one for around $550 and it's pretty good, however sitting in it for 8 hours is a bit much (it's wonderful for a few hours of gaming though). Then last year I started a new job that required me to be in-office and the chair I have is an Affirm series by Om (https://www.omseating.com/series/affirm-series/). I can sit in this chair all day without any issues.

The secret to not having back pain or other health problems due to office work is very simple:

Move!

Furniture that enables you to move throughout the day:

A standing desk. Use it to alternate between standing and sitting throughout the day.

Get one of these to seamlessly transition between sitting, near standing and standing: https://www.varierfurniture.com/en/move

Or these, they will make you maintain good posture: https://www.varierfurniture.com/en/variable

Using these will also train your core muscles ever so gently, giving you better posture and preventing back pain. Good posture will also make you more attractive to your preferred gender, so that's a plus.

If you are not in a healthy range as far as the BMI is concerned, obviously fix that first. No furniture can compensate for overloaded joints.

I'd suggest spending money on an adjustable standing desk and get regilar (as in off the shelf, not crappy) office chair not something super fancy. Being able to switch from sitting to standing a lot is more beneficial than a good chair.

Herman miller aeron. they are outrageously expensive but totally worth it. You can get them used from resellers but honestly just get one new from the store. I got a used one and have no complaints other than I didnt get a brand new one to my specifications.

We have what I believe to be Steelcase Leap at my work, and they've been outstanding for 12 hour shifts and 24/7 use for years now. Best office chair I've ever sat in.

Some desireable things to look out for are a back that pivots separately from the seat (major deal-breaker if not), a tensioner on the backrest so that you can lean forward and back naturally without using a lever, adjustable armrests (the more adjustment options the better), the shape of the armrest (convex is better than concave), correct height, correct seat depth, and correct backrest height.

Standing desk and a standing desk chair. I got work to buy me a tall Herman Miller. way more expensive than I would ever buy for myself but it is great.

Does anyone sell KAB where you live? They are the absolute best, 24h-certified chairs money can buy. I have a Director at home and a K4 at work and I would not trade them for anything.

Steelcase or Herman Miller, find them used from local offices going out of business. Offer $50 and see if you get lucky.

I have the Haworth Fern chair below and love it. It is expensive, but worth it in my opinion. You don't want to skimp on something you sit in all day- and I could sit in this chair all day without pain.

My only other piece of advice is to schedule breaks to stand and stretch. I had a standing desk for a while and I did not care for it. I never got used to standing and working- maybe I am just not coordinated enough. But taking standing breaks helped with my back pain and improved my focus.

Good luck!

https://store.haworth.com/products/fern-office-chair?sku=SFTE-U0-7S01A6,4H_FT,MB_SL,TR_7,PM_P

I have a Hayworth Zody but would also recommend steelcase gesture, knoll generation, and Herman miller aeron. I got mine from the used office furniture store in town for 200. Ordered new arm rest caps to replace the old ones and it is going strong several years later. Also second those that suggest standing desks, used office furniture place again for that, I have a $1200 steelcase that was 200ish but like new.

For mid-tier chairs I can recommend both the Markus from Ikea and the Ergonomic Chair from Branch. The Markus is generally more relaxing and feels really nice to lean back into. Whereas the Ergo feels more like it wants you to sit proper (and it's adjustable). The Ergo def takes an adjustment period do to it's "proper" posture, but after having it for a couple months now I don't even notice

Either should run you ~300 USD

Herman Miller Aeron. Tested reliable and proven.

Do you tend to sit upright with your feet flat on the floor? I went with a wide flat chair so I could sit cross legged. I’ve tried and disliked the ergonomic chairs that lean slightly forward

I have a sit/stand desk and so I spend about half the day in my chair. I use a Steelcase Think; I like how it's relatively simple but still has a lot of articulation in its armrests, which makes it easy to get decent arm support where you need it. It's very sturdy and of nice quality. my only complaint is that I wish its back didn't have an inch of give before it hits the lock point at the furthest forward point, but this is really very minor.

if you live somewhere that you can go to an office surplus store, I'd super recommend doing that. I picked out this chair after trying a bunch out, and it was much cheaper than MSRP since it was used. they had like 20 different models and perhaps 5 of this one, and I picked out the nicest of the bunch.