Desk chairs (yes, this thread again)

[Venkman]

Did you actually use one, Darniaq? I've been really tempted for a while, but am not sure it wouldn't be gathering dust within a month or two. Most testimonials I've read online are glowing, but mainly from people who just got them. And yeah, I'd only get one if work was paying, duh. 

I did for about three months. Not for work mind you (my office at the time was a cute mistranslation of "closet", but for home. I ended up at about two hours standing, one sitting, at the heigth of my WoW days

Everything Trippy said above is what I experienced. My setup was very Rube Goldberg: effective, but nothing I'm going to photograph. I have a professional grade treadmill that had gathered dust for two years prior and then four years after (finally got it up to snuff about six months ago). It can handle hours on end fine, but there were lots of clamps other carpentry involved for the computer bits. It was far too high for my wrists, and monitor too far away (I eventually went with a TV) and forget being able to use a mic for VoIP. The only reason I stopped using it though is because we moved. And by the time I got to thinking of setting it up again, we moved again.

To do all of this right you'd definitely want to go with his suggestions: purpose built machines. The real beauty is that all of it is controlled via the computer you'll be using, rather than this big honky 70s era "computer" controlling the treadmill while to use the real one is a pain in the ass.

But, before trying to do it right, it's cheaper to cobble together stuff if you already have it 

For me personally, I'd rather have it at the office anyway. I have a standing desk now, but my legs aren't doing anything but keeping me vertical. Freakin' slackers. I wouldn't use one for 8 hours straight, but then, 2/3 of my day is in meetings anyway so I don't need that kind of stamina. Then at night I'll catch up on the first or second half of whatever movie I'm watching on Netflix while jogging.

Now I just need to get the company to fund it.

[Signe]

You should get a pogo stick, Darniaq.  You'll be doing something with your legs, improving your coordination, and getting your work done.  And cheap!

[eldaec]

I have an Aeron at work and the only thing I'm not 100% about is that if your foot support isn't just right, the front lip of the seat is too firm and there is no adjustment for depth. I don't really notice it in recline which would be 98% of home use. I'm a big fan of the aeron mesh.

Plan to go try an Embody as well as the cost seems to have dropped to the same as the Aeron, and will look out for the other chairs mentioned.

[Venkman]

Thanks! I thought I was the only one who had that issue with the front lip of the Aeron! I do like the mesh and considered one for home. But that would mess up the feng shue of our garage sale crap award winning living room furniture.

You should get a pogo stick, Darniaq.  You'll be doing something with your legs, improving your coordination, and getting your work done.  And cheap!

Lol, might negatively impact hand-to-keyboard accuracy, but maybe if I just get one of those fancy Nostromo thingies?

[Baldrake]

I see a Pogo stick, virtual keyboard and Occulus Rift kind of setup...

[Venkman]

Man that's all we need until the Holodeck singularity!

[eldaec]

In case anyone cares. The outcome of this was I tried a load of chairs, and there were a whole bunch about as good as an aeron at about the same MRSP, but nothing else had limitless refurbished or "exdemo" stock for a third of the price on eBay, and cheap replacement parts available everywhere in case my chair turns out to be a lemon.

So since my office Aeron has held my ass off the ground for 7 years and shows absolutely no sign of wear and tear I figured a used one will do me fine.

[K9]

I'm saving up for one of these 

[Quinton]

I'm fond of the Steelcase Think chair.
http://store.steelcase.com/products/think-in-color-3d-knit-back/

I used to use an Aeron at work, but I actually find this a bit more comfy and now use one of these both at work and at home.

They're pretty spendy though, but they do come in assorted colors (the one I bought for home is the hideous "wasabi" green -- I love it).

[eldaec]

We have them in one of our other offices, I can never get used to the seat backs for whatever reason.

[Trippy]

Did they switch from plastic to metal on the weight bearing parts yet? The design looks updated from the version I got but I can't tell from the pictures above if the parts are still plastic.

http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=12121.0

[Chimpy]

Did they switch from plastic to metal on the weight bearing parts yet? The design looks updated from the version I got but I can't tell from the pictures above if the parts are still plastic.

http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=12121.0

They make both a metal and a plastic model that look very similar. The metal ones are almost as nice as an Aeron (to me), the plastic ones not so much.

(Our organization bought the plastic ones for the new people in IT, the Utility Command Center guys all got the metal ones which are much nicer)

[Trippy]

Ah interesting. Maybe I'll give the metal version a try if I move or need another chair at my current place.

[Quinton]

Related, has anyone used an adjustable standing desk that's decent but say $800 or less (the Steelcase ones are very nice, but $1300-1400 plus $200 delivery and install is awfully steep).

Probably just a tall desk and a tall chair would be cheaper...

[Trippy]

We use these hand crank bases at work cause we're too cheap to get motorized or pneumatic ones. You can also get them with tops if you don't have one already (like a cheap Ikea top).

[Trippy]

Probably just a tall desk and a tall chair would be cheaper...

Or you could get a treadmill desk.

[Margalis]

I use a chair that has a seat and back.

[Quinton]

We use these hand crank bases at work cause we're too cheap to get motorized or pneumatic ones. You can also get them with tops if you don't have one already (like a cheap Ikea top).

That doesn't seem too bad -- how well does the crank mechanism work and how stable are they (do they wobble much, etc)?

[Trippy]

Crank is smooth to operate but it takes a lot of turns to move up and down. Base is stable even without an extra crossbeam.

[Quinton]

Time-wise how long are we talking going from sitting to standing?  Unless it takes an impressively long time, saving ~$700 compared to a pneumatic desk seems like a good deal to me.  Shipping also looks to be much faster and cheaper than the Steelcase stuff.

[Trippy]

It's a little less than a half inch per turn if I remember correctly so if you needed to raise it, say, 14 inches that would be about 30 turns. I don't use one myself cause kness don't allow me to stand that long but I can play with one on Wednesday when I'm back in the office if you want me to get a more accurate measurement. One disadvantage of that base is that there a no fixed "stops" you can set so you have to somehow mark / remember what the normal up and down heights are. Of course that could also be considered an advantage if you like to adjust the height as you change standing (or even sitting) positions.

[Nebu]

Can you guys recommend a chair that I don't have to take out a second mortgage to buy?  Something in the < $500 range?

Must have: adjustable height and good lumbar support.

[Quinton]

It's a little less than a half inch per turn if I remember correctly so if you needed to raise it, say, 14 inches that would be about 30 turns. I don't use one myself cause kness don't allow me to stand that long but I can play with one on Wednesday when I'm back in the office if you want me to get a more accurate measurement.

That'd be awesome.  I'm pretty sold on this as a solid, but less expensive option.  Also, if you guys used the surfaces they sell with the desks, I'm interested in what the quality is like (how good the laminate/etc is).  I'm leaning toward just ordering the full desk kit (lazy), but if the worksurface is horrible I'll investigate alternatives.

As for sub-$500 chairs, I dunno.  $200ish tends to be the point where you get something that won't almost immediately fall apart, but the heavy duty stuff seems to start at $700-800, which is kind of obnoxious.  I'm not sure if there are brands with staying power in the mid-range prices (such that they've been shipping the same model/family of chair long enough for people to discover if they really are good for the long haul).

[Trippy]

It's a little less than a half inch per turn if I remember correctly so if you needed to raise it, say, 14 inches that would be about 30 turns. I don't use one myself cause kness don't allow me to stand that long but I can play with one on Wednesday when I'm back in the office if you want me to get a more accurate measurement.

That'd be awesome.  I'm pretty sold on this as a solid, but less expensive option.  Also, if you guys used the surfaces they sell with the desks, I'm interested in what the quality is like (how good the laminate/etc is).  I'm leaning toward just ordering the full desk kit (lazy), but if the worksurface is horrible I'll investigate alternatives.

It is about a half inch per turn. It doesn't look like we have any of the ModTable tops on our bases here. Ours look to be all Ikea or Ikea-like tops which are thicker than what's shown in the images on Amazon.

[Merusk]

Can you guys recommend a chair that I don't have to take out a second mortgage to buy?  Something in the < $500 range?

Must have: adjustable height and good lumbar support.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HERMAN-MILLER-AERON-SIZE-B-ADJUSTIBLE-GRAPHITE-BASE-FRAME-LUMBAR-SUPPORT-/261260433145

It always comes back to the Aeron! (and honeycrisps)

[Nebu]

Awesome chair.  I would totally buy it if I didn't have to drive to PA to get it.

I'll look for others like it.  Thanks!

[Quinton]

The MultiTable desk is great.  It showed up this afternoon, took an hour or so to put together.  The packaging was really well done (looks like it'd be hard to damage in shipment) but pretty fast to open up and get all the bits out to assemble.

I should have just ordered this surface from Ikea instead of getting the laminate surface from them, though: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90014922/

It's a better size too (their medium is not as wide as I'd like, but the large top also makes it deeper which I don't need for a computer desk).  Guess I'm upgrading!

[Quinton]

1. http://heightadjustableworktable.com/index.php/manual-modtable-base.html
2. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90014922/
3. some assembly
4. awesome new adjustable height work surface.



Trippy -- thanks for the suggestion, this thing is great!

[Trippy]

Sure thing.