So you have a crappy off-brand cheapo twenty dollar chair that you’ve been using for so long the armrests are loose. You probably think it’s fine, it’s not that uncomfortable, and a whole bunch of other excuses. Do you wanna know who doesn’t think that chair is fine? Your back and posture. Also, don’t forget your knees too, those are also affected by a bad chair. As soon as you get at least a decent chair you’ll notice the difference like you just won a Jackpot Capital Bonus.
And just like a Jackpot Capital Bonus, you don’t want to wait years before getting it. The back falling off your chair doesn’t just need to be an excuse to get the duct tape out, you should be thinking of it as a perfect chance to upgrade to something that isn’t making sitting at a desk all day a pain (literally and figuratively)
Figuring out a good chair
But of course, you are probably wondering what makes a good chair a good chair? There are so many factors to take into account that it is very easy to get overwhelmed early on when trying to find the best chair for yourself and your body. The chair height, armrest width, armrest length, armrest height, back height, and back width, what the base is made out of, and probably a few more other things that I haven’t even mentioned.
Now all of that stuff seems very important but to start we can move past quite a bit of it. The biggest thing you want to look for in a nice chair is the back. It has to be able to support you in an upright position and do so comfortably. Slouching is literally one of the worst things you can do for your spine and posture and you’re probably doing it right now (Straighten up!).
So make sure the back of the chair is good. How do you do this you ask? Well, the first thing is to make sure it’s tall enough to actually support your back. It might seem simple but you’d be surprised at some of the ‘fancy’ chairs out there that are really just stools with aspirations.
Whether or not you want the back tall enough to support your head is really just a personal choice, though apparently there’s something psychological about having a taller back if you’re doing business meetings from behind a desk. I don’t personally know if there’s much truth to that but there’s no harm in a bigger chair just in case.
Adjustable chair height is another one of the crucial things when finding a good chair. Unlike back height, no self-respecting office chair isn’t adjustable nowadays but it’s still something to look out for. Not having your chair properly aligned with your desk is something that’s not just annoying but also pretty bad for your wrists and probably your back too, depending on how you’re sitting to compensate.
These two are the really big things you need to look out for when buying a new chair. A lot of the other stuff that you see is usually just gimmicks or generally not required. I’m not in any way saying that some of those other things fancy chairs have aren’t nice or useful, (Who doesn’t want a chair that can recline into a bed??) just that you should choose something with those two features over a chair without them and some gimmicks.
And to end, of course getting a chair that has all these features customizable is usually a really good choice. There are quite a few high-quality chairs you can get that allow you to customize everything you want and then even adjust them more when you have the chair.
Are there chair brands you should look for?
Of course, there are some chair brands that you can assume anything from them are great and ergonomic. This doesn’t mean that you can’t find an equal or better chair from different companies, just that these are trustworthy ones.
Herman Miller; this is the chair company if you’re looking for the best high end super ergonomic office chairs. The biggest downside for them is the price. It ranges from quite pricey to very expensive. If you have the cash there’s no reason why you shouldn’t buy from them, but you might want to look into a different company if you’re looking for something on the cheaper end.
HON Office Furniture; Another all-around good brand, they have a lot of chairs for a lot of different prices. Just take a look at their website or look around in an office supply store for something with their name on it.
Steelcase brand is definitely a recommended one. Specifically their chair, the Steelcase Gesture. Super customizable and adjustable while also being amazingly ergonomic. Quite expensive but probably worth every penny.
