Depending on your body proportions, this Don Chadwick chair may be more comfortable than the Aeron.

It was for me (I'm 6'4" and 200 lbs.).

I have an Aeron at work and a Chadwick at home. Love them both. The chadwick is a little cheaper but not cheap.

Arm support isn't my problem, sciatica is my issue and both help by giving when I sit down. I also leave them loose so that they rock, that way I never sit in one position.

I have a coworker with arm troubles and she has added ergonomic keyboard trays that are very adjustable and get much closer to her. You might look into that sort of thing along with the chair.

This conversation came up a few years ago and one contributor said that he sat on an excercise ball. Another kept one under his feet for fidgeting. Something to consider. I might consider the ball for short breaks.

I realize a lot of this didn't apply to arm support. Sorry.

Rob Mack

The Aeron is available for less than the Chadwick, although the MSRP is about the same on both (~$700-ish).

The Chadwick chair is sold by DWR, and they don't discount other than for special occasions (like the current 10% sale).

If you can hold off a few weeks, expect much better prices.

There will be major deals for anyone who has money this fall.

Most brick-and-mortar retailers are planning 30-50% discounts on a lot of products to get any work for their sales clerks, and that's for those that are not in bankruptcy already.

The latter have already advised total blowouts, with the only priority being to get sales while there still are any to be had (this quoted from current bankruptcy filings by several major retail chains).

At a bit of a tangent but not totally irrelevant. Someone commented to me yesterday that editing film was less of a health hazard than this digital stuff because you had to get up from your chair to grab a clip from a bin.

Bob.

DWR is "Design Within Reach". They sell both types of chairs and have been on shaky footing even in the best of times (seems like that's the state of most furniture companies). Yeah, you can expect a sale.

The aeron is a little nicer than the chadwick but they have the same basic seat pan suspension. Chadwick is simpler overall. If you can find the Aeron cheaper by all means get it. Go try one first, some people don't like the aeron. Personally, my employer bought them for everyone 5 years ago and we STILL thank them.

Rob

I don't know about that...sudden blood pressure drops, dizziness...seems like standing up is terribly dangerous ;-)

I've wondered if having monitor backlights powered by pedals would help. Or maybe mount them like mobiles so that they move around slowly.

Rob

I was expecting to pay a few hundred for a reasonable chair, and I was initially surprised by the costs of the two primary chairs people are recommending. But I've been having some shoulder problems due to a pinched nerve in my neck (great treatment recently by a phenomenal orthopedic specialist did wonders, though), and I think I'll jump up to the more expensive chair if it helps.

I'm going to wait a bit longer and see if I can get a good discount over the upcoming holidays on one of the two brands. Thanks for all the input, everyone.

In looking at the various options, does anyone have any idea and/or preference between:

1. The "lumbar pad" vs. the "posturefit" option; I found a site which states: "Lumbar pillow provides support on the lower back and is vertically-adjustable; PostureFit is a wishbone shaped mechanism that assists in filling the lumbar "void" between the chair and your back while sitting." I'm not sure which would be better.

2. The titanium vs. graphite frame. Why would I care? They are both lightweight and strong.

Love the idea of a pedal-powered screen!

Before you jump to those chairs do a bit of research and maybe try one out. I don't really know if these will do anything for your shoulder, but the aeron has very adjustable arm rests.

We looked for used chairs during the last downturn and Aerons were being snapped up really fast. They're very popular.

Rob

Yeah. Your reward for pedaling is you get to see what you're doing.

In the bay area you see used Aeron chairs on craiglist for $500, I don't know what the actual sale price is. When the internet bubble burst in 2001, I went to Quokka Sports auction, they had over 300 aeron chairs, most went for over $350. On a side note, at the same auction I saw some low end PC go for $30,000, clearly something on the harddrive peopling were bidding for.

We were looking in the bay area at that time. Aerons were selling new in the $700+ range and used at online auctions for $350 but but they went very fast. The next month or two will be good times to look, and look again if/when the credit card bubble bursts.

Herman Miller has a replacement for the Aeron coming in early 2009, it's called the "Embody." It looks like the ultimate deskchair and is priced accordingly; $1,600.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/29/technology/herman_miller.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008100605

I've been using this one from Office Depot.

The Chair

Terry

I purchased a cheapish chair for my home office no idea what make

The pain I get from it helps me to concentrate on those boring jobs

I've always fancied one of those electric dentists' chairs. Trouble is I think I'd put it in full-recline too often and just go to sleep.