Ask HN: what chair are you using for coding and how comfortable is it?
IKEA Volmar [1] with arms and headrest. Very comfy and I've even nodded off in it after an all night debug session. It's also good value for money.
This is my second IKEA chair in the GBP170 to GBP220 price range - I don't remember the name of the previous one which I purchased in 2002 and continued to use until late 2011. The old one has been relegated to "guest worker" chair after a refurb of new wheels. The seat padding could do with replacing/recovering but it's good enough for 2-3 hour sessions.
I work from home full time so my desk chair gets used in anger for at least 8-10 hours a day six/seven days a week, also I'm a fairly large 6' bloke so they do take a pounding. I've had the Volmar for two and a bit years now and so far it still feels like new.
I'd love to try a Hermann Miller Aeron or a Humanscale, but there isn't a stockist nearby where I can go and try one before committing that amount of money.
[1]: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S89895086/#/S8989...
I love my Allsteel Acuity chair which has a mesh back and a firm and not too plush seat. Armrests adjust up/down, side to side and the whole thing oozes quality.
I used to use those cheap vinyl office depot chairs and they are just too plush to be good for extended sitting periods. They also tend to break down after a while.
In our office, I bought a ton of used high end furniture from a dealer in San Jose who buys them from Apple/Cisco, etc. when they upgrade. We got everything for about 20% of original price and they steam clean and delivered to our office. We're using Knoll Life chairs and a mix of Herman Miller Mirra chairs, both of which I like a lot.
Does the dealer you went to happen to have a website? I was thinking of picking up a new chair myself.
It's here (http://tekbenches.net/) but Rudy doesn't generally like selling one offs. I got myself and my friend a chair (Aeron for about $300) only because I got to know him via our office buy (30+ chairs and various furniture). He has a big warehouse and you meet up with him and you basically walk in and find your chair and haggle and strike a deal. No harm emailing to ask if you can head over.
Thanks! Appreciate it!
I currently work at an adjustable height table. I really like standing for about four hours each day while I work. I lower the table to sit whenever I get too tired of standing. For sitting, I use a strange stool-like chair with a spring mounted seat. It's called a Swopper chair and it's available on Amazon. At first this chair with no back tired me out. It prevents the kind of relaxed slumping that I always found myself doing before and keeps core muscles engaged. After a couple of months of using it I find it very comfortable, and I noticed the same pattern when I started to work standing up. This change in my work habits is associated with less frequent lower back problems (which have been developing for decades), but I'm not sure that's its the chair or the standing as much as not sitting the same way for 10 hours every day. Back when I was a long distance runner, I found that alternating shoes from different manufacturers on each day's run helped avoid overuse injuries.
I believe it is known as a task chair (since it lacks armrests and is not too expensive), but for me not having armrests is the single most important aspect of a coding chair. If armrests are present, chances are that they will prevent me from pulling up to the desk completely - since they hit the desk before my body does - and as a result I will have to lean forward (and by extension begin to slouch) in order to reach the keyboard.
I use a Bungee Chair, similar to:
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/desks/deskChairs?productId=10022641
Random office chair, bought randomly by my company as it was owned by random other companies over the years.
It allows me to slouch all day, which is about my only requirement. I prefer to face the world at about 45 degrees.
Office depot chairs that were bought on discount by our company, even the CEO uses one of these generic chairs and if that is good enough for him it is good enough for me.
I finally splurged on an Ergohuman. My back has stopped aching since and I've stopped slouching as much.
Diffrient World Chair. Very comfortable according to me and my friends.
Steelcase Think. About $300 used on craigslist. Worth every penny.
Herman Miller Embody; very comfortable and highly recommended.
Sub-sub-Ikea corporate bulk-purchased abomination...
An old, beat-up Herman Miller Aeron.
The chair that came with my dorm.
It's not very comfortable.