Yongfook is a web producer and usability consultant based in Tokyo

Thinking of buying a new desk chair? I’ve recently found my perfect chair soulmate. Here’s my story and recommendation.

What’s wrong with the picture below?

I mean apart from the sparseness of the concrete walls making my apartment look like a 3rd world hospital. Yes, that little drummer’s stool I sit on to work at my desk - besides being about as uncomfortable as you’d imagine an arse-shaped piece of metal would be - is quite likely totally screwing up my back with every further second I sit on it typing marquee tags into my code to make my websites really awesome and interactive.

So recently I’ve been on a mission to replace it - to purchase my first “real” chair. As a l337 internets programm@r, I spend an inordinate amount of time sitting on my backside doing important work-type stuff such as staring quizzically at the screen reading cryptic php error messages and laughing at pictures of cats with funny captions. So along with a computer, probably one of the most important tools in a developer’s weapon chest is his chair. His coding throne. The thing that keeps him comfortable during the Nth hour of debugging, prevents his spine from distorting to all hell from the sheer amount of hours spent putting pressure at its base, and something to sit back and relax in after some minor programming triumph. Especially for me, as I have a crazily messed up back. I think I inherited my back from my father, only I think I have somehow literally inherited my 70-year old father’s spine into my 27-year old body. A couple of times now I have “put my back out” (and I actually used that phrase when talking to people, making me sound like a 1950s grandmother) which resulted at the time in bed-riddenness, severe, agonising pain, and me having to wear a - don’t laugh - CORSET - to correct it. I said DON’T LAUGH.

So I put a premium on high-quality chairs (the stool was always temporary). I’m quite happy to pay a little bit more for something that has been specifically designed as not just a platform to rest your cheeks on, but as a device that has been ergonomically developed to support your seated body for extended periods of time. And so we enter the pretentious, ch-ching world of “high level” office chairs. I’ve been running around Tokyo for the past couple of weeks trying all sorts to find my chair soulmate and I think I’ve found it.

For many in the tech industry, high level office chairs are synonymous with one brand. Herman Miller. In particular, the Aeron chair, pictured below:

Indeed, it is an elegant-looking chair. Iconic in design, it is the choice of many successful tech / design firms or startups soaked with VC-funding who can afford to seat their employees with US$1000 chairs each - not so much for the comfort and ergonomics but for the stigma of holiness that an office full of Aerons bestows upon a company. I was lucky enough to have an Aeron chair as my seat at the web production company I worked for in Tokyo when I first arrived here. It’s a great chair and I remember many a late night spent on it (and a few sleeping on it, too).

However whilst the Aeron is so synonymous with high level comfort, I was convinced there had to be something better. After all, not everyone has the same shape back and the same perception of comfort. That and, I have a couple of gripes with the Aeron chair in that I think it offers naff lumbar support and it doesn’t recline enough to comfortably have a nap in - something I need, as I have not only the spine of a 70 year old man, but the metabolism of one too.

On my chair quest, I tried dozens and dozens of chairs. None of them were below US$500. It’s not snobbery, it’s a question of technology and design - if you want a chair that will last you a long time, will keep you comfortable, and looks great - you have to pay for it. One of my unorthadox favourites was the Atlas setup, which looks something like this:

The setup, which comprises of a desk and chair made to be used together, seats you very low to the ground. You hover about 30cm off the floor, in a reclined position and do your work whilst looking slightly upwards at the monitor. It’s very comfortable…perhaps too comfortable as you are about a soft, downy blanket away from being in bed, which must be a boon for the workaholic Japanese internet industry. All you need to do is put a vending machine and a bucket to pee in next to your employee and you can basically keep them at their desk indefinitely. However, the Atlas setup is a little bit out of my price range (and I already have a desk anyway), coming in at about US$5000…

However, after much searching, I sat in one of these:

This is an Ergohuman mesh chair and it is, quite simply, the most comfortable desk chair I have ever sat in. It offers far more lumbar support than the Aeron, reclines to a sleepable angle and has excellent, intuitive controls and lots of scope for adjustment. It’s also cheaper than the Aeron, the average price being around US$600. As soon as I sat in it, I knew. This chair must have my babies. I recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable and affordable desk chair. The only problem is how it looks. Compared to the Aeron, this looks a bit…busy. Well, that’s a nice way of saying it. Frankly, from certain angles it looks like some kind of medieval torture device or the pilot seat from a twisted, H.R. Giger illustration of an alien spacecraft:

However, as someone with the back of a 70 year old, I’m willing to sacrifice some aesthetics and the social stigma of the Aeron for something that is truly, amazingly comfortable.

Plus, in leather it brushes up quite well. So I’ve ordered the leather version :)

p.s. for those who missed it (I posted it just before this so it got pushed off the front page pretty quick) here’s a video clip of me singing with my geetar.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 5th, 2007 at 12:58 am and is filed under Projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.