Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments
Search

News for nerds, stuff that matters

Slashdot Log In

Log In

Create Account  |  Retrieve Password

Best Chair For Desktop Coding?

Posted by timothy on Thu Jun 12, 2008 02:02 PM
from the because-an-army-marches-on-its-back dept.
Programming IT Technology
wifeoflurker writes "Can someone give me recommendations for a desk chair to give my husband as a Father's Day gift? He currently uses a cheap one he got from Office Max, but I want him to have a really comfortable one. He spends his life in this chair (coding and lurking on Slashdot). I don't have time to research good chairs on the internet today (I'm chasing my 10 month old around, and she seems to get into the most mischief when I'm staring at the computer screen), so I figured a few folks here might share their personal recommendations." Has there been any great progress in the state of the art (of sitting) since the last time readers sought recommendations for back-friendly chairs a few years back, or the perfect computer chair nearly a decade back? Is there even such a thing as a back-friendly chair, or should we all be in astronaut-style lounge workstations?
+ -
story

Related Stories

[+] In Search of the Perfect Computer Chair? 28 comments
mantid asks: "Many slashdot readers are certainly sitting at computers for 8, 10, 12, even 24 hours at a time... What are you sitting on? As I get older, I realize the importance of ergonomics more and more. I've been happy with my cheap Herman Miller, but now I'm switching jobs and have to select again. How important is your seating, and what has worked for you? In high school I sat on a stool for hours as I ran a BBS but that just doesn't cut it anymore."
[+] Chairs that Won't Wreck Your Back? 118 comments
texatut asks: "I'm sure many of you are familiar with this secenario. You spend 10-12 hours a day in a crappy chair, and your back pays the price. I know there are chairs there that cost in excess of $1000 that alleviate the problem, but that's a lot of money to pay for a chair. I wanted to ask you all to give recommendations and opinions on chairs that are in a slightly lower price range, say, below $600. My back thanks you in advance."
Submission: best chair for desktop coding? gift for husband by wifeoflurker (1306533)
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

Best Chair For Desktop Coding? 50 Comments More /

 Full
 Abbreviated
 Hidden
More
Loading... please wait.

  • Thanks (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:03PM (#23768475)
    Hey honey, thanks for thinking of me, I really appreciate it!

    • Re:Thanks (Score:4, Funny)

      by ArcherB (796902) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:23PM (#23768831) Journal

      Hey honey, thanks for thinking of me, I really appreciate it!
      Exactly what I was thinking... if he trolls slashdot all day between compiles, I think you let the cat out of the bag.

        • Re:Thanks (Score:5, Funny)

          by gustolove (1029402) on Thursday June 12 2008, @03:47PM (#23770105) Journal

          But how many guys fit that description? The only reason I know I don't fit it is I'm not a dad. :-)
          Maybe your girlfriend is pregnant and this is her way of letting you know!

  • Herman Miller Aeron... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by HerculesMO (693085) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:04PM (#23768501)
    I know there are a lot of contenders in this arena -- and honestly, at the price it seems very high.

    But think about it -- you own a car that you like. You spend maybe what, an hour, or two a day in it? You spend maybe $400 for the car payment plus insurance and gas.

    And you sit in a chair for 5-7 hours a day. You should make a good investment for the sake of your back, your butt, and your comfort. I have the Aeron and the only quip I have with it, is that it doesn't match the height of my desk (which is actually a writing desk, incorrect height for a mouse/keyboard).

    I like the Aeron -- it has a lot of adjustments, it's built very solid, it has a good warranty and you can get them serviced a LOT of places (casters and such). It's NOT cheap, but refer to what I said earlier on why you SHOULD spend the money.

    • Re:Herman Miller Aeron... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by trybywrench (584843) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:18PM (#23768743)
      I have to second the Herman Miller Aeron. I finally bit the bullet and bought one and I've really noticed a difference with respect to fatigue. I would say I can write for about 2 more hours then usual with the Aeron.

      No one wants to invest in a good chair but you have to think about the fact that your chair is in use from the time you sit down at your computer to the time you get up. It's the most utilized piece of computer gear you have. A lot of people skimp on monitors too even though it's the second most utilized piece of hardware.

      A solid chair and a solid monitor then keyboard/mouse goes very very far in keeping you productive.

    • Re:Herman Miller Aeron... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Thelasko (1196535) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:23PM (#23768829) Journal
      I had an Aeron at a previous job. Making the switch to whatever this purple monstrosity I have now has been difficult. My favorite part about the Aeron is it allows airflow around your body.

      • Re:Herman Miller Aeron... (Score:5, Funny)

        by andyring (100627) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:56PM (#23769371) Homepage
        So in other words, when farting a lot, it disperses quicker?

      • Surgery on my ass (Score:5, Informative)

        by kramulous (977841) * on Thursday June 12 2008, @04:11PM (#23770475)

        the Aeron is it allows airflow around your body.

        I'm going to make my work buy one today.

        This is embarrassing, but two years ago I had surgery on my butt. I can't remember the name of the condition, but it has generally been reserved for truckdrivers. Basically what happens is a hair in your crack becomes ingrown because you sweat (I live in a sub-tropical environment and at the time, wasn't wearing 100% cotton underwear), and sitting down all day the hair grows inward. Long story short, you go to *extreme* pain very quickly and hence I had a lot of morphine (which is good) and a general anesthetic and surgery to remove about 60ml of pus (which was bad). I had an additional hole in my arse about the size of my fist (poor choice, perhaps a tennis ball).

        The next worst thing was the healing process. You have to regularly wash the wound out three times daily to prevent the condition occurring again until the wound completely heals. That takes about 4 months! I'm stoked that my partner is a nurse, but it's not really all as glamorous as it sounds.

        You do not want this condition! Wear 100% cotton underwear, pants that breath, and a chair that does not allow you to lean back. (Found the condition - pilonidal cyst - beware the gross pictures)

    • Aeron and RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) (Score:5, Interesting)

      by kmahan (80459) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:54PM (#23769341)
      I've owned an Aeron for several years. I used to sit in it for 8 to 10 hours a day working. After a couple of years I started experiencing the symptoms of RLS. Very annoying. I went to docs for the usual diagnostics/drugs. Nothing really helped.

      One day my wife was talking to the manager of a Relax The Back store and my RLS came up. Upon hearing that I used an Aeron chair he said "That could be the problem. The way the front area of the chair where the legs go over is designed can cause problems with circulation and such." (I heard this second hand from my wife). I switched to a more traditional office chair. Within a month my RLS symptoms were gone.

      So no scientific proof and I haven't felt like switching back to see the Aeron was the problem. But I'm a lot happier now.

        • Re:Herman Miller Aeron... (Score:5, Insightful)

          by mellon (7048) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:54PM (#23769333) Homepage
          I have an Aeron, and it's not bad, but there are too many adjustments that are done by friction, and I haven't ever been able to get it to stay in place properly when I get it set up properly. I finally gave up the arms as a bad job and took them off. But I still can't tilt the seat forward the right amount.

          The one thing the Aeron is great for is that it's a mesh, so you can sit on it when you get back from a bike ride without feeling like you're going to soak the padding with your manly sweat. This is the reason I haven't just spaced the thing.

          I hear that the new Aerons are better, but I haven't personally seen any evidence that this is true. So I would really check this out carefully before buying.

          And honestly, I'd run this by him. You're going to spend a lot of money to get him a good chair, and chairs are a very personal choice - what works for one person won't work for another. Also a lot of advice you get on ergonomics from chair stores isn't correct, so if you buy a chair based on that advice, you could wind up with a $500 albatross.

          What I would personally recommend is that you just tell him you want to get him a chair, and research it with him. If you don't have time, get him something else. This is a really nice idea for a gift, but it's not an easy one.

          • Re:Herman Miller Aeron... (Score:5, Interesting)

            by Thelasko (1196535) on Thursday June 12 2008, @03:49PM (#23770135) Journal

            What I would personally recommend is that you just tell him you want to get him a chair, and research it with him.
            If you go this route, I would put a picture of an Aeron in a card and give it to him. Let him know that you'll buy it for him, if that's the chair he decides to get.

            I learned that trick from a buddy of mine who's mom would always get pissed off at the gifts family would buy her. She would want a stove, and they bought her a stove, but it wasn't the stove she wanted. Next year she wanted a dishwasher, so they gave her a picture of a dishwasher, and let her pick it out herself.

  • Ikea Markus Chair (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DeionXxX (261398) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:05PM (#23768507)
    I have this chair at home and I love it...

    http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00103102 [ikea.com]

    It was well worth the $200.

    The high back lets you recline fully when enjoying a movie. It's very comfortable and has a bunch of options to set height, back stiffness / angle it reclines to.

  • Swiss Ball! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by polyp2000 (444682) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:06PM (#23768515) Homepage Journal
    this might sound a little crazy but a pilates / swiss ball is the absolute daddy. Once you are used to it its really very comfortable, balancing is fairly easy and kind of forces you into the right posture.

    N.

  • Excerice ball (Score:4, Interesting)

    by QuantumRiff (120817) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:07PM (#23768533)
    I know everyone is different, but I have used an excercise ball at home, and really like it. It forces good posture, (one of the biggest problems with back pain) and even works the abs and back muscles to stay sitting up straight. At a former company I worked at, I had a pretty cool chair with no back (until we hired somebody with an acutal medical back problem, and they gave it to him), it had 2 "pads" one was lower, for your knees, and the upper pad was for sitting on. It worked similar to the excercise ball.

  • You Married your Father? (Score:5, Funny)

    by MrSteveSD (801820) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:07PM (#23768537)
    Which country is this? :)
  • To the guy who complained about his chair: your wife is getting you a new one!

  • I would recommend...!?! (Score:5, Funny)

    by mseidl (828824) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:15PM (#23768681) Homepage
    The Hawaii Chair:

    http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102518472&pnr=M53 [skymall.com]

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_amg-Aos4 [youtube.com]

    It will give me amazing 6 pack abs in 3 weeks with no dieting.
  • http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-06-07-office-fit_x.htm [usatoday.com]
    "Sitting at their desks is about the last thing workers would do in Dr. James Levine's office of the future.
    Dr. James Levine keeps a 1 mph pace on his treadmill while checking his e-mail.at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
    Instead of being sedentary in front of their computers, they'd stand. But instead of standing still, they'd walk on a treadmill. And instead of meeting around a conference table, they'd talk business while walking laps on a track."

    But just a standing desk with a tall stool to alternate with can work wonders for back pain and good posture.
    The walking is probably better on the knees though.

  • Humanscale Freedom chair (Score:4, Interesting)

    by eison (56778) <pkteison@nOsPam.hotmail.com> on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:22PM (#23768807) Homepage
    Humanscale Freedom chair (with headrest option). About the only way to spend more on a computer chair than an Aeron, but it's a better chair. Seat stays level and slides when you lean forward/back, and headrest automatically comes up, so it's easy to adjust position comfortably.
  • It's so much simpler and cost effective than the Aeron. The chair moves with you,
    the seat pan, the lower lumbar support, it's great. It's arm rests are fully adjustable, vertically, forward/back, and side to side. The lower back support actually works and doesn't feel like someone stuck a piece of wood behind your back. You can adjust it's height and it's depth. I've owned one now for 2 years now and have no regrets. I have back problems and this is the only chair I can sit in without being miserable when I use a computer.

    http://store.steelcase.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=LEAPV2 [steelcase.com]

    If you really want to go all out, get the forward tilt option. The only
    reason I didn't is that the lead time was an extra 1-2 weeks. I should also
    mention that it was really easy to setup. It came in one big box and in two parts, the seat and base. All I had to do was drop the seat onto the base and it was ready, no tools were necessary.

  • Humanscale Freedom Chair (Score:5, Informative)

    by Kozar_The_Malignant (738483) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:31PM (#23768987)
    I recommend the Humanscale Freedom Chair with Headrest [humanscale.com]. I ahve used one for eight years following back surgery, and I love it. I prefer it to the Aeron. It comes in lots of color/fabric choices and is virtually indestructible. The only drawback is price. List is about $1,000, but you can find it for $150-200 less on the net. It also looks cool.

  • For a really unique geek chair (Score:5, Funny)

    by muellerr1 (868578) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:33PM (#23769019) Homepage
    See if you can track down the one Ballmer threw. In addition to the enormous geek cred, that chair would have great sentimental value as well.

  • Simple, here you go, (Score:5, Insightful)

    by geekoid (135745) <dadinportland.yahoo@com> on Thursday June 12 2008, @03:31PM (#23769853) Homepage Journal
    Find a place that has nice office chairs and do measurments.

    Take him there, treat him like a king while it he gets the measurements and adjustments done.

    He can pick out all the colors he wants.
    After words a nice meal with some good drinks.

    When the chair gets delivered, put the 10 month old down for a nap and fuck your husband in the chair.

    You now have the perfect, favorite chair.

    • Re:*blink blink* (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Dirtside (91468) on Thursday June 12 2008, @06:44PM (#23772195) Journal
      All joking aside, can we put the "Slashdotters never get girls" meme out to pasture? I've been married for six years (and reading Slashdot for ten) and have two kids, and there's plenty others like me. The joke was kinda funny the first eleventy billion times it was made, but it's old and busted now. It's not that I'm offended by it (I'm not), it's that it's just... tired.

        • Re:*blink blink* (Score:5, Funny)

          by Yvan256 (722131) on Thursday June 12 2008, @02:29PM (#23768947) Homepage Journal
          Especially in Redmond.

          • Actually, your humor is misplaced (Score:5, Interesting)

            by melted (227442) on Thursday June 12 2008, @03:16PM (#23769651) Homepage
            Microsoft is remarkably family friendly, compared to other tech companies (including Google). If you ever plan on actually having a family, or if your current employer does not give a shit if you ever see your children, Microsoft is a great place to work.

            • Maybe that is what went wrong? (Score:5, Interesting)

              by LibertineR (591918) on Thursday June 12 2008, @03:48PM (#23770119)
              15 years ago, when old timers like me were sweating to ship, it was practically a divorce announcement a week, in my group. Weeks before deadlines, sleeping in our offices, doing build, after build after build, nobody would have considered Redmond to be family friendly.

              In fact, if you needed family time, you were considered a bit suspect, or a whiny little bitch.

              But, in those days, we shipped indeed, and our stock price was ever-rising. Back then, you could even tell an under-achiever that they sucked without fear of a lawsuit.

              But, Win95 shipped, Exchange shipped, Office shipped, and left a trail of dead or dying competitors in our wake.

              Now?

              Vista.

              Enough said.

              Family Friendly hasn't done crap for shareholders, IMHO.

              • I'm sorry, but Win95 is a turd worse than Vista (Score:5, Informative)

                by melted (227442) on Thursday June 12 2008, @04:06PM (#23770397) Homepage
                Win95 and early versions of Exchange and Office are nothing to be proud of. It's good that you had a good sense to not mention Windows 98 and Me as a shining example of solid engineering.

                Now the current versions of Exchange, SQL, Server, IIS, Office, dev tools - I think Microsoft can be proud of that. Vista is a management fuck up, IC's have nothing to do with it being a pile of crap.

              • Re:Maybe that is what went wrong? (Score:5, Funny)

                by MythoBeast (54294) on Thursday June 12 2008, @04:50PM (#23770967) Homepage Journal
                Family Friendly hasn't done crap for shareholders, IMHO.

                Yea, man. I'm right with you. I mean, look what happened to all those poor plantation owners when emancipation came around. There's just no justice in this world.

              • Re:Maybe that is what went wrong? (Score:5, Insightful)

                by Von Helmet (727753) on Thursday June 12 2008, @05:50PM (#23771631)

                Family Friendly hasn't done crap for shareholders, IMHO.

                I ask this somewhat rhetorically and certainly drunkenly, but why does the shareholders right to income trump the workers right to life?

              • Re:Maybe that is what went wrong? (Score:5, Insightful)

                by pushf popf (741049) on Thursday June 12 2008, @06:57PM (#23772357)
                15 years ago, when old timers like me were sweating to ship, it was practically a divorce announcement a week, in my group. Weeks before deadlines, sleeping in our offices, doing build, after build after build, nobody would have considered Redmond to be family friendly.
                In fact, if you needed family time, you were considered a bit suspect, or a whiny little bitch.

                That's really a personal choice. 15 Years ago, I was in the same position, and made a choice to work normal hours, get married, learn to SCUBA dive, take vacations and have a life.

                This magic was accomplished by telling my manager "No, I will not work nights, weekends and holidays."

                Today, I'm still married, own a software business, have friends, take vacations and life is good. In fact, if I interview someone and they say they're willing to sell their soul to me, I won't hire them. I want people who have lives. They're happier, more productive and more stable.

                  • Re:Maybe that is what went wrong? (Score:5, Insightful)

                    by pushf popf (741049) on Thursday June 12 2008, @11:46PM (#23774451)
                    I'm constantly searching for 20-somethings who are more concerned about how their eventual children will live in 2020, than how they themselves are living right now. These people are getting harder and harder to find

                    They're getting harder to find because nobody wants a life that sucks. And if you fone someone who does, they're typically damaged in some way.

                    Its a different mindset these days, and while you think your folks are productive, I would comfortably assume that were you up against us on a project, my people would eat your lunch. We work until we ship. THEN we play.

                    Knock yourself out. I don't sell code, I sell ideas and business processes and charge based on the value I provide to the client, not the hours worked or lines of code. In fact, the actual coding tends to be relatively minimal.

                    If you need to change diapers between builds, you probably don't want to work for me.

                    That would account for your hiring difficulties. The only thing more seductive to a programmer than money and toys is having an actual life. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that taking his girlfriend out for a weekend in the mountains is more rewarding than sitting under a flourescent light chasing a segfault at 3am.

                    I have dived the wrecks of Belize, with the NEW wife (younger and cuter, since I am smarter and richer) and have a great time. Like you say, its a choice. You are happy with yours, I am ecstatic with mine. Good luck.

                    It's nice diving. I saw my first ray there, but I like Tobermory and the St. Lawrence better. The tropical wrecks deteriorate too quickly.

                    Good luck with the money and wife. I suspect by the time you hit your 60's you'll wish you had been a little less "driven." The "Trophy Wife" is a little sad; partially because when you marry someone it's supposed to be forever and partially because you now have a wife that married you for money and will leave when you lose yours or someone else comes along with more.

All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the Poster. The Rest © 1997-2009 Geeknet, Inc.