i alternate between two - one is aeron knock off, and having had an original (sold with studio years ago), i can say the knock off is pretty CLOSE to the original, but not quite there. the other is a large exercise ball which i use to 'exercise' on while doing long edits by simply 'rolling' hips, and the like...

Costco has a nice selection of office chairs. Go sit in those for a while. Their return policy is excellent too in case the chair does not hold up. You may not find that with other vendors.

I have a mauve colored commercial quality office chair. I paid $5 for it in 1999 so I'd say I've had my money's worth.

I don't like arms on my chairs because I like to wheel up close to the desk.

+1 to my fellow Oregonian, Riredale, for having place to prop your feet. I have a small upholstered stool -- also from Costco.

I've used the same Aeron at work for 11 years and there is no other chair as good for not trapping heat on the back and seat. Other Aeron copies usually have mesh on the back or seat, but not both. It took me a while to get used to it. I threw the lumbar support attachment in the dumpster.

At home, I use a $200 leather chair from Office Depot. I've had it for more than twenty years and I would replace it if I could stomach hanging around looking at all the options that are available. My biggest complaints are heat trapping and the fact that the seat is shaped like my boney....

I've also had an Aeron at work for the last 10 or 11 years and I'm thankful every time I think about it.

The thing I like most about it is the way it gives when I flop into it. I'm subject to occasional sciatica and this give saves my back from a lot of impacts. I also like that you can leave the chair tilt adjustment unlocked because it allows me to shift around a lot.

I'm slightly over 6 feet so we bought a large size. The rest of the office has standard sized chairs which feel small for me in comparison.

Armrests are removable.

At home I have a Chadwick. It's similar to the Aeron but slightly cheaper. Armrests aren't removable and there's no lumbar pad.

An exercise ball is probably a good cheap alternative. You might not use it all the time but it'd be good for a break, it'll make you exercise while it keeps you moving, and you'll sit up straight.

A foot rest might not be a bad idea, especially if you feel you need the chair a little higher because your desk can't get lower.

Rob

wwjd: "I can't afford . . Maybe those knock-off clones of them...."

I'd advise and challenge you to revisit that claim. An excellent chair will pay for itself - it really will. Me? I was exactly the same, and was completely spend-averse on the thought of purchasing such a "passive" thing as a chair. Well, it aint passive and it aint in the long-term expensive AND will allow you to keep at it longer. I've also found my attention to detail in writing AND video work is improved.

wwjd: "anyone found the primo editing chair?"

Yes!

Ergohuman Mesh


wwjd: "any other options? It's CHAIR time and I want to move up in comfort and support."

If you want to move up, spending money is well worth it - in the long run! There was NO-way I was going to spend £500GB on a chair - No **** **** way! And now? I wouldn't be without it.

Invest now and reap all the benefits that this chair can give you - for the DECADES to come.

Trouble is, once you've used it you think, I can't feel the CHAIR! and that's it . .right there.

Cheers,

Grazie

Pray tell Grazie, which chair do you have?

Yeah, well spotted gripp - well spotted.

drumroll . . . . . The Ergohuman PLUS Mesh - black!

I've got an old Clayton Marcus chair from someone. It was made in '85. It's got some rips & the hand areas on the arms are torn up.

I put some small wheels on the legs and it's the BEST CHAIR I've ever used for my computer.

This isn't what mine looks like, but this is the chair (minus the ottoman):
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/844/egg6.jpg/[IMG=http://imageshack.us/a/img844/8592/egg6.th.jpg][/link]

I have an IKEA desk with the unfortunate name of Jerker.
While researching the ill effects of sitting for long periods, I decided I shall stand!
I repositioned the Jerker work space and now edit upright.
The adjustable desks with gas cylinders to raise and lower at will look cool.
Price tag is a bit rich though.
I've even seen one with a tread mill attached!
On the other end of the spectrum, we have "Happy's" easy chair! LOL.
Bless you Friar,...now we know you are NOT a Jesuit!!! Hahaha.

I edit in the basement and what's nice is that with the size of this thing, I can sit cross legged while editing too. Not for to long of a leg goes numb. :)

"

Something where your b*tt doesn't bottom out when you sit down.

I sit on an Aeron at my day job and if I edited just as long, I wouldn't hesitate to drop the coin on an Aeron for my home studio.

With nod to Grazie's considerations, I think the chair exerts the single-most influence on posture, general health, and avoidance of costly joint and/or muscle problems, depending on the number of hours you sit in it. Asking to cheap out on this piece of equipment is like asking a mechanic to install second-hand brakes assembled by nomads in Mongolia because you can't afford better. Those are the one thing that will stop you from pancaking into a brick wall. Why cut a corner there?! Similarly, why cut a corner with your chair?

Anyway, that's my correct opinion. All wrong opinion-holders are free to disagree. . . ;)

Not all are of the same opinion as regards Aeron it would seem.

http://business.time.com/2006/11/29/i_hate_my_aeron_chair/

Asking to cheap out on this piece of equipment is like asking a mechanic to install second-hand brakes assembled by nomads in Mongolia because you can't afford better. Those are the one thing that will stop you from pancaking into a brick wall. Why cut a corner there?! Similarly, why cut a corner with your chair?

Because the difference between ok breaks and good breaks can be ~$10 every year, where as the difference between an ok chair and a good chair can be enough to feed a small third world country. :)

Aeron stopped Vegas from crashing.

Ditch the chair altogether,...

Tthe University of Chester, in the UK, found that standing instead of sitting for an extra three hours a day can add up to burning serious calories over the course of a year.Thirty thousand!

Ditching the chair in favor of standing means you also need a new desk. I've been asking here at work if we could have workstations like the See-Saw thing in The Prisoner but so far no luck. I think it'd be beneficial not to ever sit in the same position twice.

More seriously...chairs and desks can really get expensive, especially if you don't know what's going to work. Arms on the aeron are fine until you edge it up to a corner desk with a scalloped out keyboard area or a tray, then you find the arms are in the way.

The main thing I like with the Aeron is the give on the axis of my spine. When you're in pain that alone is worth the money, and I rarely have the sciatica problems I used to have before this chair. The adjustable lumbar support never bothers me, but I often sit forward so I'd not notice it.

I'd go somewhere that has chairs to sit in and just try them. Bring a laptop and try working in the chair. If you like it, try to find it used.

Rob

The only chair I've ever been happy with was made by Steelcase Strafor at a company I worked at in the 90s. Can't find one at all now but the Steelcase Rally looks similar and I'd probably take a punt on an "as new" one if I lived in the US. In fact I might even get one shipped here to Thailand. Here's a small blog post that mentions both the Aeron and the Rally.

thanks for all this input! sort of off topic yet very important to our editing environment.

Ditch the chair altogether,...

So to back up their claims they ditched all chairs in classrooms, aud's, sports centers and offices, right? ;)

No idea what brand is this chair, I found this during home-furniture expo. The arm chair help me much for me to put my arms. But, I guess the only missing part for this one is no setting for my lower-back support to make me keep sitting upright.

Now, instead of chair, another concern I'm thinking about is:
How high your monitor should be placed?

Most common tips for comfortable ergonomics working with computers, when you see straight, you will see upper edge of the monitor, but, I had a little bit hunched on the neck.
After some time, I thought maybe this was caused by the position of our interface's timeline, it is in the bottom.
So, I put my monitor a bit high, as shown here:

When I see straight, what I see is not an upper edge of the monitor, instead, the upper part of the timeline interface, as most of our editing time is spent here, in the timeline. Now less neck-pain caused by hunched seat.

How about other users ?

Set

*update1: trouble embed images.
*update2: ah, yes - writing http:// instead of https:// works... Thanks!

Use http not https to embed from dropbox.