Howdy fellow cheapies!
My trusty office chair has broken!
Ive seen a lot of herman miller talk online but they're very expensive, even used. I stand for about half of the day because I've bought a desk bird standing desk and see they have some chairs for sale.
Does anyone have experience with desk bird chairs?
What chairs would we recommend ?
I'd like to avoid the gaming aesthetic as much as possible!
I'm also a Buro Metro user for the last 5 years or so and it's been great.
I can recommend Flexispot, some of which look identical to Deskbirds. If I could justify the extra cost I'd get a Fractal Design chair because I think they look better and have seen good reviews, however I try not to sit too much, so went cheaper instead. Hey, that's why we're here.
I have both the Spectrum and the Formway Life.
They’re both good chairs, but I prefer the extra padding on the Spectrum.
I’d recommend trying the Spectrum at Warehouse Stationery to see if you like it, then keeping an eye out on Marketplace.
Try to visit NXP website. A good range of chairs wanted. Probably, you'll be able to find smth suitable for the purpose (depending on your budget, certainly):
I picked up one of these for $550 second hand a while ago in perfect condition, and then another around $600 for a mate. If you're not in a rush and can wait till one is listed on marketplace or trademe, I'd highly recommend - pbtech.co.nz/product/CHRSIH0006W
I've got a Sidiz T50 (South Korean brand), would recommend unless you're wanting to spend more and get a Herman miller or steel case
Purchased from these guys 6 years ago
https://crestline.co.nz/products/sidiz-t50-chair/
Its a worthwhile investment, if you WFH etc
I know you said the Herman Miller chairs are expensive, but there are things in life you just shouldn't go cheap on. If you buy a graphics card worth $$$$, would you go cheap on the PSU or motherboard and risk short circuiting or damaging the GPU? No. To me, a good office chair means that it can address my lower back pain (sometimes) and promotes good sitting posture, while giving me lots of customization options (forward tilt, multiple lean-back adjustability and tensioning, etc) if and when I need them. It's a good investment in my opinion.
I bought my first Herman Miller Aeron (classic, not remastered) on TM for around $350 used. Actually, I bought 2 and they were sold by this furniture company that I don't quite recall. I then sold one of them for $950 and made a profit. Then later on, I sold the other one for another $1200 because at the time, I saw there was high demand for these chairs. I then bought a remastered for around $950 with all the bells and whistles. Very happy with it.
I also own a Steelcase Leap and this one I bought brand new for $850 (including shipping) from this store in Parnell. I believe they have rebranded or bought off by another company now. The last time I checked their prices (about 2~3 years ago), they went up to around $2000. This chair is also one of the best office chairs I've ever used.
For both these chairs, they turned out to be great investments not just for my posture and comfort, but also on a financial level. They went up in price massively, while other chairs of lesser quality or brand stayed more or less the same.
The other thing you should note is that these chairs come with either 10 years or lifetime warranty (depending on which one you get). My Steelcase Leap had a minor issue with the lumbar adjustment, after about 4 years of use. It wasn't broken, it was just making weird clicks and I didn't like it. I sent them an email and they offered to replace the chair with a completely new one (newer model too) for free. You get what you paid for.
Then there are chairs on Kickstarter/Indiegogo that you can back to get them at a lower price. I tried to get the Libernovo Omni but they don't ship to NZ sadly. I've heard really good things about them. This guy does a lot of reviews on office chairs, so maybe worth checking it out to find something along your needs and budget:
https://www.youtube.com/@Ahnestly/videos
Also, if you can test out the chairs, then do that before you buy. I also had a Herman Miller Mirra 2 and it was terrible. I also tried the Embody (more expensive and "premium" than the Aeron) and it was nice, but I preferred the remastered Aeron a bit more for some reason.
I have a couple of Herman Miller Aeryons, (thanks former employer that didnt care enough to recover anything.) They are probably a bit excessive for working from home a couple of days a week but there's a reason they are the standard chair at many companies, you're going to spend more time in it that your car and maybe more time than your bed, get something that is ergonomic and will last, dont cheap out on a chair
I got a refurbished Buro Metro and no complaints here. I WFH a couple days a week usually.
I see quite a lot second hand <$200