In the office furniture business, companies frequently test-drive chairs in their own offices before they make a purchase – if you’re an individual, you just have to convince your local dealer to extend the same practice to you. The solution is to order from a vendor with a good return policy, or from a store that will allow you to test chairs for a few days before buying.
The second worst thing you can do is to buy a chair after testing in the store for 30 minutes, with no possibility of returning it. P and I both loved the Steelcase Think, while B found that the plastic strings in the backrest dug into his back.I found the Steelcase Please very comfortable, but I didn’t like the armrests to B, it felt about as comfortable as a wooden plank, but he didn’t mind the armrests (which he doesn’t use anyway).B and I loved the Steelcase Leap, while P immediately eliminated it because of the “sticky” backrest that doesn’t provide enough support as you lean forward.I was made aware of this fact during a chair-testing marathon that I did together with two of my friends (B and P), who were also in the market for new office chairs:
People have wildly differing bodies, working habits and preferences.
The worst thing you can do is read a bunch of Amazon reviews and buy the chair that got the highest average rating, or the chair that all your friends are raving about. Never buy a chair without trying it out first in your own workspace. You should probably read it if you’re a computer worker and you’re worried about the remaining mileage you can get out of your back. This is why I wrote an entire FAQ on preventing back problems. It is therefore safe to assume that replacing your average $100 office chair with a $1,000 ergonomic model will only be a small piece of the back health puzzle – perhaps no more than 10 percent of the whole.
Buy leap office chair professional#
Professional recommendations for patients who have (or want to prevent) back problems are quite different, and generally focus on three things: sitting less, moving more and avoiding things that overload your spine. However, I have yet to meet a physical therapist or orthopedic surgeon who would place a great emphasis on chairs, let alone advise spending $1,000 on an upmarket chair. Reading marketing materials for high-end office chairs can leave you with the belief that the ingenious, scientifically researched solutions used in their products guarantee a healthy spine.