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Herman Miller Aeron

*Est. $950 and up

Reviewed May 2009
Herman Miller Aeron

Office-chair icon

pros
  • Available in three sizes
  • Mesh seating cooler than upholstery
  • 12-year warranty on all parts
  • Precision adjustments
cons
  • Expensive
  • Having the right size is a must
  • Not adaptable to varied seating positions
  • Appearance is a bit dated
 
 
Where to Buy
 
 
 
5 star:
(6)
4 star:
(0)
3 star:
(0)
2 star:
(0)
1 star:
(1)

Average Customer Review

(7 customer reviews)

for $879.00

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Page 12
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My back feels fine...but my legs are killing me, November 12, 2009

I would give it zero stars if I could. Worst piece of furniture I have ever been forced to use. The hard plastic sides of the seat curve up - for no reason I can discern, other than to cut into the side of my legs. After about 16 months of sitting in this horrendous thing, the pain in my right leg was so severe that I had to get a different chair from my employer. But the damage is done. I live with pain in my right leg every day now - thanks to this ill-conceived, misbegotten, senselessly designed furniture atrocity. The fact that the chair I am sitting in at home as I write this is far more comfortable, yet cost me approximately 15% what this so-called "ergonomic" chair costs is just the icing on the cake.

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A Great Chair At The Best Price I Found. Be Sure About "C" or "B" When Choosing This Chair, November 4, 2009

I got this chair for my office. At first it was difficult to conceive spending this much on an office chair but after searching for the best price, considering also shipping and taxes, I made the mental adjustment. The more time goes by, the better I feel about the purchase. If you spend a lot of time sitting, you've got to think about long term back health, and this chair has a very decent 12-year warranty (let's hope the company stays in business). The first thing you should do if you are prepared to buy this chair is go to a store and sit on the different sizes to be sure of your size. The B and C sizes cost the same right now both on Amazon and at most stores. I got the C because the B cuts off much shorter at the legs, the thighs, and B was too short for me by a good margin although I'm not especially tall. The B size cuts off shorter than those standard cheap office chairs you normally see, just to put it into perspective. At the same time, the C is quite wide - surprisingly so. I didn't need the wideness of the C but I needed the length of the seat so as not to cut off short for the legs. One can adjust the arms inward, among other arm adjustments, to compensate against the wideness of the C. If you get a quote at the store and include taxes, I'm pretty confident it won't be competitive with this price even if you use a floor model price. The second thing to think about if you're going to buy an Aeron is which Aeron you want. This one, the PostureFit, is their top of the line. The lumbar support can be adjusted in and out, providing more lumbar support. The next Aeron down the line is a little cheaper but the lumbar support can only slide up and down, providing a set amount of lumbar support but allowing one to position it (PostureFit does not slide; it's lumbar support position is fixed). I am confident that if you test those differences out in the store, you'll highly likely to prefer the PostureFit version. Now if you're ready to pay this much for an ergonomic chair and you've decided which Aeron to get, the next thing to be aware of is assembly. Be prepared to spend one to two hours on assembly. When you see the wires running underneath as part of the complicated lumbar mechanism, you'll see why. I asked the guy in the store how long it takes to assemble and he said if he is uninterrupted, he can put one together in 25 minutes. It naturally took me some time since it was my first time doing so and the lumbar mechanism is complex to get just right. The warranty is an important part of this purchase. I've talked with people that vouched for the fact that a service technician will come to your home or office to repair this chair as you go for a whole 12 years. Things happen that may cause you to get service. The mesh may tear and need replacement. A common thing, the guy in the store told me, is that the up-down mechanism may need to be fixed, and that is supposed to be an easy thing for the technician to fix. These chairs are designed to handle the weight of up to a 250 pound person. If you're heavier than that, you may need to get the above-mentioned part fixed but the warranty will cover it. Finally, after covering decision points and information points, the chair feels good to sit on. It's the best I've ever experienced. I believe my productivity will go up as a result, and it's just a shame more employers don't pay for them considering that it is really a good investment in getting more out of an employee. I unfortunately had to pay for my Aeron myself. I love the chair and I bought it myself to use at work as the cheap chairs provided aren't good for the back.

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The Herman Miller Aeron Chair - Quite Possibly the Best Office Chair Available, October 15, 2009

Herman Miller Aeron Chair w/PostureFit Lumbar Back... When my office chair broke recently I decided to look for one that is not only very comfortable to sit in but will last a long while. I searched all over the internet and asked questions of a lot of people. It was a general concensus that if price is of no object, the Herman Miller Aeron chair is the way to go. I'm a hefty person (360 pounds) and I'm hard on furniture. I spend a lot of my time in front of my computer and being well supported and comfortable is very important to me. Most chairs have little to no warranty, are not made in sizes to suit a wide variety of body types, and are flimsy for the most part. The Herman Miller Aeron chair has been around for some years now so they already have a good track record for durability and quality. I don't think I've seen any other manufacturer's warranty that can come close to the 12 years they offer. The Aeron chair is made in a wide variety of ways to suit almost anyone's body type. They are made in three basic sizes, A, B, and C with the C size being the largest chair. You can buy it with no lumbar support or with two types of lumbar supports. I opted for the PostureFit adjustable version. The Aeron chair is totally different from other chairs. There is no foam rubber, cloth upholstery or springs to sit on. The seat material that they call "pellicle" is stretched drum tight in the frame and it conforms to fit you according to your weight and shape. It's also cool to sit on as air passes right through the fabric. The chair is highly adjustable too. Seat height, forward and back tilt tension, arm height, arm angle (the arms turn inward and outward according to where they are comfortable), forward tilt, tilt limiter, and the lumbar depth adjustment. It comes with a booklet and the Herman Miller website also has videos on how to adjust the chair. [...] I've found that the forward tilt is an added comfort I've not had in the past. If I have to reach forward for something the chair follows me and keeps my back and hips well supported. The MSRP for a chair with the options I chose is $1350.00. But, I don't know anyone why actually pays full price. The "street" price varies quite a lot. I found a company that sells on eBay (seller ID "drtomy"), Amazon.com ("BackStore"), and their own website [...] I ended up paying $847.00 for the chair shipped to my door. Assembly was very easy. It took about 5 minutes and the necessary allen wrench is provided. The only thing I needed a little bit of help with was fishing the lumbar support control cable through the fabric and to the adjustment mechanism. Once I had an extra pair of hands it took only a couple of minutes. I could tell this was a way different chair immediately. It's actually quite heavy in comparison with any other chairs I've owned. I watched the videos, and read the adjustment booklet while I set everything to my liking. The chair is basically personalized for the owner by making the various adjustments. Other people can sit in it OK but they won't feel as comfortable as if it were adjusted specifically for them. I think this is the best chair I've ever owned. It's comfortable, heavy duty, and I expect that it will last me a very long while. If anything should break, the 12 years in home parts and labor warranty gives me a lot of peace of mind. The price of this chair is on the high end but it's far and beyond what you would expect a chair to be. My low back and hips feel so much better and I can sit in it all day if necessary with complete comfort. So, I feel it was money well spent. I highly recommend the Aeron chair. Recommended: Yes

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Obviously a very good chair, June 14, 2009
It's a very good chair with lots of adjustments. Two issues, sometimes it's too cool due to the air flowing through the fabric. I put a chair pad in it. One of my fellow workers fell out of the chair when leaning forward to pick something up off the floor. it can get off balance in other words.
Comfortable even for a Kyphosis sufferer, June 13, 2009

If you, like me, have Kyphosis then you would know how uncomfortable most chairs are. After trying a few lower priced office chairs I bought this one in desperation. Needless to say I am very satisfied. The PostureFit feature allows you to adjust the lower back support. I find myself having it on a low setting (not much support) and tightening it a little more throughout the day as fatigue sets in. I am able to stand up straighter and have more energy by the end of the day thanks to the support on this chair. This chair can also be adjusted in pretty much any way you'd like it to. In fact I am surprised how flexible this chair turns out to be while also providing much needed back support. I would definitely recommend this chair to anybody that I know, especially if you spend most of your time during the day sitting.

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Where To Buy

Our Sources

1. Slate.com

Eight Slate.com staffers test six office chairs for several weeks and decide that the Herman Miller Aeron chair is "very good but not superb" -- it doesn't recline that well and is too inflexible, testers say. Best overall is the Humanscale Liberty, which is called "the Aeron's logical successor."

Review: Sit Happens, Seth Stevenson, Dec. 6, 2005

2. Amazon.com

Owners contribute reviews of their own experience with the Herman Miller Aeron. Reviews are generally positive, though some highlight the importance of buying the correct size to ensure comfort.

Review: Task Chairs, Contributors to Amazon.com

3. Kiplinger.com

Chairs are recommended based on their ability to relieve back/spine pressure, meet back contours and accommodate various body types. The Herman Miller Aeron comes in second.

Review: Best Seats in the House, Elizabeth Kountze, Feb. 4, 2004

4. About.com

Chairs appear to be rated, but there's no indication whether testing was conducted. The reviewer calls the Herman Miller Aeron chair expensive, but worth it. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Review: Top Four High-End Office Chairs, Catherine Roseberry

5. PopularMechanics.com

This article gives recommendations for ergonomic office equipment of various types, including chairs. The Herman Miller Aeron chairs are mentioned in passing as "excellent devices."

Review: Ergonomics with Flair, Christopher Allbritton, Jan. 14, 2003

6. OfficeChairAdvice.com

There are too many five-star ratings (the Herman Miller Aeron included) to be taken seriously as a critical aid in deciding what to buy. However, the depth of information is extremely helpful when used in conjunction with advice found elsewhere.

Review: Aeron Chair Reviews, Editors of OfficeChairAdvice.com

7. ZDNet.com

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, a technology journalist, says he is searching for a new office chair, and is leaning towards the Herman Miller Aeron. He asks his readers to help him decide and receives 31 comments. In a follow-up article on July 11, 2007, he describes his new Herman Miller Aeron chair.

Review: Is the Aeron the Best Office Chair?, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, June 8, 2007

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