Office Chairs Reviews

Herman Miller started the modern-look, ergonomic trend in office chairs. Though it's still considered prestigious and stylish, there are some reviewers who say the Herman Miller Aeron isn't as exciting as it once was. To find out which other chairs are worth considering, we've turned to reviews.

One of the most comprehensive and useful reviews we found was published in Slate magazine, where reviewer Seth Stevenson and seven staffers try six chairs over several weeks. We also appreciated an older review in The Wall Street Journal, where five office chairs are put through a battery of real-life tests. We also found some good casual comparisons of office chairs in Wired magazine and in Money magazine.

My Business has also published a good article, but testing isn't as specific or thorough as it is at Slate or The Wall Street Journal. As you might expect, reviewers test chairs mainly for comfort, using a wide variety of testers of various sizes and weights. Adjustability is also examined in reviews, as well as build quality. Interestingly, we haven't found many reviews of office chairs written by owners at Amazon.com or Epinions.

A breakthrough in ergonomic seating, the Aeron has been praised in reviews not only for its innovative Kinemat tilt feature and easy adjustability, but also for its use of a mesh-like material called Pellicle, which allows air to flow freely through the back and bottom of the chair. Despite the fact that this chair is now 14 years old, it's still rated highly by some reviewers, who say that it's more comfortable than another Herman Miller offering, the Herman Miller Mirra (*est. $800) .The Aeron chair is adjustable for lumbar depth, lumbar height, tilt tension, seat-pan angle, seat height, armrest angle and armrest height. It comes in three sizes and has a 12-year warranty.

However, according to a few reviews, the Aeron's moment in the spotlight has passed. Its design -- once so revolutionary and high class -- now looks a little dated. Staffers at Slate magazine say the Aeron is still a good chair, and testers still like the mesh fabric, but the Aeron isn't very adaptable. If you like to recline, the Aeron can feel a bit "tippy," and its contoured seat doesn't adapt well to different types of sitting postures. If you like to tuck your ankle under your thigh, for example, the Aeron isn't flexible enough to be very comfortable. Some testers are annoyed at the number of dials and levers on the Aeron. Reviews do say that the Aeron is still a very good office chair, but if you're considering an Aeron, you might also give a few other chairs a test drive.

Some pricey office chairs are downright "unsittable" according to Slate magazine's testers. Although we found good reviews for other Steelcase office chairs, editors didn't like the Steelcase Cachet (*est. $400) . With a seat and back made entirely of hard plastic, the Cachet is "glorified lawn furniture," writes Seth Stevenson. Similarly, though we found good reviews for other Herman Miller chairs, the Herman Miller Celle (*est. $630) isn't reported to be as comfortable as others. Stevenson calls the Celle, with its hard seat padding and a stiff back, "unforgiving." One plus is that its seat is wider than most, making it a plausible pick for heavier individuals (or those who just like a more generous seat area).  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

The first-ever ergonomic chair, the Herman Miller Aeron, is still popular among reviewers, although more than a decade has passed since its debut in 1994. Reviewers say that the newer Herman Miller model, the Mirra, isn't as comfortable and has a stiff seat. However, the Steelcase Leap is very popular among reviewers. The top-of-the-line Leap WorkLounge is a plush leather recliner with pillow and optional flip-up ottoman, but reviewers say the basic model is an excellent option, too. The Humanscale Freedom moves automatically in relation to the sitter's body position, with a minimum of knobs and levers requiring adjustment. Among less expensive options, one expert reviewer likes the IKEA Joakim Swivel Chair, and we saw some good comments on Amazon.com for the Office Star Deluxe Ergonomic Black Leather Office Chair as well as several other models in the Office Star line.