I don’t think much about office chairs these days but when I did I was of the opinion there were only two kinds: really bad ones and really good ones. And like most companies, the two I worked for purchased the bad ones because they were cheap. And before the Aeron, I suspect most of the expensive ones were pretty bad as well. Wheels always falling off or locking up; the seats were wobbly; hard to adjust.

A few years before I retired took some of my savings and bought myself an Aeron chair to use in my office at work. I think I paid north of $1,000 for the thing but I’ve never regretted it. It’s as good as its reputation. The design is based on the following tenants:

1. A chair should be perceived as comfortable before, during, and after sitting upon it. Comfort is as much a matter of the mind as of the body.
2. A chair should enhance the appearance of the person sitting upon it.
3. While allowing postural movement, the chair should also embrace the body.
4. The chair should provide correct support for the sacrum as well as the lumbar region of the spine.
5. The chair should provide a simple means for height and angular adjustments. A chair should be friendly to all parts of the body that touch it.

My Aeron is in my home office now.