I bought this chair 16 years ago this month from IKEA. The piston just failed a couple of minutes ago, losing all pressure. While there's technically nothing wrong with the seat and I could purchase a replacement piston on Amazon, I've been wanting to get a replacement office chair for about a year.

Any suggestions for sub-$300 chairs?

Don’t get a sub $300 chair.
Find a nice used Herman Miller Aeron, $500 or so.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 220-9er,

$300 is pretty cheap for an 8-hr a day chair but check out the Steelcase Think chair.

Its normally $800 but I see them being closed out for around $300 lately.

I like the Herman Miller Aeron chair at my office so I bought a used one from a local furniture store that had a ton of them. "Go into that room and pick the one you like," he said. I think it was mid $300 range.

Eh. *shrug* You can get sub-$300 office chairs that are comfortable and support you well, but they tend not to last long.

Okay, nevermind!

(By the way, my current chair cost me $100 in 2003. Lasted pretty damned well for being “cheap.”)

Go find an office rental/supply store and find a Herman Miller Aeron. A used one, in decent condition and no tears in the seat should run you less than $300.

Aeron by Herman Miller. There are three sizes. The A is the smallest and best for short folks. The B is standard and fits most. The C is for bigger folks. You should be able to find one used at a shop that sells used office furniture. I went through 3-5 chairs at work before settling in the Aeron.

Herman Miller Mirra is another good chair.

Steelcase Think.

HumanScale Freedom or Liberty.

I also recommend the Aeron chairs. I bought two year-old Aeron chairs for less than $50 each when a company sold an entire office building and liquidated the contents. They probably had 200 or more of the Herman Miller chairs there and had an open sale where you went in an paid cash. (I should have bought more but didn't think about it at the time).

If you search across different sites you can sometimes find deals, sometimes depending on how handy you want to be. These Aeron chairs are modular and it's easy to get parts that wear like the armrest pads. Usually it's the cables and pads that fail- (generally pads because they hit the edge of the desks/keyboard rack sharp edges).

There's a site called "Search Tempest" that scans across ebay, craigslist and other sites. Very useful as you can set range of search/miles, etc.

Search engine

Aeron. Used them for going on a dozen years and it's just the best one on the market.

I bought my Aeron new for 700ish. I consider it some of the best money I’ve ever spent. Definitely in the buy once, cry once category.

quote:

Originally posted by 1gkek:
I like the Herman Miller Aeron chair at my office so I bought a used one from a local furniture store that had a ton of them. "Go into that room and pick the one you like," he said. I think it was mid $300 range.

One of the few smart things I have ever done was when shooting some corporate video for a large office supply company I decided to "trade out" some of my fees for one of these and I have been happy as hell with that decsion

Add another vote for a used/refurbished Aeron.

Re: The Aeron chair: Do a thorough "sit test" before buying. They work great for many, perhaps even most, people. For the people for whom they don't work they're a miserable experience, from all I've read.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
Okay, nevermind!

Ask for advice then get annoyed when the advice you're given doesn't meet your expectations? Why even ask, then?

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
(By the way, my current chair cost me $100 in 2003. Lasted pretty damned well for being “cheap.”)

There are always exceptions. Have you never worked in an office where they bought cheap chairs and watched them fall like dominos in short order? I have. Several times.

I've had two inexpensive office chairs fail me in the 26 years we've been in our home. I'm working on the third. (I hate it. I wish it would fail. Probably means it won't.) These chairs don't get abused.

Then there's the used/overstock/whatever task chair I bought for probably $50 or less from some furniture liquidator or something, some 35 years ago, that's still working well.

I was going to recommend the mesh chair I'm currently using. I got it on a wicked sale, and still spent several hundred dollars. Turned it all over looking for a model number....discovered its an Aeron. lol. So I guess I'll throw a recommendation that way also.

I'm hard on chairs, and some days I'll spend 20 hours in this one. I used to buy the sealy chairs at office depot for around $300 and just expected to wear it out in a year, then pass it to my wife who would be completely happy with it for another year until the next one came. I've had this Aeron for 2 years now and it's showing no signs of wearing out.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Don’t get a sub $300 chair.

Yes. It won't be comfortable and it won't last. Spend $1000, and it will outlast 3 or 4 $300 chairs.

Or get a used Herman Miller, Steelcase, or other high quality chair.

I'm impressed your cylinder lasted as long as it did.

My problem is often with the arms. I can't adjust them for that they're not pushing up on my elbows as I type and I can't push them outwards out of the way.

I went to an office supply store with the intention of getting an Aeron. But then I tried the Ergohuman.

https://www.amazon.com/Ergohum...=1-15&keywords=aeron

That was about 10 years ago and the chair is still going strong. My wife has had hers for 7-8 years, and hers is going strong too.

The Aeron is great, but just in case you need an alternative.

Orguss,

I'm with you. I have a 12 year old faux leather high back office chair I got at Sam's I use at my computer desk (and yes, well under $300). Replaced the cylinder 3 years back because I couldn't find a suitable replacement locally. I can not abide the mesh jobs that have been recommended here. I find them too hard and uncomfortable despite the myriad adjustments. For me the chair must be high quality leather or faux leather with a high back, lumbar support, adjustable arms, and overall thick padding with some "give."

I'm reminded of an office chair procurement "mission" while still working. My boss and I (his deputy) were both in need. We spent time at a number of local office supply and furniture stores trying out models. We both found the mesh jobs lacking and ended up selecting high back leather "Judge's" chairs.

Best chair i've ever bought

Here you go. this is the chair i bought last year and its still great! I also bought some better casters for it.

casters