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When Is The Last Time You Bought An Office Chair?

Posted: 18 Apr 2011 03:00 AM PDT

chair If you use your computer at home with any frequency (and let’s face it, if you’re reading this site, you do), the chair you park your buns on matters.

It’s probably true you spend at least two hours in that chair each time you sit in it, however it amazes me how many people skimp on this rather important piece of furniture. Many people don’t actually buy chairs but rather just steal one from the office or scrounge up whatever is lying around. Well, you obviously shouldn’t do that and use something proper.

Types of office chairs

There are two major types of office chairs.

Task Chairs

This is the most basic type of office chair. Here’s a bunch of them from Target. All of them as far as I’m aware have pneumatic height adjust, six wheels, turn freely and are light – but most with no armrests (hence ‘task chair’ since you have completely free arm movement).You obviously have to construct the chair from parts, and that’s fairly easy. Anyone can have a basic task chair put together in less than 20 minutes assuming it’s of the simpler ilk. Even the cheapest chair will come with all the parts you need, including a simple L-shaped tool for the screws.

To get a decent task chair, you’re going to have to spend at least $45 to $60. That’s about as cheap as you can go before you get the I-know-this-is-a-cheap-chair feeling.

The drawbacks to task chairs is that most don’t recline – but they’re not supposed to. If you’re using a chair for task-related purposes, you can’t have the thing swinging back and forth all willy-nilly.

Traditional Office Chairs

These are the chairs that usually don’t sell for anywhere under $125. You’ve seen them at Staples and other office stores and know what they look like. Better models can be spotted easily as they usually have more steel in them – including the armrests. "Serious" office chairs also have steel casters for the wheels.

Which chair should you go with?

Most of you would probably be really happy with a mid-grade task chair. Traditional office chairs, while nice, are usually a bit of overkill for most people. Sure, you get that cool feeling of grandeur when you get the chair, but oh yeah, you’ll pay for it. If you don’t have any health issues that require an ergo-correct traditional office chair, the task chair will suit you fine.

Those that do have back/leg/etc. issues should consider a traditional ergo-correct office chair. The back will be stiff(er) and force you to sit upright, but that’s the whole point because it promotes proper posture.

You can tell a good ergo-correct office chair from a bad one by performing a simple test: Purposely try to slouch in one. If you can slouch in it easily, give it a pass. If on the other hand you find it difficult to slouch while in the chair, it should serve you well.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

When Is The Last Time You Bought An Office Chair?