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PC gamers: What is the most comfortable desk chair ever?

Is 245 US a good price for a Steelcase Leap Ergonomic? Found one on Craigslist from an office closing down nearby.

I'm also thinking about that Tempur-pedic from Staples at $299.

I'm a bigger guy at 6' 2", would the lack of a non mesh back be a deal breaker?
 
I've been considering a Steelcase Leap, but there doesn't seem to be any good place to try out a Leap in downtown Toronto and I'm not going to truck out to the random industrial office park in Markham where Steelcase has its closest authorized retailer. Considering calling up the office/showroom Steelcase has downtown to see if they'll let a random dude who's not going to outfit a 8,000 square feet office space come in to try a chair for an hour.

All that hassle might legit push me towards a Herman Miller chair instead, just because I happen to know there's a furniture store not far from my office that sells Herman Miller stuff.
 
Right now it's between the Steelcase Leap and newer Steelcase Gesture.

Anyone have experience sitting in both that can compare the two?
 
It's best to find something you can try out. I've read so many good things about HM Aeron chairs. After sitting in a Steelcase Amia and Leap for the past 4 years (at work), I decided to give the Aeron a go. Huge letdown.

Would suggest a Leap or Amia over the Aeron. But as stated, try for yourself before buying.
 
Ironically enough I just received a reupholstered Leap today, replacing a Ikea Markus (fairly old and a few things wrong with it, but not enough to get a warranty fix for them unfortunately). Definitely prefer the adjustment options on it, but of course early days on it. We have Aeron's at one of the offices I work at and so far I prefer this but both are good.
 
Smushroomed said:
More about this standing thing
Click to expand...

http://lifehacker.com/five-best-standing-desks-1528244287

Try a DIY thing first, maybe. See if you actually like standing for a long time. Alternately, adjustable desks or desk-toppers like the Varidesk might be better.

chrominance said:
Considering calling up the office/showroom Steelcase has downtown to see if they'll let a random dude who's not going to outfit a 8,000 square feet office space come in to try a chair for an hour.

All that hassle might legit push me towards a Herman Miller chair instead, just because I happen to know there's a furniture store not far from my office that sells Herman Miller stuff.
Click to expand...
A long time ago, I did go to the Herman Miller office in downtown Vancouver to buy an Aeron for personal use. They were very nice considering I just wanted one chair.
 
I bought my Embody online when a bunch of places were having a HM sale last year. You can probably find a plain black one cheaper, but I wanted a green and blue one for our home office.

The most hilarious part was when my bf bought two chairs for us as a holiday gift as well, so we ended up with 4 chairs for a bit. Thankfully they had a good return policy.
 
Wingwright said:
I just bought an Ikea Markus and I love it. The high back is great and I can rest my head on it nicely.

markus-swivel-chair__69659_PE184857_S4.JPG
Click to expand...
How much is this.
 
i dont like having a super comfortable desk chair. If i had one, i would never want to get up off it! the ones that get uncomfortable after a few hours works for me, gets me off the computer haha
 
If possible, I suggest going into a showroom and trying whatever chair your interested in, though I've heard some places won't let you because they are only interested in selling to offices rather than individuals. Personally I've got an HM Aeron at the office and don't particularly like it for long periods of time. At home I use the Embody and love it, by far the most comfortable chair I've used once I had it properly adjusted.

The price is steep unfortunately at something like $1300 with all the options, but it's got a 12 year warranty and considering the amount of time I'll spend in it over its lifetime, I'd say the cost is well worth it. You can also wait for a HM sale that seem to occur every now and then to get a $200-300 off.
 
The Lamonster said:
Right now it's between the Steelcase Leap and newer Steelcase Gesture.

Anyone have experience sitting in both that can compare the two?
Click to expand...

You really don't have any place you can go to to test out one or both of these? Ordering without sitting in the thing first is risky. I have had two Steelcase leaps, but they were both V1's I bought refurbished (~250), and without arm rests (which I'm happy without). Before buying my second V1, I bought a refurb V2 but decided I didn't like it. The back padding was just too thin, I could feel the hard plastic underneath around my upper back. I'm not sure if that's something specific to the refurb model I had or if every V2 is like that.

If it's new, you may avoid these problems. A Steelcase leap is a very adjustable chair. If you find it uncomfortable, you're probably forgetting some adjustments.
 
I know it's cliche at this point but I really love the Aeron. I've had it for years and it still is in great condition, the surface it uses doesn't 'wear down' like other leather executive office chairs that you buy from Office Depot. It's super comfortable and feels way better for my back.

To people considering the Steelcase Leap I highly suggest finding one to try first. I got one of those and found the seat surface too hard and had to return it.
 
The Lamonster said:
How does the Gesture compare to the Leap?

All I can really find is that it's newer and allows more seating positions. One comment said it's a little less comfy than the Leap.
Click to expand...

Less comfy? No way. My favorite aspect of the Gesture is the fact I can sit multiple ways and still be comfortable. It's an incredibly well made chair.
 
Takeda Kenshi said:
Less comfy? No way. My favorite aspect of the Gesture is the fact I can sit multiple ways and still be comfortable. It's an incredibly well made chair.
Click to expand...

I think I am going to order a Gesture. I know it's not the tried-and-true, universally beloved Leap, but I'm going to give it a shot. It's not even a year old, anyway.

The Gesture is a little bit more attractive to me because the seat is larger than the Leap seat, it reclines farther than any Steelcase chair, the arms have more freedom of movement, and it just plain looks sexier.

Steelcase-Gesture-insets-Conference1-350.jpg


dat backside
 
Update: I've been sitting on my new Steelcase Gesture for almost a full week now, and now feel qualified to give my impressions on it.

I have found it. The most comfortable desk chair ever! The seat is very soft and breathable, and has softened edges so you can sit any way you want on it. My butt never gets sore or hot. It's also the largest seat I've seen in a desk chair. I can comfortably sit cross-legged on the thing.

The back of the chair is always there to support my back and is very comfortable, although it can get kind of hot compared to the seat. The lumbar curve is subtle but it gets the job done. I love how far back you can set the back to lean. The arms are by far the most amazing arms I've ever seen. They can be adjusted to fit any posture.

This is definitely a gamer's chair. It's the perfect chair for PC gaming at a desk, or reclined iPad gaming, and a great substitute for comfy couch gaming. I actually prefer it over a couch and fully intend to wheel it over to my living room when Destiny hits.

Yes, it's brand new and there aren't a ton of reviews out there yet. Yes, it's true I've never sat in an Aeron or Leap, but based on viewing dozens of video reviews and reading tons of impressions, I'm fully confident the Gesture is better. Yes, it's expensive and yes it's worth it.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the Gesture or the vast amount of research I've done over the past couple months in finding the perfect desk chair ever. Or this thread could die again. Who knows! But I'm here to help in your quest if you need it.
 
Does anyone have any specific recommendations on the affordable end for very tall people (>6'6")?

Pretty sure I've been ruining my back over all these years of gaming (worried how it's going to end up when I'm old), so I feel like a chair is a good investment but these chair prices are realllly high and I just can't afford it.

With gaming+office job, it's kinda scary the negative effects it's going to potentially have on my health and I'm not really particularly active as it is.

Thanks guys!
 
Captain Cool said:
Does anyone have any specific recommendations on the affordable end for very tall people (>6'6")?

Pretty sure I've been ruining my back over all these years of gaming (worried how it's going to end up when I'm old), so I feel like a chair is a good investment but these chair prices are realllly high and I just can't afford it.

With gaming+office job, it's kinda scary the negative effects it's going to potentially have on my health and I'm not really particularly active as it is.

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

Try a standing desk at work and save up for a nice chair at home! Most high-end chairs will accommodate a 6'6" man, like if you're interested in Aeron, get size C.

Also - exercise on your off-time, stretch often and take a lot of breaks from sitting.
 
Congrats on finding a good chair. It's definitely sexier than the Aeron but both are outside my comfort zone for prices. $700 is my current limit.
 
wildfire said:
Congrats on finding a good chair. It's definitely sexier than the Aeron but both are outside my comfort zone for prices. $700 is my current limit.
Click to expand...

Used Aerons often go for around $600. The top result on ebay right now says $549.99 and free shipping. Or check your local craigslist.
 
GrizzleBoy said:
I use a Human-scale Freedom.

1900573.jpg


It isn't great for lie back and fall asleep moments as the back and headrest are designed to offer support at all times while looking at a screen and so sumiltanously adjust their position based on recline level.

For a chair to work in, its pretty good though.

Another thing I will say is DO NOT even think about a chair without well padded arm rests.
Click to expand...

Have this chair without the headrest in fabric and I love it. I suffer from back pain and this certainly helps managing it. Also love the arm pads that can be raised or lowered easily
 
I used an Ikea Marcus and while I liked it for it's price, it wore fairly quickly. The seat tilt stopped locking in place, the seat cushion wore and it got to the point where the back of the chair would come off (which, which you're leaning back, is... uh... bad). That's kind of the gamble with most Ikea furniture, though. Some of it holds up really well and some of it... doesn't.

Ended up replacing it with a Herman-Miller Aeron and I have zero regrets. They're expensive, but given the amount of time you spend in them... it's worth it. And if you need to get them on the cheap, you can usually find a bunch used on Craigslist (and the build quality is good enough that the chairs being used shouldn't be a problem). Another plus: given how popular they are, finding replacement parts for them is relatively easy.
 
The Lamonster said:
Update: I've been sitting on my new Steelcase Gesture for almost a full week now, and now feel qualified to give my impressions on it.

I have found it. The most comfortable desk chair ever! The seat is very soft and breathable, and has softened edges so you can sit any way you want on it. My butt never gets sore or hot. It's also the largest seat I've seen in a desk chair. I can comfortably sit cross-legged on the thing.

The back of the chair is always there to support my back and is very comfortable, although it can get kind of hot compared to the seat. The lumbar curve is subtle but it gets the job done. I love how far back you can set the back to lean. The arms are by far the most amazing arms I've ever seen. They can be adjusted to fit any posture.

This is definitely a gamer's chair. It's the perfect chair for PC gaming at a desk, or reclined iPad gaming, and a great substitute for comfy couch gaming. I actually prefer it over a couch and fully intend to wheel it over to my living room when Destiny hits.

Yes, it's brand new and there aren't a ton of reviews out there yet. Yes, it's true I've never sat in an Aeron or Leap, but based on viewing dozens of video reviews and reading tons of impressions, I'm fully confident the Gesture is better. Yes, it's expensive and yes it's worth it.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the Gesture or the vast amount of research I've done over the past couple months in finding the perfect desk chair ever. Or this thread could die again. Who knows! But I'm here to help in your quest if you need it.
Click to expand...

Really glad to hear the chair is treating you well!

How durable does the seat padding feel? Also do you think the seat might wear faster because of the soft edging?

If you get a chance do you mind snapping a couple of pictures? It is always nice to get a couple of non-marketing pictures that aren't dolled up.
 
I've got an Aeron (thanks to the 2000 tech crash). But I'm weird and crouch and change position a lot when playing games. Some of the hard plastic on the side and under the mesh can be uncomfortable sometimes when you don't sit in a chair normally. But it's better than some other chairs which have hand rails that get in the way of having my legs up in the chair.
 
YaMoBeThere said:
Really glad to hear the chair is treating you well!

How durable does the seat padding feel? Also do you think the seat might wear faster because of the soft edging?

If you get a chance do you mind snapping a couple of pictures? It is always nice to get a couple of non-marketing pictures that aren't dolled up.
Click to expand...
The Gesture seat padding is a little stretchy but it feels super strong and durable. Same idea with the back shell - it's a very thin but very strong material. The chair comes with a 12 year warranty so it seems like Steelcase is pretty confident in the build quality. So far it's been solid as a rock. I don't expect any wear and tear issues with the padding or the seat.

The only downside to the material itself is that it's a hair magnet. I can live with that. I'll post some pics later tonight and you'll see what I mean.

If anything is going to go wrong with this chair, it would be one of the knobs, as I am constantly changing the backstop setting depending on what I'm doing. That's the beauty of this chair - it's perfect for wide-awake, focused working, or lazy movie watching, or iPad gaming, or texting etc.

Shipping was free and I'd definitely recommend buying direct through Steelcase. It's the only way you'd be able to customize the colors and options, anyway.

But seriously guys, every time I sit at my computer, it's a pleasure. World of difference from my old desk chair from the 90s that hurt my body all the time.


Dave_6 said:
I've found a few 'new' refurbished Aerons on Ebay for ~$500. Is that a pretty good deal?
Click to expand...
$400 is a good deal, $500 is pretty standard. I wouldn't pay any more than that for a refurb'd Aeron.
 
+1 on the Markus in terms of value for money. My cats tear the shit out any office chair I buy, so I try not to spend too much, and it was a pleasant surprise to find one so comfortable at that price.
 
Got this:

3276601


I went shopping for a ~200$ chair. This one was twice the price... I tried it half for fun, jalf out of curiosity. Bought one ten minutes after.

It's a wonderful chair, and 4 years later, it's like new. Worth every penny.

It comes from the french office depot, though, I'm not sure it's available in other countries. But my advice would be to go to such a place and try them all.
 
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