• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

My kingdom for an affordable, yet comfortable (cozy??) office chair for a bigger fella!

moparedtn

I got your Staff Member riiiight heeeere...
FBBO Gold Member
Local time
10:45 AM
Joined
May 14, 2011
Messages
17,070
Reaction score
31,978
Location
On the Ridge, TN
I'm 260lbs for starters - and all the crap at the usual national chain office supply stores is the same...
Chinese, made the same and too damn small for an adult-sized male.
No "bucket" shaping of the seat (irritates hell out of sciatica), no mesh or otherwise abrasive cloth
material in the seat (but plenty of stuffing/springs/foam, please).
Forget "ergonomic" shaped backs, too - I ain't ergo nothin'.
Whatever happened to big ol' comfy furniture?
 
I'll have to check what brand we have at work. They are good, but I think expensive too?
 

Well, you didn't define what "affordable" meant. :)
 
I'm the same weight but also 6'8"....which means that most chairs and their ergonomics are not built for a person of my height. We bought a 4 big comfy leather chairs for the TV room, but even they start to affect me after a while and I have to use pillows and such to get it comfortable for my back. I wish you well on your hunt!
 

Well, you didn't define what "affordable" meant. :)
Look at you trying to help a self-professed non-ergonomic guy....with an "ergonomics.com" website. :)
Actually, I have owned that exact Herman Miller (hoo boy $$$) that I went to their distributor a couple hours
away and got "fitted" for. Custom-built, you know.... well, that rascal didn't last 24 hours once in place here
at the house.
I really wanted that one to work, USA-built and all....blamed myself when it didn't.
A more youthful - or perhaps, more fit in general - person would probably love it.
My sciatica-riddled, cut up and permanently warped older human chassis did not.

The rest of that list is the usual assortment of the same basic Chinese chair sold everywhere - and I've owned
a ton of them over the years for sure. Serviceable, never comfortable - and short-lived, as the cheap upholstery
materials gave way fairly quickly.
You put up with them long enough to "get your moneys' worth" out of them and then off to the new one...
Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
Got a brand new one sitting next to me right now in fact, the latest "this one felt fine in the store" iteration.
Notice that I said "sitting next to me" - as in my arse isn't in it.
So very disappointed again - with myself for believing, once again.

The exception to that list may be the Steelcase. Obvious quality improvements, adjustments that sound like
they might be the ticket - and a hefty price tag to go with it, of course.
Still, I'd love to try one - but in this region, the only way that happens is to order one, sadly.
Just like with cars, I won't buy one I haven't personally laid hands (or ***) on, though.

Thanks for trying, appreciate the help all the same - but I'm at advanced, too many hours spent levels of
research at this point on the damn subject.
 
I went to a commercial office supple store here in town. I gave them the dimensions of the room and they built me a two person L-shaped desk, filing cabinets, drawer units and two leather chairs. They delivered and set it up. The chairs are perfect and my wife just looked at me like I was crazy when I picked them out. At this store you get what you pay for. I bought my last one at some office depot store, never again, this will be the last set of chairs I buy. This was taken at my last house a two years ago.

20200111_124708.jpg

I took this picture of one of the chairs just now. Go to a quality store and ask for the best they have, not the best they have for a decent price, big difference.
20220925_071437.jpg
 
If you want a chair that's really comfortable, this one is in the other corner of my office!! LOL
20220925_073046.jpg
 
I'm 260lbs for starters - and all the crap at the usual national chain office supply stores is the same...
Chinese, made the same and too damn small for an adult-sized male.
No "bucket" shaping of the seat (irritates hell out of sciatica), no mesh or otherwise abrasive cloth
material in the seat (but plenty of stuffing/springs/foam, please).
Forget "ergonomic" shaped backs, too - I ain't ergo nothin'.
Whatever happened to big ol' comfy furniture?
2nd hand stores Ed, Good Will , DAV ect. Lots of the donated furniture is from the 70s and in damn good shape.
USA built.
Plus if it does not work out you did not invest a weeks pay.
 
Best Chair Brand. Swivel, recline. Expensive but worth it.
 
"My kingdom for...a chair.."

If that kingdom includes a certain 68 GTX Ed I'll build you the greatest chair the world has ever seen!
:lol:
 
Like many, I ended up working from home starting in March 2020.
I have a hand me down desk I got from my late grandmother in the late 90s and the desk chair wasn’t cutting it, at all. So I dragged a swivel kitchen chair upstairs and put a pillow on it and that was a huge improvement for my sitting 8 hours a day staring at my company laptop.
Not good enough apparently. In late October I started to feel pain in one thigh which I thought was sciatica. It got worse and I noticed swelling so in early November I went to immediate care.
I ended up hospitalized for over a week including 3 days in ICU with a very bad (complete blockage) blood clot.
I‘ve recovered pretty well but now wear compression stockings and will take blood thinners for the rest of my life.
My work has a crappy procedure for getting short term disability and I was initially denied for time when I was hospitalized due to paperwork BS I was in no physical shape to comply with (we have several unionized plants and Union guys trying to take disability for anything and everything is probably to blame for their rigid procedure, but whatever, it was BS and made a very bad time for me that much worse.)
Before I ramble too much longer, I came to learn then that office desk chairs are “rated” for 8 hours. The best office chairs you can get at places like Office Depot are rated much less hours, like maybe 4.
Anyway I was furious about the crap I went through getting denied short term disability and threatened to file a ADA complaint about my experience. While dealing with HR and telling them working from home on inadequate seating for months was probably what caused my clot, they agreed to get me a 8 hour rated chair from our office to use at my home.
It is made by Steelcase. Its not some fancy leather executive chair, it’s plastic and cloth. But from what I see online they cost $1200 or $1500 each.
My recommendation is see if you can find a used office furniture store and try to buy one of these 8 hour rated office chairs. They may not look too fancy but they are designed for extended sitting. Consumer chairs are not.
 
Like many, I ended up working from home starting in March 2020.
I have a hand me down desk I got from my late grandmother in the late 90s and the desk chair wasn’t cutting it, at all. So I dragged a swivel kitchen chair upstairs and put a pillow on it and that was a huge improvement for my sitting 8 hours a day staring at my company laptop.
Not good enough apparently. In late October I started to feel pain in one thigh which I thought was sciatica. It got worse and I noticed swelling so in early November I went to immediate care.
I ended up hospitalized for over a week including 3 days in ICU with a very bad (complete blockage) blood clot.
I‘ve recovered pretty well but now wear compression stockings and will take blood thinners for the rest of my life.
My work has a crappy procedure for getting short term disability and I was initially denied for time when I was hospitalized due to paperwork BS I was in no physical shape to comply with (we have several unionized plants and Union guys trying to take disability for anything and everything is probably to blame for their rigid procedure, but whatever, it was BS and made a very bad time for me that much worse.)
Before I ramble too much longer, I came to learn then that office desk chairs are “rated” for 8 hours. The best office chairs you can get at places like Office Depot are rated much less hours, like maybe 4.
Anyway I was furious about the crap I went through getting denied short term disability and threatened to file a ADA complaint about my experience. While dealing with HR and telling them working from home on inadequate seating for months was probably what caused my clot, they agreed to get me a 8 hour rated chair from our office to use at my home.
It is made by Steelcase. Its not some fancy leather executive chair, it’s plastic and cloth. But from what I see online they cost $1200 or $1500 each.
My recommendation is see if you can find a used office furniture store and try to buy one of these 8 hour rated office chairs. They may not look too fancy but they are designed for extended sitting. Consumer chairs are not.
Yeah, I'm "walking" that whole sciatica/compression socks thing also - but I had those going on before I got the "chained to
the desk" gig a few years ago.
Can't begin to tell you how many docs have damn near insisted on getting me signed up for disability over the last dozen
years - it's like they get a kickback or something.
Refused all of them. Still do. Don't care if I "qualify".

Anyways - yes, Steelcase is the traditional competitor to that Herman Miller stuff.
Is yours the vaunted "Leaf" model? Supposed to be the best they offer for many years now and
yeah, they're proud of 'em $$$.
They look to be well made, anyways.
 
Like many, I ended up working from home starting in March 2020.
I have a hand me down desk I got from my late grandmother in the late 90s and the desk chair wasn’t cutting it, at all. So I dragged a swivel kitchen chair upstairs and put a pillow on it and that was a huge improvement for my sitting 8 hours a day staring at my company laptop.
Not good enough apparently. In late October I started to feel pain in one thigh which I thought was sciatica. It got worse and I noticed swelling so in early November I went to immediate care.
I ended up hospitalized for over a week including 3 days in ICU with a very bad (complete blockage) blood clot.
I‘ve recovered pretty well but now wear compression stockings and will take blood thinners for the rest of my life.
My work has a crappy procedure for getting short term disability and I was initially denied for time when I was hospitalized due to paperwork BS I was in no physical shape to comply with (we have several unionized plants and Union guys trying to take disability for anything and everything is probably to blame for their rigid procedure, but whatever, it was BS and made a very bad time for me that much worse.)
Before I ramble too much longer, I came to learn then that office desk chairs are “rated” for 8 hours. The best office chairs you can get at places like Office Depot are rated much less hours, like maybe 4.
Anyway I was furious about the crap I went through getting denied short term disability and threatened to file a ADA complaint about my experience. While dealing with HR and telling them working from home on inadequate seating for months was probably what caused my clot, they agreed to get me a 8 hour rated chair from our office to use at my home.
It is made by Steelcase. Its not some fancy leather executive chair, it’s plastic and cloth. But from what I see online they cost $1200 or $1500 each.
My recommendation is see if you can find a used office furniture store and try to buy one of these 8 hour rated office chairs. They may not look too fancy but they are designed for extended sitting. Consumer chairs are not.
In my years of working, i had quite a few males having sciatica problems from siting long spells with their wallet in there back pocket, also problem’s occurred with them changing posture in different vehicles. With some taking the wallet out it helped immensely. Some had a leg length discrepancy that we alleviated by making a foot orthosis or shoe raise.
 
This may help...
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top