I’ve sat in a lot of office chairs.
From budget ones to premium, some of them I’ve use personally at home, and then others
I’ve used at work or at showrooms.
And after all that testing, I do think personally some chairs are better than others.
Keeping in mind, I’m on the smaller side at 5’7 at 140lbs, and I use my office chairs
for both task work on the computer, and relaxing to a movie or a game.
I also like to cross my legs once in a while, I’ll slouch and shift in chairs over a long
day, and generally don’t use arm rests opting to fully tuck in my chair reaching for my
keyboard and mouse.
So given all that, what chairs do I prefer?
Hi I’m David and this is my office chair tier list.
So let’s start with the latest chair I’ve been using for the last couple months, the
Steelcase Leap.
I think this is a jack of all trades (safe bet type chair) when it comes to office chairs.
It’s ergonomic with a lot of adjustments to fit a range of people, and it’s comfortable
for lounging around especially with the headrest option.
But it’s not perfect with the seat cushion being a little too firm for some, the headrest
is overpriced, and there’s room for improvements to the lumbar and back support.
But maybe I’ll cover that in a future video.
A-tier.
Going way back in time, The IKEA Markus was my first real office chair purchase.
And I still think it’s a decent budget option.
It’s solidly built with a long warranty.
Its seat and back are comfy and has a built-in headrest which made it extremely comfortable
for lounging.
My main complaints are with the lack of adjustments that meant the seat pan depth was too long
for my legs and the arm rests really suck.
C-Tier Another budget option that I checked out early
on was the Staples Hyken.
I only really tested this chair in stores but it was pretty immediate to me that it
wasn’t the chair for me.
The mesh design was too firm for me, the build quality felt really cheap, and the headrest
would stab into my shoulders.
But in spite of that, it was and still is one of the cheapest office chairs you can
buy today.
So it might work as a budget solution for some.
D-tier.
On the other side of the spectrum.
The Herman Miller Embody is one of the most expensive chairs I’ve tried but is also
one of my favorites.
That flexible pixel structure is truly in a league of its own for upper back support
and its unique design.
Still, unfortunately it’s plagued by those clunky arm rests, that aggressive lumbar support,
and a headrest would really be nice for lounging.
A-tier Along the same lines, I’ll quickly mention
the Logitech version of the embody.
Ignoring the “gamer” cosmetic upgrades, the new foam padding additions were questionable
in my experience.
And I think it was a missed opportunity for them to add a headrest here for console gamers.
And the price ended up being more expensive, than it would been if I bought the original
instead, so in hindsight I probably should have just gotten that.
B-Tier Next up is the Autonomous Kinn chair.
They had sent this to me to test a couple years ago when it first came out, and initially,
I was excited to try it since it looked like a budget version of the Embody.
But I quickly realized it wasn’t the chair for me.
Between the uncomfortably firm and bumpy seat, lack of any real lumbar support, and how expensive
it’s gotten with the rebrand.
It really isn’t for me.
E-tier.
I guess while we’re down here, I’ll just stick gaming racing chair here too in E-tier.
Too be honest, most of my experience with racing chairs was sitting on them when I’m
in stores, but every time I do.
I’m immediately reminded why I don’t like them.
I’m sure some might be better than others but it’s really hard to filter through the
marketing fluff.
I will mention the Secret lab Titan, which I did find surprisingly comfortable for lounging.
But I don’t have any long-term impressions on it and it still lacks a lot of what I look
for in an office chair for task work.
D-tier Prepandemic, IKEA chairs were my usually go
to recommendations for budget chairs.
They were easy to test in store, and you had a generous return policy if it didn’t work
out.
One of my personal favorites from IKEA was the Volmar, but they shortly discontinued
it, which wasn’t too surprising given its high price, firm padding, and relatively small
and ugly design.
But I’ll put it as C-tier And then IKEA came out with the Jarvfjallet
and Hattefjall, which I guess look prettier, and do come with more adjustments than the
IKEA Markus.
But I felt like they took a step back in terms of comfort with the really firm seat cushion
design.
D-tier This next one might come as a shocker.
The legendary Herman Miller Aeron that I’m putting as B-tier.
I think this chair is really comfortable for task work on the computer.
And in my opinion, it’s the best-looking chair with its iconic industrial design.
But it was never the chair that I wanted to use in my home setup.
As it forces me to sit a certain way, and is uncomfortable for leg crossing or to slouch
and relax in.
There’s also the Herman Miller Mirra 2, which I personally think more people should
take a look at if you’re considering an Aeron.
It might feel cheap with plastic parts and doesn’t look as pretty as the Aeron.
But when fully loaded, which does add up in price, it’s highly adjustable to fit a range
of people and I think I even prefer it to the Aeron for comfort.
B-tier The HAG Capisco, is an odd one on this list
with the unique ways to sit on it.
I still do use this chair once in a while, since it’s provides more freedom of motion
especially if I’m doing something more creative like arts or craft.
But it’s not the most comfortable, nor is it supposed to be for lounging around so I
guess it’s C-tier for me.
The Steelcase Gesture has a lot of similarities to the Leap chair that I’m currently using.
But it looks more modern, has a more functional headrest, and the arm rests are the best I’ve
tried.
I don’t have long term experience with the Gesture but in my limited testing found it
comparable to the Leap but I might want to revisit testing that in the future.
Regardless, I’d also consider it A-tier.
The Amia is another great chair from Steelcase.
It doesn’t have as many adjustments or frills as the Gesture or Leap, but it’s cheaper
and is just as comfortable.
Probably one of my favorite cheaper premium chairs that I’ve tried.
B-tier So that’s the list of Office chairs I’ve
tested and my ratings for them.
And unfortunately, it does seem like there’s a correlation between price and rank, which
is unfortunate for budget shoppers.
And maybe you’re wondering why I didn’t give any chair the top S-tier rank, and that’s
because as good as some chairs are, even my favorites still have real downsides that I
wouldn’t want someone to overlook.
Which is why I always recommend testing a chair if you can, before you buy it, or at
least buy it from somewhere with a good return policy.
Because even the best of chairs, can be the worst for someone else.
But hope you guys enjoy this one.
You know what to do.
And I’ll see you in the next video.