I’ve had the Aeron chair for a little over a month now and thought I’d weigh in now that we’ve spent some quality time getting to know each other.  I’m sure the chair appreciates me weighing in every morning actually.  Oh joy, is that another chocolate cruller in your hand, fatty?  Why, yes it is chair!  Plop [crumbs].

This is without a doubt a vast improvement over my previous Staples Special 9000.  In every way, shape, form, scent, sound and measure.  And by sound, I mean that everything down to the sound it makes when it wheels around is better.  I’d say the largest single improvement though has been the change in my posture.  I opted for the improved lower back support feature and I’m glad I did.  There’s an adjustable knob on there and I just have it cranked all the way down.  It keeps the pelvis pushed forward, which has the effect of setting the upper back into the seat.  It seems counter productive, like putting yourself into a slouch, but just kinda fits the shape of your spine and provides support.  So you don’t feel the need to slouch.  If anything it makes me feel like sitting even more upright rather than slouching.  I still crumple into a heap when I’m in any other chair though so I wouldn’t say I’m cured.  More on this later.

The seat back is there to support you as well.  My old chair was semi-adjustable but the top generally found a way of digging right into the underside of my shoulder blades if I sat up straight.  The Aeron comes in three sizes, A, B and C.  I recommend sitting in one prior to purchase so you know which one to get because I don’t believe the back is adjustable on this thing.  If it’s not high enough, you got the wrong size…. or you have a freakishly long torso.

The arms, while nice, spend most of their time in the lowest position possible so I can get as close as possible to my work surface.  They only come into play when I have the presence of mind to raise them if I’m on the phone or talking with someone in my cube.  I’d say skip em unless you don’t think your work surface will be an issue.

Things are typically pretty well locked down on the tilting front when I’m working at the computer although maybe that’s a bad thing.  You’re supposed to move when you work at the computer, but I find moving just gets me out of my optimal position too easily.  So I dunno.  I go weapons free when I’m sketching or marking something up so I can tilt forward over the table or recline back, feet up on the table, thinking deep thoughts.  It’s handy.

My only real complaint with the chair is the leading edge of the seat itself.  If your legs are in any way dangling they will almost certainly feel some pressure from the seat.  When I’m sketching I drop the chair and my feet are resting comfortably on the floor.  When I’m computing though, I’m up so that my elbows are 90° with the table, stumpy legs dangling.  In this case I have a foot rest that my feet go on.  You can also combat this with a keyboard tray under the work surface and lower your seat.  Either way.

In conclusion, I’d say I’m happy although it’s a tough sell to yourself.  Even with the professional discount it’s very expensive.  I’ve wanted one for a long time but it wasn’t until I found myself with some very unexpected cash and a chance to get 60% off that I went for it.  I don’t know that I’d have been game otherwise.  If you sit in a chair every day though maybe it’s worth considering or thinking about it terms of dollars per day, over the course of a year.  Is $2-4 per day for the first year too much money to spend on additional comfort?

I’ve started taking this stuff a little more seriously lately.  The chair is a function of that.  I mean, it’s an object and we all know I desire objects, but it’s more than that.  Don’t know if anyone saw on my birfday I was at the sauna.  That… was not by chance.  Err, I mean it was chance and pleasant that it was on my birfday but it wasn’t specific to my birfday.  I’ve been hitting the spa every two weeks since around about the beginning of the year for an hour deep tissue session and sauna.  Getting back to what I was saying about slumping, I was sitting there on a stool before my last session and we were talking about how things were feeling and we noticed that I was almost completely crumpled in on myself.  Arms forward, shoulders rolled, back hump… backed.  Sitting at a desk every day is definitely taking a toll and I don’t get enough exercise or whatever else I might need to counteract it naturally.  So I’m letting someone else work it out.  We’re making good progress.  My hope is to hit the yoga studio at least one evening a week once work eases up and then obviously regular exercise is a key component.  That’ll be coming online soon as well.  I need to be doing more on my own for sure but I’m slowly ramping it up.  I guess…. everyone goes through this at some point.  Your body stops taking care of shit by itself.  I’ve always taken it for granted so I don’t really know what taking care of myself looks like.  I’m learning.