The other day someone asked this and everyone recommended a $1,400 chair. I can’t afford that, I can’t even dream of affording that. I’m looking for something with good lumbar support for ideally under $400 tops. Does anyone have any ideas?
And Inb4 someone says “buy one used / second hand” I looked and they’re still pretty pricey. My current chair is falling apart so I need to do something soon.
I’ll second the suggestion of Secretlab. Pretty sure mine was in the £400ish price range, and it’s really nice for gaming.
Go part of the way through purchasing one, and then close the tab. Within a day or two you’ll probably have a discount coupon. It’s my favourite trick for buying expensive stuff.
Oh that’s smart
I’ve had mine since early 2020 and it’s identical to the day I purchased it. Faux leather doesn’t look the slightest bit damaged or fatigued. (I liked it so much, I got the rest of all their products…)
I used a secretlab Titan for 6 years. Currently looking to replace it, but that’s only because the faux leather is starting to peel away. Really solid investment, super comfy.
For OP, I likely tried the $1400 chair that was recommended (Steelcase Gesture) and just sent it back. Decent chair but just didn’t work for me.
Steer clear of anything that markets itself as being gaming focused. Plenty of middle-of-the-road office chairs provide decent back support and I’d even wager most are better for your long term health than a “gaming” chair. If there’s a local office furniture store nearby then I’d check that out. Still might be a bit pricey but I’m sure they have some cheaper options. My current one was like $200 from one of those stores and it’s served me very well. Super comfy, much better than my sibling’s gaming chair.
The vinyl mesh seats you can get at staples have always been good to me. They’re simple but they last forever and they feel great for hours https://www.staples.com/union-scale-flexfit-hyken-ergonomic-mesh-swivel-task-chair-black-un59460/product_990119
Ooo this might be nice especially temp wise 👀 thank you!
I’ve had one for years, I game for long stretches in it with no back pain. It doesn’t really wear down.
Used one of these for many years, it was great. Only complaint is that the arm rest is kind uncomfortable it you lean on it a lot like I do.
For any chair that you want to roll upgrade the crappy plastic wheels with some nice rubber ones. The kind that look like inline skate wheels.
I have a Secretlab chair that I like. Which model is right for you depends on your size. I paid about $500 for mine. They often have $100 off coupons.
I often see some pretty comfortable chairs at Costco for < $300, if you live near one. The savings on the chair alone would more than cover the cost of a 1 year membership.
Seconding the Secretlab chair. For someone who works from home and would play PC games at the exact same desk when work ended, it made sense to invest in a chair beyond my $30 IKEA one and has held up pretty well over the last several years.
I got mine a few months into the pandemic for the same reason.
I might look into this!
The other benefit with Costco is that they have an extremely generous return policy.
Some obvious stuff has different rules (electronics is 90 days, stuff like tires that have clear expected lifespans have their own rules), but it is extremely liberal. And my experience is that I pretty rarely have to use it, because while not everything is a premium product for a bargain price, they tend to ensure that the suppliers for products they sell have reasonable build quality and make stuff that isn’t trash designed to fail.
Forget about gaming chairs, they’re overpriced for the sake of looking like a racecar seat.
Look at office chairs. For example https://www.autonomous.ai/ have good chairs at reasonable prices.
I would steer clear of any chairs that
- function as a billboard for themselves (high back with a logo that’s clearly visible on a twitch stream)
- are built like a bucket seat from a race car
- or are otherwise marketed toward “gamers”
I would try looking for a second hand expensive one. I found a guy on CL who restores Herman Millers; sold me a lightly used Aeron for like $300.
The one I used before that was the Ikea Markus (also purchased on CL for $100, barely used).
I got a used Herman Miller Sayl for $175. It’s not the best chair in the world, but it’s pretty good. There may be used office furniture stores in your area. I’d start there.
I second the used office chair store option. I got mine there for like $300, and while it was a color I wouldnt usually go for (lime green), it solved my back pain virtually overnight. Have had it like 3 years now, it’s great and will probably last forever
If you haven’t looked into used office furniture stores near you, I would highly suggest it. Depending on where you live you could get anywhere from 40 to 80% off, and big name $1k retail chairs are built to last 10+ years and are often lightly refurbished at these stores (and they usually can order parts and do repairs in shop)
I got a HON Ignition 2.0 a few years back for about $300. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s not a gaming chair. It’s one of the best cheap ergonomic chairs I’ve ever used. You can get them lightly used from Amazon for about $360 nowadays, or $425 new. Between working from home and sitting in front of my computer gaming, I spend probably 8+ hours a day sitting in that chair, and have for the last 3 years. It’s still in great shape and shows almost no wear and tear.
If you’re in the US, the Workpro line from Office Depot are pretty good. I picked up the Momentum for about $260 during a sale.
I might look into that, thanks!
Got a refurbished steelcase for ~300 with no regrets.
I am right now sitting on a Steelcase Series 1, and while it doesn’t have great lumbar support, it is far better than any shitty $150 “gaming” chair, and is right in your price range brand new.
Autonomous makes some nice chairs that are in your price range
Thank you!!!
I personally have had the ErgoChair Plus with the naked black TPE (No cushion) for the past 5(?) years and it’s been holding up great.
I’ve been thinking about the same thing. I know that the chairs I’d like to get are like $700-1000, but I can’t justify that cost while not consistently making money (full-time school for now).
I do spend a lot of time sitting at my desk, so I guess if you break down the price by hours in use, it’s not ridiculous to pay so much for a chair that lasts a decade.
Hopefully I can find a solid refurbish for around $400 eventually… but probably not.
Anyone have recommendations for an executive style chair with a high back? I assume the reason why I can’t find them anywhere is a combination of them being a larger box by volume and something about ergonomics but I love reclining in a chair with a high slightly wide back that doesn’t put all the weight onto my feet like ‘racer’ style chairs tend to do.
