Sitting pretty (at my computer)

I’ve been saving up for an Aeron Chair for my office for a while. It runs around $890, but I knew that my current chair was killing me and the investment seemed justifiable. I needed something that allowed for (and promoted) better posture than my current heavily-padded “executive” chair. I wasn’t completely sold on the Aeron, though. Then a recommendation from John Gruber for the Chadwick chair showed up on my Twitter stream and piqued my interest. Given that I was already in the market and ready to drop a fair sum of money, that nudge was enough.

The Chadwick Chair costs about $100 less, and I happened to have that much saved toward the Aeron. I took a chance and ordered it. It arrived less than 48 hours later and I’ve been sitting in it for a day now.

My back immediately appreciated the difference. While the adjustable seat and arm rest heights are nothing novel, the way that the chair adjusts with shifting weight to automatically provide support at any incline is outstanding. An adjustable lumbar support add-on has made this the most comfortable day I’ve spent at my computer in a long time¹.

For reference, I’m 6’ tall and the chair fits well for me when seated at my IKEA desk. I have to have it at the highest height adjustment, so there’s not a lot of leeway for taller desks. There’s plenty of room to drop for lower desks, though.

I can’t directly compare the Chadwick to the Aeron, as I haven’t sat in an Aeron for over 5 years now. All I can offer is that the Chadwick already appears to be a good investment, and I hope that it continues to pay off in health benefits and general comfort over time.

Here’s my Amazon affiliate link for the Chadwick chair. Clicking it and then buying anything at Amazon (even if it’s not the chair) makes a small donation to my cause, so you can feel warm and fuzzy about your shopping.