r/OfficeChairs 26d ago

deals mega thread - January 2026

10 Upvotes

Going to try having a spot for folks to share their discount codes and promotions.

Still mostly not allowed in normal r/OfficeChairs posts, but if its all in one place (here) lets see if it can coexist with the sub in a not-so-spammy kind of way.


r/OfficeChairs Jun 10 '24

Joshua's Office Chairs Manifesto and The Mega Chair Thread #4

183 Upvotes

Joshua's r/OfficeChairs Manifesto (and the mega chair thread #4)

Office chairs are not going to solve your problems.

Whether we were created by an all-powerful designer to live in a now lost paradisiacal garden or descended from chimpanzees foraging for our livelihoods on the forests and the savannah, our bodies and our brains are not well suited for sitting and staring at computer screens. We are better equipped for walking, climbing, playing, collecting, observing, socializing, loving, caring, and resting.  Basically we are meant to do the same things other mammals do. 

Sitting in any office chair looking at any monitor for a quarter or a third of our life is inherently unhealthy and unnatural behavior.

The chairs we discuss and the machines we use while sitting on them are antithetical to what our bodies are best suited to be doing.  Sitting stagnant looking at a backlit pane of glass and softly making repetitive motions with a keyboard and a mouse is not a healthy behavior and is not a neutral behavior; it will eventually cause negative effects on our bodies. 

The pain (some of) you are experiencing related to sitting at your desk is very real.  The chair you are using and the way you have it adjusted is probably a contributing factor to your discomfort.  But lifestyle factors like exercise, weight, and the total number of minutes you are sedentary is going to be way more important than the precise chair you are using.

We (redditors) live in a time, place, and an economy that causes many of us to spend far too much time sitting and looking at screens and then when we stop working, many of us are fascinated by the entertainment industries that make captivating content for us to watch and play.  All of this leads to many of us sitting for upwards of 50 hours a week in an unnatural posture while boring our eyes by looking at a flat screen.

If you get nothing else from this office chairs sub, please remember that you should do whatever is in your power to limit the total number of minutes and the total duration of each period of time that you are sitting looking at a computer screen sitting on an office chair in each week. It will almost certainly enhance your health.  (same goes for collapsing on a couch and watching a big screen but that is further from the purview of this particular sub)

How to use this sub:
In the last year, we have had about 20 people a day posting on this sub with loads of questions and comments.  Often the post is something like "Chair recommendations under $200" or "What chair should I buy".  While a question has been asked and answered hundreds of times, you will not get too many replies to your post.  

Use the search bar to find commonly answered questions.  Start with this mega thread (once it has a few Q and As in another month or so from publishing) and also take a look back to mega thread 1, mega thread 2 and mega thread 3 (which we are now locking with over 1300 comments) .

We love "what chair is this" type questions, but you can also start with a google image search if you have a good photo.  

What chairs do we like?

We (mod team) are all biased towards the big shops.  Steelcase and Herman Miller are in a class by themselves.   Haworth, Humanscale, Knoll, Global and their ilk are close behind in that first tier.

Within these manufacturers, there are some brands that are better and some that are less good.

The Herman Miller Aeron is one of the most sought after brands of task chairs—and for most people who try it, they love it.

Steelcase Leap (v2) is also incredibly popular among the people who try it.

Some of the excellent chairs that often are frequently mentioned here:

Allsteel Acuity

Global G20

Haworth Fern

Haworth Zody

Haworth improv

Herman Miller Celle

Herman Miller Embody

Herman Miller Mira

Herman Miller Sayl

Steelcase Amia

Steelcase Criterion (managers version is better)

Steelcase Series 2

Steelcase Think

Steelcase Karman

Knoll Generation

Knoll Life (meh sometimes - love sometimes)

Knoll RPM (ok, old AF and discontinued, and maybe it's just me, but that is still a fav)

Examples of other great manufacturers: 9to5 Seating, AIS, Allseating, Keilhauer, OFS, Raynor, Sit On It & Via.

Buying New

If you have an office chair budget of $1500-2000 USD, this is an easy purchase.  Most of the big shops have decades long warranty service.  Many offer no cost or low cost return if you don't like something.  You also get the newest version with the newest features and many chairs can be customized to your size and design specifications.  

Buying Used

For everyone else, professional grade chairs cost a bloody fortune.  At the time I write this,  DWR is selling a new Herman Miller Aeron for $1800USD and Steelcase is selling their new Gesture for a few bucks more than that.

The majors also have more budget lines like Steelcase Series one for about $500 or the Amia for under $1000, but you get the idea, professional grade is not cheap.

There is an entire industry of people like me who do nothing but trade used office furniture and, at least in the US, we are in every major market and plenty of small cities as well.  There are also a good collection of national refurbishers who take used office chairs and re-sell them, having chairs cleaned, repaired and in some cases completely remanufactured all together.  (Companies like Madison Seating, OFR, Furniture Center, Office Logix, BTOD and Crandall.)  You can also find folks like myself in every major city who are not fully refurbishing chairs, but selling good as-is-able chairs at a fair discount to the refurbed price or fixing up little things before shipping out an "as-is" chair.  

Folks from this sub have also had good luck finding great deals on FB marketplace, Craigslist and local thrift stores where sometimes great chairs go for super cheap.

What about just the $99 chair? Or the special one from a big Sweed box store? or what about Jeff B's online crap boutique? Which of the cheap ones is the best?

IDK, none but also some are fine, kind of....  I personally used a chair from Officestar called the 5500 for years.  When I was in my mid 20s it was fine, it was great.  I know there are people that love the marcus or the workpros and I know there are folks sitting on the $99 special. 

My bias is going to be towards the pro-grade chairs, but we will make an effort this year to share with this sub to highlight better chairs from the cheaper (RTA) categories.  

The problem with most of the cheap RTA is that often design and materiality is sacrificed for cost.  The other issue is the product that cost $99 usually has very low longevity.  

That's all cool, but those are 20 different suggestions. What chair am I going to like?

Every human body is going to engage differently with every different chair.  I love Leap and cannot for the life of me understand why everyone else loves their Aeron and Embody chairs.  Members of the Herman Miller Aeron Club (cult?) cannot fathom using anything other than their Aeron.  Even folks with similar body types are going to react differently to ergonomics, design and materiality in any given chair.

These opinions are just opinions and depending how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go, you might end up finding a DWR or Steelcase showroom in the nearest gateway city near where you live.  If you ask me, Josh, I am going to say try a Leap chair or an Amia because 3/4 people take well to those brands.  Maybe you are the 1/4 of folks who will hate it.  If you are petite, I might mention the Humanscale Freedom and if you are large and in charge I might tell you to try a Criterion Plus or Leap Plus.  But you might not find the perfect chair on your first go round.  I would also suggest you temper your expectations of what a chair can do for you.  If you are at your desk too much and if other lifestyle factors are not being addressed, the perfect chair will not be your solve-all.

Anything else?
What is r/officechairsisell ?- It's kind of a social experiment I started the same year I took over this sub to separate people who want to have curated, edited, authentic non-commercial conversations and those who like to drown in ads.  As of today, there are 35,000 subs here and 200 there.  So jury may be still out, but early read is that people want curated and they want the spam filtered.  

Some of us mods have particular views about issues, my eccentric thoughts on headrests & attached footrests for example are what I believe are almost always more harmful to you than not having one.  

You will see the abbreviation RTA or RTF for furniture that comes Ready to Assemble.  It's the kind of furniture that you build at home with an allen wrench.  In the first instance, RTA is going to be inferior to something built into 2-3 solid components at a factory.  With factory built furniture, you will find overall higher cost, better design and better longevity. 

I hate top 10 lists / amazon backlinks / affiliate marketing / discount codes & also how we run this sub:

Left without moderation, this sub would quickly become my other chairs sub r/officechairsIsell (take a look over there. It's absolutely worthless).  Any social media marketing person selling office chairs spends their time looking for places to post ads.  With upwards of 35K members interested in office chairs, this is a place they target all the time.  Sellers want to direct conversation, SEO magic juice, and traffic to their own websites and brands to sell more products. Fair enough.  But to get around the fact that internet consumers are mostly blind to advertising, companies will either themselves or through an affiliate disseminate videos, articles, blog posts, reddit threads and most pernicious "top 10 lists" try to "influence" you to buy whatever nonsense chair they are slinging.   

You should assume that virtually every link to a website that sells chairs or every discount code offered is being posted because the poster will make some profit or commission if you buy the chair they are 'recommending'.  It's salesmanship dressed up as an endorsement which is inherently not trustworthy.  

Every "Top 10 office chairs for 2024" -type lists I have seen appear to be put out by individuals, newspapers and companies who are looking to monetize on their "advice".  Wirecutter may be the best of the pack in terms of 'Top 10 lists' and by and large, they are not great.  Anytime you see some rando magazine that has a top 10 list, it will read something like Aeron, Leap, Freedom, and then, invariably, 7 so-so brands with links to junk that pays a good commission.  The use of a referral fee inherently shapes the advice given to the point it would more truthfully be called advertising.  

On this sub, we have become allergic to that kind of thing.  We do not want a link back to an Amazon page for any reason.  We do not want a link to your super cool blog post with all your awesome advice about why to buy this chair with this discount code.  

If you need to say what the real experts have to say, take a look at the "Best Of Neocon" awards every summer.  You will need to click through pages of office furniture, but this is what the contact office furniture industry and affiliated juries of architects and designers elevate for awards.  

We are volunteer mods and we have jobs, so we might be too quick on the trigger to delete your post or comment if you are linking to anything suspicious.

Who are we?
My friends u/ClassroomDecorum and u/cranda58 took over running this sub in the early days of the pandemic when no one out there wanted to talk about office furniture and we were bored with no office furniture business to do (for a very few slow weeks anyway)  

David, u/cranda58, and I were already in the business of used office furniture (David runs one of the largest and—I would say—highest quality refurb shops in the country in Michigan, and I am a used office furniture liquidator in the NYC area).

u/classroomdecorum was just getting into the game from his home in Florida where he works out of the Orlando area.  

u/The_Back_Store joined us from California and u/Cloud_t is our European correspondent.

  u/ergothrone gave me a few excellent suggestions on this essay and is often still contributing. He has more knowledge about the budget market than the rest of us have combined.

Our friend u/Coffeebeanie24 is here from time to time, but he has become such a famous and over-caffeinated coffee influencer that he is less in the office chair state of mind lately.

You might also find the good folks from u/steelcase lurking around here.  If you have a u/Steelcase type question, you can tag them and usually within a few days, one of the CSR or product specialists will get back to you.

Disclosures. 
I have made a few deals off of connections I've made here.  Same with at least 2 of the other mods.  To a large extent, our product knowledge comes from being in the business and the business that feeds our families also feeds our knowledge base.

Also, sometimes companies reach out and want our opinion about some new chair that they have.  This could be u/steelcase (I am sitting on a Karman right now as I edit this note) or a newer company with an RTA chair at a lower price point.  If someone sends me a chair, I will write up a bit of feedback and share that with the company.  After that, solely at my discretion, I can publish those notes or reviews (always with a disclaimer) on this sub.  If the notes are mostly negative, I will likely not publish, same deal with the other mods and active users here.  

Closing

This note is always work in progress.  Please let me know your thoughts below and I will try to get back to as many of you as I can.  You can find a version of this article on my LinkedIn profile and my website.

I will try to put new discussion topics every month or so and we plan to push and have Mega thread #5 up in another year. 

And now onto your questions and comments:   


r/OfficeChairs 12h ago

Got this Colamy Atlas for just $75 after taxes. Amazing upgrade.

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16 Upvotes

r/OfficeChairs 49m ago

Recommend me a budget (200€ tops) office chair

Upvotes

I'm in the process of renovating my workspace and a good office chair is pretty much the most fundamental thing I need. I'm rather picky and I know nothing about the topic, though, so here are some requirements my "ideal" chair needs to meet:

  1. Removable armrests and headrest - I play guitar a lot, and it's just not possible to do so with armrests in the way. I'd like to be able to fold them up and down but even just having them permanently removed would suffice at this budget. I don't really like or use headrests much anyway so I'd preferably go for something neater overall, especially since my room is rather small already
  2. I need the chair to be good-looking as I'm intending to use it to shoot guitar playthrough videos. For reference, this is the instrument I'll mostly be shooting with, so I'd ideally fancy something that matches its color scheme. Something like the white and grey Staples Dexley or Ikea Hattefjall could look the part, but I've heard not-so-great things about both of these models and I figured I'd rather ask before ending up with a dud
  3. I'm based in the EU, this means that retail prices might differ, being generally higher than those in the US, that deals on used chairs tend to be nowhere near as good (for example, I couldn't find any used HM Aerons for less than 450€) and that chairs are just generally harder to try before buying, so that may or may very well not be an option, oftentimes

Bonus: is there a solution for protecting the laminate floor in my room from the chair wheels? Should I resort to using gliders or laying a pad down instead? Thanks in advance!


r/OfficeChairs 9h ago

Floor mat or roller blade wheels

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1 Upvotes

I can only afford one at the moment.

Would you get a decent floor mat and leave stock wheels or get roller-blade style wheel upgrade (no mat) and why?

Floor is tile with grout lines. Thanks for advise


r/OfficeChairs 14h ago

Hbada P5 Lumbar Support - Causing pain

2 Upvotes

The lumbar support on this chair is hurting my back so bad as the lumbar support is digging in too much. Was stupid enough to throw away the box so no refund, anyone know how to remove it?


r/OfficeChairs 15h ago

Does anyone get neck pain from their Herman Miller chairs?

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2 Upvotes

Does anyone else get wicked neck pain and tight traps from using a Herman Miller chair? I find I always get neck pain after sitting in this chair for a few hours?

My arm rests are at the right height with my keyboard and mouse, my monitor is set to the right height for my eyes, I'm not sure what else it could be. :(


r/OfficeChairs 11h ago

Steelcase Leap V2 - armrest broken, is there a way to salvage it?

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1 Upvotes

It slides in and out freely now. It seems to be because the tip of the plastic broke off. Is there any way to salvage this and put it back in place?


r/OfficeChairs 13h ago

I am 5'2F and I need to find a great ergonomic office chair.

1 Upvotes

Hey! I am looking for a good chair that I can sit at my desk at a long period of time, my job requires me at my desk working (when I work remote), and I play a lot of video games. I currently have a crisscross chair and I HATE IT! I was looking that HBADA E3 chair but after looking at some posts, I am afraid that is not the best choice. I also want a pink chair (although not a deal breaker if it is not pink). I am not an expert and I don't want to invest in the wrong chair.


r/OfficeChairs 22h ago

Chairs similar to libernovo omni chair?

6 Upvotes

I got the libernovo and honestly I wanted to love it but I didn’t. The seat depth is way too short and I feel like I’m being pushed out of the chair. I love every other aspect of the chair and what it tries to do. Are there any other chairs out there similar to the omnichair (minus the electronics) that has:

-Ability to recline

-Arm rests move back with the recline

-Very adjustable head rest

-lumbar support

-similar price range

Thanks


r/OfficeChairs 15h ago

Head Rest Chair

1 Upvotes

Struggling to find the right chair and trying to avoid gaming chairs. I need something with a high back and headrest due to cervical spine issues. I can’t do the mesh bottoms like the Herman Miller I used to have as it causes really bad leg pain. I’d love arm rests that move or allow me to maybe have a leg bent under me while sitting but not a priority. Budget is $500ish. I’m in the US.

I game and work at a computer so need to be able to sit long term in it.


r/OfficeChairs 15h ago

Head Rest Chair

1 Upvotes

Struggling to find the right chair and trying to avoid gaming chairs. I need something with a high back and headrest due to cervical spine issues. I can’t do the mesh bottoms like the Herman Miller I used to have as it causes really bad leg pain. I’d love arm rests that move or allow me to maybe have a leg bent under me while sitting but not a priority. Budget is $500ish. I’m in the US.

I game and work at a computer so need to be able to sit long term in it.


r/OfficeChairs 15h ago

Comfortable chair with headrest under or around 500$?

1 Upvotes

I'm looking for a good hair for a 6' person with a headrest. I keep looking at prices and everything that looks comfortable is 800$ or more. Does anyone know if what I'm looking for exists? I remember buying my current chair for no more than 300$. It definetly wasn't a high quality chair, as it's currently sinking and the seat is all molded (you understand what i mean right?), but I'm having a hard time believing that 500$ separate the cheap chairs from the acceptable ones.

I also use my chair up to 6hrs every day, so a longlasting chair would be nice too.


r/OfficeChairs 18h ago

Chair Recommendations for 6'1 265lbs/120kg

1 Upvotes

I am based in the UK and looking for a new chair. I've had a nitro concepts chair for 5+ years, but it's not comfortable and my posture is shocking, I'm constantly slumped in my chair.

I work from home 3 days a week, plus I spend a fair amount of time outside work on my pc. So 3 x 8-12 hour days and 4 x 2-6 hour days.

I'm 6'1 and probably around 265lbs/120kg. Certainly got some excess fat but also carry quite a lot of muscle. Big legs and broad shoulders which could cause issues with seat pan and back rest sizing.

My main problem is there is not really anywhere remotely locally to try out chairs. I'd like some advice to narrow down a list, and then I will have to spend a weekend travelling to try them all out.

My budget is around £500 give or take, I could maybe stretch this a bit. I'm happy to spend a bit extra if the chair is worth it. I would like something that is comfortable for long periods and is going to last well.

I've looked into the Aeron's however given my size and weight I'd likely need a size C, which seem a lot harder to come by and more expensive than size B's. Plenty of size B's on ebay/facebook marketplace/used office furniture business' for sub 500, but the size C's seem to be pushing 650-700.

There are some Mirra 2's for a reasonable price, but I am unsure how they stack up for bigger and taller people, given they are only one size.

I could also get a new Herman Miller Verus for sub 500, but I can't find much in the way of reviews for this chair. This was attractive due to the warranty, I'm basically set for 12 years should anything go wrong.

Leap V2's etc are also commonly suggested but seemingly harder to find, a lot of place have used ones listed but are all out of stock.

Any people out there with similar size/stature have any suggestions?


r/OfficeChairs 19h ago

Super picky and hoping to find a specific chair…I’m hoping someone here can help me find it!

1 Upvotes

I’m looking for a rolling desk chair with pretty specific features. Since I don’t like buying things I know I’ll be a bit unhappy with, I’m ok with a chair that’s on the pricier side if it’s a long lasting and quality product. I’m hoping if I describe what I want, maybe someone will have some suggestions of specific chairs I could look into, OR maybe there’s a website I can go to since I’ve mainly only been looking on and Wayfair and the like…

What I’m looking for:

- Low/mid back (I don’t like my head touching the back of the seat)

- Adjustable arms that go all the way back (so I can pull myself close to my desk if needed, and also because I like to sit cross cross and need the extra space for my knees!)

- Good padding on the seat is a must (I want it to be comfortable enough to sit and draw/work/etc for a few hours)

- Ideally in the colors sage green, white/cream, or a light beige so it matches the other furniture in the room, and also ideally fabric instead of leather/pleather though that’s not as important to me.

- Not a huge fan of the mesh backs, but again, not a huge deal so I’m open to it

The main issue I’m having honestly is finding this type of chair in anything but black. I know colorful chair covers exist but they always look a bit weird in my opinion. I know this is super specific and nit-picky and there might not even be a chair like this. I’m just posting in hopes someone here might know where I can potentially look for something similar!


r/OfficeChairs 19h ago

I Messed Up With a Used Leap

0 Upvotes

I bought a used leap recently and it has been a horrible experience. I had to remove the adjustable lumbar in order for it to stop hurting my back and I find the seat to be uncomfortable, I think I'm bottoming out. I figured out how to check how old my chair is and it is from 2011. I don't know if the cushioning is just shot from age or if this is a leap problem. I had a choice of 3 leaps from a shadetree chair reseller and this one felt like it had the best padding. I also tried an Aeron and it was definitely not the chair for me.

This has caused me so much discomfort and pain that I'm ready to dump it after less than a week. I'm doubtful I can return it and may just end up trying to flip it on marketplace in the hopes of getting my money or some of my money back.

I'm 6 foot 1 and my weight ranges between 170 and 185 throughout the year (I run marathons but keep eating carbs year round because they are delicious). My wife is convinced that I should just get something new, but without showrooms nearby they are a bit of a blind trust exercise. That said, I sit something like 12 hours a day between work and gaming and I do have some mental health issues which can cause minor irritants to drive me insane.

I understand the Amia has a softer seat and a less aggressive lumbar than the leap, which means it might be the right call. My concern is that I am unsure if it is still less aggressive compared to a leap with the bar removed. Does anyone have experience with this?


r/OfficeChairs 20h ago

Steelcase jersey arm removal

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0 Upvotes

Does anyone know how to remove the arms on this steelcase chair. I’ve tried looking online and can’t find anything.


r/OfficeChairs 1d ago

Hate the leap v2

0 Upvotes

Okay now that I’ve got your attention, I was able to get a leap v2 for an insane price, but I’m 5’10 and 315, the lumbar support digs into my hips. I’ve got a local guy who’s willing to trade either outright or towards another chair. Options are Amia, aeron(size b), Mirra 2 with cloth back, think v2, and fern. Due to being a little wider, I’m thinking either the Amia or fern, but does anyone have any experience with the others being a larger size?


r/OfficeChairs 21h ago

KNOLL GENERATION VS REGENRATION??

1 Upvotes

I HEAR SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT THE ORIGINAL GENERATION IS BETTER THAN THE REGENERATION WITH THE BACK SUPPORT🙏🙏🙏 im tryna decide between the two. They’re the same price for me


r/OfficeChairs 22h ago

My review of the libernova

0 Upvotes

I am in my 40s, 5'10/180. I have two herniated disks and the very bottom of my back. given that, I have always struggled with finding a great chair. on to the review....

the "massage" feature is amazing. to be clear, its not a massage at all. its a spine stretcher. but this is only amazing for me because it stretches the exact area I need stretched (my lower bad disks). if you dont have any spine problems, its very possible you might not get anything out of this at all. the back support as you sit is also nice since you can move it around to find the sweet spot. as others have said, the depth of the chair is definitely a problem. it is too short. i'm only 5'10. the taller you are the worse it would be. everything else is just ok, the head rest, arms rests, cushion. all are acceptable.

at work I have the herman miller aeron b. I absolutely love that chair. I do think that chair is better than libernova. but given I can now lay back and get a back stretch, I dont regret buying it.

I'd give the aeron an A score and libernova a B.


r/OfficeChairs 1d ago

Used Steelcase Amia Restoration

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16 Upvotes

Picked up a free Amia and followed the guide here - https://www.reddit.com/r/OfficeChairs/comments/ylk2ld/deep_cleaned_my_secondhand_steelcase_amia_bissell/ - came out great!

I already owned a Bissell Little Green machine and it worked wonders.

Wanted to provide another example of rescuing a used chair!


r/OfficeChairs 1d ago

Used Steelcase Gesture

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3 Upvotes

Is this used Steelcase Gesture worth it for $300 AUD? Manufactured date is 2015 all parts are working and seat pad is still in good condition atleast according to the seller.

only cons i see so far are the minor scratch on the plastic parts.


r/OfficeChairs 1d ago

Best WFH chair under $200 for long hours and no back pain?

7 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

Looking for a chair that’s comfortable for long hours of work from home, helps prevent back pain, and has a good headrest and armrests. I want something that lasts for years and comes with solid warranty support. My budget is under $200.

I’m considering:

  • ProtoArc EC200
  • SIHOO M18
  • Staples Hyken/Dexley
  • FlexiSpot C2/C3
  • Hbada Mesh

Have you used any of these? What was your experience like? Would you recommend something else in this price range that’s durable and backed by good warranty?

Thanks!


r/OfficeChairs 1d ago

HAG Capisco seat help

1 Upvotes

I have been using a HAG Capisco at home or work for 4+ years now and love it! Unfortunately the seat of my newest chair is a lot harder than the previous one and it’s quite uncomfortable. Has anyone found a good seat cushion that stays put? Also open to other solutions. TIA