The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread XLI

[warpus]

Does anyone know stuff about posture & ergonomics & "all that"? I am looking for a new computer/office chair, I sit in it for many hours a day.

Option 1 - This looks like a cheaper version of a pro gaming chair. I don't need a fancy chair, so if this chair accomplishes the same sort of support, I'd buy it. I've never heard of DJ Wang brand though.. What the hell is that even. Is it reputable? Or just a knockoff brand? I see Walmart carries one of their chairs and other places do too, so it seems to be more than just some guy selling stuff out of a basement or whatever.

Option 2 - This looks almost exactly the same but is slightly more expensive and gets slightly worse reviews (with a lot less reviews total). Would this be a lot better than option 1? Actually worse? More or less the same?

Option 3 - This one is less of a gaming chair but more geared towards ergonomics and good posture. It doesn't look as comfortable as the first 2 options though. Are looks deceiving here? It's slightly more expensive than option 2 and ~ 40% more expensive than option 1.

My current office chair is old and any of the above would probably be an improvement. I'm tempted to go with option 1, mainly due to the way it looks and the seemingly solid reviews (6,000+ reviews too). The cheaper price is bonus on top of those considerations. It's also amazon prime, which I subscribe to, so I could get free shipping. Granted, the other 2 options I linked are also amazon prime friendly.

I saw something similar to options 1 & 2 sold by Razer for like $500 CAD, discounted from $700. I think that sale is now off, but I don't trust that company. I bought a mouse from them and had problems like 2 months after I bought it. I googled my problems and a lot of people were complaining about the same thing and making comments that this company isn't as good as it used to be. So I am def. not willing to spend extra for a chair from them, even though higher cost makes you feel that you are getting a superior product.

Any tips would be very welcome. For reference, $219 CAD (the price of option 1) is about $174 USD

 

[Birdjaguar]

@warpus Spend the money. a well made chair not only last longer but will be better suited to sitting in all day. Get an ottoman or foot extension for watching movies from a more reclined position.

X chair?
Watch you favorite streamers and notice the chair they use? Ask them?

 

[warpus]

@warpus Spend the money. a well made chair not only last longer but will be better suited to sitting in all day. Get an ottoman or foot extension for watching movies from a more reclined position.

X chair?
Watch you favorite streamers and notice the chair they use? Ask them?

I don't follow any streamers (un)forunately. I like the idea of a chair to watch movies in or whatever, but I moreso want a gaming style office chair that feels like I'm sitting in a fancy race car or something, but that is also good for my back and not just looks.

I don't know enough about this stuff to know if a $200 chair is worse than a $500 chair, or if the $500 chair is just overpriced and you're paying for the brand. I am not sure what to look for. The $219 chair I like seems to come with all the things I'd want, and in the reviews tons of people seem to say it's good. When I compare that to a $700 chair I found I like (by a company I don't like - Razer), I can see that the features are almost all the same, so I assume the materials to construct it are probably better? But would I be just paying for the brand? Would I notice a difference? I have no idea.

One of my friends recommended this Humanscale chair.. but.. $1,500 HOLY CRAP does this chair massage your prostate or something. I'd buy it if I was rich, but I'm not.

Honestly am not sure what my budget is, but a $200 expenditure is well within my monthly budget. $500 probably too, but then I'd have to cut some other things out of my monthly budget to compensate. So it's a balancing act. And I don't know enough about what I'm looking at to understand if the more expensive options are actually better or not.

 

[Birdjaguar]

@warpus I've had a variety of Office chairs over time and cheap ones ($150-250) are not worth it. Not only do they break, they can become uncomfortable after a few months. Go for the $500 range. X chairs are a bit more at $700-900. Good office chairs won't provide that enclosed feeling you are seeking.

Start here maybe: https://www.pcgamer.com/best-gaming-chairs/

 

[warpus]

Looking through guides is a great idea, I have sort of started to do that already. but I was hoping somebody would share an experience of buying a specific brand and it working out very well. Guides are sometimes not accurate since companies will pay to get bumped up in the ratings or whatever. What I often do is look at multiple guides and then if one chair is consistently in the top 3, then it's probably a solid choice. If I'm buying computer hardware, I know that's Tom's Hardware is an excellent resource that I can trust. But with chairs, I have no idea who to trust (aside from a friend or colleague or acquaintance or family member)

My main problem with looking at the price and buying based on that is that many brands are priced up and you end up paying for the brand and nothing else. See; Beats by Dr. Overpriced. For that price you can buy much better headphones. Admittedly guides should point me in the right direction in this case, but it would mean spending a lot of time doing research and looking through guides. Which is something I am willing to do, but I trust first-hand accounts a lot more than online guides. If a friend says that he did research and bought a brand BirdJaguar chair, and it was amazing, I would be far more likely to spend $500 on that VS something recommended by an online guide.

I also wouldn't mind finding something on amazon.ca prime, so I can have this under my butt by sunday latest. It's not that urgent really, but I know that ordering from other sources can often lead to weeks of waiting

 

[Birdjaguar]

bbs

 

[EnglishEdward]

The three examples you have shown me look overpriced.

I suggest you establish your business requirements before looking at solutions.

Do you actually need a swivel facility?

Do you actually need wheels?

Do you actually need an adjustable back?

Do you have customers round that you need to impress.

If it is to work on an existing desk, table, find out what seat height is required for you.

Personally I like a strong stable chair with a flat seat and a right angle back. Wood is fine.

I spent several of the last few years prior to retirement ungratefully exchanging the overtly complex chairs
my employer bought me for simple stackable metal chairs with plain padding, from the store room.
My back ache was better resolved by programming myself not to remain static, regularly (every hour at least)
getting up and getting coffee/tea, drink of water even if I never drank it, visiting colleagues, and off to the rest room.

 

[warpus]

The chair needs to swivel, tilt back, have adjustable height and armrests, at the least. Wheels are not required but it seems 95% of all the office chairs I look at come on wheels.

I work at home so I don't need to impress anybody except my ego, which I had a fallout with years ago now, so that doesn't matter so much. I am all about functionality here and don't care about looks, although the more impressive a chair looks, the more I am tempted to think that it is a better chair.

I don't have problems with my back (yet), but moreso muscles in my chest cavity and elsewhere complaining. I have had this checked out multiple times to see if there's anything wrong in that part of my body and all tests always come back negative (MRIs, bloodwork,etc.), and the doctors seem to say posture or they shrug. So.. whenever I get a fever-like flu, those muscles tend to flare up a bit, the way fevers tend to make your muscles ache a bit. I am just recovering from some sort of a flu, which has flared up those muscles, which makes it more annoying to sit here at times.. so.. I want to work on my posture. They also sometimes bug me when I don't have a fever, the way getting old makes you feel old because old.

This chair is only $109 (plus $50 shipping) and I found it by looking at "Top 10 office chairs of 2022" lists. I have no idea if the company paid to be on this particular list, but the amazon reviews are positive too. Looking at the reviews though it seems the craftsmanship is not that great. I am seeing some pictures of the fabric ripping, etc.. which.. might just be somebody abusing the chair or whatever, you can't trust reviews on a one-on-one basis either. I try to take everything with a grain of salt.

So like.. Some people are saying $150 is too cheap for a good office chair. You are saying $219 is too much. I am trying to keep all points of view in mind and decide on something by tonight. If I had to decide between the $150 chair (after shipping) and the $219 chair, I'd probably go w/ the $219 one. It looks beefier to me and like it will be more comfortable. That is not an amazing analysis, but looking at all the features and what some people seem to be saying about both chairs, it seems worth paying a bit more to get. The cheaper chair would also take a couple weeks to arrive, which is not acceptable to me, because I'm amazon spoiled

Looking at more expensive options, it seems that the "next level up" I'd consider sits at about the $600+ level. All the $400 or so chairs I am seeing seem to be almost identical to the $219 one, but are simply more famous brands. So I am tempted to ignore those, unless somebody explains to me why they are superior. The $600+ level seems to include genuinely luxurious chairs that are designed well.

So that's where I'm at. $219-$300.. or $600+? I don't think I want to spend $600+ unless it would be a significant improvement over the $219 chair. Ideally I'd want to own one of those $1,500 chairs but that's out of my price range for now.

 

[Birdjaguar]

https://www.noblechairs.com/collections/icon

I would never buy a $100 chair. I suspect it would be crap.

 

[warpus]

https://www.noblechairs.com/collections/icon

I would never buy a $100 chair. I suspect it would be crap.

I am tempted to agree. In this case it seems to be a chair genuinely well designed, but simply using cheap materials. Or something.

Your link doesn't seem to work for me

 

[Birdjaguar]

search noblechairs

 

[warpus]

Their site seems to be down (or at least inaccessible from here right now), but I did find this for $469 CAD ($373 usd)

Unfortunately shipping times are long.. but I will consider this, thanks!

 

[EnglishEdward]

Well, yes if one needs all those features and are buying new, there will be a floor price below which the quality and durability will drop off.

 

[Synobun]

Chairs in Canada are overpriced. Go to a liquidation depot and look at their office chairs. Executives shell out dough for $800+ office chairs, or four figures, and then they end up selling used at the back of a warehouse for $500 or less. They don't look like race cars but they are designed to cushion the butts of rich people who decided to come into work that day.

Even $500 is too rich for my blood, though, so I've been using this: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07227JFY3/

It's okay. Probably not worth it if you're over 250 pounds. There's a noticeable creak when I move in it.

 

[Kaitzilla]

It is really hard to find a good computer chair.

No store really sells them in a wide variety, so trying them all out is impossible.


I like my Gtracing Ace M1 beige (the one covered in fabric / not leather).
I paid $280 for it I think over a year ago, but I look now and it is sold out.

Here is the link to the black one in the series, have to click beige to see the fabric one.
https://gtracing.com/products/m1-black

It is basically a cheaper copy of the Secret Labs Omega.

 

[warpus]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I have added the above links to my collection of chair links, for future use.

I have talked to the director of our department, and he asked me to come in on monday (I usually work from home these days) and see if any of the chairs that are currently unused will work for me. If not, he said he would be willing to order me a $1,000 chair, similar to what he has, and virtually nodded in agreement that good chairs are expensive.

So it looks like I'm set! And I will keep these details and notes around for the next time I need a new chair (and might not be able to score one for free from work)

Everything in Canada is expensive, from my experience, btw.. ... compared to let's say the U.S. Not compared to Poland, obv. I'm used to it these days. I remember trips down south (to the U.S.) being shop fests. Everything's really cheap and there's no taxes. Restaurants and grocery stores were noticeably cheaper, so much that you could go to a fancy restaurant and feel like you're paying mid-range restaurant prices, and as such can tip like a king. Consumer goods on the other hand.. are cheaper in the U.S. too, but it depends on what you're getting. And technically you have to claim that stuff at the border

 

[MaryKB]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I have added the above links to my collection of chair links, for future use.

I have talked to the director of our department, and he asked me to come in on monday (I usually work from home these days) and see if any of the chairs that are currently unused will work for me. If not, he said he would be willing to order me a $1,000 chair, similar to what he has, and virtually nodded in agreement that good chairs are expensive.

So it looks like I'm set! And I will keep these details and notes around for the next time I need a new chair (and might not be able to score one for free from work)

Everything in Canada is expensive, from my experience, btw.. ... compared to let's say the U.S. Not compared to Poland, obv. I'm used to it these days. I remember trips down south (to the U.S.) being shop fests. Everything's really cheap and there's no taxes. Restaurants and grocery stores were noticeably cheaper, so much that you could go to a fancy restaurant and feel like you're paying mid-range restaurant prices, and as such can tip like a king. Consumer goods on the other hand.. are cheaper in the U.S. too, but it depends on what you're getting. And technically you have to claim that stuff at the border

Before COVID, a lot of my family members in Ontario would have things shipped to me here in Michigan. Then they'd come and stay for a night or two and take their stuff home.

I have a chair similar to this, except it's beige fabric instead of black leather. I've had it for almost 6 years, and it's still just like the day I bought it.

https://www.officedepot.com/a/produ...onded-Leather-High-Back/fromLocalBrowse=false

My chair is extremely comfortable, and has provided wonderful support for my tailbone during pregnancy.

I work from home and will say it's really worth it to buy a really good chair. Your butt and your back will both thank you.

 

[Synobun]

Even in English crosswords require a bit of French, Italian, German with a smidge of Latin and Greek. I guess perhaps more of that sort of thing.

You've got the next thread.

 

[Takhisis]

How international are cryptic crosswords? How do they differ in countries with far fewer words than English?

I've just received a batch of backdated copies of New Scientist. Since they alternate between a cryptic crossword and a human one every week, I'll soon have feedback.

 

[Birdjaguar]

he said he would be willing to order me a $1,000 chair,

Take the deal and spend at least $800. He offered $1000 so don't be frugal for appearances.