Best Task Chair for Long Sitting
Lifeform’s Midback Executive Chair http://www.BurnabyChair.com
MY REVIEW:
As a PhD Candidate and a web designer, I spend 14 hours sitting in front of my computer, almost 365 days a year. I have been doing this since 1995, but it’s not until I came to the GVA that I started researching the “perfect chair”. This included reading books such as The Chair by Galen Granz and The Breathing Book by Donna Farhi.
One thing I’ve learnt is that the perfect posture doesn’t exist. Or rather, the perfect posture is… the next one. Healthy mind and body are all about movement, so the first thing a long-term use desk chair should do is let you easily switch between several different postures. Unless you are a pro athlete, it’s unlikely you’ll feel consistently concentrated and comfortable for more than a couple of hours without changing your position. Many chairs like “The Leap” by Steelcase or Herman Miller’s “Aeron” boast sophisticated ergonomic features. But they look and feel too plastic. You can get a feel for this when you slide onto the memory foam and contoured seat of a “Lifeform— and that’s on top of the half a dozen different handles for adjusting the chair’s elements to every possible angle.
Ahh, memory foam, is there anything it can’t do?
By being pressure and heat sensitive, memory foam conforms to individual body shapes. This spreads your weight to a larger surface area, reducing pressure points that cause reduced blood flow and fatigue. The comfortable effect is further enhanced by the contoured seat. Its raised surface also acts as a bump, preventing the tendency to slide out and slouch.
Blood circulation is increased, not only as a result of the reduced pressure points, but also from the deeper breathing allowed by your more upright position (which is achieved by the chair’s adjustability). Sitting with an erect spine at about 100 degrees to your thighs is the ideal posture for concentration. However, most chairs do not come with a seat that can be tilted forwards. “Lifeforms” let you do that at ease, either fixing the position or rocking back and forth. Actually, a kneeling chair is probably ideal for such ‘poised’ sitting, as it also redistributes some of your weight to your knees. But these are taxing for long-term computer work. You want to lean back at some point. The “Lifeform” lets you tilt backwards both the seat and the backrest. A reclining position not only takes some pressure off your hip area, but also allows blood to return to the heart easier. You may have noticed that as recline, your heart rate goes way down, which is essential for rest.
The “Lifeform”, in many ways, give you the best of a recliner and a kneeling chair, with an infinite combination of adjustments in between. Based in Calgary, the company manufacturers and sells its chairs exclusively through “Relax the Back” stores. “Lifeform” was originally founded by Danes who used to make saddles. This tradition has evolved into producing what may be the most human-centered chairs around, and ones that come with a lifetime warranty.
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Tags: aeron, back problems, best chair, chair, comfort, comfortable chairs, computer chair, desk chair, ergonomic furniture, ergonomics, furniture, health, home, Home Office, lifeform, memory foam, office, recliner, relax the back, seating, sitting, steelcase, task chair, technology advice
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
@alxivanov $1500 …
@alxivanov $1500 Canadian. That a lot for a chairs like this. Just the other day I came across this company called variline. Man, they have some sick chairs in the same price category.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
i like the big …
i like the big padded leather ones they lean back
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
A good knit fabric …
A good knit fabric won’t be hot and a mesh seat is horrible for your hips and back if you sit all day long. If you’re on the computer like me for 50 hours a day, a good chair is a must have. You can get a decent chair from about $400 unless you are really tall or heavier than 220lbs.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Good point, …
Good point, dontusesoap. The material with this chair is not as breathable as the aeron, of course, but the fabric (at least the one I chose) is pretty porous.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
It looks really …
It looks really good!
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
i studied furniture …
i studied furniture design for 3 years. the most critical element of a chair’s comfort is the material that comes in contact with the user (granted, we’re not including really bad design here…) The materials ability to breath and stay cool or warm depending on body temperature will determine how comfortable and long a person can sit in it without needing a break. One of the reasons why the Herman Miller “aeron” chair is so successful is because of it’s mesh seat and back.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Yeah – “a chair is …
Yeah – “a chair is a chair” applies UNTIL it is causing you to have great pain in your back and/or legs all day every day!
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
I agree totall, if …
I agree totall, if you work in an office your chair is your main tool. Poor sitting posture saps your energy and enthusiasm for the real task you get paid for. This chair is available with an adjustable headrest that goes up and down, in and out, and tilts. I can’t imagine anyone it wouldn’t fit. I have one and it is awesome.- BTW I paid $3100 US in leather and think it’s worth every penny. Eight hours a day in the chair, 45 minutes a day in my car- which is the better value?
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
damn no head rest
no head rest
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
I have to disagree. …
I have to disagree… a chair is not a chair, and as a science I think ergonomics as it relates to the workplace is seriously overlooked and undervalued. I have this theory that maximum comfort in a work environment lends to maximum productivity. Laugh if you will but in my mind the perfect working posture is one in which you are halfway lying down, in somewhat of a 45 degree angle, with head support much like a bed pillow. Yet even this char has no head/neck support in layback mode.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
A chair is a chair.
A chair is a chair.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
It looks overly …
It looks overly padded, in my opinion mesh is the way to go. I have a Ergohuman chair made by Raynor. It is a bit much, but it is the best out there.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
0:21 euphoria …
0:21 euphoria rushes through my body ahhhhhhhh
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
id take it
id take it
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
sweaty betty …
sweaty betty sitting on that
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
I wish you to have …
I wish you to have a good time spending all your life in your $1000 chair…
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
I seems to me that …
I seems to me that it if this chair lets you recline that much then it needs both a head and legs support. Otherwise, it doesn’t look that comfortable.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Would be a pretty …
) but seriously, if a flat surface and some foam are enough, then this aint for you. Id say a fair comparison is your swiss army knife versus the knife on your toenail clippers… Sure if you merely need to cut something, the clippers will do. If you need a chair, a brick with a towel will do… but for long term, and something to keep your back working til your 60. this is the chair.
Would be a pretty crappy motorcycle hehe, and you would probably need a chair like these after the ride!
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
i just have trouble …
i just have trouble grasping the concept of a chair that costs as much as a motorcycle. i mean, take any horizontal surface, throw some padding on it and you have yourself a chair. i use one of these $99 yogachairs… pretty good, yet still pretty expensive given the fact that it’s foam and some molded wood.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
you can get mesh …
you can get mesh too, thats what Im getting, it has apolstry over it, but its not as thick and still breathes. Still lots of padding though which is important.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
200 max? where the …
200 max? where the do you shop? hehe. You can get a chair half as good as that for about 500 bucks at office depot. Or you can get one made of particle board, plastic and a little metal to hold it together for about 30-60%. I just sat in this chair and adjusted it due to a back injury. Its no chair, its a piece of medical equipment. If you dont need medical equipment and never suffered from any back problems, then a normal 1-300$ chair should be fine. 750 is not cheap, neither is the chair
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Fuck that, the …
that, the chairs are like at least $1,000-$2,000 each. My back can do without. LMAO
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
They should sell a …
They should sell a chair costing $1 billion. At least one person in the world will buy it. Then they don’t have to sell anymore.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
That’s funny, you …
Great idea andy42x
That’s funny, you go ahead a make that chair and then sale it for $200. How fair do you think that is when the memory foam alone in that chair is worth $200. I say those that want to complain about price should just keep wasting money on worthless $200 chairs and see where that gets them
June 24th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
those chairs are …
those chairs are always insanely expensive. a quality chair like that shouldn’t cost any more than $200 max… that seems like a fair price. but $1,500? come on.
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