Is The Aeron Still Top Choice For A Quality Office Chair?

Although the Aeron chair seems to have been around forever - it's actually 13 years; it is still regarded by many as the best ever designed office chair, but is this status still justified?

This article aims to consider whether the Aeron's top chair status is still warranted as well as looking at some of the alternatives from its competitors.

Back in 1994 when Herman Miller first introduced their Aeron chair it really was quite unlike anything that had been seen before in the office seating market. Initially, many put it down as ugly, nonetheless the market warmed to it as it started to pick up design awards.

The most obvious point of difference on the Aeron is the revolutionary pellicle upholstery, a high quality mesh fabric that safely supports the user, allowing air circulation around the body.

The pellicle also has the property to return to its original shape when not in use, suddenly the traditional fabric and foam padding, so long a standard feature on an office chair began looking a bit dated.

It wasn't long before competitors started offering their own version of the pellicle and this really brought about the popularity of the mesh office chair which still continues today.

Although the Aeron was considered a very good chair, uniquely offered in 3 sizes to suit the user's size and shape, it wasn't until PostureFit was introduced in 2001 that it truly became a top chair.

The chair's designers Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick were aware that there was a missing feature on office chairs that meant that the pelvic region at the base of the user's back just wasn't being fully supported.

From this realization came the collaboration with Dr Brock Walker, a top back care specialist which resulted in the development of PostureFit.

In simple terms, PostureFit is designed to give the chair user support in the area below the beltline, because when the pelvic region at the base of the spine is properly supported it aligns the user's back far more effectively than traditional lumbar supports which can be a bit limiting.

The design of the PostureFit mechanism allows the user to readily keep the base of their back properly supported, whereas with lumbar supports it's necessary to make sure that the lower back remains in contact with the support.

Some criticize the Aeron for being overly complicated to adjust and whilst there is justification for this, once you have it correctly set up it shouldn't need further adjustment. However, it isn't really a chair to share with others as you would need to set everything up again if another user changed the settings.

Alternatives To The Aeron Chair

So much for the Aeron, what have its competitors got to offer?

Well, there definitely has been some serious product development by other manufacturers and this has resulted in some excellent new office chairs that offer a real alternative in terms of quality, comfort and looks.

The Leap chair from Steelcase is a case in point and has become a highly popular alternative to the Aeron. Their answer is the LiveBack feature which is designed to support the entire spine.

It has proved to be very effective and has even won some converts from former Aeron users.

Humanscale's Freedom chair is also a beautifully designed ergonomic office seat that includes a self-activating weight feature allowing the user to set the chair to their body weight automatically.

HÅG chairs from their H04, H05 and H09 ranges also include a self-adjusting mechanism where the user simply has to lean right back in the chair to allow the chair to calculate and set up the tension without the need for any lever adjustments.

With all of these alternative chairs the emphasis is very much on making the chair simpler to set up and adjust. This is a good thing as the reality is that many users won't bother to set their chairs up correctly as they find it too complicated.

So, to return to our initial question is the Aeron still the best office chair? The answer is that it is undoubtedly still a top quality product offering great user comfort and with the number of units in use worldwide probably still deserves the accolade of top quality office chair.

The final choice really comes down to user preference and there is no doubt that there are office seating products available today that are worthy challengers for the top chair crown. But, it's unlikely any will catch up with or overtake the ever popular Aeron it really has stolen a march on its competitors.

For further details, reviews and advice on the Aeron chair please visit Aeron chair productivity booster the site also includes reviews of other quality chairs including some of those mentioned in this article.

Duncan MacIntyre has 25 years experience in supplying quality Office Seating to corporate clients and can show you how to get the right business seating for your needs.