Office chair recommendations

I've never purchased an office chair before, but the time has come. Up to this point, possibly the most comfortable office chair I had was one I built from a 1st gen MR2 seat

If it had arms, it would have been great.  
Anyway, I am looking for an office chair, but absolutely will not buy a $1500 Herman Miller chair. I've daily-driven cars that cost 1/2 that, for YEARS. Just ain't gonna do it. 

What do you have, what do you recommend? I was looking at a Humanscale chair they aim at the work from home folks (won't sell to a business, won't sell more than 2 to the same address). With the 15% discount they are offering I can get it delivered for about $470. 

So let's say my price cap is $500. What is out there that you recommend? I'd definitely consider another car chair, but they don't come with arms unless they are from a conversion van LOL.  I'm not opposed to a high-back chair, but I don't require it. 

Minivan second row seats have dual, integrated and foldable armrests if your feeling like building another. 

VW Routan is a Chrysler seat that doesn't stow and go.  Generally, a good fitting front seat repurposed to the 2nd row.  

Dodge Stow and Gos would be lighter but they have some comfort compromises in order to accommodate the folding.  Seat bottom is flat. Backs are thin and low.

either is probably $100 on car-part.com

I've had tons of office chairs over the years, I've had Herman Miller chairs at work, I've had the Office Depot chairs, I've tried a ton of them...generally I can say that office chairs are like mattresses, you get what you pay for and it's hard to put a value on your back and comfort. Tons of padding does not make an office chair good. It needs to relieve pressure points, keep your spine in a neutral position, and be comfortable for HOURS.

My suggestion is to buy a refurbished Steelcase Leap v2. Easily worth twice the price. One of the best purchases I've ever made. I will never buy a different kind of office chair. They are over $800 new and worth every penny, but if you look around...

$424.11 refurbished from Madison Seating. https://www.madisonseating.com/leap-chair-v2-by-steelcase.html

$569 refurbished from Crandall Office with thicker custom cushions. https://www.crandalloffice.com/shop/chairs/steelcase/462-leap-v2/remanufactured-steelcase-462-leap-v2-office-chair/

I would recommend heading to the local office supply place and sitting in every chair they have. I did that about 10 years ago and ended up with a cloth executive chair that is very comfortable and has been very durable. Edit to say, it was about $400.

Some reviews for the Steelcase Leap v2 to back up my recommendation:

https://www.insider.com/guides/home/steelcase-leap-v2-review

https://www.techgearlab.com/reviews/small-and-home-office/office-chair/steelcase-leap

Thanks all. The VW non-SnG seats are interesting. And I didn't realize Steelcase made a good, quality chair. It seems when you search for "quality office chair" or similar only Herman Miller comes up. They have a strong marketing team LOL. 

FB marketplace herman miller. I wouldn't pay 1500, but they are pretty frequent 2-300. They are absolutely worth that price. 

Is the right Steelcase?  $150. Not too far away and add says they have 15-20 of them

In reply to lnlogauge :

I search that daily LOL.  The prices are still pretty crazy. I have seen Aeron (sp?) chairs that retail for $1500 being sold for $1000. I have seen two Mirra chairs that needed new seat bottoms (mesh). The replacement bottom is $250+ shipping. One was asking $275 for the chair, the other chair looked like it had been used by Dirty Mike and the Boys (movie reference) for a few stints LOL.  
I'm still looking though.

In reply to John Welsh :

That is the original Leap that was discontinued a while back (not the updated v2), I've sat in both and didn't like the original version as much, but for $150 you ain't gonna touch anything at the office supply store that's similar quality...

I wouldn't pay $1,500 for an office chair either right now, because I simply cannot afford it, but the comparison to a car is a poor one. How much time do you spend in your office chair compared to your car?

In any case, do a google maps search for "used office furniture". There will be one within 30 minutes of you, assuming you live somewhere near a city of reasonable size, and they'll have Steelcase or HM or Hon for pennies on the dollar.

I bought a Steelcase chair and it was easily the smartest money I have spent in the last year (WFH 3 days/week).

In reply to mtn :

This isn't so true anymore. Because of WFH, used office equipment is rare, and more expensive than usual. 

Madison Seating also sells refurbished Herman Miller Aerons, and IMHO they were definitely worth the money when I bought mine. That was at pre-pandemic pricing, though.

lnlogauge said:

In reply to mtn :

This isn't so true anymore. Because of WFH, used office equipment is rare, and more expensive than usual. 

Still true around me. Maybe not pennies on the dollar, but I was just in one last month and could get a Herman Miller for $250.

BoxheadTim said:

Madison Seating also sells refurbished Herman Miller Aerons, and IMHO they were definitely worth the money when I bought mine. That was at pre-pandemic pricing, though.

Also valid. In office chair nerd circles, you are pretty much either a Leap v2 person or an Aeron person. Both are great and well-made chairs, mostly comes down to your preference of cushions vs mesh for the seating surfaces.

I use a steelcase chair myself.    The HM Aeron?  I actually found it quite uncomfortable. 

I cruise FB marketplace for Herman Miller Aerons, and when they hit $250, I pounce.  We have non-carpeted floors, so I always add these rubber casters, as well so I don't have to deal with the crazy plastic mats that always get bunched up and bent.

If shopping Aerons, it's important to note there are 3 different sizes, so make sure you get the one that fits you best.  Most ads will say which size it is.

For those that bought used Aerons, how long have you had them and how are they holding up? Was the mesh replaced?

I'm thinking about one but have read that some replacement mesh sags faster than the original. Spending twice as much for a new one makes sense if it'll last longer along with the knowledge no one else has farted in it.