This isn't exactly work related, but do people have opinions on the Herman Miller Eames chair? You know, this iconic look? [1]

I ask because the lockdown has me fantasizing about distracting myself with replacement stuff for the home.

But this chair is freakin $5000. Is it that good to be worth it? Or are any of those $1000 knockoffs acceptable quality?

[1] https://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/lounge-seating...

We have a 60s hand-me-down Eames.

It is a very good chair. The build quality is fantastic and stylistically it still holds up.

It is truly a "lounge chair" though - almost a semi-recliner. I rarely use it if it's a social situation because it sits back so far. It's amazing for relaxing and watching TV or a movie though.

I'm assuming the quality has held up. I've never tried a knock off.

The Eames Lounge Chair is a very comfortable chair, a lot of the high price comes from high quality materials, fair labor and environmental protocols of the processes and materials. Herman Miller is a quality manufacturer and is dedicated to making great furniture.

You will probably be able to tell the difference in the feel of the materials and the design details between the HM and replica. I've sat in a few different versions of replicas and the original and they are all very comfortable. The replicas are lower quality, you might not have them for 50 years, they might die earlier, they are after all a 'skin-job'.

If you're really thinking about it, do consider the resale value as part of investment, nice used examples fetch $3500-4000. If the classic Black and Walnut is your style that will probably be the easiest to recoup if you decide it's not for you.

Watch DWR or Hive they some times have 10% off sales that will at least save you the taxes or shipping depending where you live.

I've been using one of the knockoffs for about 6 years as lounge/work chair. It's comfortable for things like reading, listening to music, and sitting in video meetings, but not the best posture for heavy typing.

I like the design and it fits me, but it's worth pointing out the lack of adjustment. Unless you want a purely decorative chair, I recommend finding someone with one you can test drive.

The seller I bought the knockoff from has since evaporated, so that's another potential concern if it ever needs repairs.

There's a replica chair at the office I work at and it's by far my favorite. I've written a lot of good code there :) Very comfortable and I can sit in it for a longer time than any other chair.

But I need to have a table or some other surface nearby to place a drink and a notebook.

I had an aeron for years. Great chair.

I bought a used aeron for home ~ $250 and I noticed it had some play in the column and sunk a bit.. $50 to amazon and I replaced it. Now it's a year or so later and I'm suspecting that the web mesh could use a refresh (the pan assembly is ~ $220)

I found my Aeron chair triggered my lower back pain. Since then I’ve moved to mostly using a standing mat and standing up as well as strengthening my core. I might try sitting on my Aeron chair after a few months of core strengthening

>lower back pain

How low?

I've had a terrible pain in my tailbone going on a few months now. I finally relented and got one of those donut shaped memory foam pillows. 40€ for a block of foam with a hole in it is criminal, but after using it for a week now, I must admit it does help a lot.

I had pain in my tailbone like this for 1.5 years (including donut cushion and all) before a doc ordered a CT and found I had a hemmorhoidal cyst.

Not sure if that’s already been excluded, but my life has been a lot happier since they removed it :P

> I've had a terrible pain in my tailbone

This always happened to me on those Aeron chairs and pre-covid I was using those doughnut pillows for a few years, they worked great.

If it's an acute pain at your tailbone, you might want to consult a doctor or nurse. You could be having a common condition like a pilonidal cyst.

I get some insane neck pain with these. Found I work better altering between standing and using a normal wooden chair. Not amazing sounding but it works for me.

What size chair are you using (A/B/C)? I had similar problems when I used a C which was too big. I sold it and got a B and haven't had problems since.

You might want to play with your recline angle

I have sat many hours in an Aeron (and am sitting in one right now), but am not sure why I don't hear more about the Herman Miller Sayl Chair. I find it vastly more comfortable.

Probably the biggest reason is timing. The Aeron came out in 1994 and became the chair to have for dot-com startups. It was a huge perk to have a chair like that (there wasn't really a comparable chair at that time) and that led to enormous brand awareness.

I bought an Aeron a few years ago, but also considered the Sayl. I went to a Herman Miller dealer and tried all the chairs. A salesperson talked me through the different adjustments for each chair and explained why people preferred each of the chairs. When someone can sit in them side-by-side, they will pick the one that they like the most, which might be the Sayl. But many people only know the name Aeron.

Totally agree. Bought a second-handed Herman Miller (though from eBay) some time ago, and that's the best purchase of the past few years of my life.