I’ve been rather… occupied with things, you know how summer can get sometimes!

Now for another rather non-interesting but very integral part of a normal office chair: the cylinder.

Not only does the cylinder cause the chair to go up and down, but also gives the chair a point to pivot upon!  Both of these features are important to ergonomics, as well.

It really doesn’t matter how a cylinder works, really, but there’s a spring and air and you pull up on a lever and the chair goes up and down.  Some companies offer different sizes of cylinders, so if you have height needs, sometimes it can be accomodated.

Ideally, you want to adjust the height so your feet are flat on the floor, and generally, most say you want the thighs level with the floor (unscientific here, but at this point, try raising your feet on the toes, you’ll find your butt going back further in the chair… using the lumbar support better…. have to get my ergo people looking at that….).  If you find you can’t do that, get a footrest.

There are cylinders out there which are better than others, but really for the most part, you’ll not notice.  Get the chair you like and are comfortable with, and you’ll likely never have an issue with the cylinder.  There are times, when the air seal leaks and… it’s a slow ride (or quick one) to a low point….  It can be tough replacing it without tools, too!

I’ll get back to doing more of this now!

However, they are an integral part of the chair, of course, and I’m simply planning to tell anything and everything about chairs!

Generally, most people are not too concerned about the look of a base, they’ll be fine with one of those black plastic generic ones.  There are those, however, who perhaps want a more stylish chair and that will usually include a base which is wood, or metal.

Now, quality of the base is going to differ, of course.  A good quality steel base is going to last a long time, far longer than the fabric!  Most wood bases are going to have steel ribbing. 

Aluminum comes next, as far as durability.  Generally, those sleek and stylish chrome bases are going to be aluminum.  Not all the time, of course, but quite often.

Wood Bases, as I mentioned prior, generally (and had better, for structural soundness) have a steel ribbing to hold it all together.  The ribbing gives it soundness, and of course, the finish and quality of the wood and finish is going to vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

(still awake?…. sheesh, I’m dozing now….).

I would say… invariably… you are almost always going to get what you pay for.

Go to Officestaplesmegasuperofficestore and sure, buy one of those $40 chairs, and a very common problem is the casters breaking out of the plastic base (and, by the way, think they stand behind their product?  Think again!).  One of my favorite sayings is that, starting at $50 dollars, every doubling in price gives back a quadrupling in quality.  Now that’s not exact science, mind you… but you’d be amazed how that’s mostly true!

OK…. wake up now… I’m done!

And visit me at SitBetter.com for more info!

I’ll explore different aspects of an ergonomic chair, keeping it specific each day….

Today…. hmmm let’s start from the ground and work our way up!

You ask… what’s the point of this picture? 

Simply that sometimes the fine print is the most important part of purchasing anything, even something as simple as a chair!

I was checking out a competitor’s website, and noticed a low price on a chair which I also carry, then noticed that they were charging for the casters!  (which come standard in the box from the manufacturer!)  Now that’s something which I consider rather…. scamish, and if I, as a consumer, realized what they were doing, why on earth would I buy anything from them? 

That being said, casters are important to a desk chair, obviously!  A good ergonomic chair rolls, and if you have carpet, you’re going to want hard wheels, but if you have hard floors, you’re going to want soft casters (which don’t tend to scratch the floor… as much!).  The reason for this is multi-fold….  You want the ability to easily get out of your chair, obviously, but also, when the chair moves, you’re moving!  You really don’t want to be fixed in one spot, just moving your chair around a little bit moves you around, giving you different aspects and positions, which is a healthy thing to do!

And, as usual, my normal plug- visit me at SitBetter.com… what the heck, just because!

Not necessarily by the consumer… you… but by those who sell them! (Me!… well, not me… or I try, anyway!)

I’ll start with this example- on my site SitBetter.com, I refuse to sell those knee chairs.  You know what I’m talking about?  those chairs you sit on a small frame thing and rest your knees on a pad.  They are ‘supposedly’ good for your back, but don’t really do much, in actuality, and in fact.. simply damage the knees!  Why destroy your knees, and cut off circulation to the feet, just in hope of relief of another body part!  So I put up a picture of a rock… here…. see for yourself… heh!

Anyway, I try to be a bit more ethical about things… and ergonomic anything is such a hot thing right now that there’s a ton of companies out there which… will sell you just anything!

Here’s another example:

Honestly…. no matter WHAT other websites might tell you, this is NOT an ergonomic chair!  It goes up and down…. it’s meant to sit in for an hour….

Don’t use it as an all day chair!

Again, people go down to Officestaplesdepotmax and buy these things for their employees to sit in for 8 hours…. and don’t even consider what sort of harm their doing!

Ok, ok, rant over!

A decent ergonomic chair has multiple adjustments, you’re able to modify the position of how you sit fairly easily, has adjustable arms, and minimizes the damage done to the body by sitting down all day long!  And note I said minimizes, for the human body was not meant to sit all day, and no matter what you sit in, you’re going to have some bit of damage!

so find a chair like the 43808, reasonably priced, has some good adjustments and is decently comfortable!  Or the other end of the scale is the Freedom chair by Humanscale (fantastic chair, IMHO). 

So this topic is simply far too long for one post… More to come!

This is the FL642 Faux Leather chair from Office Star.

I sat in this chair when I visited their warehouse in Ontario, CA and was immediately impressed by how comfortable the chair was. When I saw the price, I was even more impressed!

When I got back home, I immediately called the rep and told him to bring a sample down for everyone else to see. He did, and everyone else was impressed too!

Now, this chair feels good, but one bit of warning, it’s made from a leather which is infused with a polymer, making it more durable than normal leather, but losing most of the ‘breathability’ of normal leather. But at the price, it’s really worth it!

Oh heck, I’m not really here to sell you a chair (heck, had to try though!), just to demonstrate that I do know most of the chairs that I sell on (BCP- Blatant Commercial Plug!) SitBetter.com.

That being said… I still don’t know much!

So make sure you ask questions, but know what questions to ask!

What are the right questions? Here are some I ask customers:

1. What are you doing in the chair- Working on the computer all day long? One the phone? In and out of it all the time? Signing papers, meeting clients?

2. How much time do you spend in the chair- 4 hours, 8, 14?

3. Do you want it pretty, modern, leather, etc?

4. Do you have a budget? (almost a stupid question, eh?)

5. Do you want an ergonomic chair?

Asking those questions, and assessing how someone sits, I can narrow down pretty close what someone is looking for in a chair and get them that leather executive, inexpensive but sturdy ergo task chair, Big & Tall chair or ultra-modern Manager’s chair.

So the next posts, I’ll get into the different sorts of chairs and for what each might be used.

Before I say anything else, I want to make a plug for a favorite cause, if I may.

This picture to the right illustrates how many people work at home.

Monitor well back, keyboard and mouse on top of desk, this is a situation which is fine for a half-hour doing the bills.
Not for an hour, two, or eight while at work!

Now, look at this guy- he’s going to sit there for eight hours, working all day, hunched over in positions his body was not meant to be in for 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year.

What sort of damage do you think he’ll end up doing to his body, firstly, and how do you think he feels when he goes home at the end of the day? Likely sore and surly!

Now the next option: