take your seat
The first erg chair to really break through to mainstream consumers was the Aeron®, debuted by Michigan-based Herman Miller Inc.® in 1994. The Aeron was widely praised for its ergonomic excellence, incorporating most of the significant features that would come to define the field. An adjustable lumbar support alleviates stress on the user's lower back. The Aeron's flexible mesh seat, while not padded, shapes itself to the contours of the user without losing firmness. Armrest height, arm width, and seat height are also fully adjustable to the user's preferences, while oversized casters allow for smooth rolling even on carpet. The Aeron's price tag also set new standards in the office chair market; today it lists at anywhere from $800 to $1200.
A rival Michigan company, Steelcase Inc.®, set out to top the Aeron and take some of Herman Miller's enormous market share. Four years and eleven academic studies later, they debuted their Leap® chair in 1999. Leap took Aeron's basic innovations and added enough controls to satisfy any gadget-head this side of James Bond - which, of course, demands that the user spend more time learning to fully utilize the chair. Users could now adjust lumbar firmness, and only the Leap offers the "Live Back," which purports to mimic the shape of the user's spine. Steelcase set the price bar even higher than Herman Miller, offering Leap at a starting price of $949 per chair for a basic model.
1999 also saw the release of the Freedom chair, a product of computer-accessory firm Humanscale. The Freedom chair takes a very different approach to the issue of adjustability; in lieu of Leap's array of knobs and dials, it carries only one lever, for adjusting seat height. The rest of the controls are activated by simple pulling and pushing, or respond to the user's weight through a system of sensors. These sensors make the Freedom chair the only one to offer a smooth recline. Like Steelcase, Humanscale aimed their product at the higher end of the consumer erg chair market, starting at $995.
The ergonomic revolution was, by now, in full swing. The stark, sweeping curves of the ergonomic chair joined the office landscape alongside water coolers and copy machines. A happy convergence of fashion and science made erg chairs the rare status symbol that's also good for you. But the hefty price tags of the leading chairs fed the skeptics, who saw ergonomic chairs as mere trophy items laden with expensive bells and whistles. As the information economy suffered a downturn, the market awaited the ergonomic chair that provided all of the health benefits at a more reasonable price - the one that wouldn't break your back or your budget.
In July 2003, Herman Miller moved to fill that void with the Mirra, a down-market version of the Aeron purporting to offer similar benefits at a minimal price. The Aeron's distinctive aluminum-and-mesh body was replaced by molded propylene in the name of economy. A more serious sacrifice was the loss of seat position adjustability. A few new twists were added, like a seat-edge angle adjuster. Considering how much of the Aeron's functionality was excluded from the Mirra, the latter's price of $649 doesn't seem like much of a bargain for those not besotted by the Herman Miller name.
The first real union of ergonomics and economics was left to e-chair, another 2003 release. All the vital erg chair features are present, from the adjustable lumbar support to arm height and width controls to the seat angle adjustability that the Mirra lacks. The e-chair's patented dual action synchronous knee pivot control is equipped with a seat slider for seat depth adjustment. A sliding seat pan mechanism allows shorter and taller users alike to adjust the distance from the back rest. And don't worry, hipsters: the e-chair has the cutting-edge visual design that erg chair aficionados demand. The e-chair is offered at $430, an unprecedented price for a chair offering such a range of ergonomic features.
what's next?
The battle for erg chair supremacy will undoubtedly continue. New concepts and insights may yet emerge to change the way we sit all over again. For now, the Aeron remains the industry's most popular and widely-recognized chair, but each model has its devotees. Leap's unmatched array of controls appeals to the technically-minded, while the Freedom has won plaudits for the uncanny responsiveness of its sensor-based system. But after such exhaustively researched and tested products as the erg chairs reviewed here, you might legitimately wonder just how much further the technology can take us.
The manufacturers' race to out-gadget each other has produced some wonderful innovations, but also opened a pricing hole in the market. As the economy continues its sluggishness and budgets stay lean, lowering overhead and reducing workers' comp claims remain imperative for most employers. Herman Miller's Mirra was the first recognition of the new reality, the first tentative shot in a new war. Taking economy even further, the e-chair answers the challenge laid to the field: find a way to deliver more ergonomic benefits at a lower price. Such a trend would only be positive for the weary backs, eyes and legs of today's workforce. Someday, when erg chairs populate every office in the land, we'll all stop sitting so hard and enjoy a good sit again.