Click on image to zoom Designers: Bill Stumpf and Don ChadwickWhen Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick designed the Herman Miller Aeron Chair, they combined a deep knowledge of human-centered design with never-before-seen technology to create a task chair unlike any other. Now Aeron has been remastered in practically every way to create an office chair that better supports people and the types of work we do today. Configure Your Aeron Chair Add to Wish List While its iconic form has remained largely unchanged, the Aeron Chair has been remastered from the casters up. With the help of Don Chadwick, the chair’s original co-designer, we updated Aeron to incorporate more than 20 years of research on the science of sitting, as well as advancements in materials, manufacturing, and technology. “It’s going to be a whole new experience, and yet the chair is still going to be an Aeron chair.” Get into the Zones Across Aeron's 8Z Pellicle elastomeric suspension seat and backrest, eight latitudinal zones of varying tension envelop you as you sit, delivering greater comfort and ergonomic support.
The new 8Z Pellicle also allows body heat to pass through to help maintain an even and comfortable skin temperature. A Stance Worth Backing An active body is at its strongest when standing, chest open and pelvis tilted slightly forward. PostureFit SL supports your spine to give you the same benefit while seated. Adjustable, individual pads provide lumbar support and stabilize the base of the spine for a more powerful seated posture. If You're So Reclined Sitting in one position reduces the natural pumping action of the muscles that deliver nutrients to the spine. As you sit in Aeron, however, the tilt allows the chair to move seamlessly with your body, so shifting between forward and reclining postures is smooth and balanced throughout the entire range of recline. A Whole New Aeron Aeron is available in three tightly curated, holistic material expressions. Graphite is the darkest, a modern rendition of the classic Aeron look. Carbon offers a balanced neutral for a modern chair that works equally well in both warm and cool environments.
Mineral is the lightest, with a fresh, ethereal quality that borders on translucence. One Size Does Not Fit All With chairs, one size does not fit all people. Based on an ends-to-the-middle design approach, Aeron comes in three sizes (A, B, and C) to provide an inclusive fit that delivers the same level of comfort to the largest range of anthropometric body types of any office chair. For individuals sitting in Aeron, cross-performance design means the ergonomic chair fully accommodates the widest possible range of activities and postures people adopt while working, from intense, forward-facing focus to relaxed, contemplative recline. The Aeron chair is an office chair designed in 1994 by Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf. It has been called "America's best-selling chair" (as of 2010)[1] and is featured in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. The chair was reportedly named after the Celtic god Aeron, as well as referring to aeration and aeronautics. Aeron chairs are produced by Herman Miller and were popular with web startups during the late 1990s, when they were associated with the dot-com bubble.
A 2006 article in New York magazine called the Aeron "the Dot-Com Throne", writing that the chairs "became shorthand for the countless companies that didn't have a clue how to make money on the Internet, but, man, did they have the know-how to set up a cool office". As described by Galen Kranz, "one of the secrets of the success of that chair was finding that fabric they called ‘pellicle.’ That sheer but resistant fabric hit on the right gestalt for where our culture was at."[5] The Aeron chair is made out of recycled materials, and 94 percent of the chair itself is recyclable. According to a 2010 Bloomberg Businessweek article, the Aeron chair "made a fetish of lumbar support".[1] Galen Kranz has commented that while the company is aware that a perching position (facilitated by the chair's rounded front rail) is preferable, it put in the lumbar support to conform to public expectations - "because that’s what people think is required for it to be a scientifically 'good' chair".
Sitting expert A. C. Mandal has criticized the Aeron as "far too low" and not offering enough height adjustment and opportunities for the sitter to move.[1] According to the chair's co-designer Don Chadwick, the task given to him by Herman Miller was to update the company's previous best-seller, not to design the ideal chair for an eight-hour workday. "We were given a brief and basically told to design the next-generation office chair," Chadwick said. ^ a b c d5 star66%4 star7%2 star20%1 star7%Thinking about getting an Aeron? Please read my informed decision points firstI've purchased 5 Aaron chairs within the last 14 months. I've had the technicians out to replace parts under warranty. The ones I purchased include three highly adjustable models with lumbar support and two of the PostureFit. To be certain I know what I'm talking about, you can see my verified purchase logo on my reviews for both types here Aeron Chair - Highly Adjustable Graphite Frame - Carbon Wave (Large) by Herman Miller and here Aeron Chair - Highly Adjustable Graphite Frame - with PostureFit - Carbon Classic (Large) by Herman Miller.
Below I offer inputs based on recent experience with these chairs. I've had back problems - I had spinal fushion surgery (it was successful). I mention that because it explains why I was motivated to research ergonomic chairs.We'll get to what to do if your Aeron chair has problems, but first let's cover the basic decisions to get the right chair. This is an expensive chair and yet it costs less than most true ergonomic chairs. Unless you're into fashion and have the budget, forget about almost all competitors to this chair. As style increases, price increases geometrically. So far nobody beats Herman Miller, in my view, probably because it benefits from scale. It produces a lot of Aeron chairs. Herman Miller sells large orders direct to the federal government too - using a GSA Schedule (contracting vehicle to sell to the feds). By definition, that's the lowest price anyone pays for this chair. As soon as I find a worthy competitor to this chair with at least equal value, I'll update my review.
Unfortunately for me, I found out late that Herman Miller runs semi-yearly sales on the Aeron. I called Herman Miller to ask only after my last purchase. Their sales run starting the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) and for about a week, and then again about six months later. Typically, Herman Miller allows its authorized vendors to sell at a 15% discount from suggested retail price - but only during an official Herman Miller sale.When you buy this chair, hopefully it will qualify as a business expense. The tax code currently favors furniture purchases by businesses that have offsetting revenues. If you want to know more about this, look up "Section 179" on Wikipedia. Take assurance from the fact that I do not regret buying these expensive chairs nor has any other purchaser I've talked with. I say this despite the problems I've had that caused me to repeatedly contact the vendors, Amazon, Herman Miller and the local chair technicians.Second decision point is the warranty. You always get a 12-year warranty when you buy an Aeron from a Herman Miller authorized dealer, period.
Try to get the chair with the valuable 12-year warranty by getting it from the correct channel. I have no insight into whether Herman Miller will be a viable company 12 years from now, but the warranty is valuable.Third decision point is size. You can get sizes A, B or C. You can find Aeron chair dimensions for all 3 sizes posted on the Internet. A is the smallest, C the largest. I've never seen size A. Most people should go to a brick & mortar store that carries Aeron chairs and sit on the sizes they carry. B, the medium size, will cut off short on the bottom thigh for many. I believe size C will fit many more people than B. Beware that if you're quite tall, then size C will cut off short under the thighs and you might not even want an Aeron. Also, there is one easy way to tell the size of an Aeron: stand behind chair and feel under inside of upper frame lip (just behind the embossed Herman Miller logo) for Braille-like dots. 3 dots is for size C, 2 for B and so on.An ergonomic chair is not supposed to cut short under your thighs.
For some, there'll be a tradeoff because size C is a little wide. I have size Cs, all my Aerons. You can get used to sitting on a wide chair but you need something that supports out along the bottom of the thighs. Notice the waterfall edge of seat shape on all Aeron chairs - that is to easily allow blood circulation when seated and it works.Fourth decision point is the Aeron model type. This is where I'm likely to be most helpful to you. For most people the highest end model, the PostureFit, is not the best. In fact, the highly adjustable with lumbar support is superior and I'd rather buy it even if it cost more than PostureFit. That's because the one with lumbar support has a padded support bar that can be placed to support the lumbar curve whereas the PostureFit can only be placed to support just above the sacrum. The fifth lumbar vertebra is by far the most common site of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis.Please get this right because most of us, including me, are probably going to be working through old age, given economic conditions, and we've got to make our backs last as long as possible.
Here's an intuitive way to understand this important difference: the PostureFit gives you support at about your belt, while the highly adjustable with lumbar support model gives you support within a range above your belt. Now look hard at the pictures of these two models right on Amazon. The PostureFit is low support. Recent research shows conclusively that support should be for the lumbar curve.Further, to understand PostureFit, it only allows you an in-and-out control. You cannot move the support parts up or down. Further, the highly adjustable with lumbar support model actually protrudes out more - as it certainly should. I'm telling you based on having both models, being aware of the research and being hyper-aware of healthy back maintenance, you should get the highly adjustable with lumbar support model no matter your height, weight or posture. The fourth decision point is really no decision at all.Fifth decision point is color and perhaps mesh pattern. I don't have a notable preference regarding colors or mesh patterns and have no advice on the fifth decision point.
From an ergonomic standpoint, you care that the mesh is tight.Assembly is easy, especially if you avoid getting the PostureFit. No specialized tools are needed. Assembly will probably take 10 to 15 minutes, with most of that unwrapping the parts. Assembly for the PostureFit may take 25 minutes if it is your first time because you have to place a wire mechanism and poke a hole through the mesh. But if you believe me, you'll get the highly adjustable with lumbar support model and have zero trouble in assembly. If you get the chair with lumbar support, you will ONLY have to attach the back of the chair to the rest of it by screwing 4 bolts with the Allen wrench that comes in the box.You may experience problems with defective parts. One of my chairs came with loose arms, and they were so loose that they couldn't be tightened and fell to the lowest adjustable position immediately. I called Herman Miller and they only asked for the number on the little sticker on the bottom of the chair (literally - no other information was requested).
For goodness sake, don't unpeel or lose that number!! That sticker is only about a half inch by a half inch and could easily be peeled off. Write it down to keep a duplicate record. Herman Miller then provided me with the contact information to a nearby store with technicians. This store then sent out two techs to my office to document the problem. They then returned a couple months later and after I called a few times to expedite the process, and they installed new and good arms. They also gratuitously gave me a used lumbar support part and installed it on one of my PostureFit chairs. The techs confirmed that the lumber support part was better than the PostureFit mechanism, and more desired by experienced users, which I found interesting.But that was not the end of my problems. One chair came with loose mesh in the seat. You want that seat to feel like a taut trampoline, not spongy. The technicians, two really nice guys, are supposed to arrive today or tomorrow with my new seat. Three chairs came with 2 bolts instead of 4 in the sealed plastic envelope.
The authorized dealer (an Amazon vendor) expedited delivery of the missing bolts. One chair came without the all-important sticker on the bottom that gives the Factory Order Number and the Born-On date, needed to exercise the 12-yr warranty. The dealer is having Herman Miller mail me a Certificate of Authentication. My most recent order showed up on Amazon as delivered, but had actually not been sent. After a few communications the chairs were delivered, much later than expected. Please note that I've now ordered 5 chairs and I experienced all these issues.If you have any problems, a service technician will come to your home or business and take care of it. They in turn charge Herman Miller for the service. Separately, the service techs informed me that the most common complaint is that the height adjustment stops working. These chairs are designed to handle the weight of up to a 250 pound person. Somebody heavier than that will often cause this up-down function to cease working, but the techs say it's a real easy thing to fix and the warranty covers it.