Matt & the Aeron Chair - Day 5

Hey everyone- this is my last day talking about the Aeron Chair. I think I've touched on its major points- the lumbar support, the Pellicle fabric, the adjustable arms... Today I just want to mention a few things about the overall design. To start, I have to just express that this is a cool looking chair. The guts of it (underneath the seat) has a lot going on, but the back, the seat pan, and the base are all very sleek looking. It's a chair that actually has a distinct profile, which is pretty neat.

I do have a couple of things- you may call them complaints- about the Aeron. Herman Miller has improved on these issues with the Mirra and Embody Chairs, both of which have been introduced since the Aeron Chair. The first issue pertains to the Aeron Chair's back frame. The perimeter of the back is made of hard plastic; so the back feels soft and giving as you move up the Pellicle back- that is- until you hit the rigid frame. For this reason, it's important to get the size that fits you right. Aeron comes in 3 sizes to fit the vast majority of the population. If you get a size A and you need a size B, your shoulder blades will hit the frame and make you unhappy. The rigid frame also prevents you from twisting free spiritedly (quite the adverb) in the chair- something you come to expect once you've sat in the Embody Chair, and to a lesser extent- the Mirra Chair.

The second issue I have is with the tension mechanism for the recline. Maybe I'm just lazy and like to lean back in my chair too much, but I think the Aeron Chair is a little bit too serious about keeping you upright in a traditional tasking posture. You can recline, but you kind of have to work for it, otherwise Aeron will tilt you forward again.

I don't want to sound like I don't like the chair; the only reason I noticed the rigid frame is that we have different sizes around the office so I tried all of them, which is how I found that I'm not comfortable in a size A. And the thing with the twisting- I think this is just me being spoiled after sitting in an Embody Chair- a chair designed to let you twist. This feature has just come out in the last couple of years- and the Aeron Chair was introduced way back in '94. That's about all I have to say on the Aeron Chair- I hope you learned something new.