A Buyers Guide to Office Chairs

Office chairs is one area where you definitely get what you pay for. You can often find standard office chairs for less than £50, or you can pay up to £1,000 for a fully functional ergonomic office chair. You probably spend as much time in your office chair, in front of your desk, as you do in bed; so it is well worth giving some thought to what you need before you purchase.

Cheap office chairs are often imported in bulk from the far east. They often have mechanisms which are described in the same way as quality office chairs, but the quality of the mechanisms themselves are usually not the same. A good height adjuster will allow you to accurately regulate and maintain the height of the chair, a poor quality height adjuster will often leak gas and gradually get lower as time goes by. A good quality backrest tension adjuster maintain the set tension over time while a poorer quality one will rapidly deteriorate. A good quality chair will have body-weight adjusters and a poor quality chair will not.

 

If you are buying chairs for a large office, you will probably want continuity of supply, that is you will want to buy more chairs as time goes by. If you buy cheap office chairs you probably will not be able to find the same chair six months later, however if you buy a quality chair from a reputable dealer you will almost certainly be able to find the same, or similar, chair over a much longer period of time.

 

One very important component of a standard office chair is the foam padding on the seat base and backrest. Good quality foams that do not degrade over time are considerably more expensive that cheap foams, if you want to remain comfortable in your chair over several years it is certainly worthwhile spending the extra to get a good chair.

 

Many people see a leather chair as a sign of quality, however cheap leather is often much less expensive than a good quality fabric. You also have to be aware that many cheap leather chairs are actually described as 'leather-faced' or similar. This usually implies that the seat top and backrest front may be made from real leather but the other elements are made from artificial materials such as PVC.

 

You will also need to look at warranties and the availability of replacement parts. A good quality chair will probably be guaranteed for five years and will have spare parts and accessories available for at least that period of time. A cheap chair will probably only be guaranteed for two years and you will be unlikely to be able to buy accessories, such as arms, headrests etc, after you have made the initial purchase.

 

Finally, be aware that some descriptions may be misleading; there is no formal definition of 'ergonomic' for example. There is no substitute for trying out the chair before you buy. If you are buying a quality chair from a reputable office furniture dealer you will almost certainly have the opportunity to try it out in a showroom before you place the order.