More pointers to choosing a better leather office chair…

There are a variety of leather office chairs out there, and buying on the Internet requires a knowledge of what the different mechanisms do – which is where SitBetter comes in. Really, buying a chair should be based on two things:

1. Does it fit my decor, my desk and the style of the office? That you should be able to tell just based on your taste alone. If you have good taste, then you’ll probably make a good decision. However, if you wear plaid sport coats and red shoes (take Craig Sager, for example) then you should probably leave the chair buying to the well dressed person on your left.

2. Is it comfortable? This is not just a question of whether the cushions are comfortable. There are various factors that determine the comfort level of a chair…Let’s assume that you aren’t able to sit in it before hand, which reallistcally is the case with 99% of chair shoppers, give that there are over 5000 different chair types available. So consider a few things and comfort can be derived from whether or not they exist on the chair:

Knee Tilt v. Spring Tilt Mechanisms: The link to the left is a great reference to the difference between the two types of mechanisms. Knee tilt is more expensive, but more ergonomic. In a nutshell, you should consider leather office chairs with knee tilt mechanisms if you are using said leather office chairs as executive or desk seating. The knee tilt promotes keeping your feet on the ground and thighs parallel to the ground when you recline, thus reducing the pressure on your thighs and achieving more blood flow – more blood flow means less yawning, so on and so forth. A knee tilt mech will have height adjustment, tilt tension and be able to lock the back rest in multiple positions. That said, spring tilt mechanisms are great for conference rooms. A spring tilt mech is positioned at the middle of the chair seat, so there is little to no ergonomic benefit. Get it for leather office chairs where long ardous hours are not required, but sitting for 2 or 3 is – and the spring tilt (which has height adjustment, tilt tension and one locking postion) will save you money so you can buy beer to make that meeting less than 2 or 3 hours…

What’s in a name? You can get many good chairs that will last a good long time online, but buyer beware. The great budget leather office chair companies are far and few between, with the best being Boss Office Chairs, then Office Star and Chairworks. OFM is good too, but they are not classified as budget. For true value in leather office chairs, it should probably be from on of the aforementioned brands. SitBetter has a great selection of budget and value oriented leather office chairs, btw.

Leather, vinyl, Caressoft…While the latter two don’t classify as leather office chairs, don’t be so quick to dismiss them, especially if you want a cheaper option in the “leather category”. The vinyl of olden days is not the vinyl of today. And caressoft is a blend of leather and vinyl. Just keep this in mind: leather is more comfortable over the long term, vinyl and caressoft is less expensive over the short term. Tomatoes, tomaaaatos?? Eh.

Plushness… You can tell by a picture. There is a big difference between this chair here (La-Z-Boy Sintas), and this chair here (Boss B8106). And the price is always telling. Not to upsell, but price does matter sometimes. A $99 chair is just NOT going to feel like a $649 chair, no matter how many pleasure inducing drugs you take.

Ergonomics…Knee tilt and spring tilt aside, ergonomics are rare in leather office chairs, but not absent. Most common is the knee tilt and the lumbar support that is built into the back of the chair (but not adjustable), but there are a few more options, listed here of leather office chairs with ergonomic features. Necessary? Not really, in my opinion. A leather office chair should be plush and enveloping, more than anything, not fully adjustable to the exact millimeter of comfort.

Anyways, take some or all of these factors into mind when buying a leather office chairs online. Like I said, understand your situation for which you need the leather office chair. It is a critical factor in choosing the chair. The rest is really just gravy.

Likewise, the crew at SitBetter seems to know a whole lot about chairs, and are good about dispensing advice…almost as good as my Batman Pez dispenser was…