Buying an office chair: adjustability beats padding
A soft chair feels good after five minutes and wrong after five hours. What counts is how precisely you can fit it to your body.
Four adjustments are the minimum
Seat height, seat depth, lumbar support and armrests. If one is missing you compensate with posture — and your back notices. 4D armrests are the most noticeable upgrade in the whole chair.
Synchro-tilt mechanism
A synchro-tilt mechanism reclines seat and backrest in a fixed ratio and keeps you in contact with the backrest when you lean back. Without it you slide forward — the most common reason a chair does not fit.
Mesh or padding
Mesh backs breathe better in summer and give a little; padded ones support more evenly and age better visually. Both are a matter of taste — the load rating is not: below your own weight plus a margin, no chair is comfortable.
Quick checklist
- Seat height, seat depth, lumbar, armrests
- Synchro-tilt if you sit for long stretches
- Load rating above your own weight
- Castors matched to your floor (hard/soft)
