2 Years ago I began a quest to find the best ergonomic office chair for my lanky 6' 2" 180lb body, but I had to quit after 2 months as I had been drawn into an all consuming vortex of obsessive chair research. Now, I am forced to venture out again as my 7 year old nameless chair from Staples has become a certifiable hazard to my back and butt.

With a $1000ish budget and a desire to find a great chair before being consumed by the vortex, I went straight to the nearest Haworth dealer to try their starting lineup.

The first chair I sat in was the Soji. I wasn't expecting much, but I was blown away by the welcoming embrace of the back rest and smoothness of the synchro-tilt. A huge step up from my chair at home. Full of hope, I pressed on.

The 2nd chair I tried was the Zody. It improved vastly on the Soji while taking nothing away. This chair's lumbar support is the closest to perfection I have ever witnessed: it is height adjustable, and pressure adjustable from 2 angles. Once I had it dialed in, I felt the lumbar support melt into the overall profile of comfort, ceasing to be noticeable while providing rigid support. The wide seatback seemed to bend and adapt as I changed position, which I wasn't expecting to experience until I tried the Fern--but it didn't reach up as high as I prefer. The seat was the perfect balance of firm and comfortable.

Now to the Fern. Every cell of my body was anticipating this chair. I had pretty much already made up my mind before sitting that this would be the one. The hype had me. Then, I sat... and was underwhelmed. The seat was noticeably less comfortable than the Zody's; too firm and sort of making me feel like it wanted to dump me out of it (yes, I had disengaged the optional forward tilt). The seatback reached up higher, which I liked very much, but it was surprisingly stiff. I felt it adapting, but despite the layers of molded plastic mimicking the human spine and graceful plantlife, it felt less intuitive than the traditional looking wide back of the Zody. I should mention the lumbar support as many reviews say it is too intrusive: I think it's fine and I can't imagine the chair without it, but it only moves up and down and is far less articulate than the one on the Zody. They did not have a Fern without lumbar for me to try, but they did have one with a headrest. I'm a fan of headrests, but the one on the Fern is laughable--it forced my head down at an awkward angle and pushed my shoulders away from the top part of the chair, denying me a sizeable part of the support I would be paying $$$ for. It makes no sense on the chair.

Now, I am left wondering what to do. The Zody is an amazing chair, but the back could be higher. The back on the Fern is high enough, supporting me up to my neck, and there is an extra 1/2 inch of seat height over the Zody, but it just didn't wow me. I feel like maybe a Zody with a headrest would be the perfect way to go, but they didn't have one like that for me to try. They didn't have a Zody 2 in stock for me to try--this chair sounds great but it may be outside my price range/hard to come by.

My time is limited but I may be venturing out to the nearest Steelcase dealer to try the Amia, Leap V2 and Gesture. Note that during my last quest I did try to Herman Miller Aeron during a trip to NYC; I remember liking it, and it is in the running, but it is a bit outside my price range and there are no dealers near me where I can revisit it.

FWIW I also tried a Hon Ignition 2.0 and it felt like cheap garbage. I also went to Staples and tried the Hyken and Dexley and you know what, not bad chairs at all for the price. I am looking for a real treat for my back, though.

Any and all advice is appreciated!

UPDATE:

I finally made it out to a Steelcase dealer. Before I get into the chairs, I think it's pertinent to talk about my experience with the salespeople. When trying to call and schedule an appointment I kept getting sent right to voicemail, so I decided to just show up. The attitude of the salespeople was very, "One does not simply walk in and sit on our chairs..." but after explaining the voicemail issue, they finally let me in. This is pretty typical behavior for most showrooms and worth preparing yourself for. If you want to try chairs at a high-end dealer, call ahead and be prepared to indulge a salesperson whether or not you plan to buy online. In NYC I was denied walk-ins by uniformed guards at a few big dealers.

Now to the chairs.

I made straight to the Gesture as it had the highest back and a nice looking headrest. Before I could even get comfortable, I was surprised when the salesperson told me the chair wasn't the right fit. Apparently the seat depth when pushed out all the way left enough room for me to fit my whole hand between the back of my knee and the edge of the seat. This, in an ergonomic sense, is not nearly enough support. I found the back and lumbar to be comfortable and adequately supportive, and the headrest made reclining quite pleasurable, but I wasn't able to sit very long as the salesperson was like, "Nope nope nope. Get up. Not going to work." Apparently if you have long legs (I'm 6'2") this might not be the best chair.

The next chair I sat in was the Amia. The salesperson told me not to bother as the seat pan depth was similar to the Gesture's and would not offer enough support, but I went ahead and sat anyway after they went to find me a Leap V2. Reviews have spoken of the Amia's seat comfort, but I found it to be on the stiffer side. As a taller person, the seat back fell short of the Gesture's, and yes, I was now in full agreement with the salesperson on the inadequate seat depth.

The final and best Steelcase chair I sat in was the Leap V2. At the deepest setting I could only fit 3 fingers between the back of my knee and the edge of the seat. The unusually honest salesperson said this was closer to what I needed, but I could do better somewhere else. FWIW, I found the lumbar to be adequately supportive, but it fell short of what I experienced on the Haworth Zody. The seatback height fell short of making reclining truly comfortable, though a headrest might have gotten me there. In terms of materials, I found the seat to be a nice balance of firm and comfortable--this chair was used daily at the office while the others were in the showroom, so it's probably more broken in. They did not have a headrest version for me to try.

In conclusion, Steelcase chairs may not be a great option for those with longer legs. I just attempted to measure from my tailbone (part that touches the backrest when sitting all the way back) to the back of my knees and came up with 22". If this is you, you might want to look elsewhere.

Just got a new black digital knit Haworth Fern delivered. I had such high hopes from all of the amazing reviews you see everywhere. Within the first minute I knew this $300 Staples chair was going back.

I'll start with the good, which isn't much. It feels like Haworth pumped all of the funds for the chair into the back, then paired it with a cheapy Amazon chair for everything else. The digital knit feels great... very comfy. The adjustable lumbar is alright... it doesn't feel too agressive to me but it does feel like there's a metal rod going across your back. Overall though, I love the back and while not as good as the embody, it's in the same hemisphere.

That's where the positives end. Once I sat in the chair I tried to raise the height, only to realize that the lever was loose/broken... so I can't even try out the forward tilt I paid extra for lol. That alone blew my mind and seems like it's much more common of an issue than it should be, on such an overpriced chair. Next we have the armrests. Very flimsy, loud, and especially cheap feeling. The right armpad is looser than the left one... anytime I slightly move my arms, only the right armpad moves and then I have to readjust it. They also don't have a large enough range, forward/backward, in my opinion. My girlfriend's Secret Lab armrests blow these out of the water... in fact, the whole chair does in comparison (for less than half the price).

The plastic and knobs on this chair feel very cheap, resembling that of a $300-$400 Office Depot chair. Didn't have this issue on the Embody, Amia, or Secret Lab at all. The casters and base are very basic. The seat cushion itself is comfortable enough but again, similar to that of a much cheaper chair. When adjusting the seat depth, after it clicks into place, the seat still slides forward and backward up to an inch. Also for some reason, there are two tags coming out of the seat cushion. Obviously you can cut those off but my gf said it makes it look like I got the chair from IKEA lol.

The Logitech Embody and Steelcase Amia build quality actually felt premium and worth the money. It's beyond me how Haworth or any of its customers thinks this chair is worth $1200-$1600... even if it did work straight out of the box.

What has your experience been like?

Hey everyone. I recently got a new chair, and after lurking on this sub for a while in search of the perfect seat, I wanted to share my opinions on one I don't see discussed too often: the Haworth Fern.

Overall, this chair feels very much like a kinder, gentler Embody. It's design is similar, and sitting in it feels similar too. The "fern" structure in the chair back stays with you as you move, very much like the Embody's pixelated structure, but while some people say they can feel the Embody's pixels poking at them, the Fern feels a bit more hammock-like without any pressure points. I also went with the digital knit option which offers a bit of padding. The Embody, by comparison, is rather minimal in that department. The back of the Fern is a hollow structure with a large opening, so it breathes well and doesn't get warm when sitting for a long time.

The seat is also nice. It's a more traditional foam cushion, on the firm side but not uncomfortable. The upholstery on the seat appears to be wool, which is not what's on the seat back, so while the colors are close, it seems like you'll have two different fabrics no matter what options/colors you select.

The arm rests are fine. They're pretty much the typical "4D" armrests you'll find on many high end chairs. Plenty of adjustabality every which way. I wish they were a bit firmer or had a locking function, as they slide around a bit too easily, particularly each time I get up from the chair.

The chair has most of the typical adjustment options. The five tilt-lock options really seem to have nailed sweet spots, for me at least. You can also adjust the seat depth. The tilt tension is a bit like the older Aeron Classic chairs where you've got to turn the knob quite a bit to change it significantly, but it's got a crank making that much easier and quicker to do. My model does not have an adjustable lumbar support, or an adjustable back angle like the Embody. There's an option for a lumbar support, but I've also found that because the chair is hollow and there's an opening in the back, you can actually stuff a small off-the-shelf lumbar pillow inside of it if you want a little more support without the factory option.

I can't knock the Fern's build quality, but I would say the "fit and finish" leaves a bit to be desired for a chair at this price point. On Haworth's website, the chair looks very sleek, but it definitely seemed more down to earth in person. It's solidly built and uses good quality materials, but things like the stitching seem like they could have been a bit straighter and more polished. Again, it's not bad by any means, but chairs from Herman Miller and Steelcase really set the bar close to perfection. You just don't find little "oh, that could have been done better" bits, and chairs like the Embody can often be as stunning in person as they are in marketing materials.

Ultimately, I find the Fern to be a bit more comfortable than its closest competitor, the Herman Miller Embody. If you're buying new, it's a few hundred dollars cheaper, too, so it's definitely worth checking out for anyone in the market for a high-end chair. If visual impact or overall polish are primary concerns, then Herman Miller has the edge. Anyone who knows office chairs will recognize an Embody or Aeron, but the Fern isn't as iconic and doesn't really scream that it's special when you see it in person.

If anyone's got any questions about the Fern, I'll do my best to answer them.