Ergonomic (computer) chairs

Market research done around 2006. Some of the observations, such as seat depth, are closely related to my particular body conformation and may be irrelevant in your case. I was looking at the time for a chair with a headrest, which turned out to be a bad idea. For the past 4 years, I've been extremely happy, at 6+ hours of usage per day, with an ordinary mid-back "task chair" with loop arms from Office Max. For longer daily use (and in general) I'd recommend a similar mid-back chair but with thicker seat cushioning.

Education

• Choosing an Office Chair: An Informed Decision for Comfort and Health, Architectural Record, 207
• Slashdot | Best chair for desktop coding?
• 12 adjustable parameters of an ergonomic chair
• studied debunking the idea that the upright posture is the most ergonomic - "[...] results indicate that resting the back against a sloping backrest transfers a portion of the weight of the upper part of the body to the backrest and noticeably reduces the physical load on the intervertebral discs as well as the static strain of the back muscles."

Candidates

Gravitonus

• ultra-ergonomic workstation, reclined, can host up to 4 screens etc.
• $7k
• dubious availability from Russia

Humanscale Freedom

• personally tested:
  • COOL no-controls auto-reclining with headrest staying vertical and enabling perfect position for reading off a computer screen (assuming minimal keyboarding)
  • adjustable seat depth
  • adjustable headrest
  • vertically adjustable back
  • good hi-tech looks
  • - not cushioned enough
  • - the most vertical back is too reclined
  • armrests stem from the back, not from the seat, can pivot, but are not height-adjustable

Office Star Executive Ergonomic Leather

• personally tested
  • + good cushioning
  • - high back with no headrest doesn't have Freedom's vertical-neckrest-while-back-is-reclined property
  • seat depth not adjustable but waterfall/soft edge so not much of a problem
  • - leather is fake and smells bad even after two weeks
  • - leather is a cold (and sticky when hot) material
  • - poor finishing, visible beneath armrests

Hermann Miller's Aeron

• the most famous chair with IT companies
• personally tested
  • mid-back or low-back only. No high-back or headrest versions
  • - non-waterfall seat edge cuts blodfloow to the back of the knee if your thighs are not long enough
  • - seat depth not adjustable
  • + armrests stem from the back, not from the seat

Raynor Maverick black

• - seat too deep even at minimum depth, impairing blood flow at the back of the knees
• - headrest is adjustable only vertically and will push your shoulders and the back of your neck

Office Star™ Professional AirGrid High-Back Leather Chair With Adjustable Headrest, 54 1/2"H x 27 1/2"W x 27"D, Platinum Frame, Black Leather

• not tested

Office Star SPACE Collection: Matrex Back and Seat Ergonomic Chair with Headrest - 27876

• not tested

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