Herman Miller Aeron Chair

The Herman Miller Aeron chair is one of the best-known ergonomic office chairs. The Aeron line has been around since the early ‘90s, with refined versions being released every few years or so. We sat down with the latest Aeron chair, and here are our impressions.

Comfort and Adjustability

When the Herman Miller Aeron chair first appeared on the market, it boasted a number of features that set new standards for ergonomic office chair design. To this day, Aeron remains ahead of the crowd in many respects, and its advanced design creates nearly unmatched comfort.

The Aeron is a mesh chair. While most office chairs use foam padding, the Aeron’s Pellicle mesh system provides a few unique benefits. Perhaps most importantly, it not only conforms to the body very quickly, but it also reverts to its original shape when you get up, without imprinting or indentation, even after long-term use. This results in superior, more consistent comfort and aesthetics. The mesh is also much more breathable than most foam pads, leading to better temperature regulation.

The overall ergonomic design of the Herman Miller Aeron chair is excellent; its features include the Kinemat tilt system, which maintains full support of your body as you recline or adjust your posture in just about any possible way. The design of the armrests is also notable, with a very slight dip in the back that results in what we considered a much more comfortable arm alignment than what’s provided by just about any other chair.

Herman Miller also offers a few optional upgrades for the Aeron, the most highly recommended of which is the PostureFit custom lumbar support.

In terms of adjustability, the Aeron is in line with other high-end ergonomic office chairs in that all of the key areas are individually adjustable, with a range of possible settings for each. The one drawback of the Aeron in this area is that the controls can be difficult to reach while you’re sitting, which makes it less convenient. Finally, the Aeron is available in three basic sizes, which effectively provide another degree of customization to the user.

Quality and Reliability

The Herman Miller Aeron chair has always been known for build quality and toughness. The Aeron is now backed by a 12-year warranty, which should put most minds at ease. The remarkable thing about the Aeron is not just how it continues to perform year after year, but also how it maintains its looks. The adaptable mesh material doesn’t get indented even after heavy use, and the material itself is very durable and not particularly easy to poke or tear.

Style

Beauty, as always, is in the eye of the beholder, but we think the Aeron is one of the very best chairs on the market with respect to looks. Although its design hasn’t changed too much over the years, the Aeron is still a futuristic-looking piece of furniture. The frame materials and mesh weave patterns are customizable, and there are a lot of color options available as well.

Conclusion

The Herman Miller Aeron chair is a great option for just about anybody. Although it isn’t quite as adjustable as the Steelcase Leap chair, the Aeron’s combination of quality and comfort is still one of the best out there.