The other day someone asked this and everyone recommended a $1,400 chair. I can’t afford that, I can’t even dream of affording that. I’m looking for something with good lumbar support for ideally under $400 tops. Does anyone have any ideas?
And Inb4 someone says “buy one used / second hand” I looked and they’re still pretty pricey. My current chair is falling apart so I need to do something soon.
Do you have a preference/requirement for specific materials, back height, or arm adjustability?
I recently went through the analysis paralysis of buying a new home office chair. I ultimately ended up buying an HM Embody, which is great, but I realize how ridiculous the concept of spending $1600 on a chair seems.
Staples sells a chair called Hyken which my wife has and seems to really like. It is all mesh and (to me) feels very much like the Herman Miller Cosm, but with more pronounced lumbar support.
If you have an IKEA near you it looks like they’ve redesigned the Markus to have more lumbar support. I had an older version and I would recommend trying it out if possible, the back is very tall and I always felt like a hobbit sitting in it. Keep in mind the arms are static, they have an identical chair with adjustable arms for about $80 more.
A couple of other options - HON Ignition is around your price range and gets very good reviews. I don’t know if it’s available in stores anywhere, but it is on Amazon.
Another brand that I rarely see mentioned is SitOnIt seating. If I remember right they had the designers of Toyota’s seats design the original Focus chair. They have one called the Novo which might be at the top end of your budget, but they are very well built chairs.
As someone else mentioned though, if you have a used office furniture dealer nearby I would absolutely start there. $400-500 can buy a used Aeron, Leap, Fern, etc. and it should come with some sort of warranty.