[NickM]

Every Herman Miller chair I've tried (and several other brands of "ergonomic" chairs) seem to be designed in such a way that there's a big gap in support around the mid-back area, in-between the lumbar area and the shoulder blades. There's very firm, forward support for the lumbar spine and shoulders, and then this weird gap in the middle. This causes my mid-back to round into the empty space, which in turn causes my shoulders and neck to slump forward.

Judging from the photo, this chair looks like it has the same problem.

I can't for the life of me figure out how or why anyone considers these chairs to be comfortable. Maybe my back just has a weird shape or something, but these chairs seem to literally fight to keep you from sitting up straight with a healthy posture. And yet, everyone seems to love them. It feels like some sort of bizarre conspiracy.

To be clear, this is not just my initial impressions. Everyone loves these name-brand luxury chairs so much that I've owned three of them over the last ten years (a Mirra, an Embody, and a Humanscale Freedom), because I keep thinking maybe I just need a different model, or maybe I haven't figured out how to adjust the damn things properly. They all feel well-built and high quality, but they all feel more and more uncomfortable the longer I sit in them, and I can't find a way to use them that doesn't seem to cause progressively worse back and neck problems. I can't figure out where the disconnect is happening.

[encoderer]

Curious, are you using their lumbar insert? I used to and always found it uncomfortable. I later learned from a Herman Miller rep that most people shouldn’t use it and the chair provides support from the large mesh contact surface. Since removing it I’ve been way more comfortable, going on 5 years now.

[NickM]

Maybe that would've helped for the Mirra, though I did tend to keep it at its minimum setting anyway, since I also found it rather uncomfortable. But the Embody and Freedom chairs have no removable lumbar support to begin with....

[ghaff]

On the other hand, I really like it. But then I seem to really prefer having good lumbar support in general in cars etc.

[jdc0589]

ditto. the lumbar insert was REALLY painful for me. super comfortable without it.

[riffic]

Eames Aluminum Group, looks good, feels good.