I’ve been without a decent desk chair for a few years. When I first moved to Baltimore, I took a cheap, uncomfortable, wooden chair with me because that’s all I had room for in the truck. I was going to be hired and paid a handsome salary in less than a month and would have plenty of money to buy a better one. Ah, the naivety.
Two years later, with a good job and my own home office, I’ve finally plunked down the cash on a good desk chair. I was looking for something along the lines of the Aeron chair: mesh seat and back, adjustable, and stylish—without the Herman Miller price tag.
What I found was the “Office Depot Brand Quantum Mesh Mid-Back Task Chair” (which sounds almost as catchy as “Aeron Chair”). What it lacks in name-dropping and the high-end touches of the HM version, it makes up for in price. At about $300, it’s about 75% cheaper than the original Aeron. Even at that price, everyone I’ve talked to thinks I’m crazy for spending that much on a desk chair; what makes sense for me is that it’s the most comfortable computer chair I can afford. Considering the amount of time I spend at my desk, a little comfort goes a long way.