I badly need a new chair.
I put the thumbnail chair there just for fun. It's called the Vantum and it's ~$700. I don't need a Cadillac chair. A Honda is more than adequate. I just don't know what that'll cost.
- What's the absolute minimum you'd spend to get a Honda chair? $100? $200? More?
- What brands have the best reputations?
- What brands should be avoided?
- What questions am I forgetting to ask?
---
The cough backstory
The plain-old desk chair I bought just 14 months ago already has a serious crack. I noticed it today. I don't think it can be repaired. Plus the crack will expand making the chair worthless. It's just a question of how fast. Worst of all - could the chair collapse all-of-the-sudden sending me crashing to the floor?
Before I bought it I avoided the cheapest chairs. I spent a bit more - $80 - in hopes the damn chair would last at least a couple years. So much for that!
Don't buy anything without putting your ass on it first. Everyone's body is different, and will interact with any given chair in different ways. Yeah, there's adjustability, but there's also some design choices that can't be adjusted around.
Me, I absolutely loathe the way those gamer racing seats squish my shoulders. In a car that design makes sense because the loss of comfort is worth the safety. At a desk it's pointless. OTOH for someone with a thinner frame it might be fine.
Go to a physical store and actually sit on some. Play with the adjustability and see what works and what doesn't. My current chair is a secondhand I-don't-know-what that cost me $50 at a thrift store and it's the most comfortable one I've had in years. Branding is overrated, especially when it's something as personal as a chair.