Author Topic: saddle chair for office use?  (Read 2086 times)

saddle chair for office use?
« on: 28 March, 2023, 11:50:35 am »
Anyone here used a 'saddle chair' for office work? (



They supposedly encourage a better posture, and I thought would keep lower back more mobile.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #1 on: 28 March, 2023, 12:21:32 pm »
No, but a friend has one. She's 76 and seems to have no spine etc problems. I've no idea how long she's been using it though and she's away at the moment, so can't find out. The one she's got looks more horsey than that and apparently comes in male and female versions –though the difference might be more marketing.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #2 on: 28 March, 2023, 01:41:59 pm »
We have one at work and generally fight over who gets to use it.  Some people love them, some hate them.  I do think it encourages better posture.

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #3 on: 28 March, 2023, 03:50:43 pm »
I have one at my home office. I quite like it but I don't think it is as much as a game changer as it is made out. But then again, I don't spend hours at a time at the computer. It is comfortable though.
I am often asked, what does YOAV stand for? It stands for Yoav On A Velo

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #4 on: 28 March, 2023, 04:00:22 pm »
'Dentists' models come in easy-to-sterilise vinyl, that looks very very sweaty.

Annoyingly, the same chair with a fabric cover is a great deal more money. 
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #5 on: 28 March, 2023, 06:33:18 pm »
mllePB has a seat similar in concept.  It is a padded tricorn shape and the horns curve gently upwards from the middle.  That's as good as I can describe it..

She acquired it whilst working in Germany in the nineties.  It's remarkably comfy and the base is dished allowing for a bit of rocking too.

Nice.  👍

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #6 on: 29 March, 2023, 08:23:41 am »
I had a saddle thing that sat on top of my normal chair when I was WFH, it was quite good at making sure my posture was OK and quite a good core workout - was tough to use it all day!

I moved back into an office role and had a much better desk chair, so left the saddle thing at home and eventually gave it to a friend with back issues, not sure how he got on with it.

edit - was one of these, I think: https://www.backinaction.co.uk/humantool

redshift

  • High Priestess of wires
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Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #7 on: 29 March, 2023, 09:06:41 am »
Tried one at Quay St when I used to rack cameras and couldn't get on with it. The standard chairs, or the kneeling chairs were better.
In 2014 when I was doing a lot of desk/computer work my shoulder (well, neck really) finally gave up on me. I switched to a standing position with my monitors at head height and that was a significant improvement. I stayed like that for two years until the project was finished. After that I used to prefer standing for most jobs, even soldering in the workshop. Thankfully the workshop benches were height adjustable.

I realise it probably doesn't help you but my solution was to try and avoid sitting down for long periods.

L
:)
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The all-round entertainer gets quite arsey,
They won't translate his lame shit into Farsi
Somehow to let it go would be more classy…

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #8 on: 29 March, 2023, 09:20:27 am »
I have trouble standing for long periods (after 15min, feels like hot, about to snap, wires down my back), and can't easily adapt my office desk. Maybe if I shelled out a load of money for a motorised adjustable desk I could do it.

Looking for an alternative to my (decent, comfortable) standard office chair to use for some of the time.

Have tried kneeling chairs in the past and found two problems:
- Height adjustment was slow, and therefore I'd leave them at one height (not good if you spend chunks of time writing in a book, and other times using a keyboard)
- Very hard on the knees. Uncomfortable after 3-4 hours.

<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #9 on: 29 March, 2023, 09:31:47 am »
I don't use my knees for my kneeling chair. I can't, currently, anyway. It's my shins that rest on the legs, which are sufficiently padded for me to be able to do it all day. Is this because I'm woman sized rather than man sized? It would be odd for a mass produced item to be better sized for the average female than the average male.
It's also not height adjustable, but then I don't do a lot of writing, just typing. I don't think I'd need a different height if I did write, mind?

Anyway, I tried a saddle chair and found it distracting. When I'm working I don't want to think about how I'm sitting.

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #10 on: 29 March, 2023, 11:27:40 am »
I have trouble standing for long periods (after 15min, feels like hot, about to snap, wires down my back), and can't easily adapt my office desk. Maybe if I shelled out a load of money for a motorised adjustable desk I could do it.


Some of our guys use something like this...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/COMHOMA-Standing-Converter-Adjustable-Computer/dp/B09BHZCSY1/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=Adjustable+Computer+Stand&qid=1680085446&sr=8-10

As for core when sitting, I've used a "balance cushion" for a couple of years now.

https://www.verywellfit.com/best-wobble-cushion-5188554

I don't even notice it now, but anyone else who sits on my chair does instantly.
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

thing1

  • aka Joth
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Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #11 on: 29 March, 2023, 11:32:15 am »
Our home offices has a pair of HAG Capisco Pluses.
They look a bit like sex apparatus in the more elaborate ways the user can mount themselves onto it, but it works well for me for computer work, especially with the high gas lift and a standing desk.

https://www.online-ergonomics.co.uk/product/hag-capisco-puls-8010/


Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #12 on: 29 March, 2023, 11:33:01 am »
That converter isn't large enough for my monitors and keyboard, but it is a nice idea.

I like the look of the wobble cushion. You don't find it sweaty?
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #13 on: 29 March, 2023, 11:41:49 am »
That converter isn't large enough for my monitors and keyboard, but it is a nice idea.

I like the look of the wobble cushion. You don't find it sweaty?

I'm sure other converters are available, and if not a bit of ingenuity could solve the space issue.  And no, the cushion has a velour type cover - unlike our vinyl covered chairs - so a double win.
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #14 on: 29 March, 2023, 01:38:58 pm »
I used to have lower back problems to point where all I could do was lie prone on the floor for hours and wait for the pain killers to work.  I found the balans chair effective, especially the ability to rock to and fro.  Sadly, at the time I couldn't afford one for myself.

I see there is also a saddle version:



https://chairinstitute.com/types-of-balans-chairs/


Move Faster and Bake Things

ian

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #15 on: 29 March, 2023, 09:53:07 pm »
Surely real men sit on a mechanical bucking bronco turned up to 11. Yeehaw.

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #16 on: 29 March, 2023, 10:48:57 pm »
I used to have one of those wobble cushions and liked it. Mine was one of these - I didn't find it sweaty, but there's a cover available. It did used to confuse anyone else who sat on my chair. I really wanted to sit on a yoga ball, but I wasn't allowed.

Nowadays, I sit on a rickety old dining chair most of the time. :facepalm:

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #17 on: 30 March, 2023, 07:48:55 am »
I used to have one of those wobble cushions and liked it. Mine was one of these - I didn't find it sweaty, but there's a cover available. It did used to confuse anyone else who sat on my chair. I really wanted to sit on a yoga ball, but I wasn't allowed.

Nowadays, I sit on a rickety old dining chair most of the time. :facepalm:

Explicitly banned by my employers, and quite right too. Get a proper adjustable chair for your back's sake.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #18 on: 30 March, 2023, 09:30:22 am »
Wobble cushions sound awful!

When I was doing up the French ruin, I used to drive an old van over, 1200km approx.  Because the seat didn't seem to be adjustable and I have long legs, I put a cushion on the seat.  Every journey with that arrangement gave me backache, and I didn't at first twig that it was because of the instability of the cushion.  More investigation showed that the seat was adjustable but a previous owner had got some junk wedged in the rail, stopping it moving back.  Once I got the seat sorted and ditched the cushion, I no longer suffered backache.
Move Faster and Bake Things

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #19 on: 02 April, 2023, 09:19:30 am »
I must admit, reading the thread title I was expecting a discussion around this sort of thing:-
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/708884983/upcycling-stool-old-bike-frame-with

We used to have the electrically adjustable standing desks where I worked in Sweden, they were great. I hadn't realised there were adaptors available; one of those products that seems obvious once you've seen one.

Now I'm down another ergo web search rabbit hole, thanks everyone.

Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #20 on: 02 April, 2023, 11:50:20 pm »
About 2 decades ago, one of the teachers at our son's elementary school got a grant from the parent-teacher group for new seating for her classroom.

The custodians suddenly had about 25 chairs to store somewhere, and her room had 25 "pilates / yoga / stability balls" (+/- 0.5 m diameter) (but without the little balance legs) for the kiddos to sit on.

The first day or two, much hilarity (9-year olds) as children fell off (often on purpose), but then they mostly settled down.  The micro-muscle activity needed to stay on top became learned, kids who were somewhat hyperactive had something to do (this was before fidget toys), and posture improved - can't slouch if sitting on a ball. 

I don't recall if the experiment continued to the next year or not.

Kim

  • Timelord
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Re: saddle chair for office use?
« Reply #21 on: 03 April, 2023, 12:59:44 am »
That wouldn't work with year 9s.  They'd stab them with compasses, like they used to do the balls of the computer meece.