Geartest.com Herman Miller Aeron chair real world review [2]

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Aeron chair detail - lumbar support and armrest

Aeron chair: Design features

The chair's features make it clear that its designers put a great deal of thought into the Aeron before they built it.

Geartest.com's test model featured independently adjustable urethane-padded arms that can be raised or lowered to different heights and swivelled inwards, straight ahead or outwards. The adjustable lumbar support slides vertically to provide additional lower back support if the user finds the support provided by the suspension material insufficient. The pneumatic seat height adjustment slides smoothly up and down, making it easy to adjust the chair as frequently as required throughout the day. The forward seat tilter helps those with knee or back problems get up from the chair without straining.

If you're in the mood to replicate a rocking chair's relaxing ride in the Aeron, you can adjust the tilt tension control to the desired resistance, slide the tilt limiter control all the way back to prevent an abrupt stop in mid-rock, and rock away.

Of course, the chair swivels a full 360 degrees, or more. The lightness of the carbon fiber and graphite materials used in the chair make it easy to turn the chair left and right with a gentle push from your toes or turn of your hips. A light tap easily imparts enough energy to spin you through three or four complete revolutions.

Perhaps the Aeron's most striking feature is the mesh-like material stretched over the chair's frame. Herman Miller calls the trademarked synthetic 'Pellicle', and says it took years to develop. The material warps itself to match the anatomical idiosyncrasies of the person sitting in the chair, moving and stretching with the user's movements, providing continuous support. It's a sensation that takes some getting used to.

The material's design also serves another purpose. The holes in the elastic weave allow air to flow through, and heat and perspiration to escape from the body instead of building up between you and the seat back -- no more peeling yourself away from a chair on a hot summer day.

Other details make the chair a delight to use.

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