Herman Miller the manufacturer of the Aeron® chair produces its flagship product in 3 sizes to enable people to select an office chair made for their body size, click here for the Size Selection Chart . It wanted to offer an office task chair which gives individual users a better personal fit and so makes it more tailor made than an off the shelf one size fits all product.
Most office chair manufacturers set out to make office seats that fit 95% of the population. However, most of the data used in anthropometric studies (the science of calculating body measurement) is to some degree, flawed.
The reason for this is that most of the studies come from military sources, which tend to have fewer very small and very large people and are therefore somewhat atypical.
Also, not enough attention has been given to the relationship of varying parts of the body’s frame.
It is perfectly possible to have two different people of the same gender and height but with markedly different leg lengths. Just think about when you are shopping for clothes and all the different leg lengths on trousers.
Not only that the variation in lower and upper leg length is yet another variable that causes discomfort for some office chair users.
Consequently, Herman Miller believe that office seats that purport to fit 95% of the population, may in reality mean that only 75% of office chair users are comfortably seated and this may even be as low as 60%, no one knows for sure.
Three Sizes of Aeron®
As a result of this information and their own unpublished survey results Herman Miller offer the Aeron® ergonomic office chair in three sizes in an effort to address these issues and cater for the widest possible range of office chair users.
This makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Just walk through any large office area and you see will a huge variation of body sizes among chair users.
If they are all using similar office seating it’s highly unlikely they will all be comfortably seated.
You might notice smaller light framed chair users perched on the edge of their chair seats, as sitting back in the seat causes discomfort to the backs of their thighs. For larger people the chair width is often a problem and taller people struggle to get their leg positioning right in a lot of office chairs.
So, let’s look at the three options in more detail. The three sizes of Aeron® chair are termed A, B and C.
Of the three sizes of Aeron® ergonomic chair, size B is the most popular for two reasons, first it caters most closely for the average sized person and second it is able to fit a broad range of differing body heights.
Size A is intended for the smallest users and size C is for the largest users. As you might expect there are areas of overlap where more than one size will fit certain chair users.
The Aeron® Size Selection Chart
The Size Selection Chart below shows how to select the most appropriate Aeron® chair, you simply need to consider your weight and your height and then consult the graph to determine which Aeron® is best for you.
If you are 5′ 4” or less and weigh less than 130 pounds then the choice is simple, you need an Aeron® size A. Or if you are 6′ 3” and weigh more than 180 pounds the Aeron® chair for you is a size C. Everyone else will need to study the chart to determine the best sized Aeron® for them.
There will be instances where two sizes would do and in these instances it’s probably best to go for the more popular of the two sizes.