Chaps not included
Iâve been trying to find a really comfortable office chair for ages. I used to use one of those kneeling chairs, but found that the pressure on my knees was too much after a short period, even though the chair kept my back in a comfortable and natural position. Since we moved, Iâve been using our landlordâs standard office chair, but I donât find it comfortable and my shoulders and back are beginning to suffer.
I came across the Bambach Saddle Seat, and really liked the idea. I used to ride when I was younger (with an enjoyable return to the saddle in Brazil), and I always found sitting in a saddle very comfortable and natural. I seem to automatically sit up straight in a saddle, with my shoulders relaxed and pushed back rather than rounded forwards. Of course, it could just be a conditioned response to all those years of my slightly frightening riding teacher barking âSit up straight! Shoulders back! Chest out!â at me like a Drill Sergeant. So the Saddle Seat looked ideal, but I really didnât have £400-plus that it costs.
Then I saw the T2000 Saddle Stool at Natural Living: it seemed to be a very similar design, lacking some of the adjustability of the Bambach Seat, and perhaps slightly less high quality in finish, but only £99 including delivery and VAT. I got some money for my birthday, so I ordered one; weâll need a new office seat when/if we move house anyway. Iâve been really pleased with it. I felt immediately at home on it, and I find working on the computer so much more comfortable and natural. My shoulders and lower back in particular donât complain now, and because of the way that you sit astride the stool, it doesnât restrict the circulation at the back of your knees the way that standard office chairs do. Because thereâs no back on the chair, your upper body is much more mobile, and I find myself twisting around to reach things behind me, which must be a good thing for the mobility of my back. It even seems to have improved my typing accuracy!
Above all, itâs just fun to mount your saddle when you get down to work. When Iâm reading from the screen without typing, Iâve taken to resting my hands on the âpommelâ of the saddle, as if Iâm surveying the herd out on the plains. If no-oneâs around, I might even âgallopâ my saddle stool across the laminate yelling âGiddyup!â. I just wish I could get one for work too.
1
Hi Yo Silver!----- Did you sit on it to watch Dr Who?
by Jonathan Briggs @ 15/04/2006 6:04 pm • Permalink •
2
Buying one new, I mean.
by Milan @ 15/04/2006 8:04 pm • Permalink •
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You don't have a spare kneeling chair sitting around now, do you? I really like those things, but can hardly justify buying one for the single year I have left in Oxford.
by Milan @ 15/04/2006 8:05 pm • Permalink •
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Jonathan Briggs: That too
No, I watched Doctor Who from the (front of) the sofa. The writing is still great, but I still think that David Tennant can't hold a candle to Eccleston.
Milan: Afraid not. Mr. Bsag uses it for painting. Most of the time he stands up, but when he sits down, he uses the kneeling chair. He's got more robust knees than me.
by bsag @ 16/04/2006 10:05 am • Permalink •
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More than I dear, more than I (the "have" is clearly implied!) - Oooh, I've come over all Brian Sewell.....
by Jonathan Briggs @ 16/04/2006 11:05 am • Permalink •
6
I see.
I am thoroughly amused by the image of your new seating system. It makes William Gibson's term for a certain kind of computer user (cowboys) much more appropriate.
by Milan @ 16/04/2006 2:05 pm • Permalink •
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Do they do a Queen Victoria version? You know......... Sidesaddle.
by Jonathan Briggs @ 16/04/2006 6:05 pm • Permalink •
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I immediately went looking for an Australian distributor and discovered the Bambach is Australian! which makes it slightly cheaper here (~£330) but still pretty dear. Searching for something like your T2000, I found this Finnish design, with this somewhat intriguing warning:
by Audrey @ 17/04/2006 4:04 am • Permalink •
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The bottom photograph in the Finnish design link web page looks like the perfect working position to me perhaps for one handed typing
by Keith @ 17/04/2006 12:05 pm • Permalink •
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Milan: Yes, it does fit quite well with that image. But it's actually also an awfully comfortable way to sit.
Jonathan Briggs: No
I've always thought that side-saddle was one of the more ridiculous inventions supposedly for the benefit of my sex. It's just as well that I was born when I was---I don't think I would have made a very good woman pre-1930s or so. I would probably have been put in a mad-house for the sin of wanting to wear trousers and sit astride a saddle.
Audrey: I suspect that the comments are to do with hip width. They mention that some of their models are adjustable for width, which might be necessary for men with narrower hips. I think that Bambach also make their products in two widths for the same reason. Either that, or the 'men's version' doesn't have a 'pommel' to avoid uncomfortable compression of their equipment.
Keith: Yes, that's a pretty odd photo, really.
by bsag @ 17/04/2006 4:05 pm • Permalink •
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