If you’re in the market for a new ergonomic office chair, you’ll probably hear a lot of people talk about the many advantages of a mesh office chair. What are mesh chairs good for? Well, while that’s a debatable subject all on its own, a lot of experts can tell you that the key to buying a good enough office chair is to make sure it’s designed using breathable mesh material.
Mesh chairs have slowly taken over the market since they were first developed in the 1990s, and today you can’t find even one online store that doesn’t try to convince its buyers to consider the remarkable advantages of these chairs.
What Are Mesh Office Chairs and Why Were They Developed?
Before looking at what the main advantages of a mesh office chair are, we have to take a closer look at what mesh office chairs really are, why they were designed, and what their history is.
Before the 1990s, the following scenario was quite prevalent: you might have had to be seated for 2-3 hours at a time, working at a regular desk job during warm, summer days, and even though the air conditioner was working overtime to keep you cool, you were still sweaty when you got up.
When Herman Miller’s Aeron chairs hit the market, they became an instant hit, because they addressed this precise problem. They were the first mesh chairs, and they were made to channel airflow around the body, so that the user will be kept cool during hot summer days.
While the first Aeron chairs were extremely expensive, the market soon diversified, and the technology became available just about anywhere, with dozens of manufacturers coming up with their own versions of the original mesh chair.
The Way Mesh Office Chairs Improve Breathability
Not all mesh office chairs are made the same. To understand which ones are worth your money, it’s important to know more about the ingenious design of the best chairs and how they are able to achieve their results.
Mesh office chairs feature lightweight fabrics arranged in mesh configurations that are best suited to make the fabric more breathable. The thickness of the fabric, the quality of the foam padding and the texture of the mesh all work together to ensure that you don’t have to sweat as much, even if your AC unit isn’t working properly.
Good Support, Lower Cost and High Quality Design
Since mesh office chairs are designed with more focus on the quality of the foam padding they use, it usually happens that the padding is actually of superior quality than that of leather chairs or other types of ergonomic chairs. Most modern day mesh chairs also feature outstanding designs that look much better than a traditional office chair, aside from being more serviceable.
Finally, one of the best advantages of a mesh office chair is its price. While the first mesh chairs were exceedingly expensive, newer models are available that cost even less than $100. Even though the quality comparison isn’t the same when considering a $100 and a $400 model, you’ll find that even the least durable or impressive mesh chairs can hold their own when compared to other designs.
