News

Sep 23, 2023

Are Herman Miller Office Chairs Good for Gamers?

Herman Miller office chairs are often named the best chairs around, but are they

Herman Miller office chairs are often named the best chairs around, but are they actually better than their competition, or is it just brand power?

Herman Miller is a well-respected furniture company responsible for creating the design standards found in offices, hospitals, and government-owned public spaces. It's no surprise, then, that their gaming and office chairs are some of the best available.

Related: Are Secretlab Gaming Chairs Worth It?

Despite Herman Miller's prestigious lineup, most of their products are simply not designed for gamers. With industry leaders like Secretlab and Vertagear designing chairs that rival premium competitors and are more thoughtfully tailored to the needs of gamers, Herman Miller is no longer the obvious choice when it comes to getting the very best office or gaming chair. Instead, they’re running with the pack now, and that means gamers will want to consider all the factors that make a PC chair good or bad when thinking about whether a Herman Miller chair is the best choice for their needs.

Many people swear by Herman Miller chairs, but not everyone feels the same way. The main reason for this is the fact that Herman Miller office chairs are just that: chairs for the office. A majority of the office chair styles aren't ergonomic at all, instead opting for more plush padding, using a premium upholstery such as leather, or placing more focus on style than function. However, there are a handful of ergonomic office chairs available, as well as three gaming chairs that recently expanded Herman Miller's catalog. Some of the best Herman Miller chairs for gamers are made with breathable mesh, although the Herman Miller x Logitech G Embody is a notable exception.

These mesh options are made with soft fabric and either a Y- or X-shaped back support, both of which should be very familiar to anyone who's ever had an office chair. That's because Herman Miller isn't reinventing the wheel with their chairs and sticking to proven designs to maximize support for the average user. This style of support isn't always the best, and is better made for office settings, where the user is expected to stand up often, for at least a few minutes at a time.

One of their most lauded chairs is the Aeron office chair. This chair can be customized with different supports and armrests that can be changed while ordering or swapped out with a new one later on. The Aeron takes standard ergonomic design targeting pressure points and allows users to customize their chair on the fly, with plenty of knobs and switches that can adjust almost any function.

Related: Office Chairs vs. Gaming Chairs – The Verdict on Which is Better for Gamers

Herman Miller is wise to team up with Logitech, because their collaboration yielded a gaming chair with more advanced ergonomic supports. Their Embody chair uses a network of pressure points along the back of the chair to adjust support as gamers move around. Attached to a polymer sheet, the Backfit™ Adjustment automatically conforms to the user's body, providing lumbar, shoulder, and neck support.

The foam seat itself doesn't make any temperature sacrifices from not being made of mesh, either. Instead, the foam uses a unique copper-infused design that keeps users cool even after hours of use. It's a pretty clever solution to keeping seats cool without adding a ton of padding.

The mass appeal approach of Herman Miller makes their chairs really comfortable for a lot of people. In particular, big and tall people often mention that they like the high weight capacity, tall backs, and cooling designs. On the other hand, people who are shorter than average often find the chairs don't feel right. As for those in the middle, it really comes down to personal preference. Gamers should probably keep their gaze on the Aeron chair or the Embody chair, as these offer the best support for long periods of time.

Herman Miller is a design company and as such, their furniture is always at the cutting edge of whatever's trendy while also balancing a timeless simplicity that can fit into almost any space. Unfortunately, gamers don't care about what designers think looks good in an office or how much they impress guests during meetings, which is why Herman Miller has branched out into gaming chairs with Logitech as a trusted partner.

The Vantum, Aeron, and Sayl gaming chairs are very similar to Herman Miller's office fare, but the Embody has a different look altogether. The new and improved ergonomic support lattice on the back of the chair is not only very effective at keeping users comfortable, it looks super cool! It's transparent, so it shows the color of the back of the chair, which can be ice blue, bright lavender, dark seafoam, or smoky black. This pairs with the patterned shell to create a sci-fi look that goes great with RGB PC setups.

As far as durability goes, Herman Miller is one of the best chair brands on the market. They always use high-quality materials and stress test their designs to always meet industry standards. Most office chairs back up their durability claims with a 2-year warranty, while gaming chair brands tend to hand out 5-year warranties. What really solidifies Herman Miller's position as one of the most durable office chair brands is their surprising 12-year warranty, which covers against basically anything going wrong. While that lifespan seems far-fetched, it's important to keep in mind that Herman Miller mainly aims to provide long-lasting corporate office equipment, and that investment pays off in the long run.

Typically, cost is either the most important factor or not really that important at all. In the case of Herman Miller chairs, their pricing is definitely an outlier from comparable gaming chair brands. Every Herman Miller chair is more expensive than similar options from respectable companies like Secretlab and Razer, and not just a little more expensive. In some cases, Herman Miller chairs can cost four times as much as an industry standard gaming chair!

The full price range for Herman Miller chairs varies from as low as around $500 to over $4,500. The Herman Miller x Logitech G Embody is arguably their best gaming chair and has a list price of $1,695. On the other hand, our top gaming chair choice, Secretlab's Titan Evo, has a list price of just $519 and through even customizing the chair with premium materials or special edition skins, it's tough to have the Evo top $1,000.

The reasoning for these high prices is the extreme durability of the chairs. Herman Miller loves to advertise that their chairs are the last ones anyone will need to buy. That's certainly appealing to some, but it's tough to justify such a high cost for an item that will almost certainly be very outdated, in style and comfort, well before the lifespan of the chair ends.

Pros

Cons

Ergonomic designs range from standard to innovative

Way more expensive than other chair brands

Lots of mesh options

Not much better than other high-end gaming chairs

Very stylish designs

No good plush options

Incredible durability with a 12-year warranty

Herman Miller office chairs are excellent for professional settings, especially with their golden child the Aeron chair. However, for meeting the needs of gamers, Herman Miller falls quite short.

The ergonomic designs are made more for interrupted use rather than long sessions of stationary gaming, while the cosmetic designs are often either too boring or too stylized to work for gaming rooms.

Despite this, the Herman Miller x Logitech G Embody gaming chair is an impressive option, and one that should turn the heads of big and tall gamers who are always looking to stay cool while gaming. The thin foam is more similar to mesh than what most gaming chairs currently offer, while also utilizing copper-cooling to further enhance the seat. Additionally, the weight capacity for Herman Miller chairs are much higher than other chairs and the adjustable parts allow for a little extra room in the seat.

Herman Miller chairs are excellent office chairs, truly, but they aren't a great option for most gamers. Although some gamers may find the cooling capabilities too tempting to pass up, everyone else would probably be better off choosing a different chair brand.

The Herman Miller X Logitech G Embody Gaming Chair is a premium take by the luxury furniture giant, and it professes to be your daily source of comfort for work and gaming, backed by an impressive 12-year, 24-hour usage warranty.

More: The Best Gaming Chairs

Yes, Herman Miller offers some of the most ergonomic office chairs available.

Herman Miller chairs are available at a wide range of price points, with some options falling as low as $500 during sales and promotions. However, at the same time Herman Miller ergonomic chairs can be some of the most expensive in the business, with premium price tags floating between $3,500 and $5,000.

Herman Miller chairs typically have a maximum weight capacity of 300-350lbs.

Office chairs can vary wildly in their lifespans, with some chairs needing to be replaced every 1-2 years and others claiming over 10 years of life. However, most office chairs can be expected to last 5-8 years, depending on the type of chair it is. Herman Miller claims their chairs last an incredible 12 years or longer.

Most gaming chairs should last at least two years, but with both budget and high-end options, gaming chair lifespans can range anywhere from a few months to a little more than 5 years.

Miri is a creative writer with a passion for gaming and animation. Starting with the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, she is a lifelong console gamer and overall Xbox fangirl (especially with Game Pass existing!).She still loves Nintendo too though, and will sometimes throw a bone to PC games (if they have cute cats and/or apocalyptic societies). When she isn't writing or gaming, Megan loves to see art through webtoons, comics, anime, and other animated projects!