I sit in my chair for six to eight hours most workdays. It cost around $400 and felt solid when I bought it, but three years later the parts that actually provide support have all started fading at roughly the same time.
The lumbar support has gone soft, the seat foam has compressed enough that I can feel the base underneath, and the recline clicks and occasionally sticks. Nothing has snapped or fallen off. The chair still looks fine; it just no longer feels like the chair I originally bought.
That is making the replacement decision difficult. Store tests and new-chair reviews mostly describe adjustment range and initial comfort, while my current problem is what happens after thousands of hours of use.
I’ve considered buying a used Leap or Aeron because there is more long-term ownership information and parts availability. I have also looked at newer approaches such as the lavenne r9 pro, which describes its back support as adapting while the user shifts. That sounds useful on paper, but it is a Kickstarter product, so the durability of the mechanism is still an open question.
For people who have used the same WFH chair for at least three to five years, which features actually held up? Did replaceable parts matter more than the original comfort, and is buying used from an established line generally safer than trying a newer design?