Seat-on review: Herman Miller Embody

The absolute top of the line in ergonomic chairs, Herman Miller's Embody is a striking, modern seating solution with a striking, modern price tag. $1,600 gets you into the Embody, but once you're in you may never want to get out.

Anyone familiar with the Aeron will see its lineage in the Embody, but the similarities largely end at the design aesthetic. Unlike the Aeron, the Embody's back is fully supported by a plastic skeletal system, which supports your back from top to bottom. Lean back and the Embody pivots above the lumbar area. Reach to your left and flip a switch and you can recline the Embody completely (from the waist) -- settings range from virtually upright to about 45 degrees back, before the "stop" kicks in. Altogether the back adjustments are something you'll fiddle with constantly throughout the day as you adjust your posture periodically. Also of note: The back of the chair is quite narrow. A big shift from the "winged" design of the Aeron, the top of the Embody is barely wider than my shoulders.

Other adjustments are a little less exciting. The seat moves up and down of course, as do the armrests (and much more easily than the Aeron's). Moving the seat forward and back is more difficult than the instructions make it out to be (it involves yanking two handles on either side of the seat forward), but some users may find it useful. I also didn't feel a lot of difference in the "Backfit" adjustment, which lets you adjust the curvature of the back of the chair to fit your spine. Maybe my spine is just too strange for your average desk chair. Either way, it felt pretty good whether I had it dialed to "flat" or "curved."

The only adjustment that didn't work for me was the width of the armrests. These can be pushed out so that you have a wide, armchair-like sitting experience or pulled in for a really tight, cozy sitting situation. The problem is that the arms come a little too far in, and to move them, you basically grab them with both hands and push or pull. This is fine if you're pushing them out to get up, but it can be a real problem if you pull them in after you sit down. On day one I pulled one arm a little too hard and crashed it -- hard -- right into my ribs... a painful lesson I have tried to avoid repeating since, with limited success. Now I fear the arms on the chair.

The Embody is available in 13 colors and designed to be 95 percent recyclable -- though who will recycle a $1,600 chair (rather than resell it, or will it to their progeny) I'm not entirely sure. I do know it's extremely comfortable (better than the Aeron) and allows for a myriad of quick, ergo-friendly adjustments. The design is quite the conversation piece, too. I'm already sad about having to send it back.