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Chairs Buying Guide

The choice of office chairs is huge, which makes it all the more difficult to find the right model for your own needs and requirements. Since we spend a large part of the day sitting, it is essential to find a suitable chair that can be adjusted to our physical needs and prevent back pain. For this reason, we have compiled this chair buying guide, in which you will find many useful tips and interesting explanations about our chair assortment. Discover our large selection of brands and own brand chairs with a wide variety of designs and our extensive range of visitor, conference and work chairs.

Which chair suits you best?

At Viking, we offer a variety of office chairs that are tailored to the widest range of needs and requirements. Discover our large selection of brands and own brand assortment with a wide variety of designs and features.

Office Chairs

If you spend up to 8 hours sitting at a desk, you need a good office chair with high comfort level and attractive design. Aesthetically pleasing, the chair should help achieve an ergonomically correct seating posture to minimise work-related stress. The adjustment options are the key for the additional comfort.

Ergonomic Chairs

Ergonomic chairs are designed for long hours of daily work where the recommended seated time frame go beyond the normal hours. In addition to their ergonomic design, what really sets these office chairs apart is a higher number of adjustment functions.

Executive Chairs

The executive chair is designed for shorter periods of time up to five hours a day, and often comes with fewer adjustment options. The executive chair is particularly suitable where there is a lot of contact with customers or business partners, and where creating a senior image is important.

Draughtsman Chairs

Draughtsman chairs are particularly suitable for people who often have to switch between seating and standing or who need to move a lot during their work as in warehouses, laboratories, medical practices or production facilities.

Seating Time

Whether you are just sitting down to reply to a few emails or spending hours on end behind your desk, the amount you spend working is an important consideration while selecting your office chair. At Viking, you can find an extensive range of office chairs that meet different needs in terms of daily usage.

Up to 5 Hours/Day
  • Provides the basic necessary comfort for light usage
  • Comparatively affordable
  • Has the essential adjustment features like seat height adjustment
Between 5 and 8 Hours/Day
  • Better ergonomic support for medium usage
  • Offers additional adjustment features such as tilting tenseness
  • Optimal for home-office settings
Up to 24 Hours/Day
  • Extremely high adjustability, with multi-adjustable armrest/headrests
  • Extensive lumbar support
  • Ergonomic upholstery ensures full body comfort

Material

While the seats and backrests of most chairs are cushioned with a thick foam filling, there is a large selection of materials for the seat covers. While the type of cover greatly influences the appearance of the chair, it should also increase the comfort of the occupant.

Mesh

A mesh cover is an extremely breathable and flexible fabric, and is often used to span across backrests, helping to ensure good air circulation around the body.

Fabric

Probably the most popular cover material for office chairs is a fabric covering. Not only is it particularly durable and long-lasting, it is also available in the widest range of colours. Unlike leather, fabric is a warm material and breathable at the same time.

Leather & Imitation Leather

Chairs with leather covers lend an air of elegance and exclusivity. Leather is a natural product with unique properties.

For those who prefer an animal-free option, chairs are also available with an imitation leather cover. These are just as easy to clean, and unlike natural leather, do not show any irregularities, but have a uniform, consistent surface.

Adjusting your chair

Everyone has their own seating habits and a unique physical build. A good office chair should therefore have a wide range of adjustment options so that it can be individually tailored to the physical dimensions of its occupant and help to prevent back pain.

  • Seat height: the seat height should be set so that the soles of both feet are flat and in complete contact with the floor. Also, the thighs and lower legs should form a right-angle when seated.
  • Backrest: the form and size of the backrest should match the back of the user and at the very least be height-adjustable. However, it is also vital that the backrest supports the lumbar region in the lower back. All of our ergonomic office chairs have lumbar support.
  • Seat depth and area: use the entire sitting area of the chair. You can achieve this by sitting far enough back in the chair to ensure your back is in full contact with the backrest and there is a approximately a hand’s width between the back of your knee and the front of the seat.
  • Armrests: armrests should help relieve the burden on the shoulders and neck. Ideally, they should be height-adjustable so that when moving forward toward the desk, the abdomen touches the desk first, and not the armrests. To achieve the correct setting, the armrests should preferably be height-adjustable.
  • Neck and head support: the neck and head support should be adjusted to the height of the neck in order to help relieve the stress on the neck. This must at the very least be height-adjustable. However, in terms of ergonomics, a headrest is not strictly necessary.
  • Castors: these should not only be robust and of high quality to withstand intensive daily use, but they should also match the type of floor. Our chairs are fitted with castors for carpet flooring as standard. However, castors for hard floors can also be bought for most chairs.

Quality demands

Viking places great value in offering high-quality, excellent products. This is our top priority when it comes to office chairs, which is why all models in our Niceday and Realspace ranges are subject to intensive tests and are required to meet a wide range of European standards.

These standards comprise of various factors including the seating time, load-bearing capacity, and roller capabilities. This overview provides a summary of the standards that the different chairs are required to meet before they can be included in our range

  • Office Chairs: EN 1335-1, EN 1335-2, EN 1335-3 (incl. EN 1022).
  • Heavy-load chairs: BS 5459-2
  • Chairs for professional use: EN 16139 (incl. EN 1728 and EN 1022)
  • Chairs for domestic use: EN 12520 (incl. EN 1728 and EN 1022)
  • Chairs for outdoor use: EN 581-1, EN 581-2 (incl. EN 1728 and EN 1022)

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