Drafting task chairs for the professional, studio, school or home - how to choose wisely

You don't normally equate drafting task chairs with being comfortable. But if your job requires you to be sitting down for hours a day shouldn't comfort be one of your primary considerations?  Office ergonomics have made significant strides over the last decade or two especially where  task chairs are concerned. Ergonomics is the science of work and its primary purpose is to fit products and tasks together in such a way as to suit people working in a particular environment.

Finding a suitable cheap task chair or maybe even a heavy duty task chair for the appropriate task is relatively easy enough. A drafting task chair can be found online for virtually any task in any size or configuration needed. But is it a drafting task chair you can live with long term? Or in other words, is it suited for your particular environment. There are ways of knowing if the task chair you have your sights set on is the right one. The following are suggested guidelines to follow to ensure your making a sound choice:

• Is it an ergonomic task chair?  Look for a chair that conforms to ISO 9241 - ergonomics standards and guidelines . Ergonomic chairs are specially contoured to conform to the shape of our bottoms and our backs which are the two main contact points - unless its a specialized chair such as a kneeling task chair.

• A fully adjustable chair is a must. Does it adjust for height and tilt? The alternative to this is to have a highly adjustable desk but in all but the most specialized cases that option is prohibitively expensive.

• Does it have a swivel mechanism. This sounds like a non issue but its surprising how often this is overlooked and deemed unnecessary. Don't make that mistake.

• If mobility is important make sure it has dual casters that are suitable for any type of flooring.

Only deal with a merchant that has a no hassle return policy of at least 30 days in case you're not totally satisfied with your purchase. Also, find out from the merchant what the warranty period is for the drafting task chair and what's covered.

We hope the above guidelines have been helpful and will get you started on your way to finding the drafting task chair that's right for your office environment.