The Kings of Chairs | Herman Miller Embody vs Haworth Fern

The Herman Miller Embody and the Haworth Fern are what I consider the KINGS of chairs. But which chair is the king of kings? Let's get Ahnest!

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*HAWORTH SALE (All regions)*
Use code *YES24* for 15% OFF Open Box!
Sale Ends 11/30/24

*HERMAN MILLER SALE (All regions)*
Sale Ends 11/17/24

*Atlas Headrests for Fern and Embody*
*Use link for $5 off headrest*

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Table of Contents:
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0:00 - Comparison Categories/Intro
0:40 - Under Chair Functionality
3:10 - The Seat
6:39 - The Arms
7:26 - The Backrests
10:33 - The Lumbar
11:25 - Breathability
13:10 - Pricing/Warranty

[Ahnestly]

*HAWORTH SALE (All regions)*
Use code *YES24* for 15% OFF Open Box!
Sale Ends 11/30/24

*HERMAN MILLER SALE (All regions)*
Sale Ends 11/17/24

*Atlas Headrests for Fern and Embody*
*Use link for $5 off headrest*

*All links are affiliate links. Please use them as it costs you nothing, but helps this channel a LOT*

[riotdrone]

i bought the herman miller embody gaming edition and i'm blown away. i'm a skinny guy and i've never sat in a chair that hasn't made my ass hurt. this i can sit in forever and be super comfy. literally changed my life

[jiffjifferson]

I've tried both. I prefer the fern with leather back, leather head rest, and fabric seat cushion.
The Embody backrest is more narrow so it doesn't feel that great for ppl with wider backs.
The embody lack of arm adjust was also another issue. I have a desk with a keyboard tray and the fern arm adjustment makes day-to-day work a lot easier on my wrist.
The Fern leather backrest option doesnt feel as flexible as the fabric/mesh option.
Fern warranty is pretty amazing. At least for my area, they will send someone out to your house and replace/repair the chair free of charge.

[VicInCommentSection]

I've had the Herman Miller Embody for 2 years and 1 month, purchasing it soon after the pandemic started. At the time, I figured if I'm working 40+ hours per week at home, I should invest in a product that's better for my back. I actually found this Ahnestly channel and purchased the Embody based on the recommendations, so thanks, Mr. Ahn!

It's the best ~US$1, 500 product investment I've made, with my mattress being a close second. The only negative really is that it does squeak a bit if I move, as Mr. Ahn shows in this video, but it isn't a big deal.

I guess the only con is that I'm now back to working in the office part of the week, and well, I can really tell that chair really sucks.

[trmtnzr]

Bought my Embody 10+ years ago - still love it.

[chooooey]

FERN is our chair in the office and the best chair I've ever used. I am 5'3 woman with average east asian body. I have neck pain and the height (semi-high back) and mesh type material perfectly support my neck head and upper back. I have tried full-head support/ high-back and it gives me head and neck pain. This one supports my neck (from the top or C1) and the mesh type is gentle not hard on your muscles. For someone who is working too long in front of a computer and using mouse and keyboard (as an accountant), the swivel and adjustable height armrest is something I really need. They said it is kinda not sturdy or easily movable, but for me its perfect as you can swivel it by just moving your arms with just little effort, it follows your natural body movement. It is very helpful because you can change the position of your arm and shoulders and not just fix into a certain position that causes neck-shoulder-back muscle spams after a long day of work (of course you still need to match it with adjustable table and monitor). I do have a Lazy boy office chair at home, perfect lumbar support and everything yet I would still get neck spasms specially during busy days, just because it does not have a height and swivel armrest.
I really want to get the FERN. Though I've seen that there are available adjustable armrest being sold separately in the market (not Haworth) I'd probably just get that for now.

[theolaa]

I've got both on their way right now, I can't wait to try them and find out which one I prefer. So grateful for channels like yours existing.

[RemedieX]

May sound weird, but I love slouching on my Embody. Whenever I'm chilling or doing something that doesn't require me to be upright, I just slouch and it's super comfy. Also, being upright 24/7 is pretty unhealthy despite "ergonomics." It's important to switch up position a bit every now and then and stretch the body.

The only downside was the pixels in the back digging into my lumbar - as you mention in the video a tip for that and all. Nothing I did resolved that issue, even when sitting exactly how it wanted me to, it still didn't feel right until I grabbed some zip-ties and just pushed the pixels back enough to be perfect for my lumber and back. It's probably the most comfortable lumbar "support" I've ever used now. Love this chair

[disciprine]

Been using an embody for over 10 years. It's held up amazingly and is still just as comfortable

[mneonew]

I bought both to try them, and then keep one. There are no dealers near me that have both. I should say the HM customer service is much more prompt but the delivery service they use (in EU) is terrible. Haworth doesn’t respond to any of my messages but I did get the chair the next day.

The embody is a perfect chair for perfect people that have a perfect seating position. If you are flawed like me and don’t always sit perfectly, the Embody can be hell due to the fixed lumbar in the lower back area. I considered putting tie wraps on it just to get the lumbar to move back a few mms, that would already be sufficient for me. But why should I do this on a chair that costs 1400 euro?

I kept the fern and never looked back…. Although I do wish that Haworth would sell the Digital Knit to non U.S. markets. Sucks!

Btw I got the fern without lumbar but you can always put a pillow in the back should you change your mind. Some people put a pillow from IKEA in it.

[juansalazar]

man, you are amazing, there are a lot of paid reviews out there and finding a true review is much appreciated! subscribed and took my decition for the embody :)

[perativeX]

I tried both of these chairs but returned the Gaming Embody because the seating area was painful to sit on after a while. The handles at the front sides of the Embody that you use to pull forward to extend the seating area are rock solid plastic. So if you spread you legs slightly when you sit (like most guys do) your thighs are gonna be resting on that hard plastic instead of the seat padding in the centre. This caused me no end of pain whether i had the seat fully retracted or fully extended, so I ended up selling the Embody after about 6 months. I then got the Fern and found it much more comfortable. The fern has an actual proper thick cushion with no hard plastic edges on the seating area. The material was a little firm at first but after a month or so it became softer and its now really comfortable. The Embody definitely looks nicer but the fern wins on comfortability.

[joseph_p]

I really want an embody, it’s just hard to spend $2k on a chair.

[RAUDIRS]

These chairs are huge expenses and your reviews are extremely informative and seem honest. Thank you.

[peepumsgum]

Just got my Fern digital knit with all the bells and whistles a few days ago. Absolutely love it so far!

[MKequilibrium]

I've got fern and it's silent when you upgrade the noisy wobbling hand rests. Take them out from the chair base sleeves (you need to push from the bottom) and then insert a small plastic (1, 5-2mm thick) in between the sleeves and the arm rest inserts to fill the gap. You can also use a duck tape to tighten the inserts because they are from 2 parts so you could take the arm rests out but since they are not tight the whole arm rests are wobbly and noisy. When you duck tape the two parts together the arms rests are then sturdy and make no noise.
If you have lumbar and it starts to make squeaking noises you need to take the fabric down then the front mesh then the lumbar pillow and then you put some vaseline on the metal moving parts of the lumbar. Then you put everything back together and it's like new.

[theolaa]

I ended up going with the Fern. I really liked the recline on the Embody, but the seat was just too hard for me. I'm a skinny guy and I needed it to be more cushy. The Fern, on the other hand, was just what I wanted. The recline is almost as good as the Embody's, and every other aspect I felt was an improvement.

[Donivar]

I have been using the Embody for a few weeks. The fact that it has superb pelvic support and also being able to adjust the back tension makes a world of a difference compared to other chairs in my opinion. I think that makes it provide better support for a wider gamut of bodies.

In my case, when I received I was in a point where I had so much pressure on my lower back that I couldn't sit in other chairs for more than 30min without having to rest in bed for another 30min. My productivity at work was at its lowest and I was very concerned with my back. And when standing up I could feel a lot of pressure on my lower back, similar to what it feels to clench your hand into a fist... just that it was all the time, I couldn't relax those muscles one bit.

The moment I sit on the embody, all that pressure dissapeared. I had perfect support on this chair, my back felt more rested than laying on the bed (and I had recently bought a premium mattress). Right now my back feels renewed, there is no pain at all either when using the chair or when standing up. I can sit all ay on that chair without issues (and boy, I needed to catch up with work due to me not being able to sit for even an hour in previous weeks so I sit on the embody a lot these past couple weeks).

It was extremely expensive, specially in my country, where an Embody costs more than what 95% of he people here earn in a month, but wow, I don't regret it one bit.

[BrianHSC]

I've searched and tried hundreds of chairs literally for years to find the perfect chair. Finally settled on antique chair.

[bignil]

Thanks for your reviews @ahnestly finally pulled the trigger on the embody! Been watching your videos for a few years now and appreciate everything you do! I've referred you to anyone I know looking at office chairs