Drafting chairs and drafting stools fall into the category of the most utilized tools in a designer's inventory. Not only do designers use them on a daily basis but at times even hours at a stretch. All those times when you feel like throwing your equipment out the door, your chair is one of the few that you actually need.
For many designers the terms drafting chair and drafting tool are used interchangeably. This is one of the most common misconceptions of designers and those who have used their fair share of both will tend to agree.
The thing is, a drafting stool is a very basic device. Its main objective is to hold you up and most stools rarely provide any comfort. A drafting chair however tends to not only provide a lot more comfort but a lot more utility as well. Drafting chairs are the undisputed champ in this particular comparison for a large number of reasons.
Let's take a look at the numerous ways in which drafting stools differ from drafting chairs.
Armrests are one of the main differences of drafting stools and chairs. Most stools do not have armrests and the ones that do are usually an add-on. The presence of an armrest in a drafting chair is of the utmost importance. Most times when we are designing something we need to take breaks. Armrests provide comfort and support to our little, well deserved break times. Most people that have experienced the lack of an armrest in a drafting stool have made it a point to buy add-ons or purchase a new chair altogether.
The backpiece is another integral component that most drafting stools lack and this is extremely frustrating for many designers. A backpiece is the sole unit of support for your back. Not only does it provide basic support and comfort but it helps prevent a magnitude of illnesses and conditions that may be developed without it. Stools generally lack backpieces and this in turn makes them alarmingly unsafe and totally unadvisable for designers that work long hours.
The padding of a drafting chair is by far better than a drafting stool for a number of reasons. Mainly stools only provide padding on the main seat area since there is no backpiece whereas a drafting chair will be padded at the arms, seat, back and pretty much every where your body will fit into.
So as you can see, there are a great number of reasons that a drafting chair is better than a drafting stool. Most experienced designers will advocate the same and if you've been wondering what to look for then these points should give you a better idea.