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I find the polypropylene shells infinitely more comfortable and more attractive than the fiberglass shells. The fiberglass shells just look cheap to me and remind me, even in that beautiful Eames shape, of elementary school cafeteria chairs.

I don't know about SF, but if you want to see the polypropylene in person, check out Room and Board. They sell two Eames dining chairs (polypropylene shells with metal Eiffel bases) that you can test out.

I believe the whole controversy is usually around the fact that the fiberglass one is manufactured like the original -- on the original equipment Modernica claims -- and Herman Miller's is in a more environmentally friendly (they say it's recyclable) plastic.

Not much difference in price, so i think your decision comes down to the look of fiberglass vs. smooth plastic and how eco conscience you are.

an original is the... made in the right era and have a certain swagger.
the new ones are cheap looking, and remind me of 6th grade chair plastic. i.e. too much spent on old, bruised memories.

the modernica ones look great. im sure you would be happy with one of those..

I have an orange fiberglass rocker that I absolutely adore - it's one of my favorite things. I'm so glad we didn't get the plastic - it just looks cheap to me. We bought ours at Inside Modern on Gough -

http://www.insidemodern.com/modernica/

They have a bunch of the fiberglass chairs in their showroom.

I purchased an Eames rocker from DWR rather than Modernica.
The chair DWR sells is a Herman Miller product; (from my perspective) Herman Miller is a company with environmental principles, and the products have a high resale value. I was told by the DWR salesperson the polypropylene shell is more durable than the fiberglass (as I recall) due to cracks and fading).

I suggest placing a rug under the chair to prevent wear on the runners.

We bought the Modernica fibreglass version after seeing and dismissing the plastic version at DWR. I found the plastic version looked nice from afar but close up just looked cheap. I love the fibreglass version and the material seems to have more depth, but it's all a matter of taste. Get what you prefer.

I also think the plastic version feels flimsy and cheap. The "school cafeteria" feel of the fiberglass is actually one of the things I like about that version - it feels nostalgic.

That said, it's kind of apples and oranges and you truly need to sit in both to find out which you prefer. Even if it takes some looking around (although I couldn't tell you where), promise yourlsef you won't buy one or the other until you've tried both.

I own both (in different rooms, one eiffel, one rocker both in white). I find the poly shell to be more comfortable. This is to say more flexible. On the other hand, the poly shell seems to attract a lot of dust--even on it's underside.
the fiberglass shell from modernica is available in more colors and base styles; is harder, glossier and seemingly more scratch resistant. the fiberglass also has a really nice translucent quality.
i think you will be happy with either chair. i found both of mine on craigslist, but if i were buying new and i could be picky, i would probably go with the fiberglass.

I have two Modernica fiberglass armshell rockers (in moss and elephant). I love them. I looked at the Herman Miller "Eames" brand version and it looks cheap - it is the Eames shape, but by no means the Eames look.
In the same way that the original design Eames Storage units have exposed plywood edges, the visible irregular fibers in the Modernica version draw attention to the application of industrial materials to decorative purpose - which is what I love about Eames design.
The "Eames" branded version from DWR or wherever looks plasticky and productified.
Also, remember that the Modernica version have the black bumpers underneath which look engineered and cool whereas the Herman Miller version has been re-designed to incorporate the bumper element into the armshell material itself.
The choice is obvious for anyone who think the Eameses knew what they were doing and care to respect the integrity of their designs.

There's a furniture shop on the north side of lower Gough in Hayes Valley that sells Modernica - they probably have this chair...

The fiberglass, without question. Fiberglass is much more sturdy, while the plastic ones are sorta bendable. Also, and this is hard to explain, but the way fiberglass ages and wears is sorta beautiful. The plastic ones simply scratch and slowly begin to looks super cheapy.

There's a reason why they remind you of school cafeteria chairs. Those were very likely original stackable Eames fiberglass shell chairs.
About ten years ago I found more than 100 Eames fiberglass chairs in a dumpster at a hospital that was being remodeled. I only had a need for four chairs at the time and that's all I took from the dumpster. This was before anyone thought these things had any value. I should have taken a lot more of them.

I'm heavily in the pro-fiberglass camp. Admittedly, all mine are vintage (which I prefer, because I like the "used" look), but if I were to buy new, I'd avoid the polypropylene ones. My apologies if this offends anyone, but they look cheap to me. Just goes to show how everyone's aesthetic is different. At the end of the day, you have to look at them for yourself and decide which you prefer.

Like casiep above, I bought a fiberglass chair from Inside Modern on Gough. The folks there are super-nice. I think I got the chair within a week of ordering it (delivered directly to me at no extra charge, if I recall correctly).

I agree with the pro-fiberglass crowd. I have one from Modernica and the sturdy but transluscent character just seems light years more aesthetically pleasing than the poly ones I looked at. And as it ages, the fiberglass just gets better and better as the "texture" of the fibreglass gets more visible.

The poly ones just looked cheap and like something you'd buy from Ikea or Target. (Not to knock either, but generally speaking, I find Ikea furniture to scream 'Ikea' in a cheap, disposable kind of way.)

Inside Modern is the name of the store in Hayes Valley that sells Modernica version of Eames.

I just bought a white Modernica one on sale a few weeks ago, and it arrived today. Before purchasing, I had the exact same question in mind. The Herman Miller one does look nice, but up close it almost looks too stark (not sure if that's the right word?)

In any case, what really sold me on the Modernica ones were that they are available with a walnut base -- the white chair walnut base is an AMAZING combo! Much nicer than the maple runners, but that's just my opinion...

ten_eighteen-

I have the Modern white rocker with the walnut base too, and I love the combination!

I just bought a white shell w/ black base and walnut rockers from Inside on Gough. The people were very helpful and in the end I think I made the right decision in getting the fiberglass version over the plastic DWR version. Go check them both out but I agree, the fiberglass just looks better in real life and has a much nicer feel.

The "recyclable" argument presumes that yr local municipality accepts polypropylene or that you will pay to have it taken away and recycled by a specialty company -- I've never heard of a city that accepted bulk plastic for curbside or collection recycling.

Besides, if you're really concerned about the footprint, buy a vintage fiberglass chair and avoid purchasing another new product.

buy vintage

i just bought a modernica version off of craigslist. I love it. Although the eames license is worth something that plastic is to soft and bendy for me. See pics here