Steelcase
The contract-furniture giant whose task chairs lead on adjustability and durability
- Founded
- 1912
- Country
- United States
- Warranty
- 12-year warranty covering the mechanisms, gas cylinder, arms, foam, and casters for 24/7 use, with the frame covered for the life of the original owner, on par with the best in the category.
- Support
- Sold through a global dealer network plus authorized remanufacturers; parts are plentiful and the chairs are highly repairable, which is why decade-old units stay in service on the secondary market.
Overview
Steelcase, founded in 1912 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is the world’s largest office-furniture maker and Herman Miller’s chief rival. Its Leap and Gesture chairs are fixtures of corporate offices and a perennial top recommendation, prized for deep adjustability and commercial-grade durability. Because Steelcase sells in huge volume to businesses, its chairs also feed an enormous used-and-remanufactured market that makes them some of the best values in premium seating.
Is it worth it?
Steelcase is worth it for buyers who want maximum adjustability and a chair built to outlast a decade of daily use, and it is arguably the smartest value in the category bought remanufactured, often at half the price of new. Those set on breathable mesh or an iconic look may prefer Herman Miller.
Steelcase reports
All reports
Best for Arm SupportSteelcase
Steelcase Gesture
Watch how you actually work for an hour: keyboard, then phone, then tablet, then leaning back for a call. The Steelcase Gesture exists for that person. Its ball-and-socket arms rotate a full 360 degrees, the widest-ranging armrests on any task chair, and follow your hands from one device to the next. Wirecutter kept it as its top office-chair recommendation for the better part of a decade, and beneath the arms it is a proper Steelcase: 3D LiveBack, commercial-grade build, 12-year warranty. The catches: at around $1,499 it costs more than the more adjustable Leap V2, the lumbar curve is fixed-height (the optional add-on has a genuine complaint file), and the upholstered seat runs warmer than mesh.
Best ValueSteelcase
Steelcase Leap V2
Seven hundred dollars. That is what a remanufactured Steelcase Leap V2 routinely sells for, re-upholstered, re-cylindered, and covered by a fresh 12-year dealer warranty, and it may be the single best number in premium office seating. New at $1,399 the case is nearly as strong: the LiveBack backrest flexes with your spine, and almost everything on the chair moves (4D arms, a seat-depth slider, a lumbar tunable for height and firmness), so it fits a wider range of bodies out of the box than the Aeron. Corporate fleets have kept these in service 15-plus years. The compromises are unglamorous ones: an upholstered seat that runs warmer than mesh, and styling that says office furniture rather than design icon.