Steelcase is a huge American furnishings company, that designs and manufactures anything you could ever want in your office space (and much besides). And at the core of this monsoon of products are 11 office chairs, top of which is the Gesture. It's a thoughtfully designed ergonomic chair with a flash of style on top of a solid build. It is, to my eyes, the most aesthetically attractive chair that Steelcase produce, but how did it fair in my multi-month test and review of its build, comfort and ergonomic features?
Spoiler – it's made it's way into my list of the best office chairs for back pain guide, among 11 of the absolute best ergonomic chairs and stools available right now. But it's definitely not perfect. Let's delve into it...
Assembly
As you can see from the image above, assembly is minimal with the Gesture. It's about as simple and easy as it gets (apart from the chairs that come pre-assembled, of course). Fit the core into the wheel base, put the chair seat on top of that, and push down – and that's it! You're ready to use your new chair.
This kind of ease of assemble is often reflected in the price, and the Gesture is no exception. But more on that below.
Comfort, build, price
The Steelcase Gesture chair is really comfortable and has a solid build that will put your mind at ease. Don't get me wrong, for the lower end option, you're not getting luxury comfort, as you would with other executive leather options out there (X4 chair, we're looking at you). And honestly, you really should be getting a plush feel when paying in excess of $1,000.
But a massive appeal of good ergonomic chairs is that it supports you in all the right places, and is super durable. The Gesture has this in spades. Sitting in the chair now two months after receiving it, it feels exactly the same as the first day I sat in it. Really nice, durable support.
The chair itself is made from hard plastic, steel and breathable upholstery. There are a number of confusingly named fabric options to choose from, thanks to branded names for each material, such as 'Era', 'Connect', 'Billiard' and 'Elmosoft' (leather). Each category jumps the price up, and although I reviewed the lower end 'Era' model, coming in at $1,371, if you went for the leather option, with wrap back but no headrest, it would set you back $2,017.
That is, in my opinion, prohibitively expensive. Of course, if you're buying for a company with a budget, no problem – you're getting a top quality chair. But for the individual consumer... I mean, who has $2,017 to spend on a chair?!
Design and features
I really like the design of the Gesture. It has a nice silhouette, and the wrap around back material is a lovely touch that I've not seen on an office chair before. It's purely an aesthetic touch, but one that I like.
However, in the context of its price point, I think the Gesture doesn't offer an exceptional design. When you consider that you can get a Herman Miller Aeron – a bonafide product design classic – for around the same price as the cheapest Gesture model, I feel the user should be demanding more.
But if money is no problem for you, there's plenty going for the Gesture. It comes with exceptional arm rests. I love them. After reviewing loads of chairs over the years, there's something that just works with them. Easy to adjust, solid enough that they don't get nudged out of place when moving around (certainly an issue for me), they have a simple, effective latch button to elevate and lower, and they're positioned perfectly where my elbows naturally rest. The material is comfortable too. Job done!
There's also a simple and effective lumbar support. Using two handles on either side of the chair's back, you can slide it up and down to position the support for wherever your lower back sits. It works fine, and I definitely felt the support when sitting on the chair for hours at an end.
Should you buy?
If money is no matter, and you like the look of the Gesture, then I can definitely recommend it as a comfortable chair, built with quality materials, with excellent arm rests and decent lumbar support.
However, I can't imagine that that is the case. I mean, if you did have money to burn, surely there's more fun things to be spending over a grand on. The bottom line is, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this chair for the average buyer, simply because of the price. Everything else is good, great or excellent... but that price!
