Steelcase Gesture and Leap V2 Office Chairs – First Impressions on $1000 ergonomic task chair
The Steelcase Leap and Gesture are some of the most recommend offices chairs in the market but what makes them so special? Is it more comfortable? Does it have more adjustments? Is it built to last longer? Maybe it’s a bit of everything.
So I tested them out for a couple hours to see how they compare and if they might be worth it for me. Hi I’m David these are my first impressions on the Steelcase Leap V2 and Gesture office chairs. So a quick disclaimer, I only tested these chairs for a couple hours by visiting a nearby POI business interiors.
So while I won’t be able to give any long term impressions on them. I’ll give you my thoughts on what you should test for yourself if you try them at a showroom near you. First let’s start with the Adjustable features on the Steelcase Gesture Starting with the basics.
Adjusting the seat pan depth is a pretty important feature for me. On the Gesture this can be easily changed with this knob here forward and back. Adjusting the seat height works well like any other chair I’ve tested.
The back rest doesn’t lock into a reclined position but you can limited how far back it will recline, and you can also adjust the tension of the recline for a softer or stiffer movement. By default the gesture doesn’t include an adjustable lumbar support which I would probably like to have but even without it, it’s still pretty supportive and comfortable.
The arm rests with the Gesture are probably the standout feature. This Gesture is equipped with the Fully Adjustable Arm option. And they’re easy to adjust, they twist in and out, forward and back, and work really nicely whether you’re using them or pushing them out of the way.
And finally the headrest on this gesture is an extra accessory but I personally really like having a headrest for the most comfortable chair experience. The headrest is height adjustable and can also be tilted up or down which is really nice.
But I would have liked if it could go up a little higher for my head but as is it’s still really comfortable and I really like it. The Steelcase Leap V2 works a little differently with all the adjustments.
It has the same basic features like height adjustment. An adjustable seat pan depth that requires a little more effort to adjust than the Gesture. The back again doesn’t lock in a reclined position but you can limit how far back the recline will go, and adjust the tension of the recline.
The Leap does by default include an adjustable lumbar support so you can really dial in the exact spot based on the curve of your back. And you also have an additional knob to adjust the firmness of the lower back support for that added customization.
With the fully adjustable arms on the Leap you have the ability to move them up, down, in, out, forward and back which is good enough for me, but the Gesture chair is definitely a lot more flexible with the arms.
The Leap can also be purchased with the headrest option. But it’s only height adjustable and doesn’t tilt like it does on the Gesture. So just in terms of features between the Gesture and the Leap V2 each of them has their advantage and just really depends on which features are more important to you.
But next let’s talk about comfort which is really subjective and take a grain of salt because it’s hard to give my full impressions without testing these chairs over a long period of time. The cushion padding on both the Gesture and Leap are really comfortable.
I find the padding on the Leap just a little softer and with the rounder seat cushion design it’s more comfortable if I’m going to cross my legs on the seat. Both of the chairs include the 3D LiveBack that supports my back really comfortably.
But the included adjustable lumbar support and the ability to adjust the lower back firmness makes it just a little better for dialing it all in on the Leap. Also when you recline the back on the leap the seat pan moves forward which I find comfortable since it keeps the lumbar support in the same spot on my back.
But when you compare this to the Gesture the seat doesn’t move so the lumbar support slides up my back requiring me to reposition myself slightly for maximum comfort. Some people may or may not like this feature but I prefer the implementation on the Leap.
And the headrest is nice on both of the chairs but just a little more comfortable on the Gesture because of the extra adjustability. Finally aesthetics. While the Steelcase Leap V2 looks really nice especially with the extra Platinum or Aluminum frame finish options.
I definitely prefer the look of the Gesture. The cleaner modern design with the straight lines and neat color options. It’s no contest that based on looks I’d choose the Gesture but the Leap still looks good with its traditional design.
So from this initial test. Do I prefer one over the other? I’m leaning slightly to the Leap V2 based on my initial testing because I find it slightly more comfortable, but this is in no way conclusive and both of the Chairs have their advantages and are built really well.
But thanks to POI business interiors for letting me test out these chairs. And let me know in the comments if you have any personal experience with these chairs, but hope you guys enjoyed this one. You know what to do.
And I’ll see you in the next video.
