Steelcase Gesture Review
Our Verdict
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 This Product
Steelcase Gesture | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Luxury Office Chair |  Best for Most People |  Best Buy for Back Support | Best on a Tight Budget | |
| Price | $1,540 List Check Price at Amazon | $1,440 List Check Price at Amazon | $389 List Check Price at Amazon | $170 List Check Amazon (on sale!) | $170 List Check Amazon (on sale!) |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | This top-tier office chair comes equipped with an innovative armrest design but didn't receive the widespread accolades that some of our award winners did | Our favorite year after year, this is one of the highest performing chairs on the market | High-performance adjustability, comfort, and ergonomics without the high-performance price | This chair offers high-end features where they count most — for your back and bottom — without the high-end price tag | It's not fancy, but this is our favorite budget-friendly chair for the money |
| Rating Categories | Steelcase Gesture | Steelcase Leap | Branch Ergonomic | SIHOO M18 Ergonomic... | Modway Articulate Er... |
| Comfort (50%) | |||||
| Adjustability (40%) | |||||
| Ease of Assembly (10%) | |||||
| Specifications | Steelcase Gesture | Steelcase Leap | Branch Ergonomic | SIHOO M18 Ergonomic... | Modway Articulate Er... |
| Comfortable Hours | 8.00 hrs | 10.00 hrs | 8.00 hrs | 7.00 hrs | 8.00 hrs |
| Manufacturer Weight Limit | 400 lbs | 400 lbs | 275 lbs | 330 lbs | 331 lbs |
| Measured Points of Adjustment | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| Measured Tilt Limiter Stopping Points | 4 | 5 | None | None | None |
| GearLab Assembly Time | 1 min | 1 min | 12 min | 16 min | 10 min |
| Adjustable Lumbar Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes; the backrest moves up and down |
| Tension Knob | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tilt Lock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lumbar Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Seat Pan Adjustment | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Steelcase Gesture didn't rise quite enough to the top for us to consider it for an award, but don't get us wrong: this is still a really nice chair that offers good adjustability and excellent durability.
Comfort
On average, our judges were more than happy to sit in this chair for a full 10-hour day. They liked the amount of padding and support, with the main complaint again being that it felt like the chair sloped forward a bit, and this couldn't be adjusted. The backrest was also decently well received by our panel of judges. It has an integrated curve that provides ample support, but this might not be the chair for you if you like aggressive lumbar support. However, it is the armrests that caused our judges the most concern. They are a little more difficult to adjust to a comfortable position and don't lock into place, making it easy to inadvertently knock them out of position.
Adjustability
The Gesture offers a ton of customization, particularly with its armrests, earning it one of the higher scores of the group.
This chair can be purchased with or without adjustable lumbar support, but the built-in curvature without the additional support fits most people quite well. The backrest goes decently high, and you have four different tilt-limiting stops to choose between.
We were very impressed with the adjustability of the armrests on the Gesture — it offers some of the most adjustability that we have seen to date. The armrests can move up and down, adjust in width, swivel, and move forward and back, and they have a wide range of motion for each of these movements. This chair also lets you adjust the depth of the seat pan.
Ease of Assembly
This office chair arrived completely assembled in an enormous box, taking just minutes to get set up.
Value
The Gesture isn't the best value, as it pairs a top-tier price with a just decent performance. That said, we don't see the majority of folks being disappointed with this chair, should you acquire it.
Conclusion
The Steelcase Gesture is a good chair with incredibly adjustable armrests, but it isn't for everyone. The seat wasn't universally loved, and a few wished for a bit more regarding lumbar support. Many of our judges noted that the Gesture forces you to sit in a very upright position — almost to the point of tilting you forward. This can be great if you are working on sitting upright or if that is your preferred sitting position, but a different chair might better suit people who like a more reclined stance.
—Hayley Thomas, Austin Palmer, and David Wise
