REASONS TO BUY
Well built
Comfortable
Adjustable seat
REASONS TO AVOID
Not as comfortable for smaller folks
Subpar tilt resistance
Steelcase Think Review
With its highly adjustable armrests and seat, this option offers comfort for taller folks
The Think by Steelcase.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
By Hayley Thomas ⋅ Review Editor ⋅ November 7, 2024
Contributions From: David Wise & Austin Palmer
RELATED: The Best Office Chairs of 2025
Our Verdict
The Steelcase Think scored fairly well across the board, receiving mostly favorable marks from our judges. While it is not the best office chair for long eight to ten hours days, the high level of adjustability in its armrests and the seat offers some unique customization for a better fit. The aggressive lumbar support and overall larger stature are comfortable for some, but not all. If you have a particularly curved back or enjoy a chair that encourages excellent posture, the Think is a great option at a middle-of-the-road price.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Steelcase Think is a well-made chair that's as easy to assemble as snapping two components together. And while we tested a few models that were more comfortable, this chair fared impressively well with our picky panel of judges.
Most people were quite happy to use the Think for a 40-hour work week.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Comfort
The Think does well here, providing comfort for eight to ten-hour days and checking all the boxes. It features adjustable lumbar support, a tilt stop, and firm cushions, but still falls short of some of the more expensive options in our test suite. However, for its price, we were more than happy with the overall performance.
The Think falls approximately in the middle of our comfort metric.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The first click of the tilt resistance on the backrest of the Think goes too far back. This encourages the user to sit upright but negatively affects overall comfort, making it difficult to relax (i.e., slouch) when posture becomes less of a priority. The aggressive lumbar support is great for those with a pronounced curvature in their back, but it is not particularly versatile, despite its adjustable location.
The tilt limiters on the Think have a bit of room for improvement.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The seat is somewhat average. The cushion is firm and supportive, but if you're looking for something exceptionally soft, you may want to explore other options. The stable armrests are rather large, which is fine for taller people — shorter folks found them a little less accommodating. In fact, our shorter testers reported less overall comfort in the Think than taller testers.
The firm cushion is comfortable but the extreme curve had some of our testers slipping off the front.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Adjustability
The Think gets off to a great start with a uniquely adjustable seat and completely customizable armrests. We are used to adjustable lumbar support and height, but the adjustable pan depth is a cool feature we didn't experience on most of the chairs in our test suite. We also loved the high level of armrest adjustability. You can move these puppies up, down, forward, backward, inward, and outward and they also swivel.
The armrests are completely adjustable.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The Think has a solid set of adjustable features.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The back of the seat is another story. We were disappointed at the lack of a reclining resistance adjustment — the four stock settings are quite flimsy, and they make reclining a little too easy. There is no in-between. You are either fully lounging in the reclined position or sitting up so straight that you could balance a glass of water on your head.
We weren't thrilled with the reclining resistance adjustment.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The lumbar support is easily adjustable as far as its placement. However, the level of support is not adjustable. Despite that, it is still quite easy to set up the Think for most people to conform to ergonomic seating guidelines and best practices.
The Think earns bonus points for having the ability to adjust the location of the lumbar support, but the fact that you cannot adjust the aggressiveness renders it uncomfortable for some.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Ease of Assembly
The Think appears to be almost completely built, rendering directions unnecessary and earning it top marks in this category.
This chair arrived almost completely assembled.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Value
The Think offers pretty great value for the price tag. It falls close to the middle of the most and least expensive options in our test suite and doesn't fall too far behind our top performers in its overall score. It is important to note that our shorter testers found this chair was not as comfortable as our taller testers, which can weigh heavily on the overall value.
Conclusion
The Steelcase Think offers good comfort and adjustability at a reasonable price for a well-respected name. While it may not be the most adjustable, it is straightforward to assemble and well-made. Its comfort level depends heavily on the user's size and preference for lumbar support, but if you are the kind of person that enjoys aggressive lumbar support and happens to be a bit taller, this chair is a great option at a fair price.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Compare Steelcase Think versus top competing products:
—Hayley Thomas, David Wise, and Austin Palmer
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