Steelcase Think Review
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
This Product Steelcase Think | |||||
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Awards | Best Luxury Office Chair | Best for Most People | Best Buy for Back Support | Best on a Tight Budget | |
Price | $1,103 List $832.50 at Amazon | $1,299 List $974.25 at Amazon | $329 List $373.00 at Amazon | $180 List $169.99 at Amazon | $180 List $149.65 at Amazon |
Overall Score | |||||
Star Rating | |||||
Bottom Line | A well built office chair, with an adjustable seat and armrests and a generally larger stature | 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 Think | Steelcase Leap | Branch Ergonomic | SIHOO M18 Ergonomic... | Modway Articulate E... |
Comfort (50%) | |||||
Adjustability (40%) | |||||
Ease of Assembly (10%) | |||||
Specs | Steelcase Think | Steelcase Leap | Branch Ergonomic | SIHOO M18 Ergonomic... | Modway Articulate E... |
Comfortable Hours | 7.00 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 | 7 | 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 | No | 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 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.
Performance Comparison
Comfort
The Think does well here, providing comfort for eight to ten-hour days and checking all the boxes. It has adjustable lumbar support, tilt stop, and firm cushions, but it still doesn't quite measure up to some of the more expensive options in our test suite. However, for its price, we were more than happy with the overall performance.
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 the overall comfort and makes it difficult to relax (i.e., slouch) when posture becomes less of a priority. The aggressive lumbar support is great for those who have an aggressive curvature in their back, but it is not particularly versatile, even though its location is adjustable.
The seat is somewhat average. The cushion is firm and supportive, but you may want to explore other options if you are looking for something overly soft. 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.
Adjustability
Here we focused on how much movement the backrest, armrests, and seat offer, as well as the comfort and usability of the back tilt. It scored reasonably well and hovered just above average.
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 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.
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 get the Think set up for most people so as to conform to ergonomic seating guidelines and best practices.
Ease of Assembly
Once a chair is set up, it's good to go, but assembling furniture can be frustrating. We ranked each chair on how long it took us to assemble and the clarity of the instructions. The Think shows up pretty much completely built, rendering directions unnecessary and earning it top marks for this category.
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.