Steelcase Gesture: One Minute Review
If you sit for hours every day, you'll need a desk chair like the Steelcase Gesture. It looks good, it comes in different colors, and you have the option to add a headrest if you want. More importantly, it's highly adjustable.
However, this chair has us divided at TechRadar's Australian office (where it was tested): some like it, others less so. Here's the thing though: The Steelcase Gesture is very, very comfortable... if you can get the setup and adjustments just right for your body.
Those of us who liked the chair figured out our personal adjustments fairly quickly, others found it quite cumbersome, compounded by the fact that the levers and knobs under the seat are not labeled and are not particularly intuitive to understand.
The one thing we all agreed on was that the armrest fit is excellent. There are several ways to adjust them, including moving the sleep surface back and forth. The entire mechanism also pivots in and out while being able to move up and down.
We also all agreed that the material used here is of a very high quality. They sent us the full gesture for this review (see attached pictures), complete with padded headrest, seat, and back. This model has a very robust build quality and we believe it will stand the test of time.
However, for an expensive chair, it lacks lumbar support. Although there is a movable curved lower back panel, it can barely be felt through the padded backrest. If you're someone who doesn't necessarily need a lot of lumbar support, you'll probably like this chair...if you're willing to splurge.
- Steelcase Gesture on Amazon for €1,029 (opens in a new tab)
Steelcase Gesture review: Price and availability
- How much does it cost? Prices start at €1,371 / €1,144 / AU€1,841
- Where is it available? Available in various markets including the US, UK, Australia and Singapore
Depending on where you live, you can find different versions of the Steelcase Gesture to buy directly from the company or from an authorized dealer. For example, in the US and UK you can get a base model with a rigid back (shell) without a headrest for €1371 / €1144 (VAT included). However, this version is not available in the APAC region, where you'll only find the upholstered/upholstered versions starting at AU€1,841 / SG€2,089.
If you want a headrest in the gesture, you're looking at an extra $227 / £230 / AU$374. That's enough to buy a completely different (non-Steelcase) chair.
Despite its high price, it is not the most expensive we have seen. Take the Herman Miller Aeron for example – this great seat will set you back $1,895 / £1,329 / AU$2,345.
Unlike the Herman Miller, which comes in limited color options, the Steelcase Gesture has a host of different colors to suit everyone, although the specific colors available will differ by market.
In some regions, when purchased directly from Steelcase, the Gesture comes with a lifetime warranty on the main frame, while you'll get a 12-year warranty on all moving parts and surface material.
Steelcase Gesture Review: Design and Setup
- Arrives fully configured
- Chair with a clean look
- Adjustment levers are not intuitive
Depending on where you live, you'll likely receive the Steelcase Gesture fully assembled.
The first thing that strikes you about the chair is how elegant it is. Throw in a colorful upholstery option and this Gesture has some personality, perhaps more so than the Personality Plus model available in some APAC markets.
Like all Steelcase chairs, the Gesture doesn't just look premium, it's also premium built. It is very well assembled and seems quite sturdy. In fact, every aspect of the chair seems to be worth the high price if you're looking for quality, including the frame, upholstery, foam padding, wheels, levers, and all moving parts. We've been testing the chair for a few months now, and aside from a little dust, it still looks and feels like new. So far the seat hasn't sagged, no creaking in moving parts, and no apparent wear despite some people using it in the office.
Beauty aside, what we really like about the Steelcase Gesture is its adjustability... if you don't mind a little experimentation. Most adjustments are made via a few rotary knobs under the seat. If you don't memorize the booklet that came with the chair (and lose it), the unmarked buttons won't clearly tell you what they do. You will need to experiment and then remember what does what.
While it's easy enough to figure out how to adjust the seat height (it's the knob on the front), locking the seatback's reclined position isn't nearly as intuitive. An inner ring on the rear button is supposed to lock and unlock the back, but it was hit and miss when we tried to make adjustments. We still haven't figured out how to make this work consistently every time someone makes a tweak. And because we misplaced the instruction booklet early on, we had to go back to the online instructions multiple times to figure out how to adjust the chair for each user.
While the seat and back adjustments are fiddly, the armrest adjustment is absolutely wonderful. Most of us who tested the Steelcase Gesture loved how many different ways it could be moved. For starters, the flat sleeping surface can slide back and forth; however, there is no way to lock them in a specific position. It's okay if you lean back to recline and your elbows intuitively move forward so you can relax. In fact, one desktop user said that he wished the armrests moved a bit more forward. However, another colleague found the movements too fluid and would have preferred the armrests to lock firmly in one particular position.
What you can lock out are the other movements that swivel armrests are capable of: not only can they be raised and lowered to suit your specific needs, but they can also be rotated in and out. This gives you different ways to position your arms, helping you sit perfectly.
If you're looking for lumbar support, you'll probably be disappointed. Although there's an adjustable panel on the back of the backrest, it's hard to make out through the padding: the curvature isn't enough to tell the difference. That said, there may be enough sweep to keep your spine in the proper position if your lower back doesn't require more aggressive lumbar support.
Design rating: 4/5
Steelcase Gesture review: Comfort
- Good for long term comfort
- The contour of the back could be better
- Fiddly to get it "right"
Like the Steelcase Leap, the Gesture's padded seat is thick enough to make it comfortable to lounge on all day. However, being a fully padded chair, it is not as breathable as a mesh seat in temperate climates. We found that on hot days, even with the air conditioning in the office, we feel warm using the chair. If you live and work where the days can be hot and humid, you may want to consider a mesh chair instead.
With the range of adjustment available here, finding the right position can be tedious, but perseverance will pay off. Each user during our review process took some time to figure out what worked for them, but once we got the hang of it, the gesture felt good to sit on for hours. However, we would have preferred the curvature of the backrest to be more pronounced for the lower back.
And we would have preferred the headrest contour to be less aggressive. It may be an optional extra, but we think the Gesture is more comfortable without the headrest. Most of those who tested the chair found the headrest to be misplaced no matter how we adjusted it. So if you like the beauty and adjustability of the Steelcase Gesture, we recommend saving up some extra money and ordering without the headrest.
Comfort Rating: 4/5
Should I buy the Steelcase Gesture office chair?
Swipe to scroll horizontallySteelcase GestureAttributeNotesRatingValueAlthough highly adjustable and quite comfortable, the Steelcase Gesture has a few limitations that make its four-figure price tag a little harder to justify. Him. Would have scored higher if the two buttons under the seat were clearly labeled.4/5ComfortIf you can set it up correctly, the Steelcase Gesture is a very comfortable chair, as a fully padded seat can be used in hot conditions.4/5Buy it if...
Don't buy if...
Also consider
- First review February 2023
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Steelcase Gesture: price comparison