Do Not Buy This Chair
I sit in front of the computer screen a lot. So my work chair is very important to me. I'd gone through about three quite expensive chairs before discovering my last chair, a Leap, from Steelcase. The Leaps first came on the market in 1999 — I think I bought mine around 2000. A very comfortable chair, built like a tank. But over the years it began to break down. First the seat height adjustment lever snapped off (ergo no more seat height adjustment). Then one of the arms refused to adjust for height (I crammed desk debris into the socket until the arm held up at approximately the right position). Then the other arm developed a series of deep, uneven cracks along its length, creating a very rough, scratchy surface. After a few years of coping with all this it seemed like it was time to get a new chair. And, as some good work chairs are being made right here in the U.S., I figured I could help the economy recover. Being already a happy Leap customer, after a little bit of looking around at other options, reading reviews and so on, naturally enough I ordered another Leap. Version 2. Made in Michigan. When it arrived last week, Oh Boy!, was I excited.
Unboxing the thing I immediately saw that it was lighter and more cheaply made than my old Leap. But the problems didn't really start until I sat in it and tried to adjust it to fit my back. It has so many possible adjustments, probably millions of possible combinations, that it seemed normal not to be able to find a comfortable adjustment right away. A couple days later, still unable to get comfortable, I began to worry.
The biggest problem was an internal 'lumbar support' that you slide up and down using small plastic knobs on each side of the chair. A very cheesy sort of arrangement that didn't exist on the earlier version of the chair, which had something Steelcase called a "live back" that moved, like a hammock, with the pressure from sitting. Anyhow, after much futile sliding one of the knobs jumped its grooves and it occurred to me that I might just be able to unhook the other side and entirely remove the 'lumbar support'. Which I did. The damn thing is hard molded plastic, about four inches at its widest point and about fourteen inches long. No wonder I couldn't get comfortable, with hard plastic sticking into my back!
Unfortunately, that didn't solve the problem. So I figured maybe if I added a lumbar support of my own it would help, and got a support made of memory foam at a local store. It did help, but it wouldn't stay fixed and I didn't much care to always be shifting it. I thought perhaps, trimmed to size, I could slip the foam into the chair where the original 'lumbar support' had been and have the chair hold it in place. This is where things got interesting.
The bottom of the chair back consists of the upholstered fabric sealed to a sort of plastic lip that snaps into the frame back. After separating the fabric from the frame I had almost managed to stuff the memory foam into the chair but accidentally detached the entire upholstered part from the frame. A very clever design, actually, that snaps the two parts together — no doubt easy to assemble in the factory. Well, you'd expect the upholstered back to have padding. What it does have, however, is only about 1/4 inch thick, with the density of cotton candy. That's why the hard plastic 'lumbar support' was so uncomfortable. Unless the plastic fit exactly into one's back (if positioned properly) it would always be pushing one or another vertebra out of place. After a real struggle finally I got the two parts together again with the memory foam inside. But that didn't do the trick, either, because I couldn't position it properly. With a large sheet of memory foam to fool with, a better pair of shears, and a lot of time, it might be fixable.
And I'd probably try, if it weren't for another problem that I can't fix. The old chair had a very comfortable seat. Not highly padded, but soft. Version 2 has a hard seat pan with very little give in it. Again, most uncomfortable. I tried using a memory foam cushion, which worked in terms of seat comfort, but then my back was lifted too high to fit well into the molded arch of the chair.
I give up.
From the reviews this Leap Version 2 is a good chair for a lot of people but there's no way that I can sit in it comfortably or, indeed, without it causing persistent back pain, which is no good. I think, in the larger scheme of things, that the problem is due largely to Steelcase taking too many manufacturing shortcuts. The base and the frame are solid, sturdy, and dependable. Well made. The parts of the chair that you actually sit in are cheap, rinky-dink, and of a far lower quality than the original.
The only explanation I can think of is that Steelcase management cut costs to better line their own pockets. And I'd be very curious to compare sales between the earlier and later Leap versions.
One point in Steelcase's favor. From beginning to end their customer service has been outstanding. Indeed, I feel so sorry for the company that I may decide not to return the chair, though I have no idea what I'll do with it.
After some more looking around I found an exceptionally comfortable chair, a Nightingale CXO, made in Canada. Bought it this afternoon. It's very solid, at about 90 pounds, and loaded with padding. Better, actually, than the original Leap. Here's hoping it lasts!
Posted by George Kenney on March 29, 2009 5:44 PM 
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Comments
George,
I can relate. A comfortable chair can make the difference between hours of productivity vs. constant discomfort.
I have been happy with a Knoll Life chair bought about 4 years ago that is holding up well.
http://www.knoll.com/products/product.jsp?=1&prod_id=188
I got the fully loaded chair with the fancy lumbar support option, but soon took that out and threw it away! The back is the hammock style with a lumbar arch that conforms to your body. The bottom is flexible with ample support, using a thin but effective pad. Works fine for me.
Good luck finding something that works for you!
Posted by: Ken Brakebill | March 29, 2009 11:00 PM
George, if that one doesn't work out, try an Aeron from Herman Miller.
I've had a bad back since 2000, been using the Aeron, with the newer version of their lumbar support, for a year... works nicely.
Posted by: Tony_L | April 3, 2009 1:08 PM
Chair design is a complicated endeavor for architects, interior designers and industrial designers. I am an architect with a back injury dating to the late 1970's. I have had to sit in a wide variety of chairs over the years at desks and tables of varying heights, and the one that gives me the least amount of grief is a task chair I paid $99 for at the closing of STOR sometime in the late 80's. STOR was a local precursor to IKEA and was eventually absorbed by them.
Task chairs lack all the bells and whistles of the middle management chairs you discuss here, but being stripped down and not so generous or massive they tend to make you sit more normally. You tend to place your butt into the crook and the minimal seat back focuses on and supports your lower back. Your feet tend to stay planted flat on the floor and if you can place your keyboard and monitor correctly many hours can pass before you feel the fatigue. Make sure your monitor is somewhat below eye level so you see it as you would a book or a newspaper.
I wouldn't mind an Aeron, as they have proven themselves to me in the workplace, but have no need to replace the toughest most comfortable chairs I have ever owned.
[A great, practical attitude! g.]
Posted by: Kurt | April 11, 2009 9:48 AM