Steelcase Series 2 Office Chair Review: Pros, Cons & Verdict

The Steelcase Series 2 office chair is the second cheapest option within the Steelcase lineup, priced at approximately $1200 in Australia. It competes in a difficult price segment, because it’s home to some of the best office chairs in Australia that cost as little as $350-$750.

The Series 2 is attractive, highly adjustable and backed by Steelcase’s legendary 12-year warranty. What’s not to like?

Reasons To Buy The Steelcase Series 2.

Above: Series 2 is an attractive chair. In Australia, it’s available in a choice of 9 colours.

The Steelcase Series 2 offers a reasonably good (but not excellent) range of adjustments.

Seat pan depth adjustment with a waterfall seat edge will appeal to taller specimens among us.

(Related: ErgoTune Vesby: Best Office Chair Under $1,000?)

The decent seat height adjustment range of 42cm to 55cm will work well for people between 155cm and 185cm in height, but taller folks will struggle.

Adjustable armrests, meanwhile, are excellent.

Adjustable in four dimensions – reach, width, height and angle – and supremely comfortable, they’re carried over from the more expensive Steelcase products (e.g., the Leap and the Amia).

Series 2’s lumbar support adjusts in height only – while the curvature of the backrest provides fixed support in the horizontal plane.

How does it feel?

Assertive. But empathetic.

The good news is that it’s never jarring or pokey. Let’s call it “therapeutic”. You know it’s there – and you know it’s good for you.

Because the entire chair is thinly padded, the sitting experience is much closer to that of a high-end mesh chair (e.g., Aeron) than a fabric one (e.g., Leap).

Above: The lumbar support mechanism is hidden within the attractive backrest. Small tabs on either side adjust the height. Lack of depth adjustment means there are no unsightly knobs.

The chair’s build quality is very good. Even though the chair is made from plastic and fabric, the materials don’t feel cheap to the touch.

This is a fairly expensive chair, and it feels like one.

It’s Steelcase’s attempt to create a material that combines the benefits of mesh and fabric, without the tradeoffs of either.

It works, mostly.

Unlike hard-framed office chairs like the Herman Miller Aeron, the Series 2 doesn’t insist on keeping your back locked in. You can twist and stretch, making the backrest yield and mould to the shape of your back.

But don’t expect to do contortionist-level movements. If it’s a bendy, forgiving chair that you want, you must go with the Leap.

(Related: Steelcase Gesture Office Chair: Worth $1900?)

A cool side benefit is that it looks attractive. The cool mesh detailing on the rear makes the Series 2 look more edgy than Steelcase’s other designs (looking at you again, Leap).

It’s also breathable, which is handy in hot environments.

Assembly is easy.

People who live outside these two major city centres will receive the Series 2 knocked down, with ~30 minute assembly required.

Steelcase offers a lifetime warranty on the frame and 12 years on mechanisms, adjustable lumbar support mechanisms, headrests, pneumatic cylinders, foam, arm caps, casters, and glides.

This warranty is comparable to what you get from other top-tier brands such as Haworth, Knoll, and Herman Miller.

You can expect the Series 2 to last for 12 years.

Reasons To Avoid The Steelcase Series 2.

Above: Series 2’s armrests are excellent as they are stolen from the more expensive Leap.

The Internet is full of horror stories of the Series 2’s cushion bottoming out and destroying people’s coccyx.

I take these reports with a pinch of salt.

I weigh 105kg, and haven’t experienced any such events in 3+ months of sitting in it.

What I did experience was a fairly thinly padded chair – both the seat and the backrest.

This translates to a firm seating experience. Never uncomfortable, but always stern.

You get this feeling that the Series 2 isn’t made for long, uninterrupted 8-10 hour stretches of work.

And it’s certainly not a chair you kick back in after work to watch a movie.

Above: Seat cushion is definitely on the firm side. If you like softer seating and want to stick with Steelcase, opt for the Leap.

But this isn’t necessarily an issue.

Not if you plan to work in 2-4 hour stints, and you spend most of your day upright, tasking.

In fact, for people like you, this may be a feature.

While ultra-comfortable chairs like the Leap and the Fern almost encourage you to get sleepy, the Series 2 always pushes you to work harder.

Steelcase Series 2’s recline mechanism is carried over from the much cheaper Steelcase Series 1 office chair.

In fact, everything from under the seat down to the wheels is borrowed from the Series 1.

As a result, the reclined position and the motion are nowhere near as good as what you’d get on the $400 more expensive Leap. And the Aeron is in another league altogether.

But my biggest gripe with the Series 2 is its lack of proper backrest tension control. This cements it as a tasking chair for me.

Yes, it has a single setting that adds resistance to your recline.

But the resistance is too soft, and peope who love to rock back during their workday will find themselves flying backwards too often.

(Related: Herman Miller Embody Office Chair: Worth $3,000?)

How The Steelcase Series 2 Stacks Up.

The Series 2 office chair is in a difficult position. While technically a budget office chair in the Steelcase lineup, it’s still quite expensive, at $1,213.

My Verdict On The Steelcase Series 2 Office Chair.

The Steelcase Series 2 is a mut.

It borrows parts from the entire Steelcase lineup.

The superb armrests are hand-me-downs from the more expensive Leap, while the recline mechanism and wheels are carried over from the cheaper Series 1.

I decided not to continue using it as my daily driver because I work long hours – and I love to recline. (That’s why I’m currently in an Aeron).

But I also love this chair.

I’m keeping one around my home office, and I jump into it when I want to feel a boost of productivity.

It’s hard to explain, but the Series 2’s Spartan padding and excellent backrest shape make me want to smash through task lists.

By toning down or deleting comfort-related features, Steelcase created a chair perfectly optimised for one thing – hard work.

Think of it as a high-performance, attractive and (relatively) inexpensive task chair with great build quality and an outstanding warranty.

Steven