Sold with a twelve year warranty and a parts list.
Nothing else here is warranted for twelve years, and nothing else here has a parts diagram the maker will sell you from. A cylinder, a tilt mechanism, an armpad, a mesh panel: all orderable, all replaceable, by you or by a technician who still services chairs built in the 1990s. That is why these turn up secondhand at half their price after a decade, still working, which is the rarest thing on this site. They cost what they cost because the alternative is a chair every four years.
Some buy links are affiliate links. If you buy through one we may earn a
commission, at no extra cost to you.
How this is funded.
At a glance: Office Chairs picks compared, with buy links
In production since 1994 and covered for twelve years, parts and labour, with no exclusion for daily commercial use. Every component is a part number: the cylinder, the tilt, the armpads, the mesh. Herman Miller still services chairs built in the 1990s, which is the claim that matters more than any specification, and it is why a twenty year old Aeron sells secondhand rather than going to a skip.
Twelve year warranty, parts and labour
In production since 1994
Every component has a part number
Mesh rather than foam, so there is nothing to compress
The same twelve year warranty and the same parts catalogue as the Aeron, on a back built as a grid of flexing ribs rather than a mesh panel. It is the one to sit in before buying, because the support is unlike anything else and people either want nothing else or want something else entirely. The dearest object on this site, and the one most likely to outlive the desk it sits at.
Twelve years on the frame and the mechanism, and the arms are the reason to pick this one: they move the way a shoulder does, which is the part of a chair people actually wear out by fighting it. Steelcase publishes a parts list and a dealer network that reupholsters and rebuilds rather than replaces.
Twelve year warranty on frame and mechanism
Arms move through four directions
Parts list published, dealers rebuild and reupholster
The cheapest chair Steelcase makes and the one that brings the twelve year warranty and the parts diagram within reach of a spare room. Weight activated tilt rather than a dial, flexible back edges instead of a fixed shell, and the same dealer network behind it that services the chairs above it on this page.
A Leap V2 stripped to its frame, refitted with new foam and fabric and sold again, which is the strongest form of the argument this whole page makes: the chair is worth rebuilding because the frame and the mechanism were built to outlast several sets of upholstery. It is also the only entry here that demonstrates the parts horizon rather than claiming it, since a rebuild is impossible without one.
In production since 1994 and covered for twelve years, parts and labour, with no exclusion for daily commercial use. Every component is a part number: the cylinder, the tilt, the armpads, the mesh. Herman Miller still services chairs built in the 1990s, which is the claim that matters more than any specification, and it is why a twenty year old Aeron sells secondhand rather than going to a skip.
Twelve year warranty, parts and labour
In production since 1994
Every component has a part number
Mesh rather than foam, so there is nothing to compress
The same twelve year warranty and the same parts catalogue as the Aeron, on a back built as a grid of flexing ribs rather than a mesh panel. It is the one to sit in before buying, because the support is unlike anything else and people either want nothing else or want something else entirely. The dearest object on this site, and the one most likely to outlive the desk it sits at.
Twelve years on the frame and the mechanism, and the arms are the reason to pick this one: they move the way a shoulder does, which is the part of a chair people actually wear out by fighting it. Steelcase publishes a parts list and a dealer network that reupholsters and rebuilds rather than replaces.
Twelve year warranty on frame and mechanism
Arms move through four directions
Parts list published, dealers rebuild and reupholster
The cheapest chair Steelcase makes and the one that brings the twelve year warranty and the parts diagram within reach of a spare room. Weight activated tilt rather than a dial, flexible back edges instead of a fixed shell, and the same dealer network behind it that services the chairs above it on this page.
A Leap V2 stripped to its frame, refitted with new foam and fabric and sold again, which is the strongest form of the argument this whole page makes: the chair is worth rebuilding because the frame and the mechanism were built to outlast several sets of upholstery. It is also the only entry here that demonstrates the parts horizon rather than claiming it, since a rebuild is impossible without one.
Original Steelcase frame and mechanism
New foam, fabric and wearing parts
Rebuilt and warranted by the refurbisher
Half the price of the chair new
Weekly email
New picks, once a week.
One email a week with new picks. Unsubscribe any time.
Privacy.
Product photograph, Herman MillerTop pick
Product photograph, Herman Miller
Product photograph, Steelcase
Product photograph, Steelcase