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[Swig_]

I'm looking at getting one of these two chairs, but I'm having a very difficult decision deciding! There's a lack of head to head, chair vs chair reviews comparing these two chairs. Everyone says they're both awesome chairs, but that doesn't help me decide which to get.

My main concerns are something that will be good for my back, since I had a back injury and am still recovering from that. Better posture might be good for it and help strengthen my back. The Embody touts being the "healthiest" chair, I think due to the back support and the seat, which is supposed to be good for circulation. I'm not sure if it's any better than the Gesture.

It'd mostly be used for gaming and office work, since I'll be working from home often. I'd like it to be great with both sitting upright and leaning back while gaming with a controller.

Has anyone used or owned both of these? I checked for dealers, but there's only one Steelcase dealer near me and none for Herman Miller. The Gesture is a few hundred cheaper and comes in colors that I like better, but I'd prefer something that is more comfortable and better for my back/legs than one that looks good.

I've looked into "gaming" chairs, but I don't really like the whole racer look and feel. I don't want just some cheap Office Max special, either, since I'll probably be sitting in it for 12+ hours a day when I'm working from home and several hours when I'm just using it for gaming. I went to IKEA and tried the Markus, it looks nice, but I didn't find it to be very comfortable.

 

[demosthenes]

I worried about this forever OP. I settled on an AllSteel because I could get it through my friend. It's been amazing. Just buy one, I don't think you'll be disappointed with either at this level of chair.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Wish I could help, OP. All I can say is that the Embody is, indeed, great. I've had it for almost 4 years and I still don't have a single complaint.

 

[Paragon]

I've had an Embody since they were released and am due for a replacement soon.
I think they tried to be too clever with the design.
Instead of separate back adjustments, there is a single control that adjusts everything together.
That's great if it works for you, but I have broad shoulders and it never fit me properly. I can set it to fit my back or my shoulders but not both at the same time and have to compromise. There's no neck support either.
I would prefer if it had an option to lock the chair upright instead of always being set back at an angle.
There's too much plastic in it too. It's the first chair I've had to get parts replaced under warranty because they broke. The arm adjustments rely on a tiny strip of plastic, and the seat depth adjustment relies on a couple of plastic runners too.

It's not a bad chair but it is overpriced and doesn't live up to the reputation that it seems to have in my opinion.
Its replacement won't be another Embody, but I'm not sure what that will be.

 

[Swig_]

So I ended up going to a dealer for Steelcase. I tried the Gesture, Leap and Amia. The Leap was my favorite, but I may end up going with the Amia because its half the price of the Leap and only slightly less comfortable. I was surprised that I didn't like the Gesture as much. It looks great, but the Leap was much more comfortable to me.

Thanks for the info about the Embody. I think with the Amia being 1/3 the price, I may just go with the Amia, unless I can find a great deal on the Leap. The fact that all of the Steelcase chairs (and I think the Embody, as well) have a 12 year warranty is amazing. $425 for a chair with a great warranty, I'm not sure I can beat that.

 

[Draft]

I don't know if this helps or hurts your decision making process, but I bought a Leap about 7 years ago. The padding on the seat has a few signs of age, but otherwise it looks brand new. It feels brand new. The main "column" had a problem a year ago with scraping against the floor. Something must have fallen out of place. I called the Healthy Back Store, and they said Steelcase covers repairs. A guy came out that week and fixed the chair.

It cost me a goddamn fortune but I have to say, it's been an excellent chair since day one and I can't imagine replacing for years to come.

 

[Swig_]

I don't know if this helps or hurts your decision making process, but I bought a Leap about 7 years ago. The padding on the seat has a few signs of age, but otherwise it looks brand new. It feels brand new. The main "column" had a problem a year ago with scraping against the floor. Something must have fallen out of place. I called the Healthy Back Store, and they said Steelcase covers repairs. A guy came out that week and fixed the chair.

It cost me a goddamn fortune but I have to say, it's been an excellent chair since day one and I can't imagine replacing for years to come.

Yeah, the account manager at the store I went to said that all of the Steelcase chairs have a 12 year warranty and, in most cases, they'll come to my home to repair it. The only thing I'm struggling with is that I can buy one online for a hundred or so cheaper, maybe $200. I don't think I'd pay sales tax online, either. I'm just not sure if I'd get the same warranty service from a website versus a local dealer. I would prefer the Leap to the Amia, but paying almost double is tough to swallow.

 

[chrominance]

So I ended up going to a dealer for Steelcase. I tried the Gesture, Leap and Amia. The Leap was my favorite, but I may end up going with the Amia because its half the price of the Leap and only slightly less comfortable. I was surprised that I didn't like the Gesture as much. It looks great, but the Leap was much more comfortable to me.

Thanks for the info about the Embody. I think with the Amia being 1/3 the price, I may just go with the Amia, unless I can find a great deal on the Leap. The fact that all of the Steelcase chairs (and I think the Embody, as well) have a 12 year warranty is amazing. $425 for a chair with a great warranty, I'm not sure I can beat that.

If you sat in the chair for a decent amount of time (say, half an hour), ideally while doing the work you'd normally do in that chair like working at a computer, then your sense of each chair should be pretty solid. You can probably buy the Amia with confidence. I haven't done a direct comparison but my sense with the Steelcase chairs is that more money gets you mostly better build quality and, more importantly, customizability. If you're already comfortable in the Amia the latter probably won't be a concern. I couldn't tell you if Amias are worse in build quality or not, but you'll probably be fine there too.

That said, I've had a Leap for about a year now and it's great. You won't regret it if you decide to splurge.

 

[Swig_]

If you sat in the chair for a decent amount of time (say, half an hour), ideally while doing the work you'd normally do in that chair like working at a computer, then your sense of each chair should be pretty solid. You can probably buy the Amia with confidence. I haven't done a direct comparison but my sense with the Steelcase chairs is that more money gets you mostly better build quality and, more importantly, customizability. If you're already comfortable in the Amia the latter probably won't be a concern. I couldn't tell you if Amias are worse in build quality or not, but you'll probably be fine there too.

That said, I've had a Leap for about a year now and it's great. You won't regret it if you decide to splurge.

I'm thinking about it. There's a website that has the exact Leap that I would want for probably $200 less. I just am waiting to hear from them on what the warranty process is. IF they'll send someone to my house to fix it like the local dealer will, I think I'm going to splurge on the Leap. If not, I may just go with the Amia. They're both awesome chairs.