Steelcase Leap V1

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Hi all,

I can't believe how long I've had my current office chair for... about 15 years, and the cloth is now ripped and I'm getting a numb bum when sitting on it for a long time, so it's now time to get a new one!

Is the Leap V1 worth it from 2nd hnd for £179? I know people say you should go and sit on one but there aren't any near me to try - so it'd have to be ordered and delivered. Do they put new fabric on the chairs as well or is it the one that comes originally with it?

 

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Great stuff, I ordered the V1 with best offer earlier. 2nd hnd have excellent feedback so hopefully alls well. Went for the aluminium base fabric seat v1.

 

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What a coincidence OP - I plumped for the V2 with aluminium base and black fabric from 2ndhnd yesterday. I needed the high back so V1 wasn't an option, which is a shame as I reckon you've got just as good a chair as me for ~£100 less!

I had the same problem with finding a place to try the Leap, after almost a month I got an appointment with a dealer in Manchester but they only had the Gesture in stock. Still, I preferred it to the chairs I had tried (Aeron, Mirra, Freedom, RH 400) and most people I spoke to recommended a Steelcase over anything else so that made up my mind.

I saw that chair, then googled the V1 and V2 differences and felt the V1 sounded sufficiently good. Hope you enjoy sitting on your new chair... looking forward to getting mine!

 

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Are they new fabric and padding with the 2ndhand chairs? I've been looking at them for a while.

good question, i didnt think about the padding... but new fabric yes. mines been despatched so hopefully here shortly!

 

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If you had the dispatch notice, the chair should be with you quickly. Got my V2 on Thursday (dispatched Wednesday), albeit in a half-crocked box. Thankfully there wasn't any damage to the chair - a few scuffs on the base and the castors were definitely used, but the important bits were like new. On mine the padding was original but the fabric was new.

Honestly, the first few hours I spent in it weren't that comfortable and I was worried that it would be another ergo chair that "forces" you to sit in its ideal position. But after getting to grips with the adjustments I'm impressed. In particular being able to adjust the lower and upper back tension separately is a godsend as I spend a lot of time leaning back. The armrest padding is great as well, a bit firmer than the Gesture I tried but I prefer it because it's just soft enough to keep my arms in place without having them sinking in to the rests.

I probably could have got a cheaper one if I shopped around, but for me it's £280 well spent. I hope yours is just as good.

Glad you like it. You got yours a lot quicker than I'll get mine then, it says despatched, ordered Wednesday and still not here. On ebay it still says delivery info received but not in transit.

 

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Arrived today, very happy with it. Super comfortable but then my old chair (which I'd been sitting in for around 15 years !! ) was awful. I guess when you don't really sit in any other chairs much (I work from home) you don't have anything to compare to and also you just get used to it, becomes second nature to just sit on without thinking about it... well that started falling to bits and I noticed I was starting to sit in ways which weren't going to do me any good so .....

This chair, wow. Super impressed. The box arrived perfect condition so I had high hopes for the quality of the chair's condition...

The base looks great, next to no signs of use at all. The wheels also look new. The back plastic of the chair looks really good as well, there's a couple of scuffs here and there and the padded arm left is really quite scratched up - to the point where it almost looks like someone has scribed a pen on it back and forth... no idea how padded arms end up with lines like that....

Had a look on ebay for replacement arm pads and could potentially get one but it'd be shipping from the states.

However I'm not that fussed about that, probably something I might do after a few months or at the beginning of next year.

Jay Psi - how can you tell if the padding is new or not?

As for the chair itself - super comfty, great adjustments, giving me a much better posture too. Very happy with this chair.

 

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ok it appears the chair has a fault - the lever to adjust the height of the seat - when the seat is at its lowest position, pulling the lever doesn't make the chair raise - so must be a faulty gas cylinder or lever or something - contacted the seller..

 

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If I get off the chair and pull the lever it does nothing, I have to pull the lever with one hand and then force the chair up with the other at the same time. I'd have thought being that chair height is probably the most fundamental adjustment this would work properly..

 

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I'm not that impressed tbh, I doubt I'd use them again, the chair has noticeably got creakier the last few days - or at least I've noticed it more...

Every movement on it is *creaaak* *creak* *creaaaaaakk* ..unless that's how these chair are ? I know it's second hand - but it's a bit annoying.

The left arm pad does look horrific - again I know it's second hand, but when the seller describes the chair as in good condition - but this is extremely bad condition - well maybe rather than summise the overall condition of the chair you should take the time to describe each part - so the base, gas lift, arms, etc. it wouldn't take long at all - and afterall you're asking for a few hundred pounds PER customer each time you sell something. I think you can put the effort in therefore for more than a few lines of text.

As for the gas lift he's said his driver will do a swap out next week as he's up this way. That's a good thing I suppose.

The chair itself is comfortable and I do like it's adjustability and comfort, but going on the feedback of 2nd where some people say "you cant tell it from a new chair" ... just take note that that is not how it is for all the chairs they sell - it's basically a bit of a lottery as to how good a condition it is. Because I'd mark this chair as distinctly average condition.

 

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2nd hnd are going to send me another chair out so hopefully this will be a better one! Thats good of them and the comms have been great, in fairness.