As workers continue to spend more time back in the office, many are finding changed workplaces. Because of hybrid work and other factors, workers are in the office less and companies are shrinking office spaces. At the same time, employees can choose where they work in the office, which could include small meeting rooms, common lounge areas, work cafes and other spaces. That means more people are sharing desks and chairs.
For many workers, a desk and office chair are no longer their own. They are shared work tools and as such, they need to work for just as well for the 5-foot, 100-pound sales rep as they do for the 6-foot, 250-pound accountant. That’s easy for desks, but can be troublesome for task chairs, especially if they are not intuitively easy to adjust.
That’s where the Steelcase Karman with High Back becomes a real benefit to companies going through these workplace changes. I’ve been testing the Karman High Back for several months now and I can easily see how this task chair would be an excellent choice for offices looking for a seat that can work for companies with a hybrid workforce that shares office furniture.
That’s because Karman is a “hybrid” chair. Though the chair responds to the user, it isn’t truly self-adjusting. There are self-adjusting elements, but also ways for the user to dial in the sit. This flexibility is one of the chair’s best (and worst) features. More details about that later.
I have reviewed countless chairs and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that that task chairs are about as personal as a favorite pair of blue jeans. What fits and feels comfortable to me might not fit and feel comfortable for you. Finding the right office chair is highly subjective and highly personal.
So I always go into a chair review with an open mind, which is exactly how my journey with the Steelcase Karman with High Back began. And overall, I’m impressed. There’s a lot to like about the Steelcase Karman High Back. Let’s start at the top (of the chair) and work our way down.
First, I like a chair with a high back. In fact, I’m not sure why all chairs aren’t designed with a high back. The Steelcase Karman is a good chair and the Steelcase Karman with High Back is even better. The back is the star of the show here. The back of the chair moves perfectly with you as you shift and move throughout the day. And when you are sitting in it properly, with the base of your back firmly against the backrest, it continually moves with you, what Steelcase calls its LiveBack technology.
The Karman with High Back comes with an integrated neck pillow, which does not work at all for me. It’s not really a headrest and to use the neck pillow in the way it was designed puts your head in such an awkward position that it is nearly unusable and it certainly isn’t comfortable. I would suggest that Steelcase rework the neck pillow — or get rid of it — in future iterations of the chair.
Steelcase wasn’t the first to offer a chair that self-adjusts. But the Karman with High Back does a good job of providing support without much need for adjustment, a key feature for a chair that is shared by multiple users. Unlike other chairs with automatic tilt adjustment, Steelcase offers the users some options. This is what makes the chair a bit of a hybrid. A small knob on the side of the chair allows the user to choose from three positions. The first locks the seat back in an upright position. Although I like sitting upright and seats with a firm sit, this setting is too upright for me (and most other users). One click back and the automatic tilt adjustment kicks in, but prevents the user from leaning completely back in the chair. One more click back and the chair is in full automatic tilt mode. I prefer the middle setting since I’m a larger user and the fully free automatic tilt is too loose and spongy for me.
Moving down the chair to the seat pan, the mesh used by Steelcase on Karman is nearly perfect. It provides the support of mesh with the aesthetic appeal of fabric. The suspension seat includes an integrated cushion, which I appreciate as a larger user. The frame of the seat is excellent as well, without the pain points you sometimes experience with other mesh chairs.
The frame is worth further note. Compared to other Steelcase chairs, Karman is incredibly light, weighing in at just 29 pounds. Leap and Gesture weigh about twice as much as Karman.
We won’t spend much time on the arms or arm pads. Both are adjustable and adequate for the job.
The toughest comparison (and competition) for the Steelcase Karman with High Back is other Steelcase chairs. Gesture has better arms than Karman. Leap has better back support and adjustability. So as a buyer, what sets Karman apart?
As mentioned above, the LiveBack technology keeps your back in contact with the seat effortlessly. Simply put, Karman is one of the most beautiful, sculptural chairs Steelcase has ever introduced, though I would put Silq a half step ahead in terms of aesthetics. It comes in a gorgeous combination of frame and mesh colors too. Leap and Gesture are amazing chairs, but both have a very mechanical feel. Karman looks and feels like a high-end sports car.
Karman with High Back falls in the upper half of Steelcase high performance seating in terms of price starting at $1,030. A Gesture with headrest starts at $1,627 and Leap starts at $1,299. Karman with High Back is comparable with other task seats with similar functionality, so the price seems right to me.
Though not my favorite chair in Steelcase’s lineup, Karman with High Back is an excellent high-performance task chair and one of the most beautiful offered by the company. It’s price point is sound and it is a comfortable workhorse for the smartly designed office. Kudos to Steelcase’s design team for creating a light, thoughtfully designed, semi-adjustable chair. It is a welcome addition to the company’s impressive task seating lineup and one that is important for shared workspaces that provides just the right amount of personal and automatic adjustment for today’s office.