Gaming chair - what do you recommend?
Discussion
I spent loooooads of time looking at gaming/PC chairs. Ended up with one from Ikea, the Marcus.
The general consensus amongst most is that gaming chairs are - pound for pound - not as good as office chairs. However, as it's for your son, I suspect having something 'fancy' will look a lot better.
What's your budget? My nephew has a Corsair T100 (I think?) which is reasonbly priced and really likes. Secret Lab are more expensive but are definately the streamers choice....note they have a reputation for being quite firm.
The general consensus amongst most is that gaming chairs are - pound for pound - not as good as office chairs. However, as it's for your son, I suspect having something 'fancy' will look a lot better.
What's your budget? My nephew has a Corsair T100 (I think?) which is reasonbly priced and really likes. Secret Lab are more expensive but are definately the streamers choice....note they have a reputation for being quite firm.
Two very good resources for chair reviews. Most gaming chairs (Secret Labs etc) appear to be junk.
https://www.youtube.com/@Ahnestly/videos
https://www.youtube.com/@btodtv/videos
https://www.youtube.com/@Ahnestly/videos
https://www.youtube.com/@btodtv/videos
As someone with a bad back, this has been a game changer for me. Not only do I have one in my office at home, I now have one in the office at work so I am regularly in mine for 12 hours a day. The lumber support and headrest are excellent.
I bought the first one direct from Italy and the work one from Currys.
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/arozzi-vernazza-...
I bought the first one direct from Italy and the work one from Currys.
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/arozzi-vernazza-...
I've had a Secret Lab Titan Evo for a year or two. I looked at loads beforehand but the trouble is it's very hard to find anywhere that you can have a test-sit before you buy. Herman Miller tend to be seen as the best and they make gaming chairs, but they're their office chairs rebranded with some different colour schemes: https://ukstore.hermanmiller.com/pages/gaming Bit more Rolls Royce pricing than MX5 though.
As for the Secret Lab chair, as someone said above the base is pretty firm. The back is firm too but with the lumber support cushion and headrest you'd never notice. My previous chair gave me pain between my shoulders as the armrests were fixed. I like the Secret Lab chair as the arms go up and down, back and forth, in and out and rotate, so they're four-way adjustable. The chairs come in 3 different sizes too which might be handy for you. You can get game-specific design tie-ins that might be popular. The cover can be replaced, albeit I think a new one is £120. I'd give it 8/10. Certainly not junk.
As for the Secret Lab chair, as someone said above the base is pretty firm. The back is firm too but with the lumber support cushion and headrest you'd never notice. My previous chair gave me pain between my shoulders as the armrests were fixed. I like the Secret Lab chair as the arms go up and down, back and forth, in and out and rotate, so they're four-way adjustable. The chairs come in 3 different sizes too which might be handy for you. You can get game-specific design tie-ins that might be popular. The cover can be replaced, albeit I think a new one is £120. I'd give it 8/10. Certainly not junk.
Edited by Snubs on Wednesday 6th November 13:06
reddit is awash with people who hate gaming chairs. It's true they aren't designed to be ergonomic, but not everyone is after an ergonomic chair. Ergonomic chairs want you to sit in the correct position to protect your lower back. When I'm gaming I like to slouch, cross my legs, lean to one side, etc. Ergonomic chairs do not let you do this comfortably. Ergonomic chairs are not one size fits all either, ideally you try out a few before committing.
I got a SecretLab Titan Evo last year in the cloth material. The cloth is nice, stops you getting a sweaty arse in the summer. Lots of adjustment in the arms/recliner/lumbar support. The pillow is a nice touch and connects with a magnet. The base is wide so you can shuffle around in it. It's definitely not ergonomic in the sense that it's not designed to support the human body sitting in it for 50 hours a week (although some people do use them for this). But it does the job of making casually sitting at a desk more pleasant. It looks exactly the same as when I got it. The different colour choices are interesting and means you can tie it into the room or the setup. I'd say it is overpriced though, so you need to try and catch them on a half decent sale to be 'worth' it. The packaging is very fancy but not worth paying £150 extra for. And in terms of comfort alone I'm sure an office chair will offer something similar for a much lower price, just won't look as cool.
I got a SecretLab Titan Evo last year in the cloth material. The cloth is nice, stops you getting a sweaty arse in the summer. Lots of adjustment in the arms/recliner/lumbar support. The pillow is a nice touch and connects with a magnet. The base is wide so you can shuffle around in it. It's definitely not ergonomic in the sense that it's not designed to support the human body sitting in it for 50 hours a week (although some people do use them for this). But it does the job of making casually sitting at a desk more pleasant. It looks exactly the same as when I got it. The different colour choices are interesting and means you can tie it into the room or the setup. I'd say it is overpriced though, so you need to try and catch them on a half decent sale to be 'worth' it. The packaging is very fancy but not worth paying £150 extra for. And in terms of comfort alone I'm sure an office chair will offer something similar for a much lower price, just won't look as cool.
I have a SecretLab Titan in fake leather.
It's rubbish and the fake leather is now coming apart with what I would consider light use; I contacted support, who said they don't supply replacement parts as the design has slightly changed, and suggested it was caused by "Accumulated perspiration"
They gave me the option to buy a new one with a £70 discount, but I decided to look for something else.
I will try to pop up a picture tonight.
It's rubbish and the fake leather is now coming apart with what I would consider light use; I contacted support, who said they don't supply replacement parts as the design has slightly changed, and suggested it was caused by "Accumulated perspiration"
They gave me the option to buy a new one with a £70 discount, but I decided to look for something else.
I will try to pop up a picture tonight.
- edit to add picture
Edited by TheRainMaker on Tuesday 5th November 17:30
I picked up one of the GT omega ones in a sale. The high back and support are handy for catching 40 winks in boring meetings. Lumbar cushion as part of the design is a nice touch too. Used for work daily.
Not sure I'd bother with the more expensive ones, possibly if I sat in a secretlabs then I'd see what the extra £350 gets you, but not likely to cough up that much without trying it first. I'd pick a gaming style one over a normal office chair again as I find it more comfortable.
Not sure I'd bother with the more expensive ones, possibly if I sat in a secretlabs then I'd see what the extra £350 gets you, but not likely to cough up that much without trying it first. I'd pick a gaming style one over a normal office chair again as I find it more comfortable.
I've got a Secret Lab Titan, great chair. Firm and square, designed so you can sit cross legged, or put a knee up etc. The arms adjust and swivel as needed and I can play guitar comfortably on it too, which is something a lot of chairs can't manage. The pleather on mine is still in good shape after 3 years of solid use, though if you sweat piss maybe your mileage will differ. No creaks or rattles, I'd say I'd but a new one when this one is done but it feels like it will last a while yet. I believe SL do a lumbar support but I've never looked into it as it's not something I'd use, the little magnetic head pillow is enough for me.
As much as this is PH, I wouldn't recommend one of the racing bucket style seats. Great if you're playing a racing sim but very uncomfortable for anything else unless you only play in short sessions. The lack of space and the way they're shaped to only fit one seating position means you can't move around and stay comfortable.
Some people swear by ergonomic chairs. If you've got piles or a bad back, these might be worth looking into.
As much as this is PH, I wouldn't recommend one of the racing bucket style seats. Great if you're playing a racing sim but very uncomfortable for anything else unless you only play in short sessions. The lack of space and the way they're shaped to only fit one seating position means you can't move around and stay comfortable.
Some people swear by ergonomic chairs. If you've got piles or a bad back, these might be worth looking into.
Mastodon2 said:
Some people swear by ergonomic chairs. If you've got piles or a bad back, these might be worth looking into.
As someone who has a legacy of back problems resulting in a bad slipped disk and several operations and is shorter than average (at just under 5'4") I need to warn that a lot of these ergonomic chairs are designed for the average sized person, so if you are too short (like me) or too tall then the ergonomic curves are in the wrong place.As others have said the annoying part of choosing a chair is you really need to try them but it is nigh on impossible. I have the new (or newer) 'short' Secret Labs Titan, which works very well for me with it's height range, adjustable bolster support (the old small SL labs chair would have been no good for me with it's back cushion), height and width arm rest supports. I can sit in it for far too long without any issues (at least once I got used to the hard base). Mine is two years old and shows no signs of wear, but I did get the cloth version, avoiding the PU as that never lasts (under 2 years on my previous Office World chair).
Oddly enough I do also have an ergonomic chair, which I got for free for review as a member of the Amazon Vine program. For up to about 2 hours it is supremely comfortable, then after my back starts playing up big time. I actually use it as my TV chair (which also stops me watching TV for too long).
Edited by dapprman on Thursday 7th November 14:28
I have this, bought four years and 3 months ago:
https://www.noblechairs.co.uk/en-gb/hero-series/bl...
I use it every day when i used to work from home and every evening since the day it was bought. It looks the same as the day I bought it. I'm no slight chap either..
I've tilted it back and snoozed in it hundreds of times too. I's be happy to recommend it and in the particular material that I have linked. It was new as a design/material when I bought it
https://www.noblechairs.co.uk/en-gb/hero-series/bl...
I use it every day when i used to work from home and every evening since the day it was bought. It looks the same as the day I bought it. I'm no slight chap either..
I've tilted it back and snoozed in it hundreds of times too. I's be happy to recommend it and in the particular material that I have linked. It was new as a design/material when I bought it
Steven_RW said:
I have this, bought four years and 3 months ago:
https://www.noblechairs.co.uk/en-gb/hero-series/bl...
I use it every day when i used to work from home and every evening since the day it was bought. It looks the same as the day I bought it. I'm no slight chap either..
I've tilted it back and snoozed in it hundreds of times too. I's be happy to recommend it and in the particular material that I have linked. It was new as a design/material when I bought it
This might be a daft question but most of these gaming chairs appear to be designed for PC gaming. Do chairs like this one do the job for console gaming where you're sat with a controller in your hand rather than with your arms rested on the arm rest for mouse/keyboard use?https://www.noblechairs.co.uk/en-gb/hero-series/bl...
I use it every day when i used to work from home and every evening since the day it was bought. It looks the same as the day I bought it. I'm no slight chap either..
I've tilted it back and snoozed in it hundreds of times too. I's be happy to recommend it and in the particular material that I have linked. It was new as a design/material when I bought it
Juanco20 said:
This might be a daft question but most of these gaming chairs appear to be designed for PC gaming. Do chairs like this one do the job for console gaming where you're sat with a controller in your hand rather than with your arms rested on the arm rest for mouse/keyboard use?
They're fine for me, but I do find I end up alternating between resting the controller in my lap and resting my arms on on the arm rests. I tend to play most games with mouse and keyboard but some stuff like 3rd person action adventure games are better on controller. If I was picking a chair purely for console gaming and was therefore using a decent sized TV, I'd probably get a La-Z Boy recliner type thing.
ked. Not impressed at all for something that was £150 plus.Had a SL Titan 2020 since, well, 2020.
Not a mark on it, it's used every day for 6-8 hours and is by far the most comfortable chair I've ever used, over and above a HM Aeron that I sold to a friend when getting the Titan.
The Aeron broke and was junked in about 2022, the Titan still looks like new.
Not a mark on it, it's used every day for 6-8 hours and is by far the most comfortable chair I've ever used, over and above a HM Aeron that I sold to a friend when getting the Titan.
The Aeron broke and was junked in about 2022, the Titan still looks like new.
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