Are "gaming" chairs just a con?

[Marc_LFD]

I've seen a lot of so-called "gaming" chairs and they looked tacky, slim/thin, and uncomfortable. So... I bought an office chair and it was way better of a purchase and very comfy.

That being said, you can't go with any office chair either, you'd need to make sure it's adequate to your needs.

 

[Hayato213]

I think it come down to people preference, but to me having a chair being really comfortable with is important.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I've seen a lot of so-called "gaming" chairs and they looked tacky, slim/thin, and uncomfortable. So... I bought an office chair and it was way better of a purchase and very comfy.

That being said, you can't go with any office chair either, you'd need to make sure it's adequate to your needs.

They are supposedly quite comfortable (although they certainly don't look it)
That being said, the fact that companies feel the need to label everything "gaming", even things that aren't typically associated with gaming, is in itself a con. A lot of the time, you are paying extra for that label. Take gaming headsets for example, none of them can compare to a similarly priced pair of studio headphones and separate microphone (such as a ModMic), and the microphones on them are always mediocre no matter how much you are paying.
Gaming chairs aren't necessarily bad, although there are a lot of cheaply built ones, you can find quality ones too, from companies like Secret Lab.
Of course, none of them can compare to a Herman Miller ergonomic chair, but you wouldn't expect that for the price.
Personally, I have an IKEA Markus chair (also a quite popular choice among gamers), which seems to be well built and is quite comfortable.

 

[M7L7NK7]

You aren't a real gamers unless you act like one, sit in your chair drinking prime!!

 

[Jayro]

You aren't a real gamers unless you act like one, sit in your chair drinking prime!!

*Monster Energy

 

[Seriel]

At the end of the day it's just branding and a style of chair. You can use an office chair for gaming or a gaming chair for office work. As long it's one that fits you and fits your needs, it's fine.

 

[ZeroT21]

Guess I'm the only oddball gaming in a bean bag chair

 

[linuxares]

Not really. They aren't as good as a proper office chair that's for certain. Having own a DXRacer since I feel for the "best seats" thing, I regret it. Overpriced and kind of cheap with the piston.

Now I got somenoname office chair from a German company. Pretty good but I do sometimes miss having a neckrest.

 

[HellGhast]

I've seen a lot of so-called "gaming" chairs and they looked tacky, slim/thin, and uncomfortable. So... I bought an office chair and it was way better of a purchase and very comfy.

That being said, you can't go with any office chair either, you'd need to make sure it's adequate to your needs.

Yes gaming chairs are a bogus mix of office chair trying to look cool by mimicking racing seats, completely mediocre.
Gamers Nexus covered this issue in the video below:



As console gamer I'll tell you this, be it an office chair, an executive chair or a gaming chair...they all seem uncomfortable as hell.

Nothing beats lounging back on a recliner or lazy boy while gaming with a console on a massive 77" 4K-120Hz OLED as opposed to sitting upright on a desk with an office chair...feels like being back in the office slaving away at your job.

 

[Redhorse]

considering many companies are trending to standing as you work; there are standing desks for working at these days......., your options are getting more reasonable by the day.

me?

I get my game on while reclining in bed...

saves footsteps at the end of a hard day of work ...I mean gaming, I mean work... yeah yeah, that's the ticket....

 

[hippy dave]

I get my game on while reclining in bed...

Gaming-in-bed gamers rise up!

I mean figuratively, obviously, I'm totes gonna stay lying down.

 

[Jayro]

I like my $200 gaming chair, it's comfy, extra-wide, and leans back a great deal so I can relax to a movie on the 40" 4K TV I use as a monitor.

 

[KiiWii]

I’ve been through a few now, and a beanbag chair (lol) thanks to my cats..

You get what you pay for with gaming chairs, and I am over the moon with my noblechairs legend, it’s incredibly comfortable and after a year it’s still good as new and gives me zero fatigue over long periods.

https://gbatemp.net/review/noblechairs-legend-series-gaming-chair.2144/

 

[FAST6191]

From where I sit (on an office chair in this instance) then I will echo the general sentiments of above.

Most times I have ever encountered such a thing they take a middle of the road office chair design/OEM offering (but still perfectly adequate for office drones to spend 8 hours a day in and not have to have paid time off from a bad back), swap out the blue or black material for some garish colour, take a CNC sewing machine to stitch their advert (they will call it a logo) on the headrest (a rather less common but not entirely absent feature from office chairs) in some equally garish colour so people watching people playing games/reading off stories from someone else/explaining lore get some latent advertising and call it a day, maybe occasionally buying in the rights to put a picture of some cartoon character on it or bolting on a holder that is good for nothing but holding dust.

I have always advised either going to the office supplies company (there are firms that buy bankrupt company office furniture and sell it off cheap too that are even better) and getting one from there. That is what I have done for the last 20 or so years, my last chair being more than 10 years old at this point and while I am not fat (wide chair seems pointless to me) I still weigh enough to note and treat sitting down like an extreme sport (if I can jump in my chair and launch myself across the room on its wheels then great) and also do for any offices where people care about such things.

Ikea chairs. Actually yeah I have seen some good stuff in there. Not all of it is by any means and it comes with the usual provisos of ikea quality but if I had not got my last one then I would have got the ikea one I saw two months later (in the clearance section of course) as it was a nice mesh effort (quite the popular style at the time).

If you want to get a bit more radical then scrap yards for cars. Find a decent commuter car or something designed for long jaunts that is there for a nice enough reason and see if you can get a seat out of that to attach to a nice office chair base either from another chair or a supplier.
One absolutely massive note in doing such things. Be super aware of air bags in them if you are going to start messing with the electrics (and if you can have a heated/cooled massage seat in this then serious incentive to play) as even the probing of the wires with a simple multimeter can be enough to set them off leaving you and your room/garage covered in fine dust, assuming it was not right in your face, and ears quite possibly ringing as you were point blank for an explosion. Indeed if there is an automotive crash repair or dealership worth a damn around you then maybe have a chat with them (if it is a 20 minute job for them to remove the old airbags* then consider paying for it).

*if you are lucky they will also blow them up for you to see. Good times there and something to see if you have never seen it and they need to train the boy.

 

[K3Nv2]

Imo anything in the world can be a cash grab, it's just people willing to spend money on dumb things they don't need. Especially now days where there aren't that many stores that allow you to sit on the furniture before you buy it and the stores that do try to over charge 50%.

The market just knows that gamers are easily persuade by what other "influencers" tell them so they get something in return and little billy hassles his parents over a 2 grand gaming chair when a Lay Z Boy is probably 100 times better.

 

[Kioku]

“Gaming chair” is pretty freaking vague if I’m honest. Secretlabs calls their chairs “gaming chairs” and they’re actually OKAY. Expensive though… The ones that model their chairs after racing seats are the ones you want to avoid.

 

[bennet321]

I have a secret labs gaming chair and it is one of the most comfortable chairs I have ever used. That being said I think a really good office chair is not going to be much different as long as you are spending in the same price range

 

[Ryab]

I've seen a lot of so-called "gaming" chairs and they looked tacky, slim/thin, and uncomfortable. So... I bought an office chair and it was way better of a purchase and very comfy.

That being said, you can't go with any office chair either, you'd need to make sure it's adequate to your needs.

For the most part... yeah. Just standard office chairs tend to be a lot more comfy.

 

[Xzi]

They are cheaply built and I had a couple break on me despite being more than 50 lbs under the advertised weight capacity. Unfortunately that cheapness has seeped into a number of office chair brands too, but after some research I found one that has lasted me several years.

 

[urherenow]

You aren't a real gamers unless you act like one, sit in your chair drinking prime!!

No idea what "prime" is... but I have a 12 year single malt and a Hibiki "harmony blend" that's to die for! Does that count?

About the chairs... I Was trying a few at Yodabashi camera just last weekend. Most were indeed uncomfortable. There was one that was SUPER comfortable though. I still passed it up, because it was over $400.