Adding vividness to every gamer’s startup, gaming chairs are not just a gaming symbol anymore, we believe they’re much more!
But are gaming chairs worth it?
Why would one in their right minds spend such a huge amount of money on a gaming chair, when they can opt for much cheaper, normal chairs?
Well, they both offer you a seat, don’t they?
Here is all that you need to know about gaming chairs before deciding whether they are worth it or not!
What are gaming chairs? Are they just not chairs?
With a growing trend of e-sports in the early 2000s, bad postures amongst gamers were inevitable.
In an attempt to address this issue, DXRacer introduced the first-ever gaming chair to the consumer back in 2006.
They were heavily bolstered, flashy chairs that were seemed to be inspired by a race car seat.
However, their selling point wasn’t the flashy color, neither was it contrasted stitching, but it was the backbone support that these chairs offer.
Are gaming chairs worth it and what sets them apart?
- Breathtaking design:
The first thing that you notice regarding these chairs are their designs with curvy backs and bucket-style seating.
This does not mean that design is all that there is to these chairs, but if you were to base your seating arrangement on comfort alone, opting for a sofa might be a better option.
The aesthetics that these chairs offer are the life they bring to the room.
- Boost in productivity
Gaming chairs make sure that your posture stays upright with proper lumbar support so that you can spend prolonged hours on it either working or gaming without having to deal with anybody’s aches or tiredness. But don’t get me wrong, picking up a bad chair can actually mess up your back and the next thing you know you are buying a massage table.
Or maybe some electric massagers that are popular these days.
A well-rested body allows for a fresh mind, hence increasing your productivity.
These gaming chairs come in all shapes and sizes. You can opt for one that suits your body the best, so you can spend more time sitting down without facing any issues.
While some chairs come in fixed sizes, the rest are customizable according to your need.
You can move the armrests up and down according to your liking and make yourself even more comfortable.
- Efficient use of space
Gaming chairs do not take up much. Some counterparts, that have extra padding for added comfort are so huge at times that they make a room appear smaller.
With a slim and sleek design, gaming chairs take up minimal space.
Few chair models can even be folded for easy storage when not gaming.
Drawbacks of these gaming chairs
- Price
Indeed, everything comes at a price. Gaming chairs offer great benefits and don’t lack in any form, yet they ought to be heavy on the pocket.
A great comfortable gaming chair could cost you up to 2000$.
The choice being between a hefty price or your comfort and health.
- Material
There are several kinds of material out there being used to stitch gaming chairs, but the majority of them are finished in leather.
Leather may sound royal, but it comes with its own set of problems such as their leather heating up during summertime.
And if exposed to heat for longer durations of time, the leather may form cracks in it, making it not-so-royal anymore.
Other than that, the material is perfect, only if you don’t sweat.
As sweat tends to leave a sticky mess on the chair once you leave, making it awkward for your self to return to the sticky mess later during the day.
Better to have a duster handy during the summers if you plan on spending long durations of time on the chair. Consistent use could cause the color of the leather to fade over time.
- Buying process
There are a plethora of gaming chairs available in the market. Ever since the success of the first gaming chair back in 2006, several furniture companies have popped up and produced their variants of gaming chairs.
It does add to the consumer choice, but at times it becomes quite frustrating picking out the perfect gaming chair.
They’ll all have their pros and cons and the chances are that you might end up spending more on a chair for useless features.
Proper knowledge about the product is required before you set foot in the market to buy one.
- Watch out for scammers
There are only a handful of brands that can be termed as the original brands that manufacture gaming chairs, such as, DXRacer, Secretlab, Vertagear, and so on.
If you manage to find a gaming chair of some other unknown brand, chances are that it is the same branded chair, sold under a different badge.
This could be particularly helpful if you are a little tight on budget, but this may cause problems in the long term.
I will always suggest you opt for the original branded chair if the budget is not an issue.
How to choose the perfect gaming chair?
Our pick is the AmazonBasics BIFMA Certified Gaming Chair.
But if you want to do your own research then look for the following:
Pay attention to the lumbar support
There is no such thing as generic lumbar support.
Every individual requires different lumbar support. Lumbar supports are usually not adjustable in gaming chairs and they are fixed.
Not looking out for the lumbar support and buying a gaming chair blind-sighted may not solve your back-ache problems.
There are a few gaming chairs that offer adjustable lumbar support, but it is simply a pillow placed on the seat that you can adjust accordingly.
Hence, adjustable lumbar support might not be a suitable option since you will often find yourself readjusting the lumbar support just because the pillow slipped away when you decided to do a little stretch.
Take your time, know what your back wants, and pick a chair with the lumbar support that brings you comfort.
Avoid purchasing the gaming chair online
As effortless as it might seem, buying a gaming chair online has its drawback.
The most important one being that you will not be able to test the chair.
The sole purpose of overspending on a gaming chair is to bring you unparalleled comfort.
It’s always better to head down to the store and physically test the chair before buying it. Rest, if you are dead stuck on buying a chair online, search for the one with the best reviews.
Pick the right material
Even though most of the gaming chairs are leather stitched, there are a few fabric stitched gaming chairs as well. they might not stand out as much as the leather stitched ones, they are the better options if you don’t care much for aesthetic purposes.
Fabric will prevent you from sweating excessively, especially if you live in a humid climate.
This will prevent the chair from becoming sticky. However, at the same time, fabric seats are difficult to clean than leather ones. Therefore align your priorities before you settle for a chair.
Don’t be too quick to judge
It takes time to get used to a new chair.
The stakes are high that your body might go sore within the first few days of sitting in your new gaming chair.
This is partly because gaming chairs put you in an upright position which is good for your posture, and ultimately would result in your posture being corrected, initially, it will feel as if the chair is not good enough and is giving you a sore body which is not true. Spend more and more time sitting in the chair, even if it becomes uncomfortable.
This will correct your posture and once you are done having your posture corrected the chair will start feeling right at home
Gaming chairs vs Office Chairs
An office chair is one which is used to sit and do any basic deskwork. They come with fundamental features like adjusting the height or rotating the chair by 360°.
The main issue with office chairs is that they come with fixed backrests and armrests which restrict people in the way they want to sit.
Not mentioning, how sitting for long hours in a fixed position lead to backaches and neck pain.
Gaming chairs, on the contrary, give you the luxury of adjusting the armrests and backrests, they also have longer armrests that are cushioned to provide maximum comfort.
Let us elaborate more on the striking differences between Gaming chairs and Office chairs:
Our Pick on the best office chair:
Comfort factor
Generally, for short periods of sitting, Office chairs take the throne from Gaming chairs for a lot of people since they offer a familiar design that most people are accustomed to.
If you want to test a basic office chair for comfortability, simply check the cushioning and sturdiness factors of the seat.
Sit on the chair for a while and examine the height adjustment, for further testing you can lean back to get a better understanding of the back support.
Having said that, if your job requires long hours of sitting time in front of a computer for office work, office chairs simply don’t cut it. Gaming chairs easily take the win as after few days of consistent usage, many people find it hard to gain comfort in the traditional office chairs.
Traditional chairs more often than not force users to shift positions throughout the day to feel comfortable.
The most obvious telltale sign that a chair isn’t user friendly is when people constantly fidget and move to find a comfortable position to sit in. When this happens, users start slouching and adapt to the physical design of the chair to find comfort.
Gaming chairs, on the other hand, adapt for the user to give a better sitting experience.
The thicker cushioning provides a comfortable base for your glutes and legs while the long-padded backrest ensures your spine is tension free.
Not only this; the lumbar and neck paddings support the natural shape of the spine.
The Adjustability aspect
As we’ve talked, traditional office chairs offer limited adjustability with height and rocking functions. Gaming chairs, on the other hand, provide an array of adjustability options that suit your sitting style.
During stressful days of work where sitting for longer periods of time is a requirement, every part of the body gets tired and that includes the forearms and hands.
Keeping this in mind, the quality of a good chair can be determined by its features that help in reducing the stress put on these body parts.
Gaming chairs come with comfortable armrests that support your hands, wrists, and forearms. This gives support for any position the user sits in by adapting to the user’s needs.
The armrests can be spread and lowered to support a comfortable sitting posture or they can be raised to the height of your desk during working hours.
Different adjustability for relaxing and working gives more rocking option in comparison to traditional office chairs where only 1 sitting position is supported for both working and relaxing hours.
Another striking feature of adjustability in gaming chairs is that of reclining, office chairs by default have fixed back angles, meaning reclining options aren’t available.
On the other hand, gaming chairs on average can recline to at least 135° while a few can even recline to 180°.
This provides more adjustability as you can sit in a reclining position of your choice, however, the ideal recline for work is somewhere between 100° and 110°.
Hence, it is important to know the chair adjustments to make the best out of them, else you will end up wasting money on your gaming chair. You should know what features you would be adjusting every once in a while, to make the chair suit your needs, therefore, buy the chair that has those adjustable features.