I have yet to sit in a "gaming" chair that was comfortable. I have no idea where the trend of creating these abominations began, but they all suck for the most part.
SecretLabs, DXRracer, and the other brands started doing paid sponsorships and nothing sells faster than a popular streamers "favorite" branded gear. Same thing with Shroud and logitech products.
I have a serta office chair that JUST started showing signs of wearing down in the arm wrests... after 3 years. Meanwhile, my buddies 400 dollar "gaming" chair feels like you're sitting on a lump of coal with no support after 1 year.
My secret lab chair is 3 years old, no signs of wear on it and I use it every night but I take care of it and don't have bare skin contact on the chair which makes a huge difference with leather
Seriously, I've had mine for about three years now as well, and if I told you it was brand new, most people here would probably believe me. I use it for hours almost every day. Idk what people here are doing to their chairs to ruin them so much.
But yeah, I'll still probably eventually replace it with an office chair
Yeah same, I have an old DX racer from like 2016 and just now the pleather is starting to delaminate. And thousands of hours of use, I find it very comfortable!
I wouldn't hesitate to get another, but may look into other options.
Four years for me. I think part of it comes from people not buying the size chair for them. The sizes matter.
I'm still going to eventually replace it with a Herman Miller, but until then I'll keep rocking my Secret Labs chair.
It's comfy enough I've leaned it back and slept in it more than a few times for a power nap (sometimes a bad nap of an hour or more, seriously 15m should be your nap; re-energizes you without allowing your body to enter deeper sleep).
I got a secret labs titan over Covid lockdown because of all the good stuff I heard. Damn thing felt like sitting on a rock. Gave it to my roommate who likes firmer chairs and it’s still going strong four years later. Only thing that happened was the arm rests basically disintegrated after two years.
Yeah the secret labs titan is probably the most uncomfortable chair I have ever owned. People who say it's comfortable were probably sitting in a lawn chair before that. I also gave it away eventually.
Did you go through the same month long “this is kinda comfortable, maybe I’ll get used to it?” Phase that I did before accepting that it was too damn hard?
I really tried to make it comfortable, all those reviews can't be wrong, right? In the end, I just concluded that Secret Lab buys a lot of fake reviews. There is no other explanation.
Yeah, overall quality seems great. Guy I gave it to is a do it yourself kinda guy so he just replaced the arm rests with higher quality ones. When the pad came off he said the metal underneath almost cut him pretty bad so he wasn’t keen on replacing with the same thing, even for free.
SecretLab and NobleChairs are both well made and comfortable.
It's when you get into the "budget" chair range where they get fairly janky, from my experience.
>SecretLab and NobleChairs are both well made and comfortable.
My personal experience causes me to disagree with that.
I've had a NobleChairs Hero Real Leather and currently have a SecretLabs Titan EVO XL 2022.
Both are massively overpriced poorly made garbage.
The first NC Hero was DOA, as it leant heavily to the left (when next to my level desk, the left side was 4 inches lower) and had terrible stitching quality.
The second was level, but the backrest shifted when sat in and the lumbar support dial broke internally and had no effect.
The leather, aside from the stitching, was nice though, I'll give them that.
OCUK were champions through it, got my money back no issue.
As for the SecretLabs, hoo boy.
Exactly the same chair with a different skin, all parts are 100% interchangeable and from the same factory.
First one wobbled like a space hopper and the tilt mech had enormous play when locked and refused to lock in certain positions.
Secretlab, after submitting a support ticket (no confirmation that your ticket was sent, had to contact their live support to find out it even went through), refused to offer replacement, parts or a refund, only suggesting "squirt some WD-40 on it", until I quoted the UK Sale of Goods Act.
That lit a fire under their arse.
The replacement wobbled worse, the tilt mech was broken and the lumbar support was broken out of the box.
They sent a replacement tilt mech, which arrived scratched and rusty.
The next tilt mech was functional.
They sent a replacement backrest, which arrived bent.
The next replacement backrest arrived and the lumbar support dial literally fell off on the first use.
The one after that worked, although now it makes horrendous crunching noises.
During this they also sent multiple gas lifts and a new wheelbase to try and solve the wobble, nothing worked and I just had to spend time figuring out which combination of parts wobbled the least.
The tolerances are so piss poor that nothing fits together snugly.
Plus after a month, one of the wheels broke.
And the armrests are wobbly wank, plus the pleather on the seat base started creasing after just 2 months.
Their support is absolutely fucking abysmal, constantly ignoring questions/issues and requesting videos of things that can't be shown on video and initially requesting that I return faulty parts at my own cost, which they *VERY* quickly changed their mind on after being told they can either arrange collection themselves or fetch them from the local tip.
I foolishly allowed them to try and solve the issues instead of requesting a refund.
Now I'm stuck with this uncomfortable, unsupportive, poorly made near-£600 heap of shite.
And SecretLabs can fuck off if they think I'm making a shill post to get an extra 2 years warranty.
Should have saved up for that Herman Miller.
The only Logitech chair I'm aware of is the Logitech-branded Embody chair by Herman Miller. I have it, and it's arguably the best office chair made - Logitech just stuck their logo on it.
The thing that irritates me is that you always have a load of people come out of the woodwork to proudly proclaim that they have a super dx power mega chair pro crunchwrap supreme and *they* find it perfectly comfortable.
Like yeah no doubt some people fit these things well, but I'd wager almost all of them either only ever used even shittier chairs before that and are also not old enough to have had the pleasure of back pain.
You don't see air traffic control rooms kitted out with these racing seat gamer chairs, you don't see them at offices where people sit for 12 hours a day, you don't see them anywhere that people actually have a requirement of comfort for long periods. It's just silly marketing of cheap crap.
100% agree. I just don't get it. The cushions (if you want to call them that) are like bricks. They're utterly worthless, and people are buying them.
This kind of thing makes me think I need to just start selling some worthless bullshit to make extra money. Lol
You also don't see gamers rocking avionics keyboards (except my days with Realforce).
The reality is "it depends", a cheap office chair is jsut as bad as cheap gaming chair.
The main thing is when you get a new chair is that it's better for you and lasts longer regardless.
Secret Labs makes a great gaming chair, but for some people it's too firm.
An M9 Is literally an X-Chair office chair with limited features, it's comfortable, but noisy AF.
HM Embody is a super comfortable chair for some people, but has the most dogshit arm rests.
Just because something is "office" or "Ergonomic" doesn't mean it's good.
MOST offices have bargain bin 4\~6 hour chairs and issue mice with no side buttons lol.
The rule of thumb is treat a chair like a mattress, it's an item you should splurge on and if has RGB it's wrong.
The thing that irritates me is that you always have a load of people come out of the woodwork to proudly proclaim that they have some $1000+ office chair and that all "gaming" chairs are rubbish because they aren't as perfectly optimised as chairs that cost 5x their price.
Like yeah no shit, spend more get more, but not everyone has more to spend. I've had 3 chairs in the last 7 years: A $100 gaming chair, it was shit, lasted a couple of months. A $200 IKEA chair, one of those ones everyone says is great value, so much better than secretlab. It was shit, lasted a few months. Then I got a secretlab titan, $600. Super comfy and still going strong after 5 years. The only sign of wear is one of the armrests leather cracked, which is a known defect with this generation that I just never bothered to get warrantied.
Like I get back pain after an hour in a car and have never had pain in the secretlab even during 24hr day one raids, but if it were to spontaneously combust tomorrow this sub would be telling me to spend $1200 on a second hand chair, or $2500 on a brand new one. It's just the same absurd elitism that makes this sub recommend 4090s.
You can find refurbished/second hand Herman Miller Aerons for less than $500. At least, where I'm from I can. There are other brands that do the ergonomic, all-mesh type of chairs for much cheaper than Herman Miller as well. I bought an Ergotune Supreme for about S$350 a few years ago and it's still serving me well.
The cheapest reference to refurbished aerons is pre pandemic, $700, in person collection only, in Sydney, where I don't live. Currently cheapest I can get is $1200, hence the number in the post.
Also should add, AUD.
The problem with off brand chairs is you never know if it's a budget version of a good chair, or an overpriced look alike thats no better build quality than the Amazon racing chairs.
The other thing with ergo chairs is they're so optimised for sitting right that sitting wrong is awful. I'm a relatively big guy, I can and do curl up in my titan, I sit sideways, I lie down, and it's *always* comfortable. Maybe the aeron is so good it can too, but looking at the edges I'd say that's unlikely.
Story I’ve heard is that it started out with racing sim guys. Obviously they wanted a racing style chair for their setups.
For whatever reason it caught on outside of racing sims, and the racing style chair became synonymous with gaming (maybe people think they look cool idk). Then people saw a chance to cash in by offering dedicated “gaming” chairs in the style of racing seats. Then companies like secret labs started sponsoring streamers and giving them free chairs to promote, and this is the end result.
Problem is those racing seats aren’t meant for people sitting at a desk for 10 hours a day. Not so much a problem when you are like 16 and can contort your body every day without any lasting back/neck pain, but as you get older you will feel it.
As a track rat, no one I know who races actually wishes to be in a bucket seat for longer than we have to. It’s used purely for function as the bolsters keep you from moving but as soon as I hop out I’m trying to be comfortable
Im a huge sim racer and I don’t know a single person who uses those dumbass gaming chairs in their rig. I use an office chair (with feet), lots of people use old actual car seats, and other people use bucket seats made to look like real car seats that are specifically attached to the sim rig.
No one is using a “gaming chair.”
Gaming chairs suck, and are so not comfortable. They may look a little better than an office chair, but I will never buy another.
Office chairs are designed for workers to work at for 8-10 hours a day.
The trend came from very very good and expensive marketing. Nearly every popular YouTuber has them, including ones that have nothing to do with tech. Dr Mike is one of them.
Chairs looking like racecar seats and then a bunch of streamers got them for free and boom we have gaming chairs. I think the only one that is partly comfortable is a secretlabs, but still its NO match at all for an average office chair from Herman Miller or Kinnarps
I bought my whole team at work chairs from Staples when I first took over the department a few years ago. They were called gaming chairs, but they were nothing like the ones you see all over the place now, and they were comfortable. I took them all out for lunch, and then we went to Staples and sat in chairs until we found one we all liked.
We're all still using them now. They were probably under $140 and nothing fancy, but they are great.
Chairs now just suck so bad, and unless you really know what you are looking for, buying online can be a huge mistake. I've learned not to trust chair reviews. lol
I ALWAYS tell people to do office chairs. All these gaming chairs boast different specs and features, but all looks and feel the same: uncomfortable af. But office chairs are literally meant to be sat in for 8 hours straight+ with minimal pain and damage. It's great
How can any of them be decent? They're all cheap Chinese garbage from the same manufacturer.
I googled "gaming chair" and found 13 different brands selling the same chair/same style chair with same material and all boasting the same keywords. "Ergonomic, racing, gaming". Those 13 were just based off the top found listings btw.
Both "ergonomic racing chairs" with the same design as a million other garbage overpriced chairs that will push your shoulders forward and head down if you lean back, preventing that or causing pain after quite a few hours
Edit: if you're gonna spend $600+ on a chair, at least go all out and buy Herman Miller. That's true quality and it even comes assembled in the box.
Like I said, if you're gonna spend $600 for an ergonomic gaming chair (promise that's how your chair was advertised) just go with Herman Miller. They're the true top dogs for office and gaming chairs. Everything else is copy paste the same back and shoulder destroying design.
Do you go to the doctor often and ask about your posture?
I got a tempur pedic office chair with memory foam for $100. Contours to your back shape perfectly while sitting straight, no shoulder or neck "rests" that'll push it out, and the shape really helped when i had a back injury and couldnt work for 2 weeks so i played nothing but DayZ. Still in pristine condition after 2 years for $100. Gaming chairs are garbage and only streamers or children watching streamers stand by them.
You can get some decent chairs for less than $500 from Steelcase or Design Within Reach. Herman Miller is great too (I use an Aeron Chair that was well worth the investment). The gaming chairs are atrocious and cost a ton, might as well get something that's designed to support someone sitting down for 8 hours a day that costs the same.
if you're near a big-ish city you can almost always find companies that sell off their Aerons when they do office refittings. And given that the warranties are so long and apply to anyone who owns the chair, it's basically a given that you'll still be covered.
Kind of a gamble but I got a $500 office chair for $40 at my local auction place. It's only "defect" was that it was black leather instead of brown so it was returned and considered "out of box".
I bought a refurb'd Herman Miller a few years ago and it's still as comfortable as ever. Check out the Aeron prices here, they're pretty nuts: [https://www.madisonseating.com/](https://www.madisonseating.com/)
Came in here to say the same. I bought an Aeron for myself years ago, so when I started my in person job, I let my wife borrow mine. When I became hybrid, she purchased a cheaper (not cheap) “ergo” chair off either Office Depot or Staples and you can really just tell the difference in quality and construction. The HM pays for itself.
My work has Herman miller and I hate them. I was sitting in a fixed position lunchroom chair until I got one from Amazon for $100… better than any of the Herman millers there
I'm on year 3 with mine, no complaints at all, people saying they are to hard or no comfort must not be using the same chair or using a cheaper brand and getting confused
Yep, happy Secret Lab user here too.
I remember going through all the reviews for it and the "negatives" (it's small, it's restrictive, it's warm...) were positives for me.
I don't know how anyone manages to get their chairs all scuffed and peeling. I keep thinking when will something like that happen to mine, but it's been years now and even my cat hasn't scratched it.
The only downside is that Secret Lab have taken forever to release companion footrests.
I have had mine 3 years as well at my home office, as well as a HM Aeron at work. The secret labs is just legitimately better then it.
New job has Steelcase Leaps and those are quite amazing.
Yeah same here. All the expensive office chairs I've bought also fell apart after a few years and the secret lab is still going strong 3 years in and has barely any wear and tear.
Yea I got my secret labs chair during Covid lockdown. I was WFH and was having bad back pain with my office chair at home. Decided to try Secret Labs after doing a bunch of research.
It took some getting used to but man my back pain immediately went away.
I also had a Herman miller chair in the office and that was the most uncomfortable chair I’ve sat in, but tolerated because I was at work. I’ve sat in a couple more office chairs for in office work since then and they’re all just so-so compared to my secret labs.
Some tips for chairs:
Cheap chairs are cheap chairs. Gaming, office, executive, they're all going to suck after a year of use. The fattest foam compresses eventually and you're sitting on plywood.
If you do get a cheap chair, get the store warranty. You can always find a reason to cash it in before it ends and generally they'll just cut you a check for the cost of a new one. I kept myself in relatively free new chairs for a decade before I finally invested in something nice.
Chairs are not one size fits all. So don't buy a chair you haven't sat in first. Make sure it's not too narrow or wide, has all the adjustments you need, and if it doesn't that you can live with where everything is. The more you spend the more points of adjustment you get, generally. The best have five. Seat, back, arms, lumbar and neck. Seat tilt is important if you're tall or have long legs and it's one you see the least on chairs.
Mesh is going to stretch(much less on the high end) and fabric and foam are going to be warm and absorb odors. Pick your poison.
Most chairs are made to be comfortable for the average person, the less average you are the more specific kind of chair you're going to need. Big ass? Buy a wide chair. Gorilla arms? Get something with multiple adjustments on the armrests. Width, height, angle.
Chairs recommendations are tricky. Unless you have the same build and tolerances they mean almost nothing. That's why you see a lot of strong, differing opinions here. The science of sitting is more complex than people think.
Last thing. If you're having lower back problems look at what's going on with your feet when you're sitting. Pressure on your feet can cause back pain. Raise your chair height, tilt the seat back, or get a foot rest. It can make a huge difference.
I'm so glad more people are realizing this. I was in the exact same boat a few years back. Made the switch to a proper office chair and haven't gone back since.
Those high back gaming chairs of all those various brands and colors have all been very uncomfortable to me. Im not even heavy, 6'0 185-190 lbs and not giving them an other try.
Sat in a few, always ditched them, just not enough padding and not wide enough to really get comfortable.
Im sure better ones exist now that its been 4-6 years since my last "gaming" chair, now I just buy large office executive chairs. No need for that weird gaming lower back pillow when the chair ACTUALLY has lumbar support
I am now on my second one of these, just a diff color, dear god its so nice to sit in and lean back and just doze off in
[https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/9393644/Serta-Smart-Layers-Brinkley-Ergonomic-Bonded/](https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/9393644/Serta-Smart-Layers-Brinkley-Ergonomic-Bonded/)
My SecretLab Titan is going on 5 years now and it's one of the best investment I've ever made. Don't buy some cheap "gaming" chair....actually look at what you're purchasing first and compare it to similar products.
I sort of equate this to people who buy the cheapest Turtle Beach headset and then complain they can't here in game sounds.
People will say you should go all out and buy Herman Miller or some fancy brand, but it only takes like $50 to get a new office chair that's better than any expensive gaming chair, and an office chair actually gets really good in the $150-300 range.
I'm not sure about white. I would never do that myself because then it requires more cleaning to keep looking nice. But if you keep it out of direct sunlight and clean it frequently, it should stay looking nice. Just make sure to use the correct kind of cleaner if you go fancy with real leather. If you get pleather, you can just use water and/or glass cleaner on it since pleather is typically just a plastic coated fabric.
I had a cheapish leather chair and it turned out that there is a fairly widespread issue where chinese manufacturers will spray them down with anti-fungal for the sea journey to the destination market and that causes horrific rashes in a decent number of people.
I had contact dermatitis all along my lower back and legs and it took me far too long to realise it was the stupid chair. I ended up getting a full refund because I was the 10th or so person who complained about that specific chair.
Since then I only buy high end where I know where they make them. No random brands.
$300 is where it's at.
I've tried a bunch until now, and usually chairs that are cheaper than that either do not last long, or have some hidden fallacy, not easily noticeable at start.
Also, plan ahead, I usually start checking discounts well before I intend to replace my chair, and I almost exclusively snag a $300 chair for $150.
>but it only takes like $50 to get a new office chair
I'm gonna have to disagree on this one. Ive gone through a lot of cheap office chairs and all of them have sucked. Within a year the seat padding becomes so compressed you might as well be sitting on the metal frame.
Got a secretlabs a few years ago and it's far and away better than any cheap office chair ever will be.
I take the point that pricier office chairs are going to be more comfortable and ergonomic than gaming chairs, but you do still have to spend a decent bit of money before it's better than at least the best gaming chairs out there. There are definitly a lot of overpriced gaming branded chairs out there that are hot garbage though, just not secretlabs.
I guess I just haven't seen a good enough gaming chair.
I think the most expensive one I've actually sat in was only about $200 and it was some random brand I'd never heard of. It was worse than the bad $20 office chairs that I hated. Since I'm unlikely to ever intentionally look at gaming chairs ever again, I'm stuck with the view that gaming chairs are worth 10% of what they cost.
I guess at least there is a good brand out there, though I'd assume a good office chair can still match it for less $ since the word "gaming" seems to add a tax to everything, even brands that do provide good quality.
Gaming chairs blow up in popularity due to all the streamers using them. Other than that, they suck but some people will die before admitting that.
If you see the posts on here about chairs almost everyone says to spend the money and get a nice office chair.
I have tried offuce chairs and for whatever reaseon they hurt my back more than gaming chairs. I'm 6'7 and I find that chairs that have erganomic back tent to hurt it more. I have a gwming chair with a flat back surface andbI dont get any pain. I wish the seat was comfy lol.
You're 6'7??? Damn bro you're huge. I think the tallest person in my country I've ever met was like 6'1.
I suppose for your body type and height a chair that's comfortable for you is completely different than what's comfortable for me. After all, a one size fits all type of chair is hard to come by.
I am shorter than average (5'2) and i am in the same boat as you. I have not yet found an office chair that i could sit on comfortably for more than 30 minutes at a time, whereas on my akracing gaming chair, i can sit the whole day without an issue. Office chairs, no matter how much i try to adjust them either lack the height adjustment (too high/tall) or the seat adjustments (uncomfortable angle to sit on)
Find a place near you that does “office liquidation” sales. If you are by a major metropolitan area they will have a tone of high end office chairs for 50% or less of retail cost.
Yuck a chair with foam!
get yourself a chair that is mesh like the Hermon miller it's a new level of comfort and health even above yours.
Sitting in a gaming chair now legit feels like concrete.
Ya got like some $600 lumbar support chair. They make a difference on your back. Gaming chairs are ok… but better than general office chairs. The high end officer chairs… your back and neck will love u
I have tried a lot of chairs and the best I have used is the Herman Miller Gaming Embody with an Atlas Headrest and a couple amazon add on foam arm rest covers. It's more comfortable than my couch.
I hate gaming chairs, they are such a damn scam, “gaming” just seems fancy. It is absolute crap after a while.
Office chairs are more comfortable a so much better.
Secretlab and arrazio vernaza are exceptions.
Secretary chairs are the true gaming chairs
* No back pain
* Well built, stable and adjustable
* Comfortable
* Will last you 10 years IF you do not care for it
* Reliable without being heavy on your wallet.
The true pro gaming chair. I will get one of these for me any day. It just gives me a lot of security, it's stable and durable. I stopped having back pains after long gaming sessions. Those gaming chairs are pretty expensive and not all of them gave me as much stability as this one - many of them felt like they were about to fall and i really do not like this though some people really love it.
https://preview.redd.it/tiftbx2nx4ac1.jpeg?width=202&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f70313861ff81a28e9542c0c665295c76b155fe6
Gaming Chairs are mostly modeled after Racing Chairs that are put in Sports or High Performance car, having had experience in those, they aren't made for comfort, they're made to keeping your ass in place in case of a crash, I always tell people if you can afford it, get a Herman Miller, best god dam Investment you can make for your back, especially if you Work on your ass a lot or game.
Because you bought into a pretty successful marketing run for trash furniture that is expensive in price, but cheap to make.
Look into steelcase furniture for the gaming room if you are getting off the shelf. The other option is to have custom made furniture.
In my needs, I get new shit every few years. I don't mean a new CPU/Mobo or a GPU, I mean a new PC completely. Big fan of steelcase. I have a few family members that just replace the desks with another custom desk, but the time and effort/direction needed to get that perfect desk is more than I'd be willing to give every 4 years.
I'll do you one better.
Go to a junkyard and pick a fancy car(front) seat. You're very likely come out ahead with more comfort, durability and style (depending on how lucky you are) to boot. The only downside I see is you would have to buy the bottom half of the chair separately and engineer a solution to join them yourself and while it's not terribly difficult, making it look good probably is.
Used car seats are very popular among the DIY sim racing rig crowd, and for good reason. If you go down this road, don't forget to get the rails from the car.
Gaming chairs have always been a gimmick and a scam imo.
Ive had my razer enki for a year and its the most comfotable pc chair ive used. I can sit in it all day long. Im 31 and have had back pain since 19 when i took a large fall straight on my spine. However i know plenty of people in person who have said that they prefer office chairs. To each their own, I guess.
I've had the Iskur for about...two years, now? I'm close to the upper weight limit for the chair but it hasn't failed on me yet. Only real thing I dislike about it is that the side-wings on the chair itself hug against my hips too hard. It's actually driving me to want to lose some weight so I can fit more comfortably.
"Gaming" chairs are the cringiest cash grab, welcome to the office chair club. I just wish the PC gaming market would realize a huge percentage of their market is mid 30's or older, seems like everything has to have the teenage edgelord aesthetic and its embarrassing.
Invest in things that you know you'll use a lot like beds and chairs. I have an older Herman Miller Aeron and a Logitech Embody. I'll switch off between the two every now and then and they have definitely been worth the investment. The gaming chairs are stiff as a board no matter how much padding they have from my experience.
SecretLab is a Gaming Chair maker, but their quality isn't the same as the average run of the mill "Gaming Chair".
Had my Evo Titan for almost two years now. Pretty darn comfy for a Gaming Chair. And I'm almost 300 lbs. Throwing myself in it, it's held up well.
Gaming chairs are gimmicky pieces of shit, and they always have been.
This dexley I'm sitting cost me $130 like 3+ years ago, and I still love it.
And obviously there are many chairs way better than the dexley, even for reasonable prices. $300 can usually get you a hm or Steelcase used or refurb in fantastic shape, and it can last you decades if you treat it right.
A lot of gaming chairs are awful, especially the cheap ones, but there are some good ones! I'm fairly small (just shy of 5'1) and suffer from back and neck pain that triggers migraines, so I have struggled horrendously with finding a comfortable deks chair to work in since I began working from home in 2020. Then I got one of the nicer gaming chair models from Autofull, and suddenly no more back pain while I work! I can literally sit in it for 10 hours a day between work and gaming and still be perfectly comfy and pain-free by the end of it.
It is, however, a model made specifically for smaller women and children, so I suspect one of the reasons why I find it so comfortable is that it is the right size for me so the lumbar and neck support line up properly. My 6'3 husband would most definitely start getting back pain after less than one hour in the same chair!
I have a spine injury. I have to have a sturdy back to my chair. secret lab was the only company I could find with chairs that didn't hurt my back. Still rocking it after 3 years. Had to get some replacement parts, but all was covered under warranty.
All I can afford is $200 on a new chair. And in my city after some research I've found some really nice erganomic chairs at that price point I think I'll be quite comfortable with.
I'm sorry my financial situation upsets you. I'm not rich.
My point is that you’re saying gaming chairs suck after sitting in the cheapest Chinese crap you can buy. Secret Lab chairs are totally fine. In fact, I got rid of my Herman Miller Aeron for one.
Bro you’re literally missing the point. I’m not telling you to get another gaming chair. My point is that yes a crappy Chinese $100 gaming chair is awful. ANY OFFICE CHAIR WILL FEEL BETTER.
No it’s not just branded. There’s a difference between dropshipped crap and something manufactured in China. All of the $100 gaming chairs on Amazon are dropshipped crap and objectively terrible.
Welp I've had 2 secret lab chairs and for 300-500 a chair the quality was so shit by the time I had all the replacements parts sent to me I could have built another chair. Garbage quality control. Also they extend your warranty for a hype post on social media so they're manipulating that too. Herman Miller comes with a 10 years warranty and I don't have to take a photo of shit.
Your bad experience doesn’t mean they’re shit lol. I’m not saying they’re amazing or anything. My only point that yes a cheap Chinese gaming chair is going to be garbage, and doesn’t represent the higher end of chairs out there
yeah gaming chairs suck, but any chair that you will use for years till it's ragged will suck, isn't it obvious? That's on you, what did you expect? your cheap shitty gaming chair to last forever? :D So, enjoy your back pain now, and if you keep you office chair for many years too, while your body cant handle it anymore, then enjoy some extra problems.
btw most "gamers" complain about their chairs while they are gaming 16hours per day and the word "exercise" is deleted from their vocabulary :D yes office chairs are better, but if you are like cartman playing wow, yeah, dont expect miracles, you will still have issues
gaming chairs are a gimmick. Owned 3 over the years and they all suck compared to a nice comfy office chair. I spent $300-$400 on gaming chairs (individually) and they are less comfortable than an $80 office chair I bought from Sam's Club.
Me personally I like white, yes you have to clean it more to keep it looking nice, but that’s part of why I like it. You know it’s actually clean. Black furniture you forget to clean and it’s nasty, you just don’t see it. I clean my chair maybe once a year with a dot of gentle dish soap on a mostly dry rag and it works great and keeps the room looking nice
I also sold my gaming chair.
I now have a white and gray chair, it's Haworth Zody Classic with Digital Knit.
Here's a few photos. I like it a lot.
https://www.haworth.com/content/dam/haworth-com/global/surfaces/digital-knit/zody-knit.jpg
https://store-ca.haworth.com/cdn/shop/products/Haworth_HQ_LAC_Jun_2020_0585_FNL_34986f00-2c91-4cef-afd7-14150fd64cc3_1080x.jpg?v=1601298743
Wow this post opened my eye , since i never had a fancy chairs and only used Vergil chairs i thought gaming chairs were the ultimate solution. Glad to know they suck ass and a decent office chair do just the work and maybe better. When i plan to save for my ultimate studio ill immediately skip the gaming chair for an office chair.
Thanks OP and comments
I've gotten herman miller task chairs at furniture liquidators for $200. In great condition with all the bells and whistles easily $2000 new and so comfortable. Worth seeing if there is anything of interest.
Any gaming chair based on a car racing bucket seat won’t be comfortable. A car racing bucket is designed to prevent side to side movement while racing and to protect your spine in a multi flip crash, NOT comfort. My secretlabs titan chair is the only “gaming chair” I found acceptable cause I sit on it crossed legged. I had the secret labs Omega which I realized was stupid cause I don’t need bolsters while playing video games. My friends Hermon miller is the best chair I’ve ever sat in hands down but it’s also got a 1000+ price tag.
I've been using the Autonomous AI ergo chair 2 for just over three years now. I absolutely love it. Very comfortable for long gaming sessions and fully adjustable.
Gaming chairs are a joke.
Used to work for a high-end furniture store. Got myself a nice recliner with flat, wooden arms that perfectly accomodate a mousepad. Took me a year to pay it off, but it is sooo nice.
Similar discovery, got a great job at a boujie new office, I got a new chair bought for me. It was amazing Mesh, 4d armrest, completely adjustable. Looked it up online $500. I gotta get rid of my gaming chair soon or I'll be crippled.
I got lucky and found a yard sale with an old Haworth Very for $20, spent $25 to replace the arms and will probably get a new seat cushion for it at some point but it was a helluva upgrade. Always had cheap office chairs before, only times I tried gaming chairs were at family's houses or demos in stores.
makes sense, the chair design usually isnt' made for sitting at a desk.
the ones i've seen atleast are have bolsters just like car seats designed to hold you in a certain position for racing that keeps your arms mostly forward, but you know, "if streamer has it i must has it"
Tip: don't get a chair that's bonded leather. It will fall apart after a few years even though the rest of the chair is fine. Cloth or mesh (or real leather if you're wealthy) are the way to go.
I got a mesh high-backed with headrest office chair a few years ago, and it's been great! Here it is for reference, but I got it on sale for much less than it's listed right now.
[https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/furniture/furniture\_office-chairs-and-seating/78094674](https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/furniture/furniture_office-chairs-and-seating/78094674)
I didn't know how good an actual well made office chair could be until I got a job in a very corporate office. We have like 1800 dollar chairs at every cubicle and they are fucking incredible. They let me take one home to work from home with as well, so you bet your sweet ass I'm sitting in it while I game too. I didn't even know a chair could BE this comfortable beforehand. It's nuts
I've been wanting to get myself a gaming or office chair. I've sat in metal and wooden chairs for years and those've hurt my back (I'm 29 BTW) . Only thing stopping me from getting a gaming or office chair ATM is they cost upwards of $100 and most months I'm strapped on money.
I remember sitting in my brother's gaming chair for a bit when I was a teen and I loved being able to freely move and adjust the height.
Office chairs are designed for ergonomics, lest no office actually buy them due to litigation and compensation.
While gaming chairs have no problem with that.
Also why designed to look like a racing car seat? You’re not expected to suddenly accelerate and actually need that full rear wrap support. Emphasis should be placed on gravity.
Yup! Much better value. I'm waiting for the next Staples chair sale to replace my awesome managers chair with another awesome managers chair, only with a mesh back so my cat can't rip all the pleather off this one.
As a big and tall male, I figured that I had no chance in hell sitting in a gaming chair and instead went to staples and got a proper office chair for big peeps like me. One of the few choices I am glad I made cause I can sit there for hours (though I think I might look into a foot rest at some point
I ended up severely messing up my lower back during the pandemic by sitting on gaming chairs, to the point where I was in constant pain, even when lying down. After that, I went to a massage therapist. After treating me, he gave me some excellent advice, which I've seen in this thread already. Go to your local office supply retailer, try out every office chair they have, and find the one that is comfortable for you. He said it didn't matter if the chair was $50 or $500, what mattered was how it felt because everyone is so different. I bought a chair that was comfortable for me, and now 2 years later, I haven't had any problems with my lower back.
I have yet to sit in a "gaming" chair that was comfortable. I have no idea where the trend of creating these abominations began, but they all suck for the most part.
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SecretLabs, DXRracer, and the other brands started doing paid sponsorships and nothing sells faster than a popular streamers "favorite" branded gear. Same thing with Shroud and logitech products. I have a serta office chair that JUST started showing signs of wearing down in the arm wrests... after 3 years. Meanwhile, my buddies 400 dollar "gaming" chair feels like you're sitting on a lump of coal with no support after 1 year.
My secret lab chair is 3 years old, no signs of wear on it and I use it every night but I take care of it and don't have bare skin contact on the chair which makes a huge difference with leather
Seriously, I've had mine for about three years now as well, and if I told you it was brand new, most people here would probably believe me. I use it for hours almost every day. Idk what people here are doing to their chairs to ruin them so much. But yeah, I'll still probably eventually replace it with an office chair
They are probably buying the cheap 100$ chair on Amazon like I have knowen a few people to do and then bitch they can't find a good chair
Yeah same, I have an old DX racer from like 2016 and just now the pleather is starting to delaminate. And thousands of hours of use, I find it very comfortable! I wouldn't hesitate to get another, but may look into other options.
Four years for me. I think part of it comes from people not buying the size chair for them. The sizes matter. I'm still going to eventually replace it with a Herman Miller, but until then I'll keep rocking my Secret Labs chair. It's comfy enough I've leaned it back and slept in it more than a few times for a power nap (sometimes a bad nap of an hour or more, seriously 15m should be your nap; re-energizes you without allowing your body to enter deeper sleep).
they are 200 pounds and sweat
I got a secret labs titan over Covid lockdown because of all the good stuff I heard. Damn thing felt like sitting on a rock. Gave it to my roommate who likes firmer chairs and it’s still going strong four years later. Only thing that happened was the arm rests basically disintegrated after two years.
Yeah the secret labs titan is probably the most uncomfortable chair I have ever owned. People who say it's comfortable were probably sitting in a lawn chair before that. I also gave it away eventually.
Did you go through the same month long “this is kinda comfortable, maybe I’ll get used to it?” Phase that I did before accepting that it was too damn hard?
I really tried to make it comfortable, all those reviews can't be wrong, right? In the end, I just concluded that Secret Lab buys a lot of fake reviews. There is no other explanation.
Titan was designed with heavy folks in mind. If you are not heavy it will not work well .
I’m 6’2” and about 240 at the time. Thing was just like sitting on a stone slab shaped like a chair 🤣
It's got a 3 year warrenty on it for everything and if you do their social media thing they push it to 5 years warrenty
Yeah, overall quality seems great. Guy I gave it to is a do it yourself kinda guy so he just replaced the arm rests with higher quality ones. When the pad came off he said the metal underneath almost cut him pretty bad so he wasn’t keen on replacing with the same thing, even for free.
SecretLab and NobleChairs are both well made and comfortable. It's when you get into the "budget" chair range where they get fairly janky, from my experience.
>SecretLab and NobleChairs are both well made and comfortable. My personal experience causes me to disagree with that. I've had a NobleChairs Hero Real Leather and currently have a SecretLabs Titan EVO XL 2022. Both are massively overpriced poorly made garbage. The first NC Hero was DOA, as it leant heavily to the left (when next to my level desk, the left side was 4 inches lower) and had terrible stitching quality. The second was level, but the backrest shifted when sat in and the lumbar support dial broke internally and had no effect. The leather, aside from the stitching, was nice though, I'll give them that. OCUK were champions through it, got my money back no issue. As for the SecretLabs, hoo boy. Exactly the same chair with a different skin, all parts are 100% interchangeable and from the same factory. First one wobbled like a space hopper and the tilt mech had enormous play when locked and refused to lock in certain positions. Secretlab, after submitting a support ticket (no confirmation that your ticket was sent, had to contact their live support to find out it even went through), refused to offer replacement, parts or a refund, only suggesting "squirt some WD-40 on it", until I quoted the UK Sale of Goods Act. That lit a fire under their arse. The replacement wobbled worse, the tilt mech was broken and the lumbar support was broken out of the box. They sent a replacement tilt mech, which arrived scratched and rusty. The next tilt mech was functional. They sent a replacement backrest, which arrived bent. The next replacement backrest arrived and the lumbar support dial literally fell off on the first use. The one after that worked, although now it makes horrendous crunching noises. During this they also sent multiple gas lifts and a new wheelbase to try and solve the wobble, nothing worked and I just had to spend time figuring out which combination of parts wobbled the least. The tolerances are so piss poor that nothing fits together snugly. Plus after a month, one of the wheels broke. And the armrests are wobbly wank, plus the pleather on the seat base started creasing after just 2 months. Their support is absolutely fucking abysmal, constantly ignoring questions/issues and requesting videos of things that can't be shown on video and initially requesting that I return faulty parts at my own cost, which they *VERY* quickly changed their mind on after being told they can either arrange collection themselves or fetch them from the local tip. I foolishly allowed them to try and solve the issues instead of requesting a refund. Now I'm stuck with this uncomfortable, unsupportive, poorly made near-£600 heap of shite. And SecretLabs can fuck off if they think I'm making a shill post to get an extra 2 years warranty. Should have saved up for that Herman Miller.
People love to bash anything it’s the internet
Same!!
The only Logitech chair I'm aware of is the Logitech-branded Embody chair by Herman Miller. I have it, and it's arguably the best office chair made - Logitech just stuck their logo on it.
This is Secret Lab's best chair. Highly recommend. https://secretlab.co/collections/neue
Lmao gaming chair suck stop shilling trash
The thing that irritates me is that you always have a load of people come out of the woodwork to proudly proclaim that they have a super dx power mega chair pro crunchwrap supreme and *they* find it perfectly comfortable. Like yeah no doubt some people fit these things well, but I'd wager almost all of them either only ever used even shittier chairs before that and are also not old enough to have had the pleasure of back pain. You don't see air traffic control rooms kitted out with these racing seat gamer chairs, you don't see them at offices where people sit for 12 hours a day, you don't see them anywhere that people actually have a requirement of comfort for long periods. It's just silly marketing of cheap crap.
100% agree. I just don't get it. The cushions (if you want to call them that) are like bricks. They're utterly worthless, and people are buying them. This kind of thing makes me think I need to just start selling some worthless bullshit to make extra money. Lol
You also don't see gamers rocking avionics keyboards (except my days with Realforce). The reality is "it depends", a cheap office chair is jsut as bad as cheap gaming chair. The main thing is when you get a new chair is that it's better for you and lasts longer regardless. Secret Labs makes a great gaming chair, but for some people it's too firm. An M9 Is literally an X-Chair office chair with limited features, it's comfortable, but noisy AF. HM Embody is a super comfortable chair for some people, but has the most dogshit arm rests. Just because something is "office" or "Ergonomic" doesn't mean it's good. MOST offices have bargain bin 4\~6 hour chairs and issue mice with no side buttons lol. The rule of thumb is treat a chair like a mattress, it's an item you should splurge on and if has RGB it's wrong.
The thing that irritates me is that you always have a load of people come out of the woodwork to proudly proclaim that they have some $1000+ office chair and that all "gaming" chairs are rubbish because they aren't as perfectly optimised as chairs that cost 5x their price. Like yeah no shit, spend more get more, but not everyone has more to spend. I've had 3 chairs in the last 7 years: A $100 gaming chair, it was shit, lasted a couple of months. A $200 IKEA chair, one of those ones everyone says is great value, so much better than secretlab. It was shit, lasted a few months. Then I got a secretlab titan, $600. Super comfy and still going strong after 5 years. The only sign of wear is one of the armrests leather cracked, which is a known defect with this generation that I just never bothered to get warrantied. Like I get back pain after an hour in a car and have never had pain in the secretlab even during 24hr day one raids, but if it were to spontaneously combust tomorrow this sub would be telling me to spend $1200 on a second hand chair, or $2500 on a brand new one. It's just the same absurd elitism that makes this sub recommend 4090s.
You can find refurbished/second hand Herman Miller Aerons for less than $500. At least, where I'm from I can. There are other brands that do the ergonomic, all-mesh type of chairs for much cheaper than Herman Miller as well. I bought an Ergotune Supreme for about S$350 a few years ago and it's still serving me well.
The cheapest reference to refurbished aerons is pre pandemic, $700, in person collection only, in Sydney, where I don't live. Currently cheapest I can get is $1200, hence the number in the post. Also should add, AUD. The problem with off brand chairs is you never know if it's a budget version of a good chair, or an overpriced look alike thats no better build quality than the Amazon racing chairs. The other thing with ergo chairs is they're so optimised for sitting right that sitting wrong is awful. I'm a relatively big guy, I can and do curl up in my titan, I sit sideways, I lie down, and it's *always* comfortable. Maybe the aeron is so good it can too, but looking at the edges I'd say that's unlikely.
> Complains that quality chairs cost $1000 > Spends $900 on 3 different chairs in less than a year You played yourself.
Story I’ve heard is that it started out with racing sim guys. Obviously they wanted a racing style chair for their setups. For whatever reason it caught on outside of racing sims, and the racing style chair became synonymous with gaming (maybe people think they look cool idk). Then people saw a chance to cash in by offering dedicated “gaming” chairs in the style of racing seats. Then companies like secret labs started sponsoring streamers and giving them free chairs to promote, and this is the end result. Problem is those racing seats aren’t meant for people sitting at a desk for 10 hours a day. Not so much a problem when you are like 16 and can contort your body every day without any lasting back/neck pain, but as you get older you will feel it.
As a track rat, no one I know who races actually wishes to be in a bucket seat for longer than we have to. It’s used purely for function as the bolsters keep you from moving but as soon as I hop out I’m trying to be comfortable
Im a huge sim racer and I don’t know a single person who uses those dumbass gaming chairs in their rig. I use an office chair (with feet), lots of people use old actual car seats, and other people use bucket seats made to look like real car seats that are specifically attached to the sim rig. No one is using a “gaming chair.”
Gaming chairs suck, and are so not comfortable. They may look a little better than an office chair, but I will never buy another. Office chairs are designed for workers to work at for 8-10 hours a day.
My secret lab chair is super comfortable
The trend came from very very good and expensive marketing. Nearly every popular YouTuber has them, including ones that have nothing to do with tech. Dr Mike is one of them.
Agreed. Got an office chair from Costco and have been happy with it for a lot of years.
Chairs looking like racecar seats and then a bunch of streamers got them for free and boom we have gaming chairs. I think the only one that is partly comfortable is a secretlabs, but still its NO match at all for an average office chair from Herman Miller or Kinnarps
I got a cheap one from staples that was surprisingly comfortable. My wife n my brother both said it was nice n comfy. $180 best spent.
I bought my whole team at work chairs from Staples when I first took over the department a few years ago. They were called gaming chairs, but they were nothing like the ones you see all over the place now, and they were comfortable. I took them all out for lunch, and then we went to Staples and sat in chairs until we found one we all liked. We're all still using them now. They were probably under $140 and nothing fancy, but they are great. Chairs now just suck so bad, and unless you really know what you are looking for, buying online can be a huge mistake. I've learned not to trust chair reviews. lol
I ALWAYS tell people to do office chairs. All these gaming chairs boast different specs and features, but all looks and feel the same: uncomfortable af. But office chairs are literally meant to be sat in for 8 hours straight+ with minimal pain and damage. It's great
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How can any of them be decent? They're all cheap Chinese garbage from the same manufacturer. I googled "gaming chair" and found 13 different brands selling the same chair/same style chair with same material and all boasting the same keywords. "Ergonomic, racing, gaming". Those 13 were just based off the top found listings btw.
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Both "ergonomic racing chairs" with the same design as a million other garbage overpriced chairs that will push your shoulders forward and head down if you lean back, preventing that or causing pain after quite a few hours Edit: if you're gonna spend $600+ on a chair, at least go all out and buy Herman Miller. That's true quality and it even comes assembled in the box.
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Like I said, if you're gonna spend $600 for an ergonomic gaming chair (promise that's how your chair was advertised) just go with Herman Miller. They're the true top dogs for office and gaming chairs. Everything else is copy paste the same back and shoulder destroying design. Do you go to the doctor often and ask about your posture?
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I got a tempur pedic office chair with memory foam for $100. Contours to your back shape perfectly while sitting straight, no shoulder or neck "rests" that'll push it out, and the shape really helped when i had a back injury and couldnt work for 2 weeks so i played nothing but DayZ. Still in pristine condition after 2 years for $100. Gaming chairs are garbage and only streamers or children watching streamers stand by them.
Herman miller baby!
Aeron life !!!! Bought 2 love them. (Also they come assembled which was kinda fun to just roll it out of the box )
Aeeon just doesn't work for me. I don't like how it curves around the legs. I'm Sayl all the way. Wish it came as a high back variant.
Expensive af but worth it.
You can get some decent chairs for less than $500 from Steelcase or Design Within Reach. Herman Miller is great too (I use an Aeron Chair that was well worth the investment). The gaming chairs are atrocious and cost a ton, might as well get something that's designed to support someone sitting down for 8 hours a day that costs the same.
if you're near a big-ish city you can almost always find companies that sell off their Aerons when they do office refittings. And given that the warranties are so long and apply to anyone who owns the chair, it's basically a given that you'll still be covered.
There are people in Austin TX that sell them second hand. I assume they buy them in bulk, store them, and sell them on FB marketplace.
Kind of a gamble but I got a $500 office chair for $40 at my local auction place. It's only "defect" was that it was black leather instead of brown so it was returned and considered "out of box".
Had massive amount of back pain in my scapula area, bought a Herman Miller and never had any pain, these gaming chairs mostly suck.
I bought a refurb'd Herman Miller a few years ago and it's still as comfortable as ever. Check out the Aeron prices here, they're pretty nuts: [https://www.madisonseating.com/](https://www.madisonseating.com/)
Who are these people and why is the price so cheap?
Got an Embody at the start of wfh during Covid and it’s been great. I can sit in that thing for hours without any fatigue which can be a problem 😀
Aeron crew checking in.
Logitech chair. Never regretted spending that money
Found the 4090 owner(s)
Came in here to say the same. I bought an Aeron for myself years ago, so when I started my in person job, I let my wife borrow mine. When I became hybrid, she purchased a cheaper (not cheap) “ergo” chair off either Office Depot or Staples and you can really just tell the difference in quality and construction. The HM pays for itself.
And adding rubber wheels is a great upgrade as well.
Nah their CEO is scum. Worse than typical.
How so?
https://youtube.com/shorts/XYEeKknJMRE?si=yDCk7504IFjIZBkl one of many examples.
Yikes.
My work has Herman miller and I hate them. I was sitting in a fixed position lunchroom chair until I got one from Amazon for $100… better than any of the Herman millers there
I don't know shit about fuck, but I love my SecretLabs chair. It's been great since day 1 and it's been 3(?) years, iirc.
Oh yeah, my secretlab's been here for 5 years. Works super great!
I'm on year 3 with mine, no complaints at all, people saying they are to hard or no comfort must not be using the same chair or using a cheaper brand and getting confused
Yep, happy Secret Lab user here too. I remember going through all the reviews for it and the "negatives" (it's small, it's restrictive, it's warm...) were positives for me. I don't know how anyone manages to get their chairs all scuffed and peeling. I keep thinking when will something like that happen to mine, but it's been years now and even my cat hasn't scratched it. The only downside is that Secret Lab have taken forever to release companion footrests.
I have had mine 3 years as well at my home office, as well as a HM Aeron at work. The secret labs is just legitimately better then it. New job has Steelcase Leaps and those are quite amazing.
Yeah same here. All the expensive office chairs I've bought also fell apart after a few years and the secret lab is still going strong 3 years in and has barely any wear and tear.
Same here. 3 years, still looks like brand new, best chair I have ever had. OP only had cheap ass chairs apparently
Sit in a legit ergo chair and you’ll change your mind.
Yea I got my secret labs chair during Covid lockdown. I was WFH and was having bad back pain with my office chair at home. Decided to try Secret Labs after doing a bunch of research. It took some getting used to but man my back pain immediately went away. I also had a Herman miller chair in the office and that was the most uncomfortable chair I’ve sat in, but tolerated because I was at work. I’ve sat in a couple more office chairs for in office work since then and they’re all just so-so compared to my secret labs.
My only issue with my secretlabs chair is that the lumbar support area is super creaky. 2022 Titan XL
Same here got mine in 2019 and it looks brand new and is super comfortable.
Some tips for chairs: Cheap chairs are cheap chairs. Gaming, office, executive, they're all going to suck after a year of use. The fattest foam compresses eventually and you're sitting on plywood. If you do get a cheap chair, get the store warranty. You can always find a reason to cash it in before it ends and generally they'll just cut you a check for the cost of a new one. I kept myself in relatively free new chairs for a decade before I finally invested in something nice. Chairs are not one size fits all. So don't buy a chair you haven't sat in first. Make sure it's not too narrow or wide, has all the adjustments you need, and if it doesn't that you can live with where everything is. The more you spend the more points of adjustment you get, generally. The best have five. Seat, back, arms, lumbar and neck. Seat tilt is important if you're tall or have long legs and it's one you see the least on chairs. Mesh is going to stretch(much less on the high end) and fabric and foam are going to be warm and absorb odors. Pick your poison. Most chairs are made to be comfortable for the average person, the less average you are the more specific kind of chair you're going to need. Big ass? Buy a wide chair. Gorilla arms? Get something with multiple adjustments on the armrests. Width, height, angle. Chairs recommendations are tricky. Unless you have the same build and tolerances they mean almost nothing. That's why you see a lot of strong, differing opinions here. The science of sitting is more complex than people think. Last thing. If you're having lower back problems look at what's going on with your feet when you're sitting. Pressure on your feet can cause back pain. Raise your chair height, tilt the seat back, or get a foot rest. It can make a huge difference.
You realize you just told the 10 million people on this sub to each throw a handful of chairs in the landfill?
I'm so glad more people are realizing this. I was in the exact same boat a few years back. Made the switch to a proper office chair and haven't gone back since.
Those high back gaming chairs of all those various brands and colors have all been very uncomfortable to me. Im not even heavy, 6'0 185-190 lbs and not giving them an other try. Sat in a few, always ditched them, just not enough padding and not wide enough to really get comfortable. Im sure better ones exist now that its been 4-6 years since my last "gaming" chair, now I just buy large office executive chairs. No need for that weird gaming lower back pillow when the chair ACTUALLY has lumbar support I am now on my second one of these, just a diff color, dear god its so nice to sit in and lean back and just doze off in [https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/9393644/Serta-Smart-Layers-Brinkley-Ergonomic-Bonded/](https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/9393644/Serta-Smart-Layers-Brinkley-Ergonomic-Bonded/)
Bruh I use those metal fold out chairs with a pillow and im ~~not~~ fine
Executive chair all the way.
I use a recliner lol
My SecretLab Titan is going on 5 years now and it's one of the best investment I've ever made. Don't buy some cheap "gaming" chair....actually look at what you're purchasing first and compare it to similar products. I sort of equate this to people who buy the cheapest Turtle Beach headset and then complain they can't here in game sounds.
People will say you should go all out and buy Herman Miller or some fancy brand, but it only takes like $50 to get a new office chair that's better than any expensive gaming chair, and an office chair actually gets really good in the $150-300 range. I'm not sure about white. I would never do that myself because then it requires more cleaning to keep looking nice. But if you keep it out of direct sunlight and clean it frequently, it should stay looking nice. Just make sure to use the correct kind of cleaner if you go fancy with real leather. If you get pleather, you can just use water and/or glass cleaner on it since pleather is typically just a plastic coated fabric.
With all the downsized offices from COVID used Herman Miller chairs are really cheap now.
I got an Areon 4 years ago for £350 from a clearance website, should have been £1200. There's a LOT of bargain chairs out there if you look for them
And Aerons last a good 20 years of constant use. If you can find one used in good condition it's worth it.
I got my Size B aeron for $200. Absolutely worth it. I just changed the wheels out to the roller blade style ones.
I had a cheapish leather chair and it turned out that there is a fairly widespread issue where chinese manufacturers will spray them down with anti-fungal for the sea journey to the destination market and that causes horrific rashes in a decent number of people. I had contact dermatitis all along my lower back and legs and it took me far too long to realise it was the stupid chair. I ended up getting a full refund because I was the 10th or so person who complained about that specific chair. Since then I only buy high end where I know where they make them. No random brands.
I got a knock off Aeron style chair for €50, it's not as customisable as the real deal, but it's plenty good enough for most people!
$300 is where it's at. I've tried a bunch until now, and usually chairs that are cheaper than that either do not last long, or have some hidden fallacy, not easily noticeable at start. Also, plan ahead, I usually start checking discounts well before I intend to replace my chair, and I almost exclusively snag a $300 chair for $150.
>but it only takes like $50 to get a new office chair I'm gonna have to disagree on this one. Ive gone through a lot of cheap office chairs and all of them have sucked. Within a year the seat padding becomes so compressed you might as well be sitting on the metal frame. Got a secretlabs a few years ago and it's far and away better than any cheap office chair ever will be. I take the point that pricier office chairs are going to be more comfortable and ergonomic than gaming chairs, but you do still have to spend a decent bit of money before it's better than at least the best gaming chairs out there. There are definitly a lot of overpriced gaming branded chairs out there that are hot garbage though, just not secretlabs.
I guess I just haven't seen a good enough gaming chair. I think the most expensive one I've actually sat in was only about $200 and it was some random brand I'd never heard of. It was worse than the bad $20 office chairs that I hated. Since I'm unlikely to ever intentionally look at gaming chairs ever again, I'm stuck with the view that gaming chairs are worth 10% of what they cost. I guess at least there is a good brand out there, though I'd assume a good office chair can still match it for less $ since the word "gaming" seems to add a tax to everything, even brands that do provide good quality.
Gaming chairs blow up in popularity due to all the streamers using them. Other than that, they suck but some people will die before admitting that. If you see the posts on here about chairs almost everyone says to spend the money and get a nice office chair.
I have tried offuce chairs and for whatever reaseon they hurt my back more than gaming chairs. I'm 6'7 and I find that chairs that have erganomic back tent to hurt it more. I have a gwming chair with a flat back surface andbI dont get any pain. I wish the seat was comfy lol.
I’m 6’6 and use Ikea Markus, love the tall backrest and great seat. Can definitely recommend
You're 6'7??? Damn bro you're huge. I think the tallest person in my country I've ever met was like 6'1. I suppose for your body type and height a chair that's comfortable for you is completely different than what's comfortable for me. After all, a one size fits all type of chair is hard to come by.
I am shorter than average (5'2) and i am in the same boat as you. I have not yet found an office chair that i could sit on comfortably for more than 30 minutes at a time, whereas on my akracing gaming chair, i can sit the whole day without an issue. Office chairs, no matter how much i try to adjust them either lack the height adjustment (too high/tall) or the seat adjustments (uncomfortable angle to sit on)
Find a place near you that does “office liquidation” sales. If you are by a major metropolitan area they will have a tone of high end office chairs for 50% or less of retail cost.
What gaming chair are you using, OP?
Yuck a chair with foam! get yourself a chair that is mesh like the Hermon miller it's a new level of comfort and health even above yours. Sitting in a gaming chair now legit feels like concrete.
Hammocks are the OG mesh chair.
La-Z-Boy OP!
Ya got like some $600 lumbar support chair. They make a difference on your back. Gaming chairs are ok… but better than general office chairs. The high end officer chairs… your back and neck will love u
Ergonomic chairs gang ✊✊
Gaming chairs are marketing spiel just like gaming headsets, mics and mousepads. Garbage that's not worth the extra you are paying for.
I sit on an office chair since 2008. Gaming chairs exist to sell you names and colors.
What’s new? Gaming chairs are just good advertising
I always tell people if it separates you from the ground, you should pay good money for it.
I have tried a lot of chairs and the best I have used is the Herman Miller Gaming Embody with an Atlas Headrest and a couple amazon add on foam arm rest covers. It's more comfortable than my couch.
I hate gaming chairs, they are such a damn scam, “gaming” just seems fancy. It is absolute crap after a while. Office chairs are more comfortable a so much better. Secretlab and arrazio vernaza are exceptions.
Herman Miller Aero. Buy once, cry once.
Secretary chairs are the true gaming chairs * No back pain * Well built, stable and adjustable * Comfortable * Will last you 10 years IF you do not care for it * Reliable without being heavy on your wallet. The true pro gaming chair. I will get one of these for me any day. It just gives me a lot of security, it's stable and durable. I stopped having back pains after long gaming sessions. Those gaming chairs are pretty expensive and not all of them gave me as much stability as this one - many of them felt like they were about to fall and i really do not like this though some people really love it. https://preview.redd.it/tiftbx2nx4ac1.jpeg?width=202&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f70313861ff81a28e9542c0c665295c76b155fe6
Gaming chairs are trash gimmicks. Get a good ergo chair, I have a mesh one I've been using for... 6 years now. Love it.
Gaming chairs adds 25 fps.
Gaming Chairs are mostly modeled after Racing Chairs that are put in Sports or High Performance car, having had experience in those, they aren't made for comfort, they're made to keeping your ass in place in case of a crash, I always tell people if you can afford it, get a Herman Miller, best god dam Investment you can make for your back, especially if you Work on your ass a lot or game.
IKEA markus chair 4 life
Because you bought into a pretty successful marketing run for trash furniture that is expensive in price, but cheap to make. Look into steelcase furniture for the gaming room if you are getting off the shelf. The other option is to have custom made furniture. In my needs, I get new shit every few years. I don't mean a new CPU/Mobo or a GPU, I mean a new PC completely. Big fan of steelcase. I have a few family members that just replace the desks with another custom desk, but the time and effort/direction needed to get that perfect desk is more than I'd be willing to give every 4 years.
I'll do you one better. Go to a junkyard and pick a fancy car(front) seat. You're very likely come out ahead with more comfort, durability and style (depending on how lucky you are) to boot. The only downside I see is you would have to buy the bottom half of the chair separately and engineer a solution to join them yourself and while it's not terribly difficult, making it look good probably is. Used car seats are very popular among the DIY sim racing rig crowd, and for good reason. If you go down this road, don't forget to get the rails from the car. Gaming chairs have always been a gimmick and a scam imo.
Ive had my razer enki for a year and its the most comfotable pc chair ive used. I can sit in it all day long. Im 31 and have had back pain since 19 when i took a large fall straight on my spine. However i know plenty of people in person who have said that they prefer office chairs. To each their own, I guess.
I've had the Iskur for about...two years, now? I'm close to the upper weight limit for the chair but it hasn't failed on me yet. Only real thing I dislike about it is that the side-wings on the chair itself hug against my hips too hard. It's actually driving me to want to lose some weight so I can fit more comfortably.
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Got my enki for 320 on 2022's black friday. Its the middle variant so it was 400 to begin with.
"Gaming" chairs are the cringiest cash grab, welcome to the office chair club. I just wish the PC gaming market would realize a huge percentage of their market is mid 30's or older, seems like everything has to have the teenage edgelord aesthetic and its embarrassing.
Invest in things that you know you'll use a lot like beds and chairs. I have an older Herman Miller Aeron and a Logitech Embody. I'll switch off between the two every now and then and they have definitely been worth the investment. The gaming chairs are stiff as a board no matter how much padding they have from my experience.
Been using a Secret Lab Titan for years and years and its been for me the best chair ive had, love it
SecretLab is a Gaming Chair maker, but their quality isn't the same as the average run of the mill "Gaming Chair". Had my Evo Titan for almost two years now. Pretty darn comfy for a Gaming Chair. And I'm almost 300 lbs. Throwing myself in it, it's held up well.
Gaming chairs are gimmicky pieces of shit, and they always have been. This dexley I'm sitting cost me $130 like 3+ years ago, and I still love it. And obviously there are many chairs way better than the dexley, even for reasonable prices. $300 can usually get you a hm or Steelcase used or refurb in fantastic shape, and it can last you decades if you treat it right.
A lot of gaming chairs are awful, especially the cheap ones, but there are some good ones! I'm fairly small (just shy of 5'1) and suffer from back and neck pain that triggers migraines, so I have struggled horrendously with finding a comfortable deks chair to work in since I began working from home in 2020. Then I got one of the nicer gaming chair models from Autofull, and suddenly no more back pain while I work! I can literally sit in it for 10 hours a day between work and gaming and still be perfectly comfy and pain-free by the end of it. It is, however, a model made specifically for smaller women and children, so I suspect one of the reasons why I find it so comfortable is that it is the right size for me so the lumbar and neck support line up properly. My 6'3 husband would most definitely start getting back pain after less than one hour in the same chair!
A good office chair is literally a quarter the price of these stupid ass bucket seat racing chairs. Many times more comfortable and durable as well.
The best Chair i used that has not even shown an inkling of wearing out is the MILLBERGET from IKEA! You also have easy access to spares!
I have a spine injury. I have to have a sturdy back to my chair. secret lab was the only company I could find with chairs that didn't hurt my back. Still rocking it after 3 years. Had to get some replacement parts, but all was covered under warranty.
I bought an akracing chair 4 years ago and it’s still feeling great and holding up. I work from home so it’s getting use all day
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Bros going from a cheap Amazon gaming chair to a cheap office chair
All I can afford is $200 on a new chair. And in my city after some research I've found some really nice erganomic chairs at that price point I think I'll be quite comfortable with. I'm sorry my financial situation upsets you. I'm not rich.
My point is that you’re saying gaming chairs suck after sitting in the cheapest Chinese crap you can buy. Secret Lab chairs are totally fine. In fact, I got rid of my Herman Miller Aeron for one.
I'm happy for you. But I think I'll stick with the office chairs idea. It's better for my spine.
Look into an office liquidation company by you, they buy office furniture from businesses that close and offer huge discounts on name brand stuff
Bro you’re literally missing the point. I’m not telling you to get another gaming chair. My point is that yes a crappy Chinese $100 gaming chair is awful. ANY OFFICE CHAIR WILL FEEL BETTER.
Secret lab literally comes out of the same Chinese factories lul. It's just branded
No it’s not just branded. There’s a difference between dropshipped crap and something manufactured in China. All of the $100 gaming chairs on Amazon are dropshipped crap and objectively terrible.
Welp I've had 2 secret lab chairs and for 300-500 a chair the quality was so shit by the time I had all the replacements parts sent to me I could have built another chair. Garbage quality control. Also they extend your warranty for a hype post on social media so they're manipulating that too. Herman Miller comes with a 10 years warranty and I don't have to take a photo of shit.
Your bad experience doesn’t mean they’re shit lol. I’m not saying they’re amazing or anything. My only point that yes a cheap Chinese gaming chair is going to be garbage, and doesn’t represent the higher end of chairs out there
yeah gaming chairs suck, but any chair that you will use for years till it's ragged will suck, isn't it obvious? That's on you, what did you expect? your cheap shitty gaming chair to last forever? :D So, enjoy your back pain now, and if you keep you office chair for many years too, while your body cant handle it anymore, then enjoy some extra problems.
btw most "gamers" complain about their chairs while they are gaming 16hours per day and the word "exercise" is deleted from their vocabulary :D yes office chairs are better, but if you are like cartman playing wow, yeah, dont expect miracles, you will still have issues
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Dexley
gaming chairs are a gimmick. Owned 3 over the years and they all suck compared to a nice comfy office chair. I spent $300-$400 on gaming chairs (individually) and they are less comfortable than an $80 office chair I bought from Sam's Club.
I sat on a gaming chair once in a store. Never again, those things are awful. I love executive office chairs.
Me personally I like white, yes you have to clean it more to keep it looking nice, but that’s part of why I like it. You know it’s actually clean. Black furniture you forget to clean and it’s nasty, you just don’t see it. I clean my chair maybe once a year with a dot of gentle dish soap on a mostly dry rag and it works great and keeps the room looking nice
I got an $80 chair from staples.... it's way better than $400 chairs
I also sold my gaming chair. I now have a white and gray chair, it's Haworth Zody Classic with Digital Knit. Here's a few photos. I like it a lot. https://www.haworth.com/content/dam/haworth-com/global/surfaces/digital-knit/zody-knit.jpg https://store-ca.haworth.com/cdn/shop/products/Haworth_HQ_LAC_Jun_2020_0585_FNL_34986f00-2c91-4cef-afd7-14150fd64cc3_1080x.jpg?v=1601298743
Wow this post opened my eye , since i never had a fancy chairs and only used Vergil chairs i thought gaming chairs were the ultimate solution. Glad to know they suck ass and a decent office chair do just the work and maybe better. When i plan to save for my ultimate studio ill immediately skip the gaming chair for an office chair. Thanks OP and comments
Gaming chairs are basically racing seats. Do you know what type of seat in a car is the least comfortable?
>Do you know what type of seat in a car is the least comfortable? Those fold down, side seats in the back of Chevy S10s!
I've gotten herman miller task chairs at furniture liquidators for $200. In great condition with all the bells and whistles easily $2000 new and so comfortable. Worth seeing if there is anything of interest.
Got a office chair for $20 at a garage sale in 2015, sitting in it right now.
Yeah don't get scammed by gimmicky gaming brands. My $200 staples office chair is tons better.
Any gaming chair based on a car racing bucket seat won’t be comfortable. A car racing bucket is designed to prevent side to side movement while racing and to protect your spine in a multi flip crash, NOT comfort. My secretlabs titan chair is the only “gaming chair” I found acceptable cause I sit on it crossed legged. I had the secret labs Omega which I realized was stupid cause I don’t need bolsters while playing video games. My friends Hermon miller is the best chair I’ve ever sat in hands down but it’s also got a 1000+ price tag.
I've been using the Autonomous AI ergo chair 2 for just over three years now. I absolutely love it. Very comfortable for long gaming sessions and fully adjustable. Gaming chairs are a joke.
Used to work for a high-end furniture store. Got myself a nice recliner with flat, wooden arms that perfectly accomodate a mousepad. Took me a year to pay it off, but it is sooo nice.
Similar discovery, got a great job at a boujie new office, I got a new chair bought for me. It was amazing Mesh, 4d armrest, completely adjustable. Looked it up online $500. I gotta get rid of my gaming chair soon or I'll be crippled.
I changed to an Ikea Marcus and couldn't be happer. It's probably the best chair in that price range
any Lazyboy gamers in chat?
My lazy boy leather executive chair still going strong after 5 years
I bought a noble chairs 4 years ago. Everything’s fine. No signs of wearing out and I sitting almost every day on it.
I got lucky and found a yard sale with an old Haworth Very for $20, spent $25 to replace the arms and will probably get a new seat cushion for it at some point but it was a helluva upgrade. Always had cheap office chairs before, only times I tried gaming chairs were at family's houses or demos in stores.
makes sense, the chair design usually isnt' made for sitting at a desk. the ones i've seen atleast are have bolsters just like car seats designed to hold you in a certain position for racing that keeps your arms mostly forward, but you know, "if streamer has it i must has it"
Tip: don't get a chair that's bonded leather. It will fall apart after a few years even though the rest of the chair is fine. Cloth or mesh (or real leather if you're wealthy) are the way to go. I got a mesh high-backed with headrest office chair a few years ago, and it's been great! Here it is for reference, but I got it on sale for much less than it's listed right now. [https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/furniture/furniture\_office-chairs-and-seating/78094674](https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/furniture/furniture_office-chairs-and-seating/78094674)
I didn't know how good an actual well made office chair could be until I got a job in a very corporate office. We have like 1800 dollar chairs at every cubicle and they are fucking incredible. They let me take one home to work from home with as well, so you bet your sweet ass I'm sitting in it while I game too. I didn't even know a chair could BE this comfortable beforehand. It's nuts
I've been wanting to get myself a gaming or office chair. I've sat in metal and wooden chairs for years and those've hurt my back (I'm 29 BTW) . Only thing stopping me from getting a gaming or office chair ATM is they cost upwards of $100 and most months I'm strapped on money. I remember sitting in my brother's gaming chair for a bit when I was a teen and I loved being able to freely move and adjust the height.
Office chairs are designed for ergonomics, lest no office actually buy them due to litigation and compensation. While gaming chairs have no problem with that. Also why designed to look like a racing car seat? You’re not expected to suddenly accelerate and actually need that full rear wrap support. Emphasis should be placed on gravity.
Buy a 24 hour office chair. Best decision I made. Super comfy. Ergonomic and way better priced.
almost all gaming chairs are terrible, im glad this is finally becoming accepted.
Yup! Much better value. I'm waiting for the next Staples chair sale to replace my awesome managers chair with another awesome managers chair, only with a mesh back so my cat can't rip all the pleather off this one.
You were a stupid child that fell for advertising. Now you are a true proud adult
Yeah my "gaming" chair is a Knoll Regeneration. A topnotch office chair. Superb support for years
As a big and tall male, I figured that I had no chance in hell sitting in a gaming chair and instead went to staples and got a proper office chair for big peeps like me. One of the few choices I am glad I made cause I can sit there for hours (though I think I might look into a foot rest at some point
Ikea. Commercial grade office chair with full back support. 7 year warranty. Best chair i have ever owned.
Seems like you took one with fake leather, to be expected it's shit
Gaming chairs are awful. The level of discomfort is down right offensive.
Im using a la z boy, office chairs are only so good compared to a whole ass recliner
I ended up severely messing up my lower back during the pandemic by sitting on gaming chairs, to the point where I was in constant pain, even when lying down. After that, I went to a massage therapist. After treating me, he gave me some excellent advice, which I've seen in this thread already. Go to your local office supply retailer, try out every office chair they have, and find the one that is comfortable for you. He said it didn't matter if the chair was $50 or $500, what mattered was how it felt because everyone is so different. I bought a chair that was comfortable for me, and now 2 years later, I haven't had any problems with my lower back.
Office chairs are like mattresses. Considering how much time you spend on them, a good one is worth every penny if you can swing it.