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- Verified Buyer
I am not a gamer at all and I have zero idea what features make a chair a gaming chair (aside from the aesthetics) so I cannot speak to whether this is a good or even a decent gaming chair. I bought this to replace my very dead (as in the hydraulics were completely shot) $40 Amazon Basics desk chair, and so my review is being written from that frame of reference.First things first: this chair arrived waaaaay ahead of schedule. I'm in the Northeast, and this shipped from NJ, so I am certain that factored into things. But Amazon had this pegged for arrival mid to late next week. I work from home, so luckily not an issue for me. This may possibly be a consideration for others who do not have the luxury of being able to quickly retrieve deliveries (though, the package is some 40-odd pounds, so it really isn't going to be easy prey for all but the most determined and coordinated of porch pirates.)Build: I was able to put this together with mostly minimal fuss, though a second set of hands would have been helpful in one place in particular: there is a slight gap between the chair back and the chair seat, so you can't just use gravity to rest the back on the seat and tighten the screws (this approach is furthermore hindered by the fact that one of the brackets where you attach it is adjustable (obviously so you can recline the back on the seat when assembled.) Since I was alone, I had to lay the chair on its side for this part, and even then, I had to fiddle quite a bit with it to get the angle just right to align the screws with their holes. Another area that was a pain were the angle adjuster & connector covers - one of the screws in each is recessed. The screw itself is shorter than the length of the hole, so it would invariably end up sideways until I hit it just right; this is nothing that probably isn't easily overcome by a Phillips head screwdriver with a magnetized tip, but I do not have one. Then screwing it into the actual piece it was attached to was likewise annoying, because there was zero visibility of the small and shallow hole it was meant to go into. However, it was not impossible, and it can indeed be done by a single person. Took me about an hour and a half start-to-finish, but I also prepped beforehand (putting the different screws into various ziploc bags so they don't go astray) and studied the manual before and during the build. Also, this does come with everything needed (including Allen keys, one of which has a Phillips head on the end) which is always a bonus. The directions were relatively easy to follow, in clear English, but the diagrams were pretty small and it's really easy to screw something into the wrong hole if you are not paying close attention. Also, while the hardware screws are labeled, the chair parts are not. Certainly not a problem for the obvious ones, but there are a few parts that look similar but are different. The screw naming convention is a little confusing if you think about it too hard - just pay attention to the first letter, because that is what's used in the actual instructions.Quality/Comfort: The chair does look nice, it is sturdy, and the reclining/lifting/lowering all work as expected. The wheels also glide really smoothly, at least compared to the janky mess of my last chair. Literally anything is better than the chair this replaced, so of course I think it's just fantastic for that reason alone, but trying to assess this objectively, the chair is pretty hard. Sitting in it for about 5 hours immediately after building it, my thighs, which have plenty of cushion on their own, felt it. I do have a memory-foam seat cushion (my last-ditch effort to get just a little more life out of my dead chair) so it was an easy enough fix for me, but you should probably be prepared to budget for and purchase something similar unless you like harder surfaces. The height, at its lowest, is about 20 inches, which is slightly too high for my 5'3" frame (one of the questions on this product asked about this, looking to confirm that the height adjusted from 17" to 19", and one of the users responded that theirs was about 18" at its lowest to 20.5" at its highest; so between the three of us, there seems to be some inconsistency with this metric.) Although even the lowest height is still too high, and that is then compounded by the additional seat cushion I have on this chair, I do also have a balance board that works out to be the perfect height to get me that nice, 90 degree bent knee angle for ergonomic purposes. So, that's *my* experience, but given the reported inconsistency with the adjustable height, I can't promise it will be yours.I do also like the lumbar support cushion, which you can slide up/down to your preference (however, because it slides, it will move when you get up/sit down - I find I have to sit, and then kind of wedge it in place. I rather prefer this, because sometimes I sit further back in the chair which affects where I want my lumbar support.) I have terrible posture, but I feel like this really helps me to be mindful of it. I noticed my back hurts less when sitting in this chair and getting up after. The headrest pillow, I am less enthused about. The strap is not adjustable, so it either ends up being slightly saggy if you thread it through the holes in the back of the seat (which is way too low for me) or, if you opt to wrap it around the chair, can only really rest in one spot (which is also low for me, and basically is a neck rest for me.) It's minor - it's not like was really looking forward to that specific feature and/or paid extra for it. It's just there, but I don't see getting much benefit out of it.Conclusion: for the price, this is a pretty sturdy chair, especially if you're looking for that gamer chair look. The solidity and lumbar support make it a definite upgrade if you're used to "the cheapest" regular chair option on Amazon. It's a good $40 - $50 cheaper than the next cheapest similar chairs available on Amazon. Just understand you may need to add a couple of quality-of-life improvements like an additional seat cushion and/or foot rest. But for the price point, I feel like I can't complain and it is a good value so far. I will update in a few months to let people know how the chair holds up to daily use, and if I am still impressed.
