There is nothing I find more infuriating than desk chairs that are designed to look like race car bucket seats. Fake bolsters and fake racing harness holes will not make you game any better. It’s just tacky shit for people who don’t know any better.
They do look horrible. I found a model that at least has sofa fabric, not polyurethane fake leather but still it’s a bit tacky. You don’t need lateral support on a damn desk chair. But unfortunately these chairs are great value, you can’t find office chairs with the same comfort features for that cheap. I paid $400 for my better than average gamer chair while an equal office chair is about $1200.
For anyone looking for a chair that doesn’t want to spend >$1000 or get a gaming chair, I recommend looking for an office furniture reseller in your area.
There are a lot of shops that buy used furniture from companies either going out of business or moving.
I was able to get a new Steelcase for like half the price, still had its tags and packaging. Granted this was during covid where a lot of businesses were dumping their in-office supplies, but still worth a look.
So much this. My fiance and I found this weird hole in the wall place in an industrial area. They take us back and there’s just shit tons of office chairs in just about perfect quality. Was prepped to spend like 800. Walked out with a leap V2 for like $340 US- after tax and all. Lmao just about made my week haha
Guessing you got a Secret Lab. Also have one in fabric (screw the PU leather stuff that flakes after a while), pretty happy with it. I wish the seat pan could be adjusted back and forth but other than that it’s good.
Mine is an Arozzi Vernazza. Very similar to Secret Lab Omega 202, feature wise. Seems to share some parts too. Its lumbar pillow is a joke but I took it off and stuffed additional foam behind the backrest, worked wonders.
https://www.amazon.com/PatioMage-Ergonomic-Adjustable-Armrest-Computer/dp/B0BLJLP7FM
Basically more features, cheaper, and more ergonomic. Slightly lower recline angle but beyond the 130 here is something I’ve never seen anyone actually use.
That’s exactly why I also bought a gaming chair at first. But eventually got the $1200 chair and the expensive office chair is clearly better. But at $400, I would agree some brands of gaming chair offer good solution for the same price.
But unfortunately these chairs are great value, you can’t find office chairs with the same comfort features for that cheap.
This is blatantly false. There are tons of options on Amazon alone with better comfort features for the same $400 you listed. I’ve bought multiple for just about that which are on oar with $1200 chairs. Office chairs over $1000 are almost all Herman Miller and those are just overpriced. There are plenty of options if you just search Amazon for “office chair”.
It’s not made up, just hugely dependant on area and market. In Finland there just isn’t shops selling affordable decent quality office chairs. Less than $500 gets you a horrible seat where half of the price is markup, and Finnish made chairs cost anywhere from $800 to $4000.
Which model? Currently searching for one, and that sounds bearable
I got my dx racer king on a black Friday deal for a couple hundred dollars off. It had the wider bottom so I can sit on my leg in the least ergonomic way possible and has a lumbar cushion I can move where I want. I’ve had it for probably 5 years now and it looks brand new having carried my ass for thousands of hours. My only complaint is the arm rests are not comfortable being done hard rubber with no padding. Full price, there are certainly better options, but it has been without a doubt a great chair and I expect another 5+ years out of it. They aren’t bad chairs, they just aren’t for everyone. I tend to enjoy the flairs in the sides around my shoulders and the aesthetics don’t matter to me, so if someone else doesn’t like it, I suppose that’s on them. I’m not looking to impress anyone with the style of my chair.
They are also not designed for office use. Its bad for your back
Gamer chairs suck, do yourself a favor and just get a proper office chair. I have a Steelcase Leap V2 at home with extra big caster wheels and it’s great.
I love my SW ret Lab Omega 2020, but I have it at my adjustable standing desk, so if I start to get uncomfortable I just switch modes. I don’t think any chair can be totally comfortable for a full work day.
I’ve owned one that was comfortable for all day use (Steelcase Leap V2) and have had chairs provided by work that were similarly comfortable but I also regularly get up and move around.
My favorite chairs ever were these tall stool type office chairs with a ring at the bottom you could put your feet on: They were standing desk height and we all had standing desks. You could sit in them normally or you could scoot forward a little bit and sit kind of like you would on a knee chair. No idea what they were but if I ever get to pick new office furniture, those would be a strong contender.
I might buy that setup for home one day, but I don’t think my Steelcase will ever fail me so I’ll probably be using that for the rest of my life haha.
I mean the similarity is not a coincidence. Gaming chairs are modeled after racing seats which are five point harnesses designed to keep the occupant safe in a car crash… exactly like toddler car seats.
I can see a use for actual racing seats in racing games to enhance the immersion. The faux racing gaming chairs took off because some chair company sponsored streamers. Streamers like them because they’re something to look at on stream rather than a bland office chair. For everyone else a bland office chair is way better.
Interesting fact, gaming chairs often have less ergonomic support and less adjustability than office chairs, making them inferior for sitting relative to office chairs.
I own a gaming chair. I agree. But the 600$ I spent was less than the 2k on a herman Miller so fuggit
Check out Sihoo next time, I just bought one and it’s alright. Not as good as a Herman Miller or Steelcase though.
I’m glad my gamer chair will help absorb that 70mph impact from drunken Ted on his way home from the bar. That being said, the two chairs probably smell similarly.
Good toddler car seats have cup holders.
depending on the cup / straw placed in there, seems like an unnecessary injury risk.
I had that chair. It’s fucking terrible. My back has never been so sore
Are you a toddler?
You know I thought it was weird it had instructions for putting it in the back seat of the car when I was just trying to see my fucking monitor
“asking for my son”
well those gaming chairs are definitely not comfort chairs, that’s for sure
They are usually just terrible chairs in general.
Toddler car seats actually have good lumbar support though.
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They’re still way better than cheap shit office chairs
honestly I have a secret lab titan and i’m really happy with it, even if it is a car seat
I have a Secret Labs chair at home and at work. I am so very picky with chairs too. I have the Titan at home and the Omega at work. The Omega is just a bit too small, but I really like them both. Better than the $500 crap mesh back office chairs they got for everyone.
Yeah even though I’m short af I got the Titan XL, no regrets at all, super comfy, it’s a little big but honestly that makes it more comfy imo
Noooooo, Car seats are actually comfortable.
My computer chair doesn’t rotate or rock. It’s fame is thick solid steel. I helped make it. The seat is nice and wide too.
I have one, but it’s not very comfortable.
Btw, is Herman Miller chairs really that good? Or is it the branding and history that makes all of us think they are good, but in reality they are just meh, average, or slightly above average?
They’re good, but I wouldn’t say “that good”. They cost way more than they should though.
Gaming chairs are basically impersonating race car seats, which are designed to be safe and keep you inside them at high speeds. They are not designed to be comfortable or ergonomic. Companies have started adding weird pads to them to make them seem more legit, but they are still not ergonomic or good for long term sitting.
Office chairs in the other hand, are usually made to be sat in comfortably and properly for long periods of time.
I recommend finding “Herman-Miller-like” chairs, or finding cheap Herman-Millers being sold used etc. I highly recommend mesh backs and bases, as they are way more comfortable than any amount of padding, and they are often pretty ergonomic. They’re also way more breathable than a foam pad.
Look at a side view of a spine/skeleton and note that it’s curvy and s shaped - you don’t want to press that up against flat boards for long periods of time.
Herman-Miller chairs are good, but they’re not $1000+ good. You can find plenty of equivalent or better stuff in the $300-$500 range if you just poke around for decent office chairs.
As someone who has an HM chair, I second all the above
If money is no object, than an HM is the best, but it’s only “the best” by a relatively thin margin compared to a $500 chair of similar build. You’ll only really notice the difference in a side by side comparison
I think they are overrated. I have worked in offices with them and with other chairs and couldn’t tell a difference.
