When you try to conjure up an image of the best gaming chair in your head, what do you see?
A flashy colored PU leather gaming chair next to a sick gaming rig?
A fine top-tier chair with a sense of nobility to it (and even real leather upholstery) is the second option.
There is, however, another option on what to sit on while gaming. The third option of a chair for gaming is not a gaming chair at all (we’ll elaborate on that).
The thing about gaming chairs is that everybody is heavily focused on flashy racing gaming chairs. It’s true that these below $300 gaming chairs represent more than 80% of gaming chairs sold online.
However, the best gaming chairs for your back and performance are not the teenage gamer funky colored chairs for 200 bucks. The truly ultimate gaming chairs don’t only cover the looks but are also comfortable and even ergonomic.
Let Me Explain About The 3 Types Of Gaming Chairs
One thing is for sure: it does matter what you sit on while playing PC games.
Example: I haven’t heard anybody say ‘Dude, I just love how comfortable that awesomely rigid kitchen chair is’. On the other hand, even my neighbor who plays video games in his mother’s basement just can’t stop talking about how comfortable his Vertagear SL5000 is.
It does make sense to a bit picky when it comes to picking the best gaming chairs.
Chances are that if you’re not careful, you’ll pay $150 for Chinese made low-grade PU leather chair that you will hate in about 2 hours of gaming.
I’ll first cover these cheap gaming chairs that everybody is so crazy about at first:
#1 Type: Cheap Gaming Chairs (Most Numerous Chair For Gaming)
About 80% of gaming chairs on the market are cheap gaming chairs; also known as ‘racing chairs’.
They tend to be made in China, poorly built and not the most durable gaming chairs in the world.
However, they are one thing: cheap!
You can get a racing gaming chair under $100. But, of course, this is not the gaming chair that you hope it will turn out.
A smart gamer should look at several factors when trying to weed out the really good cheap gaming chairs from the sea of bad chairs.
Here are the top 4 tips on how to choose the best cheap gaming chair:
- Look for high-quality PU leather upholstery.
- ‘Comfy’ check it. You want some cushion for the … comfortability.
- Make sure it has an integrated metal frame.
- Weighs at least 40 pounds!
Multilayer PU leather upholstery is the best you can hope for. That’s the kind that’s both stain-resistant and tear-resistant and you also have some guarantee that the leather won’t lose its color within the 1st year.
Here’s a quick upholstery guide to orient yourself:
Comfy cushioning is simple. You don’t want a rigid gaming chair.
The integrated metal frame is the very spine of the chair. If you want a stable gaming chair, you want to get one with a metal spine, right?
The total weight of the gaming chair is the one factor that gives you the overall quality of materials out of which gaming chairs are built. Light materials equal low-quality, and visa versa.
Always shoot for cheap gaming chairs that weigh more than 40 pounds. If you find a chair with 50+ pounds that costs less than $200, you kind of already know you’ve found a winner.
#2 Type: Top-Tier Gaming Chairs (Extremely Comfortable And Performance-Driven)
These are sometimes called ‘the real gaming chairs’. Why?
Well, because cheap racing chairs are just a bunch of somewhat comfy Chinese-made chairs that are OK for gaming.
If you want a great gaming chair, you should look at the top-tier gaming chairs.
They are usually made out of superior materials and are both comfortable for the players and built to last.
Let’s take upholstery as an example. Cheaper racing chairs always have PU or PVC leather upholstery.
The top-tier Secretlab gaming chairs, on the other hand, come with the Prime PU leather – a multilayered premium PU leather – they’ve even patented it, it’s that good.
The noblechairs gaming chair, another big brand of high-end gaming chair, are covered with real genuine leather. You already know how much more durable, finely made the real leather is compared to synthetic PU leather.
Here is the noblechairs ICON gaming chair review that illustrates how the chair supports the gamer’s back:
The top-tier chairs are made to be comfortable, but their primary focus is to drive your performance through the roof.
The 4D armrests, the eagle-like focused position the chair positions you in and the fatigue-less gaming are all aimed to increase your gaming ability.
If you’re looking to improve your KD ratio, you should try the 4D armrests – focus your arm precisely for headshots – and just shoot away. It’s way easier to do it from a gaming fortress than from your average kitchen chair.
There is really only one con the high-end gaming chairs are known for: the price!
It’s not unusual to spend more than $500 for the best gaming chairs.
The top-notch built materials together with the comfortability and the elegance of these chairs are well worth it if you have the money to afford one.
#3 Type: Office Chairs That Can Be Used For Gaming (Ergonomic!)
Many guys in their 30s swear by office chair for gaming. It’s funny: if you can pick any gaming chair you want, why would you use an office chair for playing video games?
It’s even crazier when you see the price tag of these Herman Miller chairs. They can cost well over $1000.
Really, with the best gaming chairs costing $500, why would anybody spend so much for a chair which primary purpose isn’t even gaming?
Well, these guys know how to love their spine. The expensive office chairs are usually built to be the ultimate ergonomic chairs; you know, the ones that won’t break your spine.
The office gamers know that even after 12-hour gaming sessions their back won’t hurt and they will be still fresh enough to snatch up easy kills.
The durability is everything when it comes to long gaming session and the guys you really need to watch out in those games are the guys sitting on 1000$ office chairs.
Which Is The Best Gaming Chair?
The age-old question with the age-old answer:
Everybody has their own best gaming chair under $200.
If you want a budget gaming chair, do go for racing gaming chairs that weigh at least 40 pounds and have some fine synthetic leather.
If you can afford to spend big time on gaming chairs, you definitely would be best served by high-end noblechairs or Secretlab gaming chairs.
And if you love your spine, the office gaming chairs are the ones with the best ergonomic properties that will shield your spine.
