The 5 Best Gaming Chairs
While there's no doubt most of us would rather invest our money into new games or hardware upgrades, buying a good gaming chair is a wise decision. If you're truly committed to gaming, chances are you're putting in some serious hours sitting in front of your TV or monitor. We all know what it feels like to reluctantly rise from our gaming throne after a marathon session. The feeling, simply put, is not good. Aside from the obvious matter of comfort, a good gaming chair is important for your health. You can always buy new hardware, but you can't buy a new spine. Here we've found five of the absolute best chairs for gaming, designed to support your body while providing comfort.
DXRacer Formula Series
Easy on the Eyes
Spend some time browsing the web in search of a gaming chair, and you’ll find a consortium of opinions: “Gaming chairs” are pure hype! or similarly, That’s all marketing garbage! Don’t be a dope and fall for it! Fair enough. The fact is, these angry internet warriors are mostly right. Mostly. The majority of seats marketed as “gaming chairs” are absolute junk rebranded and marked-up at a 5x premium. But not all of them.
The DXRacer is the exception to the rule. Built to last, it’s a model engineered to handle the longest of marathon sessions. Its standout feature is its higher-than-normal backrest, which is designed to support the entire spinal column, rather than just the lower half of it. Couple this with its quality construction and you get a thoughtfully-designed unit that’ll last you years and get more comfortable over time.
Pros:
- Can tilt up to 135 degrees
- Excellent for large folks
- Good customer support team
Cons:
- A bit overpriced
- Takes a long time to break in
Herman Miller Aeron
A Throne Fit for a King
This, folks, is the Lamborghini of gaming chairs. And the best part? It’s not even a gaming chair. Not by design, at least.
The Herman Miller Aeron became an office-place staple during the web-startup boom of the ’90s. After the dot-com bubble burst, lots of business dissolved, and in their wake, there were chairs. Lots of them. Soon enough, everyday consumers were buying these chairs from the mournful liquidation sales that ensued. Once everyday people got to sit on these chairs, word spread that this model was something exceptional, too good to be limited to meeting rooms and cubicles.
Simply put, the Aeron is the chair to buy if you’ve got the money to afford it. It’s the best decision you can make if you’re concerned about the long-term integrity of your spinal column. This particular chair comes in various sizes (A, B, and C) and three sleek colorways so you can choose the one that’s just right for you.
Pros:
- 12-year full replace/repair warranty
- Accommodates all body shapes and sizes
- Will last a very long time
- Highly adjustable
Cons:
- Very expensive
Staples Hyken
Less is More
Maybe you’re more interested in value and function than you are in buying a fancy seat that’ll cost a whole week’s paycheck. If that’s the case, look to the Staples Hyken, which is another office chair popular amongst gamers. Its minimal design mirrors its underlying purpose – to be a comfortable chair to sit in for long periods. It’s not complicated, nor does it need to be. It’s easy to assemble, it’s affordable, and it’s highly breathable, too. If you’re one of the practical-minded amongst us, there’s no need to spend hundreds (or thousands) – the Hyken is the obvious choice.
Pros:
- Mesh is strong yet flexible
- Headrest and recline function great for power naps
Cons:
- Armrests’ horizontal adjustment is lacking
- A bit stiff at first
GTRACING Gaming Chair
A Gaming Chair That's Actually Comfortable
Most gaming chairs simply don’t stack up to office chairs designed for eight or more hours a day of straight sitting. However, if you’re absolutely craving the stylish look of a gaming chair, and don’t want your back health to suffer, the GTRACING gaming chair could be the right option for you.
Apart from style, we like it’s flexibility–the seat can recline from 90-170% and the sturdy frame can support up to three hundred pounds. It’s not an Aeron, and some of the extra contours were more annoying than useful, but overall, it’s a solid contender.
Pros:
- Highly flexible
- Sturdy design
- Stylish
Cons:
- Excessive contouring
Uplift Pursuit
In Hot Pursuit
Whether you’ve been playing for one hour or ten, eventually you’ll get tired of the posture you’re in and want to switch it up. With Uplift’s Pursuit, making adjustments is simple, intuitive, and fast, so you don’t have to let a mere chair distract you from the virtual conquests at hand. There are various adjustment points located on the arms, back, and headrest. You can also adjust the tension and recline angle, and once you find the position you’re satisfied with, you can lock it into place if you like – although you can also leave it in free-recline mode if you want.
Touted for its ergonomic design, this one is engineered to offer an equal blend of support and comfort. Its contoured fabric seat and its waterfall seat-edge help improve the position of your legs to enhance blood circulation and decrease strain behind the knees. Overall, it’s designed with practicality in mind, and the resulting support just so happens to enhance the user’s comfort. A lot.
Pros:
- Can be fine-tuned to your liking
- Simple installation
- Sold in black or white
- Excellent craftsmanship
Cons:
- Armrests are made with tough plastic
Frequently Asked Questions
Why aren’t there more gaming-style chairs on this list?
The majority of seats marketed as “gaming chairs” are absolute junk rebranded and marked-up at a 5x premium. While the flashy designs and feature-packed descriptions of gaming chairs are enticing, they usually don’t live up to the hype. Office chairs, on the other hand, are specifically designed to provide comfort and support for workdays that last 8 hours, at a minimum. The office chair industry is much less hype-driven than the gaming industry, so what sells best here is practical function and value. That’s why the majority of our picks are office chairs rather than gaming-style chairs.
Do I really need a specially-designed chair for gaming? What’s the big deal?
We understand your skepticism, and frankly, we appreciate it. In a world that’s hyper-saturated with marketing gimmicks and other cynical plots to weasel you out of your money, we think you should only buy things that’ll bring value to your life. A good chair for gaming is absolutely one of those things.
The science is out on just how detrimental it is to be seated for long periods of time. This isn’t just limited to the spine, either. Blood circulation suffers, the metabolism slows, and connective tissue contracts and becomes less flexible. The list goes on. Now consider that gaming may be a lifelong hobby of yours. What happens when you add up all those hundreds or thousands of hours of sitting in a flimsy chair with poor support over the years? Look, it’s your body, so you should be able to decide without coercion, but we will emphasize – this is important. Protect your body. You kind of need it for gaming, and for all the other stuff, too.
About the Author
Why Trust Us
With the constantly shifting landscape in the world of technology, GameRevolution seeks to provide gamers and tech-enthusiasts with the information they need to select the right products for their needs. Since 1996, our experts have used their knowledge on all the latest gadgets – everything from headphones to standing desks – to help millions of people navigate specs and answer common questions.