Gaming chairs "hate"

[Exeon]

So a little background

 

I have some bad lower back problems from doing a taxing physical job.

In my free time I would game a lot, which didn't actually help, as I had horrible posture while gaming.

About 4-5 years ago I decided to get a different chair to aid with this problem.

 

I decided to get a dxracer chair back then, matching my height and weight.

Within the month I could feel improvement on my lower back as the chair would force me into a "better" posture.

The chair wasn't without it's faults mind you, I disliked the arm support for instance.

 

Fast forward to 2021 I started noticing that the PU leather on some places is starting to crack, which considing the extensive use I do find normal.

I figured that in a year or 2 it could do with a replacement, I also work from home now so I'd consider it an investment.

 

I've seen all kind of copy/paste's of these types of chairs, and I've sat in them as well but found them to be far inferior.

I've now seen a review from gamer's nexus telling people to avoid these type of chairs, although I usally like their content I can't say this was an "unbiased" review.

So wherever I go I see people claiming these chairs are overpiced and you should get an office chair instead.

 

Now I've sat in a fair share of terrible office chairs, at work I have a desk job now and their office chairs are good, I'd say I wouldn't mind using that chair or the one I currently own.

What I do know is both of them cost about the same amount of money.

 

On advice threads I often see people say "hey don't buy a gaming chair they are overpriced, get a herman miller instead second hand or during some kind of deal"

I find it odd how the advice translates to "300-400$ is overpiced, get this 1500$ chair instead but at a way lower price"

 

 

This isn't a rant I just feel like I'm missing something here.

Maybe I just got lucky with my model?

 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

30 minutes ago, Exeon said:

So a little background

 

I have some bad lower back problems from doing a taxing physical job.

In my free time I would game a lot, which didn't actually help, as I had horrible posture while gaming.

About 4-5 years ago I decided to get a different chair to aid with this problem.

 

I decided to get a dxracer chair back then, matching my height and weight.

Within the month I could feel improvement on my lower back as the chair would force me into a "better" posture.

The chair wasn't without it's faults mind you, I disliked the arm support for instance.

 

Fast forward to 2021 I started noticing that the PU leather on some places is starting to crack, which considing the extensive use I do find normal.

I figured that in a year or 2 it could do with a replacement, I also work from home now so I'd consider it an investment.

 

I've seen all kind of copy/paste's of these types of chairs, and I've sat in them as well but found them to be far inferior.

I've now seen a review from gamer's nexus telling people to avoid these type of chairs, although I usally like their content I can't say this was an "unbiased" review.

So wherever I go I see people claiming these chairs are overpiced and you should get an office chair instead.

 

Now I've sat in a fair share of terrible office chairs, at work I have a desk job now and their office chairs are good, I'd say I wouldn't mind using that chair or the one I currently own.

What I do know is both of them cost about the same amount of money.

 

On advice threads I often see people say "hey don't buy a gaming chair they are overpriced, get a herman miller instead second hand or during some kind of deal"

I find it odd how the advice translates to "300-400$ is overpiced, get this 1500$ chair instead but at a way lower price"

 

 

This isn't a rant I just feel like I'm missing something here.

Maybe I just got lucky with my model?

 

They're overpriced in terms of build quality. A Herman Miller chair is a solidly built chair and you see them often in office settings... places where you don't really swap out chairs every 3 years. Just one look at the arm rests and you'll see why. I have a Herman Miller Aeron at the office and well... that thing has been around for several office moves way before I was hired and the arm rest doesn't give when it's locked in position. A DX Racer or any other racing chair, those arm rests are flimsy and rattle when new. The plastic for the wheels on most gaming chairs are of a much cheaper and more brittle variety, etc. 

 

I've yet to see anyone gain better posture with a gaming chair. Most streamers aren't even resting their back onto the backrest. WHICH IS WHY YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE THE EMBROIDERY. I'm sorry that's the point that really irks me. 

[JTPOTATO]

26 minutes ago, Exeon said:

So a little background

 

I have some bad lower back problems from doing a taxing physical job.

In my free time I would game a lot, which didn't actually help, as I had horrible posture while gaming.

About 4-5 years ago I decided to get a different chair to aid with this problem.

 

I decided to get a dxracer chair back then, matching my height and weight.

Within the month I could feel improvement on my lower back as the chair would force me into a "better" posture.

The chair wasn't without it's faults mind you, I disliked the arm support for instance.

 

Fast forward to 2021 I started noticing that the PU leather on some places is starting to crack, which considing the extensive use I do find normal.

I figured that in a year or 2 it could do with a replacement, I also work from home now so I'd consider it an investment.

 

I've seen all kind of copy/paste's of these types of chairs, and I've sat in them as well but found them to be far inferior.

I've now seen a review from gamer's nexus telling people to avoid these type of chairs, although I usally like their content I can't say this was an "unbiased" review.

So wherever I go I see people claiming these chairs are overpiced and you should get an office chair instead.

 

Now I've sat in a fair share of terrible office chairs, at work I have a desk job now and their office chairs are good, I'd say I wouldn't mind using that chair or the one I currently own.

What I do know is both of them cost about the same amount of money.

 

On advice threads I often see people say "hey don't buy a gaming chair they are overpriced, get a herman miller instead second hand or during some kind of deal"

I find it odd how the advice translates to "300-400$ is overpiced, get this 1500$ chair instead but at a way lower price"

 

 

This isn't a rant I just feel like I'm missing something here.

Maybe I just got lucky with my model?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've avoided the "gaming" type chairs, simply because of the leather... it always seems to be the undoing of them

 

I've just upgraded recently for a rubbish old office chair that was way passed it's sell-by date.

 

Ergonomic chairs can be had for fairly (comparing to herman miller) cheap on Amazon.

 

I picked up a mesh backed one for around £180 before Christmas and it's helped with my back issues, not to mention any heat build up.

 

I agree Herman miller stuff is expensive, but they sell, so clearly something they're doing is right?

[dizmo]

Everyone's body is different, so it very well may have worked for you, but I'd say you're the exception, not the norm. A lot of science and research goes into quality office chairs, something you simply do not get when you're buying a gaming chair. Did you buy the chair after you realized you needed to fix your posture? I find it hard to believe that a chair that has no design towards fixing your posture managed to accomplish it on it's own. I'd hazard a guess and say it was more of a move on your part.

 

I've owned a DXRacer chair. They're about the same in terms of ergonomics and comfort as my $90 office chair, other than not being able to lie vertically in the office chair. Something that's not really a great selling point for a chair anyway.

 

You're definitely missing something in regards to your Herman Miller reference; you completely missed the part where they said second hand or during some kind of deal. Which is odd, since you typed it yourself. A HM chair can be bought extremely easily for around $500 - $700 depending on it's build sheet from a liquidator. You can also get other ergonomic chairs for around $400, which are still significantly better than a gaming chair. If you live in a city with a lot of offices, even better deals can be found locally.

 

You didn't get lucky with your model. I'd say it's more user bias than anything else; you bought the product, you want to think that it was worth the cost, and your mind does things to justify that.

[kucharczykt]

32 minutes ago, Exeon said:

So a little background

 

I have some bad lower back problems from doing a taxing physical job.

In my free time I would game a lot, which didn't actually help, as I had horrible posture while gaming.

About 4-5 years ago I decided to get a different chair to aid with this problem.

 

I decided to get a dxracer chair back then, matching my height and weight.

Within the month I could feel improvement on my lower back as the chair would force me into a "better" posture.

The chair wasn't without it's faults mind you, I disliked the arm support for instance.

 

Fast forward to 2021 I started noticing that the PU leather on some places is starting to crack, which considing the extensive use I do find normal.

I figured that in a year or 2 it could do with a replacement, I also work from home now so I'd consider it an investment.

 

I've seen all kind of copy/paste's of these types of chairs, and I've sat in them as well but found them to be far inferior.

I've now seen a review from gamer's nexus telling people to avoid these type of chairs, although I usally like their content I can't say this was an "unbiased" review.

So wherever I go I see people claiming these chairs are overpiced and you should get an office chair instead.

 

Now I've sat in a fair share of terrible office chairs, at work I have a desk job now and their office chairs are good, I'd say I wouldn't mind using that chair or the one I currently own.

What I do know is both of them cost about the same amount of money.

 

On advice threads I often see people say "hey don't buy a gaming chair they are overpriced, get a herman miller instead second hand or during some kind of deal"

I find it odd how the advice translates to "300-400$ is overpiced, get this 1500$ chair instead but at a way lower price"

 

 

This isn't a rant I just feel like I'm missing something here.

Maybe I just got lucky with my model?

 

Get an ergonomic chair doesn't have to be anything special theres plenty of videos on youtube that compare different ones and steve from gamers nexus recently made a video about desk chairs.

[Kisai]

1 hour ago, kucharczykt said:

Get an ergonomic chair doesn't have to be anything special theres plenty of videos on youtube that compare different ones and steve from gamers nexus recently made a video about desk chairs.

The OP referenced that GN video.

 

As I've mentioned before on this forum. The primary reason why you don't want to buy a "gaming chair" is because the vast majority of them are made of PU leather, which isn't leather, it's plastic. It can not be repaired. PU is also notorious for melting or tearing. If it's made of PU, it's not worth more than $200

 

Most office chairs are not leather any more, they're mesh. At one point in time, (at least 10+ years ago) many conference room types of chairs were leather.

 

Unfortunately you always get what you pay for, and any chair that is made significantly out of hard plastic is likely to be bad ergonomically.  

 

[Exeon]

9 hours ago, dizmo said:

Did you buy the chair after you realized you needed to fix your posture? I find it hard to believe that a chair that has no design towards fixing your posture managed to accomplish it on it's own. I'd hazard a guess and say it was more of a move on your part.

 

I've owned a DXRacer chair. They're about the same in terms of ergonomics and comfort as my $90 office chair, other than not being able to lie vertically in the office chair. Something that's not really a great selling point for a chair anyway.

 

You didn't get lucky with your model. I'd say it's more user bias than anything else; you bought the product, you want to think that it was worth the cost, and your mind does things to justify that.

 

I did buy the chair to aid with my back problem, not specifically posture though.

The chair forces me to sit upright, anything else is amazingly uncomfortable.

 

What I meant with being lucky is having the chair for nearly 5 years, sitting in it for anywhere between 8-12 hours a day and now starting to notice cracks in the PU leather on the part where I sit on.

[dizmo]

7 minutes ago, Exeon said:

I did buy the chair to aid with my back problem, not specifically posture though.

The chair forces me to sit upright, anything else is amazingly uncomfortable.

 

What I meant with being lucky is having the chair for nearly 5 years, sitting in it for anywhere between 8-12 hours a day and now starting to notice cracks in the PU leather on the part where I sit on.

That's exactly what I mean though. It wasn't the chair that fixed your posture, and thus helped with your back problems, it was your mentality of "I need to sit better to help my back." You can definitely have poor posture in a gaming chair. It's not making you sit properly. You're doing that yourself.

[Exidor]

Well what most people do not think about is who is the typical Herman Miller customer.

It is a company. And for them the 10 year warranty and the white glove delivery service is often worth it to pay extra.

 

Are Herman Miller chairs overpriced? Absolutely.

Are they good chairs yes yes absolutely. I am sitting in an Embody at home and I love the thing.

 

Chairs are cheap to manufacture point is logistics are so cheap that it makes no sense to produce them locally.

Some 4 years ago I could buy basically a throne here at the ass end of the EU for around a 1000 euros. I am talking real leather here not the cheap kind full wood frame heavy duty oil shocks a full metal welded base.

That company specialised in outfitting ships and restaurants.

They also used to make a lot of really good furniture. I still own one of their sofas yes it was not cheap it was like 1500 euros. But it still looks perfect after 4 years of heavy use it has a wood frame replaceable cushions and metal springs in the base.

Hell my mother still has a sofa made by them that is some 20 years old. Yes the cushions flattened but the leather still holds......

 

Now buying such a sofa you have to call the company directly and talk to the BtoB sales rep.

Nobody wants to sell them locally too expensive and they are slowly dying.

 

People expect a sofa to cost 150-500 euros.... You get crap for that and that craps comes from Malaysia. Now think about that with shipping it is still so cheap....

 

Right now gaming chairs are a hot category so marketing is being poured into them.

 

There are maybe still some local good furniture makers left but they only survive if they do specialised work like eaters ships car conversions etc....

 

Herman Miller and Steelcase have basically a duopoly on office chairs and the logistics network to back it even here in a city of 450.000ppl at the ass end of the EU there is a certified dealer that will honor the full 10 year warranty.

 

 

Point being it is the logistics maintenance brand and marketing that is most of the value not the production. 

Most of the money stays with the seller not the producer.

So unless you manage to market directly to the consumer. The bulk buyer will always go for the cheapest option to maximise his profits.

 

This is why we have a booming market in direct to consumer mattresses even startups there like Kasper or what ever.

Production is cheap....

Yet you go to a Norwegian town and find an offbrand supplier working with the hellihsly 10.000 euros plus Norwegian top brand mattresses and tell that small company you are outfitting a hotel you will get amazing quality product at low cost but probably the minimum order will be like a 100.

 

 

The point I am trying to make here is economics.

If a consumer buys a bad gaming chair or a massmarket chair from a supermarket. He might bitch a bit online. But nobody will care..... The big chair factory will just spit out more chairs as there is a big demand and the price is right.

Now if Herman Miller chairs drop too much in quality they loose a dominant market position as a overpriced duopaly.

If a local BtoB producer does a bad job he wont get the support repair etc contracts or bigger orders that actually make or break his business. This buy competes both on price and on quality as he can not produce enough units to enter global logistics. He is dependent on his local contacts and reputation. And it is not like a trades person that can just move around or you can buy one in from another EU country. He has a manufacturing base that is a huge fixed cost that needs feeding.

In a business never forget to examine the downside risks..... Those often drive the market.

 

 

PS. I specifically chose Norway as an example because of very high wages. To emphasis a point go to another country with still not so well known brand but skilled manufacturing like Russia and you can probably reduce the price by a factor of 10.

[Doobeedoo]

It's true, those gaming chairs are not worth 300-400$ it's like throwing money away. Herman Miller yeah very expensive, at least it's worth it in the end. Second hand or whatever. There are cheaper alternatives that are not racing style garbage from also cheap materials. Be it like Vertagear Triigger series and Neuechair too. Anything but those "gaming" racing style looking trash.

[Jason 57]

It really comes down to personal preference. 

As long as the chair fits to your body, then get what options you would like. 

 

As for the GN video, I have the Ergo Chair 2, that I purchased for my wife. Technically I can use it, I am just under the weight limit, and my thighs touch the arm posts a little. but it has some great lumbar adjustments to help get that posture you want/need. 

 

I use a AK Racing MAX chair currently. It had the dimensions that would fit me and it has a weight limit of 400lbs. My only complaint is the stupid 4-D arm rests. I wish they would just lock into place where they are set!!! I hate it when I push on them to adjust myself in the chair and they move. (especially front to back)

 

I also have a bad back (3 herniated discs in my lumbar spine [L3 to L4, L4 to L5, and L5 to L6]).  

[IcarusLSC]

I owned a DXRacer and another one and both sucked. Not true suspension seat, don't breath and arms suck badly (flimsy.)