One does not simply go out and buy a new gaming chair. Finding the throne for you can prove a perilous search, and just when you think you've bagged a legend, you look down to see the beast is thrashing still—and it's about to hit you with a shipping fee that sucks the air right out of your lungs.
Not AndaSeat though, as it is offering free US shipping. Better yet, its X-Air Series of gaming chairs are $20 off too, for the lowest-ever price of $429. 20 bucks off may not sound like loads, but I'm inclined to recommend this chair even at full price. Won't you bend an ear to this old woman as I count the ways in which this is still a good deal?
Now, I love me a bit of fantasy, but sometimes you want something with a bit of a sci-fi edge, and the X-Air Series delivers in the form of a great honking bit of plastic on the back that looks a bit like a robot. Available in three colourways—all black, a pink-to-blue gradient, or a blue-to-purple gradient—the backplate is also swappable.
Maybe such gamer flair really doesn't do it for you, but it really did it for me. I found a lot else to love in my review even besides the chunky plastic. For starters, the X-Air Series seats are predominantly mesh, which I loved. Whereas more traditionally plush seating tends to leave me constantly readjusting to get comfortable, I find the X-Air's mesh to be bouncy in all the right ways.
It gets better. I reviewed the X-Air Pro specifically, meaning it's a seat that offers far more adjustable bits than the standard version of the X-Air—plus even a few bells and whistles not offered by the best gaming chairs around a similar price point.
Can I get a little commotion for the 5D armrests? With a full 360° range of rotation, these things spin all the way around. You can also slide them up, down, and even a little bit side to side for a truly absurd amount of armrest adjustability. Whatever your preferred configuration, they're easy to readjust and hold their position once you've got them just how you want them.
Then there's the backrest. Just to begin with, you can adjust the height of the seat back by up to 8 cm, holding it in position at 7 different levels. This ensures the 'C-shaped dynamic lumbar support' does its job, offering respite for your achy gamer lower back. The headrest is not dissimilarly shaped and can be adjusted up or down alongside double-pivot rotation. In all, it offers a pretty comfy perch, especially when you consider the 105° to 126° recline with 4 lockable positions. Me? I'm not napping, I'm just reclining contemplatively.
The only real mark against this gaming chair is navigating all that plastic. When your AndaSeat arrives, it'll turn up in a huge box, and you'll have to assemble it yourself. It's not a tricky job, but it will require two people purely for hauling the heft into position. That said, the funky chunky plastic doesn't make for a badly balanced chair. One could allow it to devolve into an absolute chair-drobe monster, and it still probably wouldn't topple over—not that I'm speaking from experience.
