AKRacing Office Series Onyx Deluxe Desk Chair - Black

Author: Jm Ap

Rating: 5

Review: First, there's a gaming chair vs an office chair vs a task chair. Gaming chairs were made popular by DXRacer (in 2006). Gaming chairs already existed but only silly floor rockers with built in speakers. Today's chairs have larger and taller backs (designed to look like car seats), adjustable arms, and a back that can be locked at different angles. DXRacer is the most popular on YouTube channels but that's only because they handed them out for free. Reviewers can only compare their new chairs to the old crap they had been sitting on and not anything else because they didn't buy it - it just showed up. They did no research - ignore them. The big problem with DXRacer is quality issues (widely accepted not just by Rasq). It's important that you don't confuse them with the much better (seemingly at least) AKRacing. Many like to say that gaming chairs are dumb and only for those living in homes that can do some impressive turns (ha ha). They claim the only chair you should consider is a task chair. They are wrong for two reasons. 1) A good task chair costs $1,000 (I'm not doing it) and 2) I only sit "properly" about 20% of the time. I have a very bad back and can't sit in any position for long, even the "right" one. It turns out that you shouldn't either. Some times I lean left, or right, or back (so it's not my house making a sharp turn but me) and studies now show that you should too. However, I will include one task chair for consideration - the Steelcase Leap and only because it is so popular that it is easy to find a refurbished one for $300 (good only if you always sit with a rod up your butt). I have only owned office chairs up to this point. Their biggest con IMHO is permanently attached arms. I really really like moving the arms on this chair back and up (and out to the side) to be even with my desk top as the perfect support for my mouse arm while allowing me to pull the chair closer to the table. I'd prefer the arms to move back even more. The better construction is also quite nice. The chair glides along my wood floors and spins like I'm on a cloud. I'm a senior and I expect this chair to easily last the rest of my life. Here's the grades of leather: nappa, full, top, genuine or suede - and the grades of plastic: PU, PVC Vinyl, and bonded or manufactured. The "best" IMHO is top grain leather. It's the most durable and breathable (cool) for the money - nappa costs $1,000 (not worth it). But, top leather requires cleaning and conditioning twice a year to keep it in new condition. Moreover, PU leather does better in direct sunlight (why it's often used in cars), has no need to be conditioned, and can be made in bright colors -- if a chair or any part of it is bright red, orange, or neon, it's not real leather. My office is not outside, I'm not a fan of bright colors, I prefer more durable, and I have other leather chairs. The Secretlab TITAN is a great chair but it is only available in nappa for $1,000 (not top grain). That leaves this American company and the German Noblechairs. My first inclination was to go with the Germans but then most of their chairs online have small defects in them (such as tilted metal logo in the back) and they have zero lumbar support. Plus, I prefer how this chair does not have any holes in the headrest. The TITAN has adjustable lumbar support. But, that's something else that can break. Everyone else has a pillow - it's for using as a back replacement for the gamers' curl (leaning forward in your chair). Only this chair is built with any lumbar support for your back. The problem with this is that the lumbar curve gets bigger as you recline. I find it perfect at about 15 degrees, a bit undersized at straight up, and horrible when all the way back - that turns out to be perfect. Why would anyone want their chair to lie flat? I never sleep in my chair. Flat with its excessive lumbar support is like I'm at the chiropractor's getting my back adjusted. I am in this position most days. It's great! Finally, I had some problems with the vendor and poor shipping but AKRacing took complete care of me and my chair. It was such a great experience that I might have given them five stars without liking the chair. I felt more comfortable with a company in LA than one in Germany but five minutes on the phone is better. I feel I got much more than I expected. For example, if this chair has nearly perfect lumbar support built in, what is the lumbar pillow for? For one of my other office chairs without it. After getting this new office chair at home, the old one went to the console setup in my bedroom (which now has great lumbar support), whose wooden base exploded and so is now parts for the one at the garage bench (this is my fifth office chair). Unlike most gaming chairs with only a 2 year warranty, this one has a 5/10 year warranty. I like it. I don't expect the bedroom and garage chairs to keep up. I'll get another. Highly recommended.

Author: JWN III

Rating: 1

Review: I don't like to write bad reviews, and perhaps I'm just unfamiliar with gaming chairs. I had been sitting in the same chair for more than 20+ years and had added a pillow since the cushion was...well... no longer a cushion. It took me years to consider spending this much on a chair and I read TONS of reviews, watched videos, talked to office furniture distributors, visited Staples to sit in chairs, and after all that settled on this very expensive chair expecting to get what I paid for. Unfortunately, the seat is HARD like a rock. My rear is NUMB as I type this and I find myself continuously shifting my weight around failing to find a comfortable position. I have even added a cushion, which is absurd for a new chair. While there are numerous adjustments, no matter what I do, sitting in this chair hurts my butt and bones. I thought maybe I'd just get used to this, but it has been months now and I still can't wait to get out of my chair. I've since popped into Staples and sat down in chairs that envelop me in comfort and would have cost far less money. I expected more for what I paid. Also, the armrests are TOO FAR APART for me. Each armrest edge sits about 4.5" from my ribs so my elbow lands about 7" from my body which is not comfortable. The armrests are about 22" from each other (inside edge to inside edge... I guess that means my rib-cage is about 13" wide?? Perhaps you can use that as a point of reference). I tend to splay the armrests into a V so the nearest side of the armest is closer, but then I can only rest my elbows and the front of the armrests tend to knock things off the return side of my desk. The supports for the armrests, equally far from center, also prevent me from sitting in the center of the footwell at my desk because the supports collide with the return. (Side note - my prior chair had armrests that were 19" apart which worked great for me). The lumbar support is just a pillow. There is no way to attach it to the chair, adjust it, fix its position, etc. It is literally just a pillow. If you put it where you want it, it will only stay there until you move. If I'm using it, and I like the support, I it falls right onto the chair after I stand up. Once I sit back down I typically sit on the pillow. Ugh. I expect more for this price. The extra head support pillow does have elastic to attach to the headrest... except the straps aren't adjustable in any way and don't actually fit onto the shape of the headrest well at all. If you can get it to slide on, it is likely to pop off at any time. I abandoned this immediately and have never tried to use it. Again, I expect more at this price point. I do like the high back and I can rest my head on the back. I like that I was able to purchase it in real leather. It seems to be made with high-quality components and will last a long time. This is unfortunate as I'd almost prefer it to wear out so I won't feel as bad when I replace it. I suspect I'll replace this chair FAR before its useful life has expired. I would not, however, buy this chair again.