German-based Snakebyte has recently released a mid to high range gaming chair, the Gaming:Seat. The chair is described by Snakebyte as “designed to provide optimal comfort and posture for professional gamers”. Coming with adjustable elements and a unique footrest feature the Gaming:Seat looks to stand, or at least sit, out from the crowd. So, does this premium product, which has been “tested and loved” by eSports team DIVIZON, live up to the billing? Let’s find out!
When it comes to colour choice the Gaming:Seat comes in three options, each featuring a combination of black artificial leather and a coloured acryl fibre. Snakebyte say that the colour options are there for gamers to “match their preferred gaming platform”: with blue for PlayStation, green for Xbox and yellow for PC available. Inevitably, gamers will instead just pick their favourite colour scheme, though it is worth noting that what is classed as yellow is closer to a lime green.
The chair, as usual, comes unconstructed; taking under 30 minutes to put together. From the BIFMA standard base, which the castors simply pop into, to the screws, holding the backrest to the base, everything is a simple process. Building the chair with 2 people to hold pieces in place certainly speeds the process up but with some careful balancing it wouldn’t be impossible to construct it solo. Everything you’ll need is included from the screws which are already positioned and the two sizes of Allen keys. The only aspect of the build phase that could have been improved is the 6 panel instructions, though only additional angles would make it easier with all steps laid out for users to follow.
The chair certainly has a solid feel to it, with a hard style cushion on the seat, though this is practically an extension of the robustness of the chair. There are plenty of ways to adjust the seat, to allow gamers of differing heights and sizes to sit contently during a long gaming session. Tilt-wise the backrest adjustments enable the user to recline almost all the way back, to the extent it feels unnatural to lay on a chair at that angle. The adjustability extends to the armrests, which are easy to raise or lower. They are also adjustable angle-wise, left and right, so much so it seems like they have wiggle room; though this results in it constantly being comfortably being under your elbow/arm but does take a little getting used to.
Being a mixture of materials there was the concern about seams of meeting materials, however the design is superbly done to the extent aside from the feel of the material the change is unnoticeable. Almost surprisingly, the artificial leather has stayed comfortable even in the mini heatwave the UK is suffering through, being more than bearable to sit on for hours on end without overheating. It’s little touches like this that’ll enable users to be comfortable for years to come in the chair.
One aspect that is included with the chair, seen somewhat as an extra, but lets the quality of the product down is the lumbar (back) cushion. The head/neck pillow is perfect for adding support and an added spot of luxury to the product, the same cannot be said about the lumbar cushion. The advantage of the provided cushion is that is has straps to connect it to the chair, something often missing that causes the cushion to move during long gaming sessions. Alas, this advantage is not enough to warrant the extended use of such a solid cushion. With the addition of a comfortable cushion rather than the solid provided one the seat experience is transformed, so it is a real shame that the quality of the rest of the product didn’t get copied across to the additional back cushion.
The Gaming:Seat comes with a feature I’ve not seen before on any other gaming chair, a pull out footrest. Tucking away under the seat the footrest is easy to deploy, by pulling the footrest bar out and rotating the cushion. This process takes a matter of seconds and it is a shame that despite this design success of storage the footrest itself is disproportionately close to the seat. Being 6-foot-tall, not overly above the standard height, I was surprised that the footrest when extending my legs was only half way along my calf muscle. This either results in it not being comfortable to stretch out on or having high knees to be able to have my feet on the footrest, making it redundant.
If this was my first gaming chair I would be far from disappointed, yet those whom have had the pleasure of sitting on a number will notice aspects that let the Gaming:Seat down. Lumbar cushions are not for everyone, and the chair is comfortable and more importantly supporting without one, nevertheless the brick like one included is lacklustre. While an interesting twist the footrest doesn’t extend enough to make it comfortable to use and especially for PC gamers would only see limited usage. It’s nice to see Snakebyte trying to push the boundaries, and while a few decisions haven’t paid off the Gaming:Seat is still a solid chair built for comfort during endless hours of gaming.
[Editor’s Note: The Gaming:Seat was provided to us by Snakebyte for the review. The gaming chair is currently priced at £229.99 and is available across Europe from Amazon and leading gaming outlets.]