Understanding the Different Types of Gaming Chairs: A Primer

When you’re gaming, you want to be able to be comfortable. Of course, with comfort comes having the right posture, which is why a gaming chair is the perfect investment.

A lot of gamers already know about the basic gaming chair that looks like your standard office chair.

But there are also a lot of other types of gaming chairs out there that are best for different gaming scenarios.

The type of gaming chair that will be the best choice for you is going to largely depend on the type of gaming that you tend to do and what platform you game on.

As the gaming chair market has grown rapidly, it may seem a little overwhelming to have to consider so many different styles and designs out there. But we’re here to help.

Read on to find out more about the different types of gaming chairs out there and what will best suit your gaming style.

Why get a Gaming Chair?

RESPAWN 100 Racing Style Gaming Chair, in Gray (RSP-100-GRY)
RESPAWN Racing Style Gaming Chair, available on Amazon

To put it simply, a gaming chair is designed for the unique postural and comfort needs that come with long hours spent playing games while sitting in front of a screen.

They also tend to look a bit cooler than your standard office chair, featuring racing style graphics and design elements, bright and vibrant colors, and other features, like high tech audio, built in to the chair.

PC Gaming Chairs

BestOffice PC Gaming Chair Ergonomic Office Chair Desk Chair with Lumbar Support Flip Up Arms Headrest PU Leather Executive High Back Computer Chair for Adults Women Men, Black and White
PC Gaming Chair, available on Amazon

The PC Gaming Chair is by far the most popular kind of gaming chair.

It looks similar to your standard office swivel chair, and because of this it is ideal for gamers that often play PC games.

In order to improve the performance and have a better gaming experience, the PC gaming chair has been made with designs and technologies that are similar to the ones that are used in racing car seats.

This is so that you will get lots a comfort and endurance all through the hours that you spend sitting in it.

Similarly to an office swivel chair, a PC gaming chair will have height and recline adjustment, castors, and will also come with extra features such as comfortable armrests, an improved adjustable headrest and lumbar support, in addition to detachable cushioning.

Of course, there are a couple of pros and cons with this kind of gaming chair. To start with, they are very comfortable and provide better comfort to the lumbar area and more important areas in the body.

They are easy to adjust in order to suit the preferences of the user. They will give a lot of endurance for gamers that like to sit down for many hours, and the chair also helps to encourage the right sitting posture so you can be comfortable and game safely on the PC.

Finally, it also provides more movement and most room to rotate for the gamer.

The primary con of this gaming chair is that is may not actually be the best choice for certain kinds of gaming as it was made to be used specifically for gaming on the PC.

Rocker Gaming Chairs

X Rocker Surge Wireless Bluetooth 2.1 Sound Rocking Video Gaming Floor Chair, 2 Speakers, Subwoofer, Bonded Faux Leather, Foldable - Black with Red Piping, 5172601
X-Rocker Surge gaming chair, available on Amazon

Rocker gaming chairs, sometimes called platform chairs, are entirely different to PC gaming chair. Generally, this kind of gaming chairs look like a recliner, but they tend to be set on the floor.

A lot of the models are able to rock and will also have side pockets that you can store your gaming controllers in. Whatever ones don’t have built in speakers instead come with built in speakers that have headphone jacks.

Of course, if you are looking for a chair that will allow you to blend together functionality and form, then this could be a good choice for platform gaming.

With that being said, the chair isn’t really shaped in such a way that it would be a good choice for a PC gaming chair.

Many of these rocker models are also foldable gaming chairs, so you can easily store them away when not use.

Racer Chair

VON RACER Massage Gaming Chair - High Back Racing PC Computer Desk Office Chair Swivel Ergonomic Executive Leather Chair with Footrest and Adjustable Armrests, Gray/Black
The Von Racer, racing style gaming chair available on Amazon

The name says it all! A racer chair is made for racing games primarily. Usually these chairs consist of genuine leather in addition to PVC leather.

Most of these chairs are in the shape of a normal PC gaming chair but will have more cushioning, support and adjustability.  Some of the chairs, on the other hand, will take up a lower positioned design that looks a little bit like motor sport vehicle bucket seats. T

These chairs offer a lot of great comfort while you game, but they will also provide you with lots of endurance when you use them for long hours.

Usually, the basic racing gaming seats come along with armrests, casters and backrests in addition to height adjustment, tilting and swiveling features, and they recline.

On the other hand, the more advanced models include steering wheels, gas and brake foot pedals in addition to wheel and pedal support plates. These kinds of features are made to replicate a genuine racing environment, helping to improve your gaming experience.

So, pros and cons. A racing gaming chair is extremely comfortable and can be adjusted easily in accordance to whatever your preferred options are.

The chair replicates a racing environment effectively so you can have a more interesting gaming experience, and the chair is durable and strong. It also helps to make sure that you have the right sitting posture, in addition to adjustability whenever you start to get tired.

The main con, however, is that the chair is very highly customized to racing games only so it may not be the best choice if you play first person shooters, for example.

Hybrids

Hybrid gaming chairs

A normal hybrid chair is usually mounted on top of a swivel base, so it looks a little bit more like an office chair. As far as the comfort is concerned, it has the padding and shape that you would usually find in a recliner.

Some of the more advanced hybrids tend to come with a number of different monitors, a built-in surround sound, and a bunch of game control mechanisms, such as a steering wheel for racing games.

Some of these gaming chairs are designed for very large budgets, but they are definitely worth the money for someone that wants a more involved gameplay experience.

Beanbag Gaming Chairs

Big Joe, 0 Milano Gray Plush Bean Bag Chair, Gray
Bean Bag Chair, available on Amazon

Beanbag gaming chairs are designed for lots of comfort for the gamer. These kinds of gaming chairs were pretty common back in the 1970s but they are becoming more and more popular once again.

These kinds of gaming chairs don’t have backrests, armrests, headrests of lumbar support. What they do offer, however, is lots of flexibility and they are lightweight, which is what makes them so good for gamers.

If you are looking to have more back support and lumbar support then you could opt for a specifically designed gaming sofa or even a memory foam gaming chair. This could be similar to a beanbag chair but with some armrests and a backrest.

Examples

Pedestal Gaming Chair

X Rocker SE 2.1 Black Leather Video Gaming Chair for Adult, Teen, and Kid Gamers with Pedestal Base, Armrest, and Headrest - High Tech Audio and Wireless Capacity - Ergonomic Back Support (5127401)
X-Rocker SE 2.1, pedestal style gaming chair, available on Amazon

Pedestal gaming chairs are like a combination of the various properties of a swivel chair, a rocker chair and a recliner. These chairs are a little bit raised, and they rest on a pedestal base instead of on legs, which means it can rock and rotate.

A pedestal gaming chair, similarly to a recliner, can be tilted or lounged in accordance to the gamer’s preferred sitting position.

There are also pedestal gaming chairs available that have some extra features, such as extra racing accessories, speakers built in and gaming accessory stands just to name a couple.

There are a couple of things to love about pedestal gaming chairs. These chairs are very comfortable, and they can rotate easily which means you will have more access to different gaming equipment.

It is positioned a little closer to the ground too so it’s good for console gaming. These chairs can also be customized to various gaming needs too so you can really cater the chair to your desires.

Unfortunately, these chairs do not come with casters for extra movement, so the access to gaming accessories could be limited.

Conclusion

As any gamer will know, gaming can involve a lot of physical demands. It’s vital that you have the right kind of gaming chair to support your overall experience, or you could end up with some serious pain, discomfort and injury to your shoulders, back, neck, eyes and chest and more.

This is particularly problematic if you spend more than 5 hours per day in front of your gaming system of choice.

Investing in a good gaming chair is thus very important. You can get ergonomic options that can also fit your unique health needs.

Either way, comfort is vital when you are gaming, so hopefully the information we’ve provided you with today has helped you to make a decision about what kind of gaming chair you want and what will be best for your style of gaming.

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