As technology advanced and digital games became popular, so did gaming chairs that rose to popular at the heels of e-sports. Nowadays, almost every individual who has played a game on a computer has heard or seen a gaming chair that come in a wide variety of designs and regarded as chic. The question that often rises with regards to the gaming chair is: are they ergonomic? When buying a chair for gaming or office use, there are a number of things that must be taken into consideration, this article is meant to guide the average potential ‘chair consumer’ towards making an informed purchase decision.
Consideration #1: Pricing, Design and Purpose
In general, the ergonomic office chair are deemed as less striking than the gaming chair in terms of design, however, the design of the ergonomic office chair are objective towards supporting the body or physical structure of the user and are less focused on design. The ergonomic chair is basically designed to provide support the body with various adjustable components and aesthetics being a low priority. In contrast, gaming chairs are design oriented and are more colourful coupled with flashy chair designs similar to the seating of a race-car (bucket seat).
Both chairs have specific functions and different purposes and the prices of these chairs vary quite a bit from cheap office furniture chairs to high end ergonomic variants. As of recently, ergonomics have begun to be incorporated into high end gaming chairs, however there is minimal focus on this in the lower end models. A high-end gaming chair would cost about AUD 600 whereas a high end ergonomic chair could cost up to AUD2000 and the low end ergonomic chair with basic essential features cost around AUD 300. Nevertheless, even a mid-range ergonomic chair possesses better warranty, offers better comfort and functionality in comparison to the high-end gaming chair.
Consideration #2: Comfort and Health
Whilst the gaming chair is attractive and similar to car seats that follow the bucket seat design that hugs the user’s body similar to car seat, the ergonomic office provides much more freedom and comfort that allows users to be more mobile and also allows them to stretch. The ergonomic chair has adjustable features that allow the users to adjust seat height, seat depth, seat width, neck rest height, lumbar support depth and even armrest height depending on the user’s personal preferences. The adjustable feature of the ergonomic chair is critical towards preventing musculoskeletal disorders especially when one has to sit down for long periods of time staring at a computer screen.
In contrast there are a few downsides to the gaming chair that generally mimics the bucket seat and this includes the gaming chair’s design which does not allow the users to cross their legs if they sat all the way to the back. Most components of the gaming chair are also static which means, when the user feels uncomfortable, the user will not be able to adjust the seat much except for seat height.
There is no doubt that the gaming chair looks better and are less pricey compared to the ergonomic chair. However, the ergonomic chair offers much more in terms of health, comfort and productivity compared to the gaming chair.