Reviews You Can Rely On

How We Tested Gaming Chairs

Thursday December 7, 2023
gaming chair - our testing process evaluated major metrics, including comfort...
Our testing process evaluated major metrics, including comfort, adjustability, and setup.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Our evaluation of gaming chairs began with thorough market research, narrowing down hundreds of options available on the market today to only the most promising models. We then purchased those top models for head-to-head testing. We developed a series of tests and procedures for our gaming chair lineup, grouped into critical metrics with each metric's weighting commensurate to its respective importance.

Comfort


For our comprehensive review process of gaming chairs, we put a heavy focus on comfort, which is the most important aspect of a gaming chair. For its importance, we've weighted comfort to 55 percent of each model's overall score.

gaming chair - the headrest was just one of many factors in evaluating comfort.
The headrest was just one of many factors in evaluating comfort.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Within the comfort metric, we evaluated the comfort of individual components, such as the seat, backrest, armrests, as well as lumbar support and any sort of headrest or neckrest support. After multiple testers of different sizes and weights from our in-house team at GearLab spent hours in each chair evaluating and scoring the comfort of individual components.

gaming chair - lumbar adjustability was a key part of evaluating comfort.
Lumbar adjustability was a key part of evaluating comfort.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Adjustability


Our second test metric adjustability carried a significant weighting of 35 percent of each product's overall score, as adjustability is paramount for making changes to best fit one's gaming needs and improve comfort. We conducted a comprehensive comparison of the degree of flexibility of the same individual components tested in our comfort metric.

gaming chair - some models offer a greater range of adjustability than others, with...
Some models offer a greater range of adjustability than others, with levers and knobs that can be easy or difficult to reach.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Our team meticulously assessed the extent to which the seat, backrest, armrests, and reclining positions could be customized to ensure a comfortable and ergonomic sitting experience. Additionally, we thoroughly evaluated the presence and adjustability of lumbar support and examined any additional features, such as neck or head pillows and even footrests.

gaming chair - headrest or neckrest pillows are a common feature of gaming chairs.
Headrest or neckrest pillows are a common feature of gaming chairs.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Setup


Our final test metric evaluated the ease, level of effort, and amount of time it took each model to go from a box of parts to a usable gaming chair. Our test team members assembled each chair with the included instructions and tools,

gaming chair - this gaming chair took very little time to go from box of parts to...
This gaming chair took very little time to go from box of parts to fully assembled.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Conclusion


After reading about our comprehensive testing and scoring process, we hope you have a better handle of the work and analysis that goes into the ranking of our gaming chair lineup. Hopefully, our effort will give you enough confidence in our selection process, testing, scoring, and award selection to comfortably select a gaming chair for your needs after reading our review.