Gaming Chairs, Measured Between the Bolsters

Usable Seat Width, Not the Width Across the Bolsters

A gaming chair listing gives the seat width from the outside edge of the bucket to the other outside edge. Between the two side bolsters there is a lot less, and that is the only part that matters.

Twenty One Inches on the Box, Fourteen Where You Sit

On a racing style bucket seat the bolsters take 5 to 7 inches off the stated width. A chair sold at 21 inches leaves about 14 or 15 inches of flat seat, less than a flat office chair of 19. Wide seat and big and tall models lose less, and a few fabric chairs with flat cushions lose almost nothing. This table shows both numbers for every chair.

Of the 216 chairs in this table, 1 claims 170 degrees or more of recline and 11 state a class 4 cylinder. The best sellers, with both widths and both angles:

Usable width and usable recline are estimates from the listing, explained above; outer width and claimed recline are the maker's numbers.

Over 17" between bolstersUnder 15"

The 180 Degree Recline and What It Actually Does

The 180 degree figure is measured with the chair empty and nothing behind it. A five spoke base is not designed to take a person's weight lying flat, and the makers say so in the small print: the chair tips or the backrest mechanism takes the full load. With someone seated, the useful recline of almost every chair stops somewhere between 135 and 155 degrees. This table sorts by that estimate, the claimed angle capped at 155, and keeps the claim in its own column.

135 to 155° usableClaims 180°

Max User Weight and the Class of the Gas Cylinder

The weight limit is a static rating, and the part that gives out first is the gas cylinder. Class 3 or class 4 is the number that separates a chair that holds its height for three years from one that sinks in eight months, and no listing under $250 publishes it. When a maker states class 4, it is in the Gas cylinder column; when the column is empty, assume class 3.

Class 4 cylinderRated over 350 lbs

PU Leather, Fabric and Mesh Over a Summer

PU leather is what most gaming chairs use: easy to wipe, warm and sticky in summer, and it cracks and peels at the seat edge within two or three years. Fabric breathes better and does not peel, but it holds stains and pet hair. A mesh back keeps the back cool on long sessions. Hybrid chairs put PU on the sides and fabric where you sit.

FabricMesh backPU leather

Lumbar Pillow or Built In Lumbar

Most gaming chairs ship a loose lumbar pillow on a strap. It slides down, sits at a fixed thickness and pushes you forward on the seat, which shortens the seat depth you have. Built in lumbar, part of the backrest and often adjustable with a dial, stays where you put it. The massage pillows are the same pillow with a small vibrating motor.

Built in lumbarLumbar pillow

Footrests, 4D Arms and the Parts That Break First

After the cylinder, the parts that fail are the ones that move: the pull out footrest rails, the armrest adjustment buttons and the recline lever. A footrest adds length that has to be supported by plastic slides; 4D arms add four mechanisms per side. Metal bases outlast nylon ones.

The chair is the half of a setup people replace least often. The other half, the machine on the desk, is compared in the gaming PCs table.

Metal base4D armrestsFootrest

Gaming Chair or Office Chair for Eight Hour Days

For eight hours of sitting, the bucket seat is the weak point of a gaming chair: the bolsters stop you from shifting position, and the usable width is narrower than it looks. A good office chair with a flat seat, a sliding seat depth and adjustable lumbar fits more bodies for the same price. A gaming chair wins on recline, headrest and footrest for the breaks in between. Flat seat chairs are compared in the office chairs table.

Wide seat with built in lumbar

What We Exclude From This Table

The table only lists gaming chairs, checked against each product's Amazon data, not its title alone. Left out:

• Flat seat office chairs without side bolsters: they have their own table.
• Listings that state no max user weight, or no seat width.
• Massage chairs, living room recliners and floor bean bags.
• Floor rocker seats for consoles, and racing simulator seats and cockpits.
• Parts and accessories: cylinders, casters, bases, cushions, separate footrests and covers.
• Kids chairs rated under 150 lbs, and multi-chair bundles.