Design and Features
As I mentioned, this is a racing-style chair. Like many of its competitors, the tall backrest has the rearing-cobra look to it. It’s designed for use at a desk, with five 3-inch caster wheels that roll silently. The wheels have a PU coating that AndaSeat says prevents damage to hardwood floors. I haven’t seen any new damage to my flooring, but the wood floor in my apartment didn’t start out in pristine condition either. The AndaSeat Fnatic Edition is a large chair. The seat rests on a piston that offers 2.24 inches of height adjustment, which surprisingly feels like a lot more range in practice. At its lowest settings, I feel like I’m almost squatting, and at its highest setting, there’s a little more dangle to my legs than there should be. Its size and specs definitely make it a big and tall gaming chair. The company recommends it for users between 5’10” and 6’10” and weighing less than 330 pounds, though it can support up to 441 pounds. The Fnatic Edition is nearly identical to AndaSeat’s Kaiser 2 chair, just with some different exterior materials. Curiously, AndaSeat recommends users be 5’6”-6’8” for the Kaiser 2. I’m 6’3” and about 230 pounds, and I feel as though I’m on the upper end of the chair’s comfort range. Knowing that, the Kaiser 2’s ranges do feel more appropriate for the Fnatic Edition to me. That said, comfort could be an issue for heavier or broader-hipped gamers. This chair has a somewhat aggressive bucket seat that can put some uncomfortable pressure on my thighs, which gets a bit tiresome after some time.
Part of what helps make this chair capable of holding up so much weight is the solid steel construction and heavy-duty piston and base. But, the result is a chair that’s a bit over 70 pounds. If it’s going to live in one spot, that may not be an issue, but it can be a real doozy to lift over the edge of a carpet or a stray cable on the floor. The AndaSeat Fnatic Edition has plenty to round out the experience. 4D armrests provide adjustments vertically (just under three inches), horizontally, rotationally, and front to back. You can further expand or narrow the armrests at the connecting point on the bottom of the chair, though this is tedious to do. I have a broad build, and even the armrests’ narrowest position feels a hair too wide. The armrests are fairly large and somewhat soft, but not really cushioned in any way. The seat is packed with a dense foam and wrapped in a sturdy-feeling PU leather. I haven’t sat in the chair on a scorching summer day, but the material doesn’t feel the most breathable and gets a tad sticky on skin when wearing shorts. 
The seat also includes memory foam-packed neck and lumbar pillows. The lumbar pillow simply sits in a nook on the backrest while the neck pillow runs straps through two holes at the shoulders or around the headrest. The through-hole position is far too low for me, but around the headrest is a much more appropriate fit. There’s also some strong relaxing functions. It not only has a backrest that can recline 160 degrees, but the whole seat can also rock. This lets the backrest go into a deep recline while angling up the seat and armrest so you won’t slide out. That full recline is far enough back to be scary, but still felt surprisingly stable. The rocking function has an adjustable resistance, and it can be locked in place. There’s plenty to like here, but it all lines up a bit too closely with the Secretlab Titan Series. That chair is more than $100 cheaper and offers a 5-year warranty, giving it a strong edge on the AndaSeat and its 2-year warranty.
Assembly
Assembly of the AndaSeat Fnatic Edition is fairly straightforward and only requires one tool that’s included in the box. The hardware that connects each part feels high quality, and each bolt is easy to initially thread by hand thanks to large bolt heads. Given that this chair is more than 70 pounds, some of the parts are very heavy, and that can make holding one part in place while trying to thread a bolt through another part tricky to do solo. But just as teamwork helps in gaming, having a second hand to build this chair would make it a breeze. It took a bit shy of an hour to put together on my own, and I felt like I’d gotten a minor arm workout by the time I was done. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=86b04215-f38f-4582-a633-d808fe8d3edb"]Gaming
A gaming chair has one job: to make sure you’re comfortable while you’re gaming. I’d say the AndaSeat Fnatic Edition does that, but there are some qualifiers. To start, being able to get the chair into a comfortable, ergonomic setup is essential. Since the AndaSeat Fnatic Edition has excellent positional flexibility in terms of seat height, recline and tilt, it's scoring strong marks here. The armrests prove far better than those that simply lock in place. They could afford to go narrower or have more padding, but they still make it easy to position at the right height for a comfortable reach to a desk while supporting my arms. The rotation also helps a little when I need to get both hands on a keyboard. The height adjustment can be somewhat finicky though, occasionally struggling to lock into place at the highest position. That issue with locking is inverted when it comes to the backrest, which really doesn’t like having any pressure on it when I first pull up the recline level. The peccadilloes add up for the seat and backrest. As I’ve already mentioned, the neck pillow isn’t as easy to get in just the right position as some chairs that use a vertical strap system, and it’s even worse for the lumbar pillow. Nothing really holds the lumbar pillow in place, so I have to regularly slide it back up to where I need it until I lean forward and it inevitably slides back down.
When everything is positioned just right, the AndaSeat Fnatic Edition can be really comfortable, but it doesn’t stay that way for as long as it should. For a couple hours of serious gaming, it can be a worthy companion. After that, I find the pressure from the sides of the bucket seat becomes bothersome. Fortunately, the foam in the seat itself doesn’t disappoint. During longer sessions, the firm arm rests become a point of small discomfort as well. The wide spacing of the armrests is also particularly suited to keyboard and mouse gaming, but it’s a bit too wide to stay optimally comfortable when I’m spending a lot of time typing or gaming with a controller. These are small issues though, as many of the AndaSeat Fnatic Edition’s closest competitors aren’t doing much differently, and it’s still a lot more comfortable than many basic office chairs. But, the AndaSeat Fnatic Edition doesn’t exist in a realm of its own, and the Secretlab Titan Series offers an incredibly similar feature-set while remedying some of the issues I’ve run into with AndaSeat’s option – namely the aggressive bucket seat and the lumbar pillow that just won’t stay put. Since Secretlab does that while charging less and offering a longer warranty, it’s clear to me the AndaSeat can only be a runner-up.
from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/2RIqFpE
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming
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