The world of gaming chairs is wider than ever. Before you drop $350 on a DXRacer or Secretlab, it’s worth taking the time to explore what the rest of the market has to offer. Respawn has been carving a niche for itself in the budget space, even landing a major licensing deal with Fortnite. I’ve been plopping myself down in its Sidewinder gaming chair for the last week and am ready to share whether this affordably priced racing seat has what it takes to carry you through even the most intense gaming sessions.
Respawn Sidewinder – Design and Features
The Sidewinder manages to stand out from the masses of gaming chairs flooding the market while still clearly sharing the same DNA. It accomplishes this by marrying an uncommon single-piece back with a quintessentially “gamer” red and black color scheme. It features built-in neck and lumbar support cushions with no cutouts along the shoulder, and instead of bolsters, the entire back curves to hug you into place without feeling restrictive. It features a plastic shell around the rear for support that’s trimmed with snake-like red accents. Sidewinder, indeed.
Taken as a whole, the Sidewinder is an attractive chair that easily fits in with the more expensive options on the market. I’m not a big fan of racing stripes, but I like that Respawn has pushed the Sidewinder out of the cookie-cutter mold so many budget chairs seem to follow. If I were shopping for a new chair, I would give it extra consideration just for that.
Even though it has the looks of a more expensive chair, that cheaper price comes at the expense of materials. The first thing I noticed when assembling the chair is how much more is plastic than any other gaming chair I’ve used. Both the wheelbase and arms are plastic. The backrest has its big plastic back, and try as I might, I wasn’t able to feel any kind of frame by pressing on the foam (though that doesn’t mean there isn’t one or that it’s poor in any way). Each piece was also lighter than I was used to, which makes the chair feel cheaper than the big brand options I’ve tried.
The foam and upholstery also seemed lower quality. The foam is deceptively soft, which makes for a comfortable seating experience out of the box but leaves me worried it will lose its support sooner rather than later. The chair uses PU-leather like most gaming seats, but it’s softer and easier to deform than others I’ve used. Even though the chair was as well packaged as any other, it had several indentations and creases right out of the box just from the other objects it shipped with. I had hoped they would disappear over time, but a week on and they’re still there, so the blemishes seem permanent.
On the plus side, Respawn has done a good job of filling out that padding everywhere that counts. The seat is just plush enough and I never had an issue where I felt the frame pressing into my legs or back. Apart from the softness of the upholstery, it’s well put together. The stitching is tight, from the embroidery of the Respawn logo on the headrest, to joining each piece of PU. There’s also special attention paid to heat management with small perforations across the backrest and side-venting mesh on the headrest which kept back sweat at bay even over lengthy sessions at my desk.
The Sidewinder bucks expectations in how it handles reclining. Unlike many gaming chairs, angling the backrest is done through the swivel base instead of its own mechanism on the seat, so there’s no rocking or leaning back into a full lay. Instead, it uses a “weight activated tilt control” which adjusts the angle of the back to your movements. Depending on how supportive you find the cushion, this could be an improvement in ergonomics, but if you’re hoping to take a quick snooze or like to rock in your seat, you might find it limiting. The seat itself stays flat at all times.
Though the swivel base is fairly simple, it uses a powerful gas lift capable of supporting up to 275 pounds. That’s more than even the pricey Secretlab Omega offers. It’s a small thing, but I was disappointed Respawn didn’t include any shroud for the gas lift since it looks a bit bare and mismatched without it.
The armrests are about as simple as they come. Once they’re attached, they can move up and down and that’s it. Width can be adjusted, but only if you climb under the chair with an allen wrench to loosen the bolts. They’re topped in a very firm foam, which is better than plastic but was still too hard to comfortably lean my elbow for more than a few minutes.
One of the high points of the chair is how fast and easy it is to assemble. Since the tilt is handled through the swivel base, there was no cumbersome lining up of the seat with the base and the entire process took only 20 minutes by myself. The directions were basic but got the job done and Respawn provided all the hardware required for assembly. Attaching the armrests did raise a concern, however, as tightening the screws caused a worrying creak. I can’t help but feel like if something were to break on this chair, it would be those armrests.
Respawn Sidewinder – Performance
The test of any chair is how it holds up to extended use and over the course of my testing week, it received plenty. I played on console, used it at a desk, and even kicked back and binged Netflix. In short bursts, it did well, but I can’t help but feel like much of the seating experience will depend on the user's body.
At 5’8”, I had a pretty major issue with the lumbar cushion sitting too low to offer me adequate support. Sitting bolt upright, the cushion covered just enough of my lower back to be comfortable for an hour or so before I went reaching for a pillow. Leaning back, the cushion held its support better than a normal gaming chair with a strapped-on pillow, but since it was already too low in the first place, the change in the angle of my back rendered it pointless. It was a similar situation with the neck cushion. For my body, it just felt too low.
That said, the chair wasn't uncomfortable, it just performed best sitting upright and could have benefitted from some added padding or adjustment. Ironically, even though the separate cushions on other chairs are usually not very good, the ability to move the lumbar up would have almost completely solved my support issue.
As a result, I didn't much enjoy the chair for console gaming without some kind of extra pillow behind me. Likewise, not being able to adjust the angle of the arm rests made swapping to a controller more awkward than chairs with 4D armrests. The hardness of the foam also made leaning painful before long.
The Sidewinder performed best for core PC gaming, where it was designed to be used. There, I appreciated how wide and soft the seat was. I was able to cross a leg under me without pressing into any bits of frame. After an hour or so, I did find myself propping a $15 memory foam lumbar pillow behind me to keep the action going.
from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/35dDAqr
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming
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