Anda Seat sent me their Kaiser 2 series chair in late October, and I"ve been using it for about six weeks now, and I am ready to give my verdict. But first lets take a look at what you get for the roughly $500 that it costs to buy this 33.8kg (74.4lbs) gaming chair.
Specifications
| Materials | PVC leather (DuraXtraAD+ Leather) |
| Color | Black with black stitching |
| Height adjustability | 49cm-56cm |
| Backrest adjustability | 90 - 160° |
| Armrest adjustability | Pivot (4 settings), slide (forward, back, swing left/right) and height |
| Neck and lumbar support | AD Memory foam pillows |
| Net weight | 33.8kg (74.4lbs) |
| Weight support | Static: 200kg (440lbs) Rocking 150kg (330lbs) |
| Price | $549.99 MSRP / Amazon: $499.99 |
Materials and assembly
The chair came in a large (mini pallet sized) box that weighed over 35kg, however I am pleased to say that Anda Seat does not go overboard with packing foam, opting instead for thin dividers and foam shielding for the aluminum/metal parts.
Assembly took around three quarters of an hour (45min) on my own, which was straight forward, the chair comes with a handy manual so you won"t get lost. I used the corners of my kitchen island (see first pic in the table above) to fasten the arm rests from the bottom.
You can view the full factory specifications below:
Once assembled, the seat looks like an oversized car bucket seat which is obviously the intention in order to accommodate larger guys. In fact I was surprised at some of the negative reviews on Amazon in which some people expressed how the seat area was still too narrow, at around 42cm (16.5"). I didn"t find this at all to be an issue.
Also, a very important part of a chair that maybe gets little to no attention are of course the wheels! I"m pleased to say that in the six weeks I have been using the chair, the wheels have not become stuck or lacking in the direction I want to wheel myself, and they are as the company claims, very quiet. You won"t hear any squeaking or loud noises when rolling back and forth over a rug or a laminated floor. But as with any chair with wheels, to avoid scuffing laminated floors, a carpet or rug under your chair is a must.
I am 6"2 myself and a big guy, in fact, scales are banned from my house — hah! I work from home and gained a few pandemic pounds from mostly staying in and the hell away from other people, however the Kaiser 2 chair is rated for up to 200kg (440lbs) I don"t even come close to that! My previous chair is a Songmics OBN91BKV1 Ergonomic chair, and that is rated up to 150kg (330lbs) which, by the way, was also used comfortably within its max rating.
Ergonomics
The number of adjustments you can make, right up to setting it in nap mode — which I haven"t fully tested yet — is what you"d expect from a premium chair. Yes, you can go up and down (max 7cm adjustment), rock back and forth (with tilt adjustment) and lock the chair between 90 - 160°.
Every thought has also gone into the arm rests too which, although are cushioned, you"ll only know it if you press hard into the PU covered tops, which give about half a centimeter, but it"s enough to ensure your skin won"t get awkwardly stuck to it in warmer (or sweatier) conditions. It almost feels like plastic, and is very easy to keep clean.
As I mentioned in the specs, there are four levels of adjustment for the armrests, up/down, forward swing left/right and in height up and down which can be handy for desk clearance. The fourth level of adjustment is actually fixed, because you set it while putting the chair together. I opted to place the arm rests the most furthest apart for a wider seating, but you can also opt to push them in for a tighter sitting, I"d say (from doing a rough measurement) about 1.5cm each side.
Comfort
This is what it boils down to at the end of the day, right? Well I have to say that the memory foam does an excellent job of keeping me comfortable without any butt pain after hours of sitting. As I mentioned, I work from home and although I purposely try to set goals of getting up and have a walk around, sometimes work gets in the way and before you know it, I have been sitting down for four hours straight. I can"t say the same for my previous chair, I got aches and pains in certain places after prolonged sitting.
Being 6"2 myself, I was interested in the claim about this chair being for tall people, but I am sad to say that where the pillow is supposed to be fastened, it ends up being between my shoulder blades, so I have had to fasten it above the two openings in order for it to be a proper neck pillow.
I used the lumbar pillow for the first couple of weeks, but it always felt like I was too far forward and annoyingly, the way I sit at my desk in a normal position also kept failing me to sign in with Windows Hello. I was either too far forward or too far backward for the camera to recognize me. Without the lumbar pillow, it feels more comfortable and Windows Hello doesn"t get nearly as many failures to sign-in in the mornings.
Left: default configuration - Right: my configuration.
On the right you"ll see no lumbar pillow, and the neck cushion (which is very comfortable to use) at the "correct" setting for my height.
Conclusion
After a month and a half of rigorous daily use, it still looks new, and did I mention it"s easy to clean, so any spills wipe straight off the PVC Leather. The stitching looks really professional and I am not seeing any frays appear anywhere yet, or even imperfections in the lines of the stitching.
Another fun fact of this chair is that dust and gunk can"t really accumulate between the seat and back support, because there is enough opening to poke your fingers (but not your whole hand) through to the back.
Plus it has a nap mode, rated for heavier guys. What"s not to like about that? I don"t feel cramped and, more importantly, I can do long sessions in this chair and not feel aches all over. If I had to describe it to someone, I would say that it is like a directors chair, but not nearly as soft. The cushioning is exactly like how memory foam operates, not hard but also not so soft that it gives and leaves an imprint, you can see from all of the above images after a month and a half of use that the seat area is not showing any telltale signs like maybe an old couch or even a $500 directors chair would.
I have purchased directors chairs at around $400 a go over the years and they"ve all had to be replaced after three years because of low quality metals; in one, the gas piston went (which was replaced for free) so I had to start looking elsewhere which is where I landed on Songmics, and although it "does the job", it really isn"t comfortable for more than an hour or two of sitting.
I obviously haven"t had months or years experience with Anda Seat yet, but I feel we"re off to a great start. The chair is not cheap at $499.99 (Amazon) but you"re getting a whole lot of chair for that money. It does not creak when you move around in it and the wheels are completely silent on my low pile rug. The only place I"d take off a point at present is for the neck pillow being too low in the place it is supposed to be used.
I buy chairs for long term daily use, so ultimately you have to ask yourself if you want to spend $250 every couple of years or $500 on something that is going to last quite a bit longer. When I started working from home in 2005, I felt like a couple hundred was enough, but I have had to replace my chairs every two or three years until now.
My contact told me that Anda Seat is having a holiday sale with discounts of up to 59% off on select gaming chairs and other accessories (not on the Kaiser 2 though, unfortunately) which you can check out here.
I shot more pictures than I could include in this review so I"ve placed them all in the gallery below, it also includes a side by side comparison of the Songmics OBN91BKV1 Ergonomic chair.
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