After months of sitting our asses in these chairs, our recommendation for the general purpose chair remains the same: the Office Master OM5 remains our all around best pick. We've been sitting on the OM5 for well over a year, and while more chairs have come in, none have achieved the same acclaim throughout the office as the OM5 for comfort and support. Best of all, the chair has kept its form throughout the entire time.
If you're more keen on the racing style of chair so beloved of Twitch streamers, then check our guide to the best of those. Racing chairs generally offer more style than ergonomics and comfort, but our pick, the Vertagear SL5000, gets you pretty close.
When budgeting a PC setup, how much do you allocate for a new chair? Probably a lot less than you spend on the graphics card, but consider how integral the chair is to the overall experience. A good chair can last you a decade, and you’re not going to be upgrading to spine 2.0 anytime soon. I set out to find the best chairs for long gaming sessions by talking to an ergonomist and spending three months researching and testing chairs with the PC Gamer staff.
(+) Smartly adjusts itself to your sitting position without manual tweaking.
(+) Build quality feels as solid and premium as more expensive chairs.
(-) If you prefer making manual adjustments, the cheaper Affirm is a better option.
On the face of it, the Office Master OM5 sounds like the snake oil of seating. The marketing materials describe it as “a self weighing chair that intuitively responds to a wide range of body weights and sizes without the need for manual tension.” Essentially: don’t worry about all those levers and knobs on the other chairs, this one will magically work out what your butt and back need, no problemo. My skepticism didn’t last long, though, because when it comes to the OM5, sitting is believing.
These are the elements of the OM5 which are adjustable: the height (self explanatory), the front seat “waterfall” lip, which you can curl forwards if your thighs want the extra space, and the armrests, which can be slid back and forth, and be rotated towards your body. Where all the smart stuff happens is around your hips. Lean back, apply a little forward pressure, and the seat pan shifts forwards while the backrest reclines in response, articulating smoothly thanks to wheels on runners that function much like the ones in desk draw sliders. It takes a little getting used to, but transitioning from upright work mode to relaxing whilst playing or watching swiftly becomes a cinch.
Office Master OM5
Aside from the fact it doesn’t require regular fussing-with to feel right, what I like most about the OM5 is that the natural tension in the backrest is neither too tight nor too loose. Your mileage may vary of course, but I soon got used to the small amount effort required to make the seat and backrest slide in tandem, and didn’t find myself slipping around when I wanted to remain stationary. In fact, the more time I spent in the chair, the more I found myself enjoying the opportunity to move around relatively freely, taking the opportunity to lean back regularly rather than getting stuck in the same position for extended periods. As Afterman noted, it’s vital to find a chair that encourages movement, and the OM5 does just that.
The workmanship on the chair, from its lightweight aluminium base to the slatted PolyFlex backrest, is robust and impressive, giving it a feel that’s closer to the higher-end models we tested than the budget choices, although obviously not quite so luxurious as the four-figure options.
The 12-year warranty which ErgoDirect offers on the OM5 comes with also speaks of confidence in the build quality, though sites like Office Chairs USA come in slightly cheaper with the standard 12-year warranty. There’s plenty of scope for personalisation, too, with cushion fabric available in multiple colours and a leather option, should you be channeling a more ‘80s power exec vibe. Amazon sells the Office Master OM5 in many configurations. The backrest can also be ordered in a tall version, which I recently got to test alongside a fabric back. Neither should be considered essential to enjoyment, but if you want to spend a little extra to upgrade the option is there.
Office Master Affirm
The OM5 is compelling because it gives you close to high-end quality for a midrange price. You feel like you’re getting in on a secret that only seat nerds know about. However, I should also note that one of our testers didn’t like the sliding effect at all. So, if you’re not convinced by the idea of its ‘look mom, no levers!’ trickery, consider checking out Office Master’s new Affirm series (AF528 model tested) as an alternative, which offers a more standard suite of adjustments. It’s another excellent ergonomic office chair, though for my money feels a little less special than the Office Master OM5. But, if the idea of being able to lock your tweaks seems essential, the Affirm is a safer and slightly cheaper bet. Unfortunately Office Master's range is trickier to track down in Europe, but again the E-Blue Auroza is a fine and relatively cost effective pick. It's available online from Tesco.
(+) Offers as many adjustment options as much more expensive chairs
(+) Comfortable seat and mesh back
(-) Arms feel cheap
(-) May require a lot of fine-tuning to get the chair to feel just right
Perhaps you’ve already blown the kids’ college fund on bleeding edge GPU whizzbangery and now have limited funds with which to purchase a new gaming throne. The budget section beckons, and truth be told it’s an intimidating place, full of generic-looking chairs with underwhelming customer reviews. However, there are bargains to be found, though you’re going to have to accept the odd flaw in your gem.
Office Star’s range of chairs don’t look noteworthy at first glance, but the customer reviews are consistently good. I like the ProGrid Back Managers Chair a lot because it offers the kind of tweakability usually only found on much more expensive models. Using its daunting array of levers, you can adjust the height and tilt of the chair, plus slide the seat pan forwards or backwards. The backrest can also be shifted up or down, and the armrests raised or lowered and slid back and forth until you find the perfect position.
Via PC gamer
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