Despite there being a whole genre of chairs made for playing games, I don’t find them very comfortable. They’re not particularly flexible or adjustable, and don’t provide the best posture for long periods of sitting. So, when I finally needed to replace my old gamer chair because it literally fell apart, I chose to go with an office chair. The FlexiSpot C7-foam-FT (hereafter referred to as the C7) is easily the most comfortable chair I’ve used at my desk, and quite possibly one of the best I’ve ever sat in overall. I’ve been putting it through its paces in just about every situation I can think of, from writing to gaming to watching movies, and it’s passed every test with flying colors.
First off: assembly. The chair comes in a massive and fairly heavy box, so you’ll want someone on hand to help with putting it together. You assemble each disparate part, like the back, the seat, and the wheels, before combining them later. Thankfully you don’t need any extra tools for this process as the box contains all the screws you’ll need (plus one extra of each type) along with one of those hexagonal screwdrivers that everything from Ikea comes with. Don’t get rid of that tool or the screws once you’re done, however, as the manual recommends you tighten the screws every once in a while. Even over my relatively short period of use I’ve found this to be a necessity as the arm rest and even the main pillar screws became noticeably loose.
I don’t mind doing occasional maintenance if it means I get to continue to enjoy the chair’s comfort for longer. The foam seat never caused soreness even after playing Dragon’s Dogma 2 for… most of a day. It’s also big enough that you can adjust your position to even sit cross legged if you want, an option I really appreciate as a notorious fidgeter. The mesh back and headrest, meanwhile, give you some nice airflow to avoid sweat and keep your posture correct and comfortable. It certainly took me some time to adjust to the headrest’s position, and it did occasionally make my neck sore, but I did eventually get used to it, eliminating that problem.
While I haven’t found many uses for it given the structure of my desk and desktop, the C7 also comes with an extendable footrest, hence the FT in the full name. It’s of the same foam material as the seat and allows you to stretch your legs a bit, because it’s not good for you to remain in the same sitting position for too long. Personally, I find it’s a bit low and I would like to move it higher a few centimeters to be fully comfortable.
This brings me to my main issue with the C7, the lack of any sort of instructions as to how you can adjust things to your liking. The manual shows you how to put it together and what parts of the chair you can move around… but now how to actually do that. The website has a video showing what you can adjust as well, but again not what levers or switches you need to pull or push to do that. In my searches I haven’t been able to find any documentation of these functions, and still haven’t been able to figure them out on my own either. In particular, I want to move the back of the chair forward ever so slightly, and while there is a level labeled with that function it doesn’t seem to actually do that, instead only popping the bottom bulge of the back forward.
My only other issue with the chair is much more situational: it’s a magnet for hair. The cloth of the seat will stubbornly collect any sort of hair it comes in contact with, human, dog, whatever. As someone with long hair and a sister who owns a dog, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to get the hair off of the chair, and despite the rhyme it’s not as fun as it sounds. It’s just another thing to do occasional maintenance for, but it’s worth noting.
In spite of these issues, I’m in love with the C7. It’s incredibly comfortable and seems very durable too, meaning it’ll last quite a long time. If I do have any issues, there’s a warranty of 3 to 5 years to replace any broken parts. I take good care of these kinds of things though, so I imagine this chair is going to last me a very, very long time.
David is the kind of person to wear his heart on his sleeve. He can find positives in anything, like this is a person who loved Star Fox Zero to death. You’ll see him playing all kinds of games: AAAs, Indies, game jam games, games of all genres, and writing about them! Here. On this website. When not writing or playing games, you can find David making music, games, or enjoying a good book.
David’s favorite games include NieR: Automata, Mother 3, and Gravity Rush.
Some functions of the C7-foam-FT chair from FlexiSpot feel needlessly obscured, yet even without those this is one of the most comfortable chairs I’ve ever sat in. It feels built to last, and to keep your posture straight while it’s at it.
PROS
- Incredibly comfortable
- Modular design makes parts easy to replace if needed
- Adjustable…
CONS
- …but I have no idea how
- Hair magnet
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