Autonomous ErgoChair 2

Headsets. Monitors. Keyboards. Mice.

All of these are some of the first things a gamer thinks about when completing their battle station at home. A powerful PC needs to have the best accessories attached to it in order to fully utilize it, right? There’s no question that all of those items I listed above need to be taken care of, but what if you can’t be comfortable while playing your favorite game? Gaming chairs have quickly become a huge focus in completing the overall package. There are more “racing style” gaming chairs than I can even count at this point, but Autonomous is here to tell you that those racing chairs may not be the best option. Why not get something that is good for work and play? That’s where the ErgoChair 2 comes into play.

Are there specs with a chair?

There sure are! Let’s get the tale of the tape:

There’s not much to dissect here like an audio review. Most of these fall well in line with office and gaming chairs, save for the headset extension which is a unique design over the racing chairs.

A design quite different from gaming chairs

Nobody is going to look at the ErgoChair 2 and say, “That’s a gaming chair,” right off the bat, because it really isn’t. I think a proper term is All-Purpose Computer Chair because it fits into any environment for computer use. There’s no racing style here as this is meant to be a long-term option that will help with lumbar support and proper posture.

The unit came shipped in a massive box with simple instructions. Assembly and setup took about 20 minutes, and all the tools necessary came with the unit. Even doing it on my own, there weren’t any major hiccups with putting it together, with the minor exception of getting the support plate onto the bottom of the chair.

I am absolutely in love with the breathable back and headrest, for starters. The support that is on the bottom half of the back provides great stability, yet has enough give when leaning back a bit to stretch or relax for a moment. It's a fantastic feature. The adjustable headrest is made of the same material and provides ample support with a quick adjustment behind the chair. You can also opt to go without the headrest completely as it is easily removed.

The seat itself is quite comfortable with more breathable fabric of a different design. Long sitting sessions aren’t a problem here as I loved the level of comfort the seat provided, though I will admit I wish it had just slightly more give to it as it’s really stiff at first.

The armrests not only adjust up and down, but can be pushed in or out to provide more width and comfort for the arms. That’s a feature I have yet to see on any of the high end gaming chairs available. On top of the adjustable armrests, there are levers for allowing full reclining of the back support or allowing the seat to be moved forward or backward. There are options galore, in other words.

So what can the ErgoChair 2 do?

I know I’m drawing comparisons here, but I have nothing against racing chairs. I have one that I use in my home office by Anda Seat that I’m quite fond of, but there are some design differences where a more traditional chair makes more sense. The ErgoChair 2 fits that bill as I listed above.

Autonomous has gone out of their way to give an option that is more meant for support and comfort than for in-your-face graphics or design, and I definitely appreciate that, especially with my extended time using it.

I can tell you that this is a fantastic chair overall, with some minor gripes that may just be bad habits I’ve had with prior chairs. I haven’t had a chair that had so many different ways to adjust it in order to tailor the experience depending on what I’m doing. It took a few days to realize that there was an actual crank on the bottom right of my chair and I had absolutely no idea what it did. After playing around with it, I realized that it was to adjust the strength of the tilt tension, which I’ve been dying to have.

I’m a bigger guy so I had to have this seat pushed forward as far as it could to make it feel truly comfortable. In the base position, I almost felt like I was going to fall off the front of it, but that’s an option to utilize for smaller or shorter people as necessary.

The locking mechanism for the back support is a quick flip of a lever on the left side under the seat. This allows reclining on the chair, but not all the way back to 180 degrees like some racing style chairs have. The lever on the back side of the chair will allow for some tilt adjustment and you can lock it in, but it’s not quite as adjustable as some racing chairs I’ve reviewed. This is a purely minor gripe and somewhat expected given the differences in design.

I mentioned earlier that the mesh back is fantastic, and there’s a really simple reason for it. In those long sessions, those racing chairs that have leather or cloth aren’t doing you any favors with keeping cool. The mesh back is far more practical for both gaming and office use. I really wish more companies that are targeting gamers as their demographic would realize this because it’s necessary.

Final thoughts

Those racing chairs aren’t going away any time soon, but I think gamers are realizing that there are more options that work better and will save their posture. ErgoChair 2 is offering that option and at a price that is surprisingly affordable. Currently, the ErgoChair 2 is at $319 on their website, but if you click on this link, you’ll pick up an extra 8% off the current price at checkout just in time for the holidays.

This chair isn’t just for gamers, of course. This is for anyone in an office environment, whether it’s at home or at a business. The support is great and the customization options are numerous. Autonomous did a great job and I’m having a hard time wondering what to do with the racing chair it’s replacing.