Setting your backside down in the chair for the first time is something else entirely, we’ve tested at least a dozen of these chairs up to this point but nothing else compares to the CORE in this price bracket.
First off, instead of having the back piece hinged at the corners of the base, it connects to the base mechanism and works asynchronously of the seatbase. The way it usually works is you set your backrest angle, let’s say with a slight recline of 80’, and the seat will stay fixed at that angle regardless of how much you recline yourself; the ThunderX3 allows the seatbase and backrest to move together at the optimal angle, enormously improving comfort, this is a true game-changer compared to other brands we’ve tested and is something we’re sure other manufacturers will be desperate to copy.
The seat base can also be tilted independently of everything else, so if you prefer to lean into your work and sit closer to your screen, the CORE can accommodate that for you without a problem. Further to that, you can move the seat base forwards and backwards, allowing users of different sizes to find their sweet spot with ease instead of needing to try out several different chairs to find one that suits you.
The footrest can be used in a variety of ways, and can be height adjusted by removing the flat section from the bottom, if you like to sit closer to the floor. The footrest can also be brought up and placed upon your lap and used as a wrist rest, perfect if you like to play your games with a gamepad, no more resting your wrists on a hard desk. The footrest does also help to bridge the gap between the floor and your feet, if you’re on the shorter side; my partner found this useful as she’s only 5’3” (160cm) tall but the gas cylinder can’t be dropped far enough for her feet to sit flat.
Arm rests are often a point of contention with office chairs, typically fixed in place and only useful for a person of a specific height and size, that’s absolutely not the case here. The arm rests can be moved in 4 different directions, forwards/backwards, inwards/outwards, up/down and angled inwards/outwards, the granularity offered is plenty good enough to allow almost anyone to find the correct setting for your posture.
And now for our favourite bit, the neck cushion. This might seem like a small thing to get excited about but it’s simply fantastic, the strap allows you to adjust the height of the cushion up the back of the chair so it suits every user, but the soft memory foam and formed shape with “wings” at the sides holds your head in place perfectly. If you’ve ever bought yourself an expensive pillow for your bed and thought “this is how all pillows should be”, the same applies here. Now, while it is our favourite bit, it’s not without a flaw, and quite a large one at that; while wearing a headset you can’t really turn your head at all without the wings of the cushion knocking the headset around, there's no way around it other than purchasing a flat cushion off the internet, or not using the cushion at all if you often wear a headset.
Finally, build quality, we tested the chair for a couple of weeks, at least 40 or so hours, and found absolutely no problems during that time. Obviously, you don’t need to tell us that isn’t a proper test of build quality, but we have zero concerns to pass on, everything went together well, bolts and fixings are all good quality, there’s no unnecessary flexibility from any components, it’s just well-made.
First off, instead of having the back piece hinged at the corners of the base, it connects to the base mechanism and works asynchronously of the seatbase. The way it usually works is you set your backrest angle, let’s say with a slight recline of 80’, and the seat will stay fixed at that angle regardless of how much you recline yourself; the ThunderX3 allows the seatbase and backrest to move together at the optimal angle, enormously improving comfort, this is a true game-changer compared to other brands we’ve tested and is something we’re sure other manufacturers will be desperate to copy.
The seat base can also be tilted independently of everything else, so if you prefer to lean into your work and sit closer to your screen, the CORE can accommodate that for you without a problem. Further to that, you can move the seat base forwards and backwards, allowing users of different sizes to find their sweet spot with ease instead of needing to try out several different chairs to find one that suits you.
The footrest can be used in a variety of ways, and can be height adjusted by removing the flat section from the bottom, if you like to sit closer to the floor. The footrest can also be brought up and placed upon your lap and used as a wrist rest, perfect if you like to play your games with a gamepad, no more resting your wrists on a hard desk. The footrest does also help to bridge the gap between the floor and your feet, if you’re on the shorter side; my partner found this useful as she’s only 5’3” (160cm) tall but the gas cylinder can’t be dropped far enough for her feet to sit flat.
Arm rests are often a point of contention with office chairs, typically fixed in place and only useful for a person of a specific height and size, that’s absolutely not the case here. The arm rests can be moved in 4 different directions, forwards/backwards, inwards/outwards, up/down and angled inwards/outwards, the granularity offered is plenty good enough to allow almost anyone to find the correct setting for your posture.
And now for our favourite bit, the neck cushion. This might seem like a small thing to get excited about but it’s simply fantastic, the strap allows you to adjust the height of the cushion up the back of the chair so it suits every user, but the soft memory foam and formed shape with “wings” at the sides holds your head in place perfectly. If you’ve ever bought yourself an expensive pillow for your bed and thought “this is how all pillows should be”, the same applies here. Now, while it is our favourite bit, it’s not without a flaw, and quite a large one at that; while wearing a headset you can’t really turn your head at all without the wings of the cushion knocking the headset around, there's no way around it other than purchasing a flat cushion off the internet, or not using the cushion at all if you often wear a headset.
Finally, build quality, we tested the chair for a couple of weeks, at least 40 or so hours, and found absolutely no problems during that time. Obviously, you don’t need to tell us that isn’t a proper test of build quality, but we have zero concerns to pass on, everything went together well, bolts and fixings are all good quality, there’s no unnecessary flexibility from any components, it’s just well-made.
