I just received and built my Cobra-X chair today. I've only been sitting in it for an hour, so I'll come back later to describe long-term comfort, but in the short term, it feels nice and supports my lumbar well. I'm 5'10", 130 lbs. and I don't feel dwarfed by the seat. Armrests rotate all around, 360 degrees, and adjust up and down. The holes in the back support come up to my shoulders and armpits, but the cushioning to the torso at that point is so substantial that I don't ever naturally feel the plastic inside the holes. Even if I stretch or lean, all I feel are the cushioned outer rims. I feel some friction in the wheels, but I'm happy that the chair won't just roll away on uneven flooring. Overall, it feels comfy and quite solid, with lots of metal all around. There is no structural, load-bearing plastic aside from the casters, and to be honest, would you really want metal wheels? The feel of the PU upholstery reminds me of velvety, high-quality cable jacketing used in non-kinking, oil-resistant wiring (like Apple's AC power cables).
Packaging was mediocre. It was a large box with some smaller boxes inside, plus random, ripped sheets of cardboard and minimal bubble wrap. Smaller parts had their own sub-boxes, which I felt was pretty good, but the seat, seat back and spider base were wrapped in thin layers of bubble wrap and then left free to knock about inside the main box. Likely because of this, there was a dent on the inside edge of the spider base collar which prevented the piston from seating securely. I quickly smoothed that out with my rotary tool, but that collar should have been better protected from the beginning. Like PheNAM, I found that I needed to insert the casters quite firmly, so I removed the central chromed plastic shroud, lay the spider base upside-down on a layer of cardboard, and pushed the casters in with my body weight until the gap from the wheel to the metal spider arm was too thin for my finger to fit.
Other than that, I had a smooth experience. Instructions were quite short, but pretty clear, with large images and no words, like a LEGO instruction manual. I'd advise attaching the cosmetic, black plastic shrouds before bolting the arms on. The arms can interfere with the shrouds if you bolt them on as close together as possible.
What do I think so far? I'm liking it.
3-WEEK UPDATE:
Still using it, and it still feels pretty good. There is no visible wear on the upholstery yet. I started off with the armrests at keyboard height, but then I lowered them to the level of my keyboard drawer, since I tend to rest my wrists on the surface a lot. I've also rotated the armrests so that the long part is behind and the short part forward. This lets my forearms move more freely across my keyboard and mouse, and makes for better comfort when I lean back.
Speaking of leaning, I found that the 4-angle locking system for the back was rather limiting, so I have been keeping it unlocked, relying on the spring and the friction to accommodate my desired sitting angle. For people with larger, better-built torsos, this may or may not work for them, since the friction and spring tension may not balance their upper body well enough. I'm hopeful this continues to balance me in the long run, because I've been able to use and lean in many chairs without any angle lock before. If the spring and friction weaken, I may have to revert back to using the locking mechanism again in a couple years. At that point, maybe I'll take it apart to see if I can upgrade it somehow. That's about the only complaint I have right now. Other than that, I've really found this chair quite comfortable. I've already taken a few naps in it.
This is my first gaming chair, so I'm curious about how other gaming chairs compare. Please leave a comment!
Packaging was mediocre. It was a large box with some smaller boxes inside, plus random, ripped sheets of cardboard and minimal bubble wrap. Smaller parts had their own sub-boxes, which I felt was pretty good, but the seat, seat back and spider base were wrapped in thin layers of bubble wrap and then left free to knock about inside the main box. Likely because of this, there was a dent on the inside edge of the spider base collar which prevented the piston from seating securely. I quickly smoothed that out with my rotary tool, but that collar should have been better protected from the beginning. Like PheNAM, I found that I needed to insert the casters quite firmly, so I removed the central chromed plastic shroud, lay the spider base upside-down on a layer of cardboard, and pushed the casters in with my body weight until the gap from the wheel to the metal spider arm was too thin for my finger to fit.
Other than that, I had a smooth experience. Instructions were quite short, but pretty clear, with large images and no words, like a LEGO instruction manual. I'd advise attaching the cosmetic, black plastic shrouds before bolting the arms on. The arms can interfere with the shrouds if you bolt them on as close together as possible.
What do I think so far? I'm liking it.
3-WEEK UPDATE: Still using it, and it still feels pretty good. There is no visible wear on the upholstery yet. I started off with the armrests at keyboard height, but then I lowered them to the level of my keyboard drawer, since I tend to rest my wrists on the surface a lot. I've also rotated the armrests so that the long part is behind and the short part forward. This lets my forearms move more freely across my keyboard and mouse, and makes for better comfort when I lean back.
Speaking of leaning, I found that the 4-angle locking system for the back was rather limiting, so I have been keeping it unlocked, relying on the spring and the friction to accommodate my desired sitting angle. For people with larger, better-built torsos, this may or may not work for them, since the friction and spring tension may not balance their upper body well enough. I'm hopeful this continues to balance me in the long run, because I've been able to use and lean in many chairs without any angle lock before. If the spring and friction weaken, I may have to revert back to using the locking mechanism again in a couple years. At that point, maybe I'll take it apart to see if I can upgrade it somehow. That's about the only complaint I have right now. Other than that, I've really found this chair quite comfortable. I've already taken a few naps in it.
This is my first gaming chair, so I'm curious about how other gaming chairs compare. Please leave a comment!