By nature, playing video games is usually a sedentary activity. It requires you to sit in front of a computer or TV for hours without moving.
If you’re not careful about your posture, this can lead to problems with your spine and muscles.
To combat this, many gamers prefer to use desk chairs made specifically for gaming. One of the most popular brands of gaming chairs is Secretlab, but they cost hundreds of dollars.
This price tag can seem rather high to the inexperienced eye.
Secretlab chairs are so expensive because gaming chairs in general are a niche market, meaning they have to charge more per product to make a profit. Secretlab chairs in particular are built for durability and ergonomic support. They use high-quality materials to ensure their chairs last, and each chair goes through intense testing to maximize their physical support.
Topics
1. Specialized Use
Gaming chairs aren’t interchangeable with general purpose chairs you can put anywhere in your home. You wouldn’t put a Secretlab chair in your living room, for example.
Secretlab designs its chairs specifically for gaming. This means the chairs must be comfortable for long periods of time, they must be durable, and they must be mobile. This kind of specific use demands a higher price tag.
You could use a folding chair or even an average office chair, of course, and it will likely cost you a lot less. However, you won’t be getting the same performance and comfort that a gaming chair offers.
As for Secretlab in particular, they’re not as expensive as you might think. They are a top brand and therefore can cost a pretty penny, but other gaming chairs can also run a similarly high price.
When you compare the cost of Secretlab chairs to other gaming chairs (not general household chairs), the prices are surprisingly competitive.
The lowest tier of regular-size Secretlab chairs is between about $450-$550. The average for top gaming chairs is between $400-$500.
This shows that while the price for Secretlab chairs might shock you at first, they’re not much higher than the industry standard for chairs of similar quality.
2. Ergonomic Design
People often apply the word “ergonomics” to the idea of how beneficial objects or furniture are to our bodies. However, ergonomics is more general than that. It really applies to entire systems, not just objects or furniture.
Ergonomics is about how we interact with these systems and how they can better adapt to our well-being. Secretlab uses this discipline to ensure their chairs are good for our physical health.
They use pressure sensors and their own Ergonomics Advisory Board to design and test their chairs for optimal physical support.
They also offer a shorter hydraulics system on certain chairs for a wider range of heights among their customers. So, whether you’re taller or maybe on the shorter side, Secretlab offers a chair that supports you.
3. Durability
Part of Secretlab’s price comes from the longevity of its products. Each of their chairs is built to withstand much harder use than the typical experience. That translates to a longer life for you as the consumer.
The durability doesn’t just apply to the hard frame of the chair, either. They also use specific materials for the fabric of the chairs that resist fraying and peeling.
When you pay hundreds of dollars for one of these chairs, you’re paying for furniture that will last for years. Even better, each chair comes with a warranty of up to five years. That kind of protection rolls into the purchase price as well.
Finally, you’re paying for all of the testing and labor that goes into making sure these chairs are durable. Each one goes through hours of testing in grueling conditions to give you the best chair possible.
That sort of quality assurance takes time and effort, all of which Secretlab needs to cover to make a profit.
4. Materials
The durability of Secretlab chairs is a direct result of the quality of their materials as well as their design and testing. They design each piece of their chairs with comfort and longevity in mind.
They use top-quality metal and plastic for the hard portions of the frame, including the hydraulics system. For the soft outer shell, they use a proprietary hybrid leatherette.
They run it through the industry-standard “Taber Abrasion Test” to ensure it can stand up to the toughest of conditions.
They also have a high-performance fabric they call SoftWeave Plus. It’s soft, breathable, and also goes through rigorous testing for quality like the other parts of the chair.
Additionally, the intricate loops of the fabric allow a wider range of colors and designs. That means they can offer a wide variety of styles for the chairs instead of just a set of basic colors with no unique patterns or symbols.
Conclusion
Secretlab gaming chairs are available for several hundred dollars, but the quality and design of the chairs explain the price. These chairs are for a very specific purpose that you can’t really apply anywhere else, and that alone can drive the price up.
These chairs are also extremely durable, meaning you’re paying for years of comfort, not just temporary support. The materials and testing that go into these chairs are of the highest quality, so it’s no surprise that they cost more than a plain old wooden dining room chair.
If you’re looking to buy a gaming-specific chair, then you know how harsh hours of sitting can be on your body. You need a chair that will support your back and encourage better posture, as well as being comfortable.
It might seem exorbitant at first, but the price of Secretlab chairs covers everything you need in a top-tier gaming chair.