The news of a new range of ergonomic gaming chairs from Vertagear couldn't have come at a better time: I'm currently nursing a cricked neck after too many uninterrupted hours of zombie destruction last night. And I should really know better: as someone who's done serious damage to their body via bad posture, bad furniture and too-long computer sessions, I've learnt the painful lesson that you can have too much of a good thing.
I know that the best gaming chairs aren't as exciting as a PSVR 2 or a Steam Deck. But if you're sitting at your desk doing Destiny raids, caroming around Rocket League arenas or waging war in World of Warcraft then it's important to have a chair that's not just comfortable, but that encourages good posture and delivers the right support in the right places. And that's what the new 800 range claims to do.
Smarter than the average chair
The Vertagear 800 range, which starts at £329.99 / $379.99, has the firm's own ContourMax lumbar support. It dynamically adjusts to your position to keep your lower back in the right posture no matter how long you sit for, and its four TPE modules and 64 branches adjust to fit your body without ever making you uncomfortable. And if you're a tall gamer like me you'll appreciate the fact that in addition to the standard chairs, which are built for people up to 6 feet tall, the PL4800 and PL6800 can handle players up to 6 feet 8 inches and 400lbs (28.5 stone).
The other key feature here is called VertaAir. It's a wide, waterfall-shaped seat that's designed to evenly distribute pressure across your thighs, your knees and your lower body and it's ventilated to keep you comfortable. It also includes environmentally responsible fabrics based on recycled coffee grounds that can neutralise bacteria growth and keep your chair smelling factory-fresh.
In addition to the ergonomic features, the SL5800 and PL4800 models have what Vertagear says is the world's first PC wirelessly controlled RGB LED kit, which changes the colours on the back, centre and bottom of the chair and which also enables you to add a custom logo.
The new chairs are available in the US from Amazon, and will be going live imminently on Amazon UK too. You can find out more at vertagear.com.
