Noblechairs Icon: What can the noble gamer chair do?
4.12.2017
Translation: machine translated
Gaming chairs are not necessarily limited to gaming. Noblechairs' faux leather version also wants to nestle into normal offices. This is only partially successful. One chair, two opinions.
Gaming chairs are a great thing. At least they look good and every self-respecting PC gamer uses them to decorate their gaming den. I've had a chair from Akracing in my home for a few years now, and it definitely attracts attention. Unfortunately, its appearance is its biggest highlight. The seating comfort can't quite keep up with the design. That's why I swapped my worn but tried-and-tested office chair for the Noblechairs Icon in the office with a good dose of scepticism.
Without outside help, the chair can be assembled in around 15 minutes. The German chair makers show no weaknesses here. My first impression is therefore very positive. Sitting down for the first time also leaves me nodding my head in satisfaction. However, the same problems as with my Akracing at home immediately emerge. Firstly, the seat cushion is tilted slightly upwards, so that my feet have a longer distance to the floor than with normal armchairs. So I lower the chair slightly so that I can get a nice right angle with my legs, as recommended. However, I am then sitting so low down that my forearms are pointing upwards at an angle instead of resting on the tabletop at a right angle. I could now lower the tabletop, but this is relatively tedious and doesn't go as far as I want. I decide to favour the arm position and let my feet dangle, to exaggerate. I'm about 175 cm tall, by the way.
My next point of criticism concerns the backrest. Instead of just the backrest rocking like on normal office chairs, the whole chair moves. Rocking backrests are actually designed to strengthen the back muscles. At least that's what an orthopaedist once told me. That certainly doesn't work with the Icon. If I want to rock, I have to stand on my tiptoes to shift my weight backwards. The function is therefore useless for me.
Other than that, the chair is actually very comfortable. The faux leather upholstery is cosy without making me sweat and the armrests can really be adjusted in all directions. However, they also wobble a little. I didn't need the neck and lumbar cushions supplied. My colleague Livia grabbed the latter and pimped her office chair with it.
I'm sticking with it. Gaming chairs are obviously not for me. They may look stylish, but at the end of the day, the quality of the seat is more important to me and if I already have back pain on the second day, then something simply can't be right. Let's see what my thieving colleague Luca Fontana has to say about the Icon.
When the colleague steals the gamer chair
I actually wanted to play a little prank on Philipp. During a lunch break when Philipp left the office, I snatched his new gamer chair. When he returned, I declared the chair my personal property without further ado, invoking the law of the jungle. You'll have guessed from reading his assessment above that Philipp wasn't too bothered by this.
Good for me. I was finally able to try out one of these coveted gaming chairs for longer than the usual two minutes you get in the shop.
I seem to have more suitable body proportions for the gaming chair from Noblechairs (I'm 183cm) than Philipp. After a short time, I was able to get a decent right angle with my knee joints without feeling like I was kissing the floor with my bum.
Now I just need to create a right angle with my elbows. I'm currently at about 110 degrees. To get the 90-degree angle, I would have to pull the keyboard closer to the edge of the table (a maximum distance of 10 cm between the edge and the keyboard would be ergonomic). After a few attempts to write this text at a perfect right angle, I realise that I don't find it comfortable at all and switch back to my original sitting position.
As with Philipp, I quickly get tired of the optional back and neck cushions. The cushions are just too hard for me. Or maybe it's because my sitting posture isn't quite 100 per cent ergonomic. After all, the chair was built so that you can sit properly in it and not slouch like me. However, as soon as the cushions are removed, I find the chair very comfortable. The shell supports me well, and without the cushions I have enough freedom to slide around a bit and change my sitting position from time to time (if only you could see me doing office yoga!).
The only thing I can't do is lean back without pushing off the floor with the tips of my feet. It's moderately comfortable. I've tried to minimise the resistance as much as possible, but apparently I can't get any lower. Here too, it could be argued that an ergonomic chair, in which I am supposed to sit upright, does not want me to lean backwards with my arms crossed behind my head. On the contrary: it actually wants to support me when I sit upright! So why lean backwards?
After just over a week, it's time to return the chair to Phil. Fortunately, I don't have any back or lower back pain. Overall, I found the chair to be very comfortable. The adjustment options are beyond reproach and without the hard cushions, I felt very comfortable sitting on it. <p
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
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