The gaming chair is a strange invention, when you think about it. Not content with sitting on any normal chair, someone designed a seat especially for gamers. It became something that looks almost like the driver’s seat of a race-tuned car, with extra supports and cushions and headrests for all those times you’re thrown around by your mouse and keyboard.
There’s no denying they’re comfortable, though. And if you can look past the sometimes over-aggressive styling and massive logos made to be seen on Twitch streams, you can find something that’s exceedingly nice to sit in for long periods.
Boulies Master Max chair takes a slightly different approach to the big-name gaming chairs, in that it attempts to chart a course right between the worlds of office chairs and gaming chairs. The result is a mid-range chair in just about every way, a comfy place to sit that doesn’t make you look as if you’re a pro gamer, but does make you look like a pro. And there’s $60 off the chair right now if you buy from Boulies, which is a pretty good price. You can save even more if you buy the smaller non-Max model, which has $90 off.
(Image credit: Future / Ian Evenden)
If you work from home, or have any input into your studio’s furniture ordering process, you’ll know how important it is to have an adjustable chair to sit in. The best office chairs for back pain are all ergonomic thrones, and Creative Bloq spoke to Herman Miller’s seating supremo about how to make a chair that supports you properly earlier this year. An important takeaway from that interview is that there’s no one correct way to sit – you need to have a chair that adjusts to you, rather than the other way around.
The Boulies chair has adjustable lumbar support at the back, ‘4D’ armrests – which means they go up and down, forward and backwards, from side to side, and twist too so you can always give your elbows somewhere to rest – as well as the usual height and seat tilt adjustments. There are chairs on the market with even more adjustability, but Boulies has hit a sweet spot here. It’s a chair that’s easy to set up, but you won’t be fiddling with it for weeks trying to get it tailored to your wants.
If you’re the taller type of person, the Master Max can support a sitter of up to 135kg (over 21 stone) and up to 200cm in height. Smaller users under 180cm and 110kg can get away with the Master, but the Max is a mighty chair for mighty people. It has a broad seat for thick thighs, and there’s little chance of your head going over the headrest. The head cushion may be a little cheap – it attaches with an elastic strap rather than any clever magnetic system – but it’s all you need, and when sitting upright your head isn’t going to be touching much anyway, though this will depend on how you’ve adjusted the chair.
An office chair is not something you’ll be buying often, as they’re big and expensive and come in enormous boxes, so getting the right one at the right price is essential. If you can grab this one at a discount, it’s a great addition to a home working setup.
