In the past, I never really thought about the type of chair I’d need for a home office/gaming setup. I’m older now and back then, you either used an uncomfortable wooden chair from the kitchen or one of those cheap office chairs they give minimum wage salespersons. It wasn’t until the last 10 years or so that I started using an executive-style office chair that I thought I had the Cadillac of chairs. Well, these days, who wants a Cadillac when you can have a McLaren? Racing style gaming chairs are all the rage now and while I never thought I’d get myself one, the opportunity arose to actually test one out long term and I may never go back to a normal chair again. The chair in question is the Vertagear SL5000 Racing Series Gaming Chair, a chair so impressive that you’d think they came straight out of a sports car.
So what exactly makes the Vertagear SL5000 so special? Where do I even start? I guess the beginning is as good a place to start as any.
UNBOXING
When the box for the Vertagear SL5000 first arrived via FedEX, I could see the driver struggling and I can see why. This box was huge and weighed at least 60lbs or so. He had a dolly but I didn’t have that luxury. I had to haul the box into my house on my own and while 60lbs isn’t exactly heavy, it’s hard to hold when the box is the size of a house. This is the biggest box I’ve ever seen for a chair as most of the desk chairs around the house have come in much smaller boxes and have been much lighter too.
Upon opening the box up, I could see why the box was so big. Unlike some other chairs that come completely unassembled and in “thousands” of pieces, the Vertagear SL5000 actually comes partially assembled for you to allow for an almost effortless assembly. That’s something you’ll really appreciate because it really does only take one person to put these together and will take you no more than probably 5-10 minutes to do so.
ASSEMBLY
For the most part, you only need to put the base together, then attach the seat, and then the seatback. It’s very simple and the instructions provided are clear and concise. Basically, you start from the bottom to the top.
Starting with the base, you get a 5-start aluminum alloy base which is way better than anything I’ve seen before. For most chairs of this type, I’ve only seen heavy plastic style bases that certainly don’t look as good as this. The aluminum is coated in a semi-gloss black paint and even has the Vertagear logo etched into the ends of each leg. With the base, you want to attach the five Penta RS1 Caster which are motorsports-inspired wheels coated with polyurethane (PU) for soft and smooth gliding on any surface. Again, most wheels you get with other chairs are just plain plastic while these are almost rubber-like and offer silent rolling across most smoother surfaces.
Next, you’ll want to move to the seat base and turn that upside down. You’ll notice that all the bolts used under the seat are thumb screw-type bolts with hex slots. Vertagear includes a professional style, t-handle hex key for you to use. All you need to do is unscrew four of these bolts and save them to be used to attach the seat mechanism to the seat base. Make sure the arrow on the seat mechanism is pointing to the front of the seat base.
After that’s all bolted together, take the industrial-grade class-4 gas lift and push it into the hole at the center of the seat base. With the seat base still upside down, take the 5-star aluminum base and attach it to the gas lift. Once that’s done, you can turn the seat right-side up and on its wheels.
From here, you’re already more than halfway done. Make sure the brackets on the seat base are in an upright position and you’re now ready to attach the seatback. Just slide the sides of the seatback onto the brackets. There should be metal guides to help with the alignment. Once you push the seatback down all the way, take the four included custom M8 screws and screw two on each side of the seat. There will be little holes on the side where you push them in and then screw them down with the hex key.
After that’s done, you’re pretty much good to go.
IMPRESSIONS
The look of the Vertagear SL5000 changes depending on the color you get. Most of the colors offer the same stitching with different colored accents on specific sections of the chair. However, there is a special color you can get that affords special materials and stitching patterns. This color is Midnight Blue and is the version of the SL5000 that was sent to us.
The Midnight Blue SL5000 really is a sight to behold. At first, the chair looks like it’s all black, but upon closer inspection, you can see the Midnight Blue accents on the bolsters and sides of the seat base. These are done up with the PUC synthetic leather. The seat inserts that run down the middle of the chair are made of HygennX, which is a patented coffee-infused fiber to limit odor and increase breathability while maintaining bacteria control properties from the silver thread to prioritize cleanliness and comfort in the areas most sat on during long hours of intense gameplay. It has the softness of suede and is definitely feels very luxurious.
I also love the yellow accent stitching as well and the silver VERTAGEAR logo stitched into the headrest. With the Midnight Blue, you also get a special stitch pattern down the center inserts as well.
For even more comfort, Vertagear also supplies a lower back pillow support as well as a neck support. These came with the SL5000, though it’s optional whether or not you use them. I use both just for the added comfort and support.
Now for some fun stuff. The SL5000 is very adjustable. Height adjustment obviously is a standard and norm for most all chairs these days. But, with the SL5000, you also get a tilt function. You also are able to lean the seat back like you would on a real car seat using the lever located on the right side of the seat base. Just pull up and you can lean the back of the seat about 50-60°. I don’t really advise doing that, but you can. Lastly, you can also adjust the armrests. They can be raised lower or higher, inwards or outwards, and you can adjust the angle of them.
Seriously this is one of the most adjustable seats I’ve ever used.
Aside from how good the Vertagear SL5000 looks and how much it’ll improve the atmosphere of your home office or gaming setup, the comfort really stands out as well. This is a very supportive chair. The padding on the inside of the chair is firm but seems to conform nicely to your shape. Apparently, it uses Ultra Premium High Resilience Foam, which as they describe it, “UPHR foam can withstand 62% more per cubic foot. The foam prolongs the lifespan of the chair by preventing deformities from long periods of use, inching it closest to the characteristics of memory foam.“
Speaking of that which you can not see, that entire chair is supported by an all-steel skeleton frame for improved strength and long-term durability. This is why the chair feels so solid.
IMPROVEMENTS
The Vertagear SL5000 is near perfect. The build quality is top-notch and the comfort level is through the stratosphere, but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be some improvements.
For starters, while the armrests are nice and feature a ton of adjustments, the option of some better-padded armrests would have been great. The armrests themselves are slightly padded to an extent, but I’d like to see them also wrapped in PUC faux synthetic leather. This way the armrests would look more consistent with the rest of the chair.
That’s pretty much it. Again, the SL5000 is as near perfect as can be so there isn’t much to complain about.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I finally understand now why gamers and even those who aren’t gamers but want the very best in comfort and support buy chairs like this, and it’s not just because they look cool. I guess there’s a reason why sports cars use seats like this. They’re built for ultimate comfort and the big bolsters and firm padding really help support your body during long sessions of sitting.
The Vertagear SL5000 is really impressive and by far, the best chair I’ve ever used for my home setup. I used to have some pretty bad lower back pains and neck cramps, but ever since switching to this chair, I haven’t had any issues. I think it’s because of all the adjustability and being able to cater it to my body as opposed to just a generic chair with one position. Regardless, I can’t deny just how much better I feel sitting in it.
So with that said, you really can’t go wrong with Vertagear. If you want a premium gaming chair, you got that with them. They have two different lines of gaming chairs and each had three different styles you can choose from. Plus, each chair comes in a variety of different colors and some equipment upgrades. What is cool though is that they have sizing info for each chair so you can also make choices based on the size of your body.
The Vertagear SL5000 is definitely a quality chair with quality parts that are backed by a 2-year warranty for parts and a 10-year warranty for the frame.
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This review is made possible with my affiliation with G Style Magazine. These items were sent to us by the company or their PR reps for review and evaluation. It is also featured on the G Style Magazine website which is a tech blog that focuses on the fashion aspect of tech. Please visit their site for more interesting reviews on all your favorite gadgets and gear.
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