AndaSeat Kaiser 3E XL review

A big pair of wobbling buttocks is a prerequisite for this peculiarly human thing called ‘sitting', but even more than that, if you want to sit, you need a chair. And if that chair is comfortable and adjustable, then all the better. PC gaming is unique among all the different kinds of interactive entertainment (with the exception of building an arcade in your garage, barn or other outbuilding) in the way its core demographic requires actual furniture to do it, and that's why PC Gamer maintains a list of the best gaming chairs.

AndaSeat's Kaiser 3E XL comes in at a lower price than Secretlab's Titan Evo XL, and if you are less than 5' 11” (180 cm) tall you can save a further sliver of cash by getting the merely ‘large' version. The overall look of the chair—with its striking cutouts and a logo-emblazoned backrest that wishes it could appear on camera illuminated by some streamer's ringlight—is definitely gamer-centric. And definitely more so than the modern office style embraced by the Herman Miller/Logitech partnership or even Ikea. This is not a criticism, however, because the AndaSeat is a damn comfy chair to sit in.

The first thing you'll notice, while building the chair, is just how thick the seat is. No gaming chair comes in a particularly small box, and the Kaiser 3E XL's packaging is as XL as you might imagine. It's all packed in very efficiently, though, with extra padding to make sure nothing is damaged in transit, and once you remove this there is still plenty of upholstery on offer.

If you've sat in an ergonomic gaming chair before there's much here that will be familiar: a bucket-style seat that wraps around and supports your lower back, an optional magnetic headrest cushion (something that always feels more premium than the kind that attaches with an elastic loop) and the ability to shift bits of it up and down using a baffling array of levers so that it fits you better.

It's a simple enough thing to build, just a case of undoing four screws and doing eight up again using the included hex key. There are magnetic covers that slip over the parts where the seat back attaches to the base, and a safety screw that prevents the back from reclining until you remove it—you can keep it in place to prevent problems with trapped fingers.

The seat is rather heavy—the reinforced steel frame underneath the foam and grey fabric finish takes care of that—and the hardest part of building it is placing the assembled top part onto the gas piston. The target area is small, but this is the case with most chairs and isn't AndaSeat's fault. On the XL version the wheelbase is made from aluminium (it's iron for the L) and it's light and stiff, with the plastic casters clunking in easily enough.

The 3E differs slightly from the Kaiser 3, which PCG has reviewed before. It's a slightly cheaper model, so the head pillow is optional and the lumbar support adjustment knob that sticks out of the Kaiser 3's backrest is missing. The armrests keep their ‘4D' adjustability, which means you can move them up and down, forward and back, and twist them a bit, but don't have replaceable magnetic tops so you can switch out the colour at a whim and don't move as far in any direction than the Kaiser 3's.

The lumbar support is therefore fixed, with a 4.8 cm curve that, supposedly, matches the natural curve of the spine. There's still plenty of adjustability in the seat back, and you can lay it nearly flat if that's your thing. The levers underneath adjust the height and allow you to recline the seat by up to 15 degrees, making for reasonably simple customisation that you won't feel the need to keep fiddling with.

It's a comfortable enough chair for long periods, however. The fabric finish can actually be superior to a leatherette option (though this is available) as it's cooler and less likely to stick to you if you're wearing shorts. The foam seat's raised edges and the lower-back support wrap around you nicely, and there's enough stiffness in the gas piston that it doesn't feel like you're sitting on a space hopper.

If you're a taller gamer, or perhaps a wider one, and you want to sit in comfort at your desk for some PC gaming (or even if you're forced to look at spreadsheets all day) then this is absolutely a comfortable choice.

The only problem it faces is the amount of competition at its price point. The Boulies Master Max, for example, is almost exactly the same price. You can get a Secretlab Omega for just a little more, or a multitude of budget chairs, including the Corsair TC100 Relaxed for a little less.

It's important—though increasingly difficult—to be able to try out gaming chairs before you commit to a purchase, but if you find the Kaiser 3E suits your sitting position then you'll be getting a hefty piece of gaming furniture. And a seat.