PC Gaming Chair Roundup 2016

AK Racing Nitro

Manufacturer: AK Racing
UK price (as reviewed): £214.99 (inc VAT)
US price (as reviewed): $339.00 (ex Tax)

The AK Racing is unique among these chairs in that it's supplied with a pair of white gloves for the assembly process. Okay, maybe that's not enough to seal the deal, but it's a nice touch that means your chair won't be covered in smudges and fingerprints before you even sit in it.


The gloves are perhaps even more useful given that the five-star base has a glossy finish. Otherwise, it's more of the same construction wise – the wheels and stand slot directly into the base, the hydraulic mechanism is secured with four screws to the underside of the seat and the backrest is relatively easy to align and secure too.


Another mid-range chair in price, the Nitro is seen here in red and black, though you can opt to have green, blue, orange or white in place of the red.


On a scale from marshmallow to rock, the AK Racing Nitro ranks roughly in the middle for softness. It's softer than the GT Omega Racing model, for example, but not as squishy as the Nitro Concepts one. In this way, it strikes a pleasant balance between comfort and support. One thing to note, however, is that the faux leather covering is not perforated.


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If you want a bit of extra support still, however, the Nitro is supplied with both types of cushion. Better sill, straps mean that both of them are adjustable. Similar to the chair itself, we also found their firmness level to be well judged.

The arms have a firm, rubbery finish similar to what we've seen from most other entries here, and we don't have much bad to say about them – they'll be wide enough for most, have subtle grooves to keep your arms in place and also feature height adjustment, which is the most important one.


The AK Racing Nitro has 8cm of height adjustment in total and can support up to 150kg – pretty high on both fronts.


If you're someone who's got their eye on having a chair that they can spend 24 hours a day in, you might be interested to note that the recline function here goes all the way to what is essentially horizontal. We can't say it's very comfortable or at all practical to use like this, but it's there if it's something that tickles your fancy. You can also unlock the tilt function by pulling the height adjustment lever, although this only allows you to rock back and forth – you can't lock a new tilt position in place. A knob at the front controls the spring tension for this motion.


The AK Racing Nitro appears to be a very well balanced chair overall. It's neither too soft nor too hard, and although it's features aren't quite as impressive as some of the others, this is reflected in its middle-of-the-road pricing and it still has enough to keep most happy.