As you might have noticed, Netspark’s Blog is publishing
reviews also. All these reviews are not funded or bought
by the companies whose items are tested. So you can
expect a true, hard and untainted review here again.

Today we have the Skiller SGS4 Gaming Chair in the test.

Thanks fly out to Tomshardware team and gotIT! in Chemnitz for letting our main poster win this beau in a sweepstakes contest!

So what exactly is this review all about and why is a chair so special to review? Well, let’s start with an introduction. Chairs, office chairs and the like all exist since several centuries now. However modern technology and materials allow for more ergonomic designs nowadays.

The fact that we spend one third of our life sitting (in average!), makes it necessary that we have a healthy sitting utility. Otherwise our back will soon take damage and in the worst case you’ll probably suffer from longterm problems.

So how do Gaming Chairs fit in today’s time? As some of you might have noticed already, gaming chairs seem to have a look like the well-known Reccaro seats you see in stadiums where the soccer players sit. The gaming chairs want to reflect comfort with modern style and flexibility. And so most major brands that supply computer hardware components also have gaming chairs in their portfolio.

When our main poster took part at the sweepstakes contest on Tomshardware this year, he wouldn’t have dreamt to be drawn to win. But he actually has won and let us into the whole detail of the chair and it’s properties.

So let’s start with some basics.

Packaging:

If you expect a little tiny package here like you get in a modern furniture store, well, then forget about that quickly. The package of the Skiller SGS4 is huuuuuuge and definitely not to be carried on your back. A weight of roughly 40kg (80 lbs.) is something only bodybuilders might transport for a prolonged time.

But if you expect tons of packaging trash, let us assure you that there’s as little packaging material as it is necessary to protect the delicate material. So Skiller has indeed had the environment in mind when they designed the package concept.

All major parts are protected by PU foam which is indeed the better choice compared to Styrofoam whic leaves crumbles all over your place no matter how careful you are. Plus PU foam is more easy to dispose of! Smaller components are protected by simple foil or airbubble foil which is completely sufficient here. The strong cartonage outside protects everything inside. So despite of how rude the delivery company is handling your parcel, the chair should arrive without any damage! Good point, Skiller!

First impression of the product quality:

When you start unpacking all the components, one thing is clear: The chair isn’t just one of the millions of cheapass chairs you can buy at discounters or elsewhere. You can really feel and see the quality. Everything is sturdy and has a good haptics. So there’s no surprise. And despite of the coating being leather imitation, there’s no stench of cheapness here! So this is what we expect when spending over 300€ here! The MSRP is 379€ and you might find it cheaper maybe only in some sale events. Swiss customers may experience a price of 389 CHF and up. For Americas and other countries we have no price information but we expect something around 369 US$ here!

What about the wheels and the carrying cross?

The carrying cross is profiled aluminum and it seems quite sturdy. The black rough coating gives some more class and if you intend to rest your stocking-coated feet on t, you won’t slip off! The rolls are 75mm in diameter and, what we find sexy, have a stopper lever. This means you can fix the rolls and have the chair stand on position if you need it to! Well don, Skiller! This is indeed a practical feature! However we still do not recommend to use it as a standing stool to do some ceiling maintenance! Use a solid ladder instead! For your own sake and health!

What about the lift system?

We can confirm that the lift system looks sturdy. It’s a common gas spring you will see on most modern office chairs so there’s nothing to fear of or some cheapness to expect here. Indeed it he whole unit looks well-crafted and long-lasting!

Assembly:

Assembling an office-chair isn’t something that only professionals with tool skills can solve. If you aren’t double-left-handed, you will find assembling this chair a breeze. Just make sure, you have some space around you so that you can unpack all the box content and have some room for you to move in. A square place of 3 by 3 metres should be sufficient! Give yourself 30-40 minutes to get yourself familiar with the instruction manual and how to assemble the chair in a few easy-to-understand steps.

You start first with the carrying cross and the 5 rolls you have to attach to. also you put the lift system into the middle of the carrying cross. That’s Step 1.

Step 2 consists of assembling the backrest with the seating part. This is also easy and since the angling mechanism is rastered, you can fix the holders in an upright position and thus easily assemble the backrest with the seating part.

Step 3 is then assembling the rocking mechanism to the seat unit. This may be a bit complicated as you will need to lift the seat unit a little in order to attach the rocking unit to it. It can be done without the need of a second person to hold the seat unit but some will definitely find it easier.

The final step is to lift the fully assembled seat unit with rocking mechanism onto the lift system. activating the stoppers on the rolls makes this as easy as possible as the carrying cross won’t roll away while you lift the (rather heavy!) seat unit onto lift system. But done that, you’re good to go. The chair is then fully assembled and ready to be used!

Sitting comfort and ergonomy:

The chair allows a lot of things to be adjusted to fit your body’s needs and your posture.

Backrest:

The backrest can be set to an agle of 90 to 160 degrees which allows for a sleeping position as well (if needed). If you but your body down gently, you won’t have to fear tipping back as the construction is well-balanced. However we must give the advice that hectic movement with your legs or body will probably lead toa tip-over. So don’t think the chair can’t tip even when put into sleep position. the handle to the right allows you to set the rest in a few angle positions (3 or 4 positions) and snaps in when completed. A loud clicking noise confirms that the backrest won’t give in once you put your load onto it. You can only use the handle if you don’t put any weight onto the backrest thus ensuring that accidental operation of the backrest angulation is not happening.

Even naptime is possible:

Seat:

The seat can be adjusted by 10 to 12 centimeters. Enough to cover the seat adjustment needs of most people. This can be done with the left-side-lever.

Armrests:

This is a part where a lot of gaming chairs may differ from each other. The armrests can be set in height, width, sideway angle and forward, backward position. With this you cover almost a 360 degree spectrum and allow a wide variety of customization that makes your arms rest comfortably. While the sideway-angulation can be triggered without the need of a button-pushing, you will have to push one when setting height, forward-backward position of the armrest. Interestingly the manual says that the armrests can be pushed forward and backward without the press of a button but that’s not true. We advise you to use the button that allows you to adjust the forward backward position. The armrest position system will thank you for that. The width of the armrests can be adjusted by about 3cm each loosening 4 bolts on each side, move the armrests to the desired width and then fastening the bolts again using the larger allen key.

Rocking mechanism:

A big turnknob allows you to adjust the stiffness of the rocking mechanism to fit your needs accordingly. Some people may find it more appealing to have a rather stiff setting to avoid rocking backwards on the slightest load balance to the backrest. Others will probably love an easy setting here to rock gently with even the slightest movement. We can only suggest you to experiment with the setting to find the perfect setting that suits you best!

Lumbar support and headrest:

The chair comes with a set of cushions that act as a Lumbar support (the larger one!) and a headrest (the smaller one). Both are fixated with the help of suspension straps with a hooking mechanism. This allows for some flexible moving of both components. The unwanted height setting of the lumbar support when rushing into the chair can be annoying but this is a problem, all chairs with a lumbar support cushin have. The repositioning however is easily done so this is nagging on highest level. The headrest however is not given much room to be set in height, so smaller persons might find it a bit uncomfortable while larger persons will definitely find it appealing to have their neck supported. Both cushions have a good stiffness grade.

Seat area:

Well let’s turn to the part of the chair that has our most attention during the day. We rest approx. one third of our life on a seat. So it’s obvious that this part needs most attention when being designed. Let’s say that Skiller has done a wonderful job here and the seat is comfortable as hell. Our main poster had an old office chair and he said that after half an nour he had to get into yoga position as his butt was hurting from the seat. Not so wth the Skiller SGS4. The seat allows even a 4-hour-permanent game session without any pain backwards. That’s how we think, a chair must be. It must be as comfortable as your bed! As we habe wintertime now we cannot report about the sweat factor on the leather imitation. However the seat has breather holes in the cover so we expect it to be a charm to sit in even when you’re sweltering to death!

Final verdict:

WOW! That’s how our short verdict is.

Remarkably what the Skiller SGS4 can do to your body. It is like sitting on a special chair that has ben specially designed just for you. The adjustment possibilities are awesome and heck yeah, we love it when you have the possibility to fit a chair to every comfort aspect you can think of. Skiller has done a terriffic job here! The rocking mechanism is not linked to the angle of the backrest so it is acting individually while your posture remains the same. That’s how we like it! You really can see the quality for what you have paid!

The armrests are also very good. They allow the adaption to almost every aspect of your arms so that a comfortable position of your arms is always given. There’s no better solution known so far. The lack of a soft-cusion is maybe a little manko here but hey, the armrests still feel well to your skin and that’s what counts.

The lunbar support and headrest cusion are a good solution to make this chair “compatible” with a wide range of persons sitting on it. Some gaming chairs habe built-in lumbar support which means it is not adjustable. This might not feel well to some persons. So the lumbar support cushion used on the Skiller SGS4 is a good cross-solution of comfort and compatibility. The headrest is something you might want to get used to as they weren’t common in earlier times. So there’s testing, testing and testing for you to find out whether to use it or not.

So how do we rate this product?

Material: 25%: ★★★★☆
Haptics: 10%: ★★★★★
Ergonomy: 60%: ★★★★★
Assembly: 5%: ★★★★★

Total Score: ★★★★★

As you can see, this chair has hit the full ranking with ease. We find no problem with the ergonomy. It allows a lot of adjustment that wants you to spend the whole day on it. The haptics of the material is just great. There’s nothing we would consider cheap or easy-breaking. Of course the material used isn’t world-class, but hey, we’re speaking of a 379€ chair here! Some other manufacturers offer way less for the same amount. So definitely we can say that the chair is woth every cent spent on. Thos e who consider upgrading their office chair, should habe a look at this gaming chair as it offers a very good value for the money spent! It will be definitely an upgrade and you’ll probably never want to give it away anymore. For those who already know of gaming chairs and what to switch to, we can just recommend that you take the chance to test-sit on this one. The reason is that the gaming chairs just slightly vary but they have different setting options, additions and other gimmicks to play with.

It has earned our award for office / gaming gear and can be recommended with no doubts!