It feels somewhat dismissive to label the ThunderX3 Flex Pro Mesh as a “gaming chair”. I’m sure we all have a certain image in our head of what a gaming chair is: something big, bulky, perhaps garish in design. I don’t think that sums the Thunder X3 Flex Pro Mesh up very well. It’s certainly big, but this incredibly ergonomic chair doesn’t look like your typical gamer’s chair — and it doesn’t act like one either.
The mesh design of the Flex Pro (which is also available in loft fabric) keeps it looking and feeling more like a premium office chair than one specially designed for gaming. That alone might be enough to sell some people on this chair: it packs in features made with gamers in mind, which I’ll talk about later, but in terms of its design, it will fit in most home office set-ups, regardless of your decor.
But this isn’t a chair you buy to make a statement about style with: it’s a chair you buy for comfort. And wow, it delivers comfort by the truckload. I’ve never known a chair to adjust in quite as many different ways as this one, so no matter how big or small you are, you can adjust it to suit your body type.
The ThunderX3 Flex Pro adjusts in all the usual ways: the back can tilt, the height can be adjusted up and down, and the armrests can move too. But that’s just the beginning. The headrest can be adjusted up, down, back and forward, the backrest self-adjusts to accommodate your posture, and the two-part lumbar support adjusts to cradle your spine from two sides. The height of the backrest can be moved up and down too, and you can tilt the seat and adjust it back and forth.
Finally, the arm rests can move up and down and forward and back. They can also be tilted inwards to support your elbows, turned backwards to allow you to easily fit the chair under any desk and, perhaps my favourite function, they can flip upwards to support your arms while you’re holding a smartphone or controller. The only downside is they can’t be removed altogether, so if you’re not a fan of armrest your only real option is to retract them.
ThunderX3’s official video will give you a better idea of the entire range of movements offered by the Flex Pro:
All of that goes to say that the ThunderX3 Flex Pro Mesh is a delight to sit in. Even for long periods of time, whether you’re using it for a full 9-5 shift at your desk or for an extended gaming session, you’re going to appreciate the way the Flex Pro adjusts with your body and your movements. It’s quite possibly amongst the most comfortable chairs I’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting in.
It’s particularly good if standard chairs hurt your back or you have lumbar issues that require a bit of extra support. Because of the way the ThunderX3 Flex Pro is designed to hug the contours of your body, it’s effortlessly supportive — and while you can tinker with all its parts to get its fit perfectly right for you, you’ll undoubtedly appreciate just how supportive it is without making any special adjustments. That’s thanks to the automatic flex that you’ll find in both the backrest and the lumbar support.
Onto the elephant in the room, though. All of this comfort doesn’t come cheap, and the ThunderX3 Flex Pro is in the upper echelons of the gaming chair price matrix with an RRP of £419.99. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but can you really put a price on your personal comfort? There are good chairs around for half of that price, granted. But few have as much specialised support as the Flex Pro. If you care about your posture, about your back health, then consider this an investment rather than an extravagant purchase.
With thanks to ThunderX3 for supplying a chair for the purposes of this review.
