OSIM provided us with this sample gaming chair for the purpose of this review.
At first we were skeptical. The claim of the world’s first massage gaming chair can only be valid if you understand what OSIM means by massage. And now we have to agree. This is nothing like the other ‘vibrating’ massage game chairs.
This is a deep tissue, full spectrum massage that moves up and down your spine and even rolls over the contours of your neck and shoulder area, emulating a realistic hand grip massage that you used to have to pause your game and leave your house to get!
See how it compares to others in our roundup of the Best Gaming Chairs in Canada.
OSIM wanted our take on their uThrone gaming chair, so they sent us one to test. We received one that has ‘Predator’ stitching on it, but it seems that OSIM has since changed the name to uThrone. All of the specs match our test chair, it’s just the embroidered name on the side bolsters that are different.
The gaming massage chair was delivered in a huge box, weighing about 75 pounds, and it took about 30 minutes to assemble.
V-Hand Massage Technology
The deep, complex, massage patterns are definitely the main feature of the OSIM gaming throne. With multiple automated programs, and the option to manually move the massage roller balls right to where it hurts.
Utilizing something OSIM called V-hand massage, this is not some simple ‘vibration’ tech that is being called a massage. This is the real deal – deep, kneading, pressure or chop-chop style vibrations that move up and down your spine in a blissful flurry of muscle-loosening activity.
This v-hand massage technology is something OSIM is world-renowned for, and has been putting in top-of-the-line massage chairs for years.
uThrone Features
With embedded speakers right in the chair, you can hook up your phone, play some relaxing bird chirping or ocean wave noises, and be massaged into a deep sleep. While it’s a nice feature, the speakers were produced decent but not great sound, and we question the need for them since this is a gaming chair – and gamers will likely already have a headset or speaker setup that will produce superior sound.
The uThrone gaming chair comes with many features and adjustments to make sure the chair is the perfect fit for all users. The back of the chair reclines up to 145 degrees, and since the wheels and base are so sturdy, this chair doesn’t feel like it could tip over backwards.
If you like to rest your elbows or arms, the PVC armrests can easily be raised up for support, or lowered to stay out of the way.
Like most all office and gaming chairs these days, the uThrone has a hydraulic lift piston to allow you to change the overall height of the chair.
For wheels, these aren’t just cheap plastic wheels that make noise and get gunk stuck to them, these are PU casters that are just soft enough to take up small floor contours, snack crumbs, and more, and still keep on rolling quietly.
What we liked (besides the massage!)
The uThrone massage gaming chair is a large sturdy chair that gives you an intimidating presence – so hopefully your gaming hasn’t ruined all your real-life relationships so you can show it off!
We love the 2-tone color scheme, and the build quality seems great – from the quality of the materials, to the firmness and sturdiness of the chair even though it’s a DIY-assembly process.
We also like the built in remote – it’s a fully functioned control panel hiding under the right-side armrest. Everything is wireless these days, but we were glad to see that this chair didn’t come with another wireless remote for us to lose, or for us to have to keep replacing batteries in. No one would want to use the massage feature without sitting in the chair so it makes sense to us that it’s attached.
What we didn’t like
For the taller testers, 6’2″ and up, the base seat of the chair didn’t rise high enough to get our legs to the ergonomics-suggested 90 degree angle with our feet flat on the floor. We do understand that this is a gaming chair and not an office chair, but an extra 1.5″ is all it would have taken to put it up high enough to do double duty in the office and in the gaming lair.
In addition, for the taller testers also said the headrest pillow didn’t go high enough to support their neck and head, and instead pushed their shoulders forward which encouraged a slouching position. Same story for the lumbar pillow, it was a little too low and had to be moved up the chair – but there are no straps or methods to attach it there (because it is recommended to remove the lumbar pillow during massages) so the lumbar pillow kept slumping down.
In all fairness, the chair is rated for users that are between 5’3″ and 6’1″ so the taller users were slightly past that height recommendation.
While we loved the sturdy, strong massage feel this chair produced, most of the testers noted discomfort at the lowest height range of the massage function. The uThrone keeps the massage roller balls down below the level of the backrest (behind the base of your seat) where you can’t feel it until you’re ready for a massage.
However, that requires the balls to move up to your back. We found the massage rollers to protrude an uncomfortable amount into the back of our pelvis bones as it moved it’s way up to the lower back oh-that-feels-good massage spot. It could be that I didn’t have enough padding on my butt bones, but some of the slightly larger, more-padded testers also noticed this. It could also be that we would fall into that category of people who don’t like painfully firm massages…. we’re still hunting for a tester that looks for pain for pleasure.
The problem is easily fixed by slouching slightly during the massage, or even leaving the lumbar support pillow in place during the massage.
uThrone Gaming Chair Specifications
Construction Materials: The frame is made of metal, and the upholstery is PVC with machine embroidered logos. The headrest and lumbar cushion are made from memory foam, and the seat cushion is made from polyurethane foam.
Adjustability: The armrest is adjustable in 2 dimensions – forwards and backwards, and up and down. The backrest can incline/recline from 90 degrees back to 145 degrees. The seat base height is adjustable with a gas pressurized hydraulic cylinder from 41 to 51 cm.
Dimensions: Overall weight is 27.5 kg. Shipping weight is 34 kg, and it comes in a huge 101cm by 77cm by 43cm box.
Warranty: 1 year base warranty excluding wear and tear
Recommended user: 160 – 185 cm in height, and maximum weight of 110 kg
Level up your sitting game with comfort and massage. The world's first massage gaming chair with V-hand massage technology.
The OSIM uThrone gaming chair gives gamers that extra energy boost you need for prolonged gaming and allow you to relieve neck, shoulders and lumbar pain while re-energizing the whole body.
I really like your content its very helpful and is a great way to learn of new products like a gaming chair with real massage capabilities!