When Sihoo reached out to me to test out its C300 Pro office chair, I thought, why not? So what if it’s not a motorcycle? The truth is, I spend more hours sitting in a chair in my study than on the saddle of my motorcycle.
So naturally, I’d like to have my chair comfort sorted. But here’s the thing: Spending hours on motorcycles, a good chunk of which are absolutely uncomfortable beyond an hour, my baseline expectations from my office chairs have been relatively low.
That is, until I tried the C300 Pro. Well-built, sturdy, sleek, and most importantly, extremely adjustable. I was spoiled. I sat on it for a day and thought, “not bad.” At the end of the second day, I said to myself, “This is actually good.” By the third day, I had put my older office chair in the trunk of my car to pass it on to a friend. I had bought into what Sihoo had done with its chair.
It came nicely packed with clear instructions alongside. It took me an hour to put the whole thing together and roll it into my study, and here I am a week from then sharing my two cents on it.
Utkarsh Sood / New Atlas
Now Sihoo has been producing ergonomic office and gaming furniture for the better part of the last 15 years. Apparently, the C300 – the chair on which the newer Pro version is based – has sold in big numbers. And I can see why. The Pro now adds quite a fair bit of extras on top for around $70 more at the time of writing.
Let’s quickly go through the specifications. So the C300 Pro weighs 55.34 lb (25 kg) and has a weight capacity of 300 lb (136 kg). It features an automatic lumbar support, flexible headrest and seat depth, alongside 6D armrests. It features a mesh back, a mesh seat, and PU-coated armrests.
Those armrests move up and down, left and right, forward and back, and in and out. That’s wild for someone who was used to a chair that had pretty much fixed armrests.
Apart from the armrests, the chair offers a lot of adjustments to configure, and funnily enough, not all were apparent when I first started using the chair. There’s a small master handle on the right side just below the seat, which controls the recline angle, the seat depth, and the overall chair height.
Utkarsh Sood / New Atlas
I’m a 6-foot-tall (183-cm), 195-lb (89 kg) guy, and the chair feels extremely comfortable for my broad build. The backrest offers 105, 120, and 135-degree options of an incremental locking function – a feature I personally have next to no use for. But still, it’s good to have it.
Speaking of recline, I found the recline angle of 135 degrees the best of all the chairs I’ve ever owned – perfect for small breaks to lean back and relax. It’s so comfortable that I ended up taking a nap the other day.
The seat depth varies from 16.81 to 17.76 inches (426.9 to 451.1 mm), while the seat height can be adjusted from 18.11 to 22.32 inches (459.74 to 566.9 mm). As for the seat itself, it is 20.28 inches (515.1 mm) wide – plenty wide for my fat bottom.
Utkarsh Sood / New Atlas
The only thing I found missing was support for legs for leaning all the way back. Well, apparently, Sihoo already thought of that. There’s a “footrest” version of the C300 Pro that adds a pull-out footrest to the same chair. Although you’ll have to shell out $80 more. Yikes.
While seated, I do find the mesh better than a traditional padded seat. The lumbar automatically moves as per your build, thanks to something that Sihoo calls the Body Movement (BM) Tracking System.
Without the need for manual adjustments, this system automatically adapts to your spine’s contours to provide constant support. I have to admit, it’s a feature I took a few days to get used to. But now that I have, I don’t think I can ever go back to a manual lumbar ever.
Utkarsh Sood / New Atlas
Another thing I like about this chair is the flexible backrest, which also moves organically with you. It easily adjusts to every change in my posture, in contrast to typical chairs, where you have to manually tinker with them to suit various situations.
I like what Sihoo has done with the seat cushion as well. Because of its waterfall design, my weight is distributed evenly, relieving pressure on my legs and avoiding discomfort when I sit for extended periods of time. No numb buttocks anymore!
As for the design, I think it looks quite nice for how it’s priced. It isn’t bulky like gaming chairs, but neither does it give a sales office vibe at the same time. It doesn’t look out of place in my study, and I can definitely see it being at home in executive suites and co-working spaces.
Utkarsh Sood / New Atlas
For US$349.99, I think the C300 Pro offers an exceptional value for money. It’s well-built, good-looking, comfortable, and most importantly, packed with all the features you’d want out of an office chair.
Right then, time for me to leave the comfort of the cushy chair and hop on my motorcycle’s not-as-comfortable seat.
Source: Sihoo