Introduction
Today, chairs are offered by every brand under the guise of ‘gaming chair’. AKRacing is quite well-known in this market.
Not very long ago, the Core LX Plus came on the market, which we will take a closer look at.
Specifications
Of course, we start with the specifications of the Core LX Plus!
Material
Frame Material: Metal
Frame Coating: Anti-corrosive black paint
Chair Cover Material: Premium PU leather on the front and back
Foam Type: High-Density Mould Shaping Foam
Foam Density: 55 kg/m³ (seat) 50 kg/m³ (back)
Base Type: Nylon composite base
Features
Adjustable Armrests: 3D
Mechanism Type: Standard Mechanism
Adjustable Tilt Angle: 3-18°
Tilt Lock: Yes
Tilt Angle Lock: No
Recline angle: 180°
Gas Lift Class: Class 4 gas lift
Adjustable Back Angle: Yes
Adjustable Lumbar Cushion: Yes
Adjustable Headrest: Yes
Meets/Exceeds ANSI/BIFMA Standards: Yes
Warranty Length: 5/10 years
The dimensions are as follows:
Unpacking
From AKRacing I received two chairs:
– AKRacing Core LX Plus
– AKRacing Master Premium
In this review, we will of course take a closer look at the Core LX Plus.
The Core LX Plus has red accents across the seat, which makes the chair look tough in my opinion. Of course, the LX Plus is also available in other colors!
In any case, the backrest was well wedged in the box. So that the cushion on the right is somewhat pressed. Later in the photos, you can see that this fades away. This also shows how resilient these cushions are! 😀
The rear is not very exciting. The open holes allow the back cushion to be attached to the chair.
In my opinion, the AKRacing Master Premium does have a nicer base. This does look a bit cheap.
AKRacing supplies the following with the Core LX plus;
– manual,
– gloves,
– gas spring and associated covers,
– mechanical system for the seat,
– wheels,
– screws and Allen key
AKRacing supplies nice gloves with the chair. This ensures that your fingers do not get dirty, for example by grease/lubrication from the gas spring or other parts. You can count on one hand the times that my hands got dirty by setting up a chair… 😛
The neck pillow is fine in terms of thickness. The back cushion could be a little firmer in my opinion.
The advantage that the AKRacing cushions have is that they have a zipper that allows them to be padded just a little more should the need arise.
Striking about the PU leather of the chair and backrest is that it feels very soft but still sturdy. The chairs from Noblechairs are much stiffer. AKRacing has in my opinion better PU leather with which they upholster the seats than the other manufacturers.
As usual with the other chairs, this chair is also set up with a steel frame – for extra strength.
Nowadays AKRacing no longer supplies the 4 screws for the mechanical part separately in a plastic package, but simply screwed into the frame. So, a user has to loosen and tighten the screws himself to tighten the part.
Perhaps a bit of a superfluous addition, but this makes a significant difference in extra packaging material – and therefore less unnecessary plastic.
The memory foam seat cushion of the Core LX Plus (and also of the Master Premium) is very firm, yet very soft. It molds well to your personal body cushion. Because of this, I didn’t get the feeling that I had to get up every ten minutes to stretch my legs. Something you get pretty quickly with bad chairs.
One real downside to the Core LX Plus I find is that it cannot be secured when someone tilts backward. With the other chairs, you see that more often. So there is only one lever to raise/lower the seat and turn the tilt mechanism on/off. In short, whether or not to be able to tilt. So stopping while tilting is not possible.
Another lever (above it) is to ensure that the backrest can be adjusted. Flat or upright.
Also, the screws in the backrest need to be taken out first. But, that is of course a small effort! 🙂
What I find quite special is that the Core LX Plus can lay pretty flat. I even lay down on the chair in this position, and could … yes, lift my legs off the ground. I didn’t fall backward – which is quite a scary thought. After all, you are not used to tipping that far back in a chair.
Folding up the chair also ensures that it takes up ‘little’ space – as far as possible, of course.
One tip though: do lock the mechanism. Setting the seat to 180 degrees and not locking that mechanism does cause you to ‘fly’ backward.
Such a chair is not so bad next to a desk/table – even though my SLR camera captures the colors a bit less. The red is actually a bit redder.
I am a huge fan of the possibility to remove the cushion and move higher/lower. There are also chairs for sale on which the cushion cannot be removed, which limits the possibilities.
The 3D armrests can swivel up/down, forward/backward, and inward/outward.
There are no differences in the finish between the AKRacing Master Premium and the AKRacing Core LX Plus. Both chairs are well-finished. The difference between the Core is that it is for the small to medium fit. The LX Plus is for the medium to larger fit.
Although the Core LX Plus can carry heavier users, the backrest is a bit thinner than that of the Master Premium. And yet the Core LX Plus is very sturdy.
Use
I have been using the AKRacing Core LX Plus for quite some time. What struck me is that the pillows were nice and soft, but did not settle. With my streamlined body, I didn’t get to see any indentations in the chair even after several months. Something that in my view indicates good pillows. With some office chairs – and I’ve had to return quite a few – I noticed that the cushions held the shape of your body in no time – and stayed like that, which of course you don’t want.
The pillow for the neck is perfect, so you can lie back/relax in the chair. The back cushion is, unfortunately ‘just’ too soft for me. When you hang backward (for example, when gaming/watching a movie), it eventually compresses in such a way that it has almost no added value for the lower back. A slightly harder cushion could have absorbed this. However, not everyone wants to have a pillow that they normally sleep on in their lower back.
The seat is very nice. I used to have with the ProX that the seat was a bit harder, but in this case, I am very satisfied. I also don’t tend to get up while working because the seat slightly transforms into a bean bag.
In addition, the Core LX Plus is something for the ‘wider’ user. The shapes are also good for people with wider shoulders. It even feels nice to sit back and rest your shoulders in the chair.
Conclusion
One of the advantages of this chair is that it ‘only’ costs about 319 euros. I don’t think that’s expensive for such a chair. The chair is sturdy, the material feels good/sturdy and it can also carry quite a bit of weight.
The cushions are ‘nice’, so you don’t get the feeling that you are sitting on a wooden chair at all.
In addition, I think the material feels better than that of the other chairs. The PU leather feels better on this chair than on a Noblechairs Epic. It’s much stiffer there. Here it feels a bit more flexible but also thicker.
A good chair is important to me. If it is not just for gaming, but also for a day’s work, for example, then a good investment is recommended. Also for the preservation of your back, because of the position, you sit in all day.
I can work a day in such a chair without any problems, without my back bothering me. The chair dissipates the heat well and is very comfortable. The cushions are also almost perfect, only the back cushion could be ‘just’ a little harder.
Incidentally, it is a big plus that the head cushion can also be adjusted in height (or even removed), whereas many chairs can automatically only have the head cushion in one place because it slopes down, the model of the AKRacing Core LX Plus is straighter at the top, the cushion can easily be moved in height and also stays put!
In addition, the chair can be easily and properly adjusted. The armrest can be turned in its entirety forward/backward, inward or outward (of course also up and down). The lever on the right side (under the seat) allows the chair to be adjusted to the desired height, in addition, it can lock the chair – so that it cannot be rocked. When released (moving the lever to the right), the seat can be tilted backward. Still, it is unfortunate that there’s no ‘lever’ on the seat that can hold the seat in a tilted position. Of course, the backrest can be adjusted with the right lever at the height of the seat.
The AKRacing Core LX Plus is, as the name suggests, for a ‘plus size’ user. However, the chair is not very big. I think that the average to slightly larger gamer can also sit perfectly on this chair.
In addition, the chair comes with a 5-year warranty on the components and the PU leather, which is remarkable. This shows that they stand behind their quality! And it shows! 🙂
Although the chair cannot be fixed when it tilts backward, I think it is a nice office chair.
Besides that, I don’t think 319 is a crazy asking price either.
The AKRacing Core LX Plus gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.
