Genesis Nitro 550 Gaming Chair Review

Christmas has long since passed, but that doesn’t mean we cannot treat ourselves and our bodies to some good chairs. These past few weeks I have been sitting within the Nitro 550 by Genesis, after having to suffer from previous chairs falling apart due to age or poor design. Whilst not the perfect chair by any means, the Nitro 550 does a few things right just for me.

Starting with the construction, the 550 doesn’t make any grandstands in its favour, like many other chairs in the part of the process. While it doesn’t state you need assistance, you definitely will do for attaching the backrest to the seat with the armrests. Shifting, morphing and pushing as hard as you can to line up the holes that are often full of material is the sweatiest part of the construction. All other parts of the build were relatively easy, the wheels being the easiest to insert amongst the dozen chairs I have owned.

The packaging was standard for chair delivery, with most parts being covered in either wrap or cardboard. What was disappointing about the package however was a distinct lack of detailed instruction manual. For newcomers to chair building, it will be a hard process as plenty of times you won’t know which way around things go or the order of assembly. A single slip of paper was all I really had to go on, with some direction arrows and screw names. The whole building process took about 30+ minutes in total, with assistance from 2 other people for the backrest.

You can see my build process video below, edited for convenience and sped to around 5x. It is 29 minutes of video but was not all of the processes as I required the camera person’s assistance on the arms. I would estimate the total time around 35-40 minutes. Music used in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Remake by Mono Memory, you can purchase the song here.

Moving onto the chair in its complete form, as a tall and large man I often found the seats to be a bit too thin, the rising sides cutting into my legs at times. The backrest is not tall enough for me, standing at 6 foot tall, so others at that height or taller will find it too short if you’re wanting to rest your head. This cannot be fixed with adjusted however as the backrest is in a static height but can be rotated up and down for reclining.

From the back to the arms, the armrests are thankfully adjustable to a good range of heights, though as a taller gentleman I usually have them at the highest they can go. I would say it could do with a good half foot adjustment upwards at times. The size of the armrests could also be slightly thicker and longer as they mostly only accommodate my elbows.

The gas cylinder and lever mechanisms are rather solid, with a good range of heights and reclining actions. Sadly like many other chairs even after locking it in place it will tilt back too far when you lean on it. The lever for the cylinder is also in an awkward place, about 6 or so inches between the cover of the reclining lever, while it doesn’t impede movement it can take a bit to find it properly.

Both the head and lower back cushions are what you come to expect from other chairs, soft if a bit thick. I often don’t use the lower-back cushion due to my height making it a poor placement, but the headrest cushion is comfortable and sees a lot of use when I am reclined. The lower cushion is locked through the backrest and over the top with clips, the head being able to be locked with the lower for a solid position.

Some issues I have found are the armrests can make a slight knocking sound when moving my arms on and off of them, as if they are hitting against the connecting poles. This sound only occurs at max height, so is possibly due to not being flat against the inside connectors. For me, this sound is a constant irritation but may not affect shorter users.

Sitting at around £150, you may find it suits your needs better than others but can cost quite more than other brands. The wide range of back movement is a plus, though the small armrest design may detract from bigger customers. The shaky movement of the armrests at maximum height can also be quite an annoyance.

Product Specification:

• Wheel size – 60 mm
• Gaslift – Class 4
• Armrest – Adjustable, 1D
• Backrest width – 56 cm
• Included Accessories – Headrest cushion, Cushion lumbar
• Functions – Adjustable armrests, Adjustable height, Reclining seat, Swivel seat, Rocking function
• Weight – 21 kg
• Acceptable weight – 150 kg
• Backrest height – 80 cm
• Seat depth – 49 cm
• Seat width – 46 cm
• Seat height – 126 – 131 cm
• Adjustable seat height – 50 – 57 cm
• Material – Artificial Leather, Nylon
• Colour – Red, Black

You can find more info here on this official website and purchase the Genesis Nitro 550 Gaming Chair off Amazon here for (Black Version) £189.23 (27.02.2020) or there is a (Green Version) here for £190.23 (27.02.2020)

Links to Amazon are affiliated, which means we make a little money if you decide to purchase.

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