When buying a chair for their gaming space, most gamers want something that looks cool. The iconic racing chair design reigned supreme for several years as viewers tried to emulate their favorite streamer. The first chair I ever reviewed was one of these beasts, and it was a step up from the $99 Wal-Mart special that I had been using. Little did I know there was a better choice for those long gaming sessions.
Enter the ergonomic office chair. I’m not talking about your dad’s leather-clad executive chair here. I’m talking about curvy mesh chairs that are made to promote proper posture and reduce back pain and numb butts during a long day at the office. The Hinomi X1 is one such chair. The X1 sports enough style to fit into your gaming battle station, and it’s packed with enough ergonomic features to make you question why you have ever settled for a basic office or dedicated gaming chair.
Hinomi X1 – What Is It?
From the ground up, the Hinomi X1 is a premium foundation for your butt and back. The all-aluminum base and frame serve as a solid skeleton for the seat and backrest. Finishing off the foundation of the X1 is a class 4 gas lift capable of holding up to 330 pounds.
The X1 comes in black, gray, and pink. To tailor the X1 to the widest range of body heights, Hinomi has manufactured the X1 in three different sizes. The Small is for users 5’1” to 5’6” tall. The Medium fits anyone 5’6” to 6’1”, and the large covers users 5’9” to 6’6”.
The curved seat is an all-mesh ergonomic design that hugs your hips and upper legs. The seat is 19.7” wide and has a forward/backward adjustment that gives a seat depth of 17”-19.5”. The back of the chair is a four-piece design, with a mesh upper portion split into two pieces at the spine. The lower section is also split down the middle and serves as a separate lumbar support. The lumbar support has a manual adjustment that can be set in three positions for varying support, and the entire backrest can be adjusted vertically by up to 2.4”. The backrest can also be reclined by up to 135 degrees from its upright position.
The Hinomi X1 sports armrests with 6 directions of movement. There is a vertical adjustment of 3.3” across multiple locking points. The top pads have a depth adjustment of 1.6” and a horizontal adjustment of 1.6”, giving an armrest-to-armrest width of 26.4”-28.9”. Finally, the pads can be set up to a 30-degree incline and can be rotated through a full 270 degrees to fit just about any arm angle you throw at them.
Hinomi X1 – Unboxing And Assembly
Overall, I’d have to give Hinomi an S rating for their packaging efforts. If package waste is a concern, you’ll probably shed at least one tear from how much foam and cardboard are used to ship the X1. I am personally more concerned about the condition of the chair when it arrives, and I am happy to say that the Hinomi X1 is packaged like it is being shipped off to war. The chair is encased in a thick cardboard box with four plastic straps added to the outside for extra security. The straps are even taped down so that they can’t be used to fling the box around as it’s handled during its trip from the factory to your doorstep.
Opening up the box, it is apparent that Hinomi wants to make sure your new X1 makes it to your home in perfect condition. At the top of the stack is a sheet with the Hinomi logo printed on it. Although it doesn’t really serve as protection, it is a more attractive way to introduce you to the innards of the box than the typical cardboard panel.
Speaking of the cardboard panel, that is next up in the unboxing. The top panel also has slots for the boxes that contain the chair’s five-leg base, casters, and gas lift. Below that, a thick layer of soft foam protects the backrest and headrest. The headrest and backrest are also packed in individual foam bags for further protection.
This compartment also houses a small box containing a pair of thin gloves, the Allen wrench needed during assembly, and the screws needed to connect the backrest to the seat. Hinomi goes a little overboard here by placing the screws in a piece of foam instead of using a plastic baggie, but spending this much effort in packaging gives you a very positive first impression of the quality of the chair. If you’re going to make sure everything is secure, you might as well go the extra mile, I guess.
With the headrest and backrest out of the way, the removal of another layer of soft foam reveals the seat and armrest at the bottom of the box. Although the seat doesn’t come wrapped in its own foam blanket, foam sleeves do protect each armrest, and there are a couple of foam blocks to fill in the empty spaces in the box to keep everything from shifting around during shipping.
Assembly of the Hinomi X1 is completed in a flash. Unlike some of the other chairs I have reviewed, the base is a single piece, so there isn’t any assembly beyond pushing the five wheels into their sockets. With the base ready to go, the gas lift simply slides into the center of the base. And as simple as that, you are ready to put the rest of the chair together.
The arms come pre-attached to the seat, saving you several minutes of assembly time. The four-piece backrest is also pre-assembled, so all you must do is attach the two pieces together with three screws. And with all but the headrest attached, you can take the assembled seat and place it onto the top of the gas lift. Finally, the headrest attaches to the top of the backrest with another three screws.
Hinomi X1 – Putting It To The Test
Over the last few weeks, I have used the X1 during several multi-hour gaming sessions. I also took the chair to work, where I tested it out over a ten-day stretch of eight-hour days, so at this point, my butt and back are very familiar with the X1.
The all-mesh seat is strung as tight as a tennis racket and gives very firm support. If you are used to a soft seat, the firmness of the X1 could take a while to get used to. Even given its firm nature, the curvature of the seat helps to evenly distribute your weight across the entire, so I never felt uncomfortable in the seat. And thanks to the airy nature of the mesh, I was able to sit for long periods of time without getting sweaty.
I am also quite pleased with the four-piece backrest. The backrest was strung just as tight as the seat, but the split design gives it plenty of flexibility to contour to my back while eliminating any direct pressure on my spine. The adjustable height of the backrest is another ergonomic bonus that ensures even weight distribution, especially when leaning back in the chair.
The separate lumbar support is far superior to the lumbar pillow found on gaming chairs. At first sight, I thought the use of a solid TPU material for the lumbar support was a strange choice, given the rest of the chair’s surface is mesh. However, this design choice allows for a level of adjustability that you can’t get from a mesh design. The adjustability of the X1’s lumbar support means you can dial in the exact firmness to suit your needs. Just like the backrest, the two-piece design moves the pressure away from your spine and allows me to dial up the firmness of the lumbar support more than I normally would, and my back thanked me for it during long sitting sessions.
The armrests are made from the same TPU material as the lumbar support. While the material works well for the lumbar support, I initially found it a little too hard for the armrests. After using the chair for a few weeks, I have become accustomed to the firmness and don’t even notice it any longer.
Adjustable armrests are always a point of contention for me. While it is nice to move armrests into the “perfect” position, I usually find myself constantly readjusting them after bumping up against them and having them move out of place.
Compared to other chairs I’ve tested that have armrests with 4, 5, or 6 directions of movement, I have found that the X1’s mechanical movements aren’t as smooth as the competition. Each ratchet or lock point on the X1’s arms is much more defined, making for a rougher transition from point to point. Smoother movement is usually associated with quality, but that isn’t necessarily the case here. With the X1, the mechanical apparatus is still well-built, and the stronger lock points make it much harder to move the armrest through accidental contact.
The X1’s legrest is a peculiar beast. Tucked away under the seat, the leg rest slides out on support bars, the back side facing up. You can sit with your feet on top of the rest stirrup style. This is similar to sitting on the floor with your feet pulled in close to your butt and your knees up. This is about as far away from ergonomic as the X1 can be configured; my six-foot-tall dad bod doesn’t do well in this position at all, though my teenage daughter had no problem sitting in this position with a controller in hand as she played games.
You can also flip the rest over to sit in a more conventional position with your legs extended and supported by the soft padded side. Unlike a recliner that provides support under your whole leg, the X1’s leg rests barely extend out past my knees and are just big enough to sit underneath my calves. Still, this left all of the weight of my legs perfectly balanced on the pads. If the rests were any further in, the lower half of my legs would be left hanging down uncomfortably; any further out, and my knees would be left feeling hyperextended. Kudos to Hinomi for finding the sweet spot.
Although I haven’t really used the leg rest very much, I am surprised by how well the pads support my legs. There is quite a bit of flex in the supports, and although they do seem sturdy enough, the amount of flex does make me question just how long it would be before the support starts to sag to the point that using the leg rest becomes uncomfortable.
Final Thoughts
The setup of the X1 may have been the quickest assembly I have ever completed, but getting familiar with all of the available ergonomic adjustments took a while. At first, I found myself slouching in the chair – the exact opposite of the intended effect of an ergonomic chair. However, since dialing in all of the adjustments, the X1 has been a good platform. The lumbar support has been an unexpected high point of the X1. On the flip side, even though I like the rigidity of the armrest’s mechanical parts, I would still prefer they were made of a softer material.
The overall look of the Hinomi X1 is pretty cool. The aluminum frame feels sturdy and looks very futuristic. The split backrest is uncommon and got more than one side-eyed glance when I had the chair at my workplace. Any skepticism about the backrest was quickly erased when any doubter took a seat, and the X1 is now used around the clock even when I am not there.
The X1 is more than just a good-looking chair, too. The four-piece backrest feels great, and you can sit in the seat for hours without any back or butt pain. Making adjustments to all of the ergonomic surfaces is super easy. With so many options, it takes a while to dial in all the adjustments to fit your body, but you will get there. And once you have everything in place, the X1 is designed to ensure that you don’t accidentally knock all of your settings out of place.
One final thing to consider when looking at the X1 is the price. With an original MSRP of $1000, the X1 has plenty of competition with similar features at a lower price. The X1 is currently marked down to $699 on Hinomi’s site, putting it at a much more attractive price. If this is the first time you are considering an ergonomic chair, the sticker shock could be a little hard to swallow. Sit in the X1 for a month, and you’ll understand that it’s a great value at any price.
