When you think of a gaming chair, you’re likely thinking about one of two things. You’re imagining those big, bulky, colorful chairs that offer little to no support. That, or you’ve got the image of something more ergonomic and supportive, but a chair that lacks any distinct style. In the past, you’ve had to choose one or the other. However, in recent times, we’ve seen chairs blur the lines between the two. In the case of this Mavix M5 gaming chair review, we’re working with ergonomics. However, there are colorful options from this brand.
Mavix is the gaming brand of X-Chair, a name you may be more familiar with. X-Chair makes seats that try to cover most aspects of ergonomic support. Mavix is an offshoot of X-Chair with a bigger focus on gaming. Along with this quality comes a suitably high price tag, but whether that’s a worthwhile trade is something we’ll cover later in the Mavix M5 review.
First impressions
It’s been a while since I last used a race seat style gaming chair. Instead, I go for chairs that prioritize ergonomic support. Gaming chairs contributed to a brief time when I would get fairly annoying bouts of back pain. Needless to say, the “gaming chair” branding had me prepared for a pretty tough critic of the Mavix M5 for this review. However, I have to say that the Mavix M5 does a lot of things that impress me.
Mavix heavily promotes the ergonomic support of its chair lineup. Even though the word ‘ergonomic’ feels more like a buzzword these days, it’s clear that the company wants to make something that’s suitable for those that want a comfortable chair. As such, the Mavix M5 provides plenty of adjustability with its seat, backrest, armrests, and headrest. It even supports reclining. The Mavix M5 also has a recommended maximum weight of 300lbs. It ticks a lot of boxes right off the bat. And as far as most gaming-oriented chairs go, the Mavix M5 stands out.
A sample of color options and styles across different models. (Image credit: Mavix).
It seems unfair to simply label the Mavix M5 as a more ergonomic gaming chair for this review, but that’s exactly what it is. What you get is a chair that’s designed to give you plenty of support while gaming. It gives you lots of ways to adjust its components to your needs.
It’s far less flashy than other gaming chairs on the market, due to the simple black color scheme. While the M5 only comes in black, other models like the M7 come with color options. The select faux leather coverings also lend a more extravagant style to the chair. If you’re someone who needs a chair for both work and gaming, one these can fit the bill nicely.
As far as first impressions go, the Mavix M5 impressed me in plenty of ways. It’s ergonomic support made me question whether I want to upgrade my usual chair. That in itself is impressive to me, but since its ergonomic feature set has some small issues, your mileage may vary.
A few less than ideal aspects of the Mavix M5 may make you look elsewhere for a more suitable chair. It’s also worth noting that the chair costs $619.99 at MSRP, and that’s a lot of money to spend on something that may not work for you. There are also several additions you can buy that crank the price up even more. Some of these additions include a wider cushion option for $44.44, a footrest for $44.44, and a back massager for $129.99. There’s also the FS 360 armrests add-on that our review sample came equipped with, which adds $164.99 to the price. With configurations, one of these chairs can cost a pretty penny. To be fair to Mavix, though, models like the M5 do go on sale fairly often.
Setup and assembly
With some gaming chairs, assembly can be a point of concern. This is especially true for some of the larger chairs on the market that can be quite cumbersome to put together without help. I can think of plenty of times in the past where chair assembly has been a headache. However, the Mavix M5’s setup and assembly process is extremely simple. Each of the individual components is also light enough to be handled with ease. So, even if you’re building it solo, you shouldn’t have any issues at all.
In total, the chair comes in six distinct parts. There’s the base of the chair, which is made out of a reinforced plastic. Five castors fit into each of the available slots in the base. Then there’s the seat itself which is layered with Mavix’s own mesh material. This is what most of the backrest is layered with too, and it provides a nice amount of support. The backrest also features a lumbar support cushion wrapped in a PU faux leather. It’s also comfortable, but it’s quite a stiff cushion. Some may prefer something a bit softer for their lumbar support.
We then have the FS 360 armrests, which I’ll get into more detail about later in the review. For now, I’ll say that these are comfortable, but do have some problematic characteristics. The headrest shares the same material and cushion as the lumbar support on the backrest. It’s comfortable and provides a good level of support.
All of the required screws and hex keys are included in a handy pocket that come with the chair. I was briefly confused though, since I couldn’t find any instructions anywhere. I then noticed that the pocket holding the screws also had a link to Mavix’s website where an instruction video can be found. The video itself is very good at explaining how to assemble the chair. It even gives advice for how to handle the trickier parts of the assembly like fitting the castors onto the base.
All in all, it took me around 15 to 20 minutes to assemble the Mavix M5. It’s a very simple process that even the most inexperienced assemblers should have no issues with. The instructional video is also fantastic at clearly explaining what to do. I’ve assembled quite a few gaming chairs in my lifetime, but this was by far the easiest of the lot.
Ergonomic support and other features
The amount of support this chair provides is likely to be the core deciding factor in whether someone buys the Mavix M5. While everyone has slightly different needs for ergonomic support, I can say that I’m pleased with the chair’s feature set. Mavix also provides plenty of optional extras for these chairs that could improve the experience even more. This review, however, focuses on the core features that the Mavix M5 gaming chair offers.
First up, we’ll go over the adjustability of the seat, backrest, and headrest. Each of these is adjustable to varying degrees to make the chair work for you. The seat-to-floor height of the chair ranges from 46.99cm to 58.42cm. I usually use chairs like this at the maximum height setting, and it worked just fine for me. This seat is 52.07cm wide and has adjustable depth from 48.26cm to 53.34cm. Then there’s the backrest which has five different height positions. You simply pull the chair up and stop when you hear a click. Then, gently lower the chair back down to lock it in that spot.
The bar at the front controls the reclining function of the M5. The lever at the back controls the height.
The headrest is height adjustable and can tilt forward and backward with ease. Adjusting the headrest’s height is a pain though, since it takes a lot of force to move it up and down. There’s also a very unpleasant wrenching sound as you pull it up. The headrest is the most awkward part of the chair because of this, which is a shame since it’s one of the more important aspects from an ergonomic point of view.
I also got to try out the FS 360 armrests, which are fully rotatable. This is particularly helpful if you use a controller and often tuck your arms in. That’s what I tend to do, and the armrests let me better support myself while playing games. Underneath the arm cushions is a button that locks the arms in place. When locked, the arms don’t really wobble at all. If unlocked there’s a small bit of wobble, though it didn’t bother me too while. While I like the functionality these offer, I have an issue with the armrests that spoiled the experience to an extent.
I found myself constantly readjusting the position of the armrest cushions. There isn’t much resistance to prevent the armrests from shifting during normal use. While the rotation is nice, I mostly used the armrests in the locked position instead. Even then, the cushions tended to rotate and move out of place. All in all, these are fairly cumbersome to deal with and it’s hard to recommend the upgrade. The functionality is nice, but paying $164.99 extra is a bit much.
How comfortable is the Mavix M5?
Ultimately, the most important aspect to cover for the Mavix M5 gaming chair is its sitting comfort. After all, the main goal of any chair is for it to be comfy. I can definitely say that the Mavix M5 is comfortable for me. I haven’t had any real issues with that aspect for the last few weeks. For me, most of the ergonomic features work well and provided plenty of support. It’s especially great for working long hours at my desk, which is really when you need a chair like this to excel. For those sorts of situations, I can’t find any faults.
Lumbar support is one thing in particular that I usually have a problem with on most chairs. Often times, I’ve found that some chairs don’t really do an amazing job with that. The Mavix M5 worked brilliantly in this regard, and I was able to adjust it to suit me perfectly. But this is where we need to talk about the way that people sit in chairs like this. For instance, I often tend to lean slightly back in my chair as I work. The Mavix M5 seems suited to accommodating that.
The FS360 armrests can rotate all the way around the chair. It’s a handy function for those that tend to shift around a lot on their chair.
However, the Mavix M5 may not provide adequate support for those that prefer to sit with perfectly upright posture. When sitting in a straight position, barely any of the Mavix M5’s backrest makes contact. This means that I was sitting in a slouched position when using the chair. That may also be a consequence of its positioning as a gaming chair, more so than an office or work chair.
I’ve also found that the headrest doesn’t quite support me as much as I wish it would. It tends to reach the midpoint of my neck as opposed to supporting my head. It seems that Mavix did its best with the M5 to merge both office and gaming worlds, and that’s why your mileage may vary. It’s important to assess your needs before you go all-in on something like this.
One final thing that’s worth bringing up is the mesh cushioning and backrest. This material differs greatly compared to most gaming chairs, because it allows the parts of your body that contact the chair to breath and stay cool. If you have issues with feeling sweaty during your sweaty gameplay, this chair deals with that for you.
Review verdict — Should you buy the Mavix M5 gaming chair?
So we come to the ultimate question of whether you should buy the Mavix M5 or not. I’ve laid out a lot of the problems that it has in this review. And those issues are worth addressing due to the large price tag and its focus on ergonomic support. But aside from those issues, this is still a comfortable chair. All in all, I like the Mavix M5 and I rarely found myself in discomfort throughout the review process. Aside from the armrests and headrest, there aren’t any big issues. The general build quality of the Mavix M5 is also fantastic, with each component feeling strong and long-lasting.
At its core, the Mavix M5 is a wonderful chair that’s perfectly suited for long gaming sessions and desk work. Its ergonomic features may not suit everyone, but the M5 does the job well for me and provides plenty of comfort. At $649.99, this is definitely a pricey chair, but it also comes with a 12 year warranty. With that said, it does feel hard to recommend it over other cheaper options on the market that provide an equal amount of comfort.
The Mavix M5 gaming chair is a very expensive option with plenty of nice features as outlined in this review. However, other chairs on the market provide similar experiences for much lower prices. I can see the Mavix M5 providing more lasting value, though, due to the build quality.
If you have your heart set on this chair, you likely will not be disappointed. The Mavix M5 gaming chair is available direct through the company’s website.
Please note that all prices are in USD.
Published: Jul 20, 2022 02:00 pm