In a sea of office and gaming chair manufacturers, it’s easy to have one fly under your radar. If Canadian Anda Seat has been the one to fly under yours, it’s time to quickly take notice. Their portfolio of high-end chairs is fast-growing and recently they even did a Marvel collaboration for some Avengers-themed chairs that sold out almost instantly. One more traditional and more prominent chair in their lineup is the Kaiser 2 with which Anda promises “comfort beyond our imagination”. So, naturally, I decided to sit my behind down in it for a month and see if it fulfills that grandiose promise.
Anda Seat Kaiser 2 is available for purchase here.
SPECIFICATIONS
Kaiser 2 is one of those chairs where images absolutely don’t do justice to its size. This is evident even in its enormous packaging that’s at least 20% larger than on some of the high-end chairs I used and reviewed in the past. Nevertheless, it’s all neatly packaged and the assembly process is quick and straightforward. The wheels are easily inserted into the base and the package includes Allen keys and screws necessary to put it all together. Some of the pieces fit together so well that I did most of the screwing by hand, only using the Allen keys to tighten everything firmly in place at the end. It took me only around 30 minutes to do so myself but I could have probably done it faster if I had some help with some of the larger pieces.
Kaiser 2 is one big chair
As mentioned Kaiser 2 is one robust chair and probably one of the largest ones I’ve sat in yet. While on paper, the size specifications put it in the ballpark of similar competitor chairs, things are a bit different in practice. First up, most people won’t have to worry about exceeding the weight limit as the chair can handle a whopping 200 kg load (440lbs). Next, the backrest is 87 cm tall meaning you’ll still be able to somewhat rest your head even if you are around 2 m tall.
And lastly, even though the backrest curves appear to make the back area somewhat narrow the included lumbar pillow solves that issue by covering the entirety of the lower backrest area, effectively making it around 50 cm wide. The usable seating area, on the other hand, is 44 cm wide and 54 cm deep. While the depth can make both taller and shorter folks literally appear to sink into the chair, the width could prove to be a problem for those on the larger side. Seeing as the obvious goal of making Kaiser 2 was to make it as XXL and as durable as possible the chair could have maybe benefited from having a flatter seat, similar to some of the Noblechairs models.
Racing inspired without screaming “gaming”
In regards to other features, as you might expect, the chair also has a ton of other customization options to make it suitable for your size and sitting position. The armrests can be set at two different widths even during installation and you can later further adjust their height, move them left or right, forward and backward, and even set them at an angle. Of course, you can also adjust the height of the seating, the chair can tilt, or be locked in place and the backrest can recline up to 160 degrees. It all makes Kaiser 2 truly impressive in terms of being able to fit almost anyone in the absolute best and most optimal sitting position. I always think I’m going to fall over but, if you want a quick nap, you can even combine tilt and recline to make the chair go completely flat with no issues.
DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY
As you might expect from a chair that can handle 200 kg’s of load, the Kaiser 2 is built like a tank. Most of this is due to the oversized steel bar framework inside the seat along with the reinforced metal wheelbase. This makes the chair immensely stable and devoid of any sort of creaking or rattling sounds during movement.
PVC leather x carbon fibers = indestructible
But it doesn’t end there. The upholstery on the Kaiser 2 is made from PVC leather. This means it looks a bit less like real leather when compared to competitors that use PU leather, but it also means it’s far tougher and more durable. Now if that wasn’t enough, Anda went ahead and added carbon fibers to the mix to further improve the tensile strength and overall durability of the upholstery. The end result of the combination is a smooth, soft, easy to clean material that still feels like leather. It’s all tightly fitted and flawlessly connected together so you don’t have to worry about loose leather, bad connections, or out-of-place stitches.
Design-wise, Kaiser 2 is definitely racing inspired and its most notable feature are the two holes used for better ergonomics, added airflow, and of course the neck pillow strap. The rest of the chair is fairly minimal and even the stitching is black, giving it an overall stealthy look meaning it could nicely fit in both your office space and your home gaming setup. It also doesn’t go overboard on the branding and all you get is the white “anda seat” stitching on the front and the back of the upper backrest.
All the adjustments you’d expect from a chair at this price point
As with many high-end competitors, Kaiser 2 has metal arms and firm, durable plastic armrests. However, it lags behind them in terms of armrest mechanisms which are also made from plastic, making them occasionally rattle slightly when your move your arms. They are still very easy and smooth to adjust but the plastic build definitely makes them feel less premium and not on par with the rest of the chair’s build quality.
COMFORT
The comfort level of Kaiser 2 is not as clear cut as you might think. First, the seat of the chair is noticeably thicker and more padded than in most high-end chairs I previously used. It’s filled with just enough cold-cured and super high-density foam to make the sitting experience both extremely comfortable and highly supportive. Even the sides and the curves are surprisingly padded and soft so you can lean into them without sacrificing your comfort.
However, the backrest, especially in the lower back area is noticeably less padded and there’s no internal mechanism for lumbar support. Luckily, the chair ships with two pillows that help alleviate that issue while massively improving the comfort level.
The seat is thick and very padded
The neck one is your standard memory foam pillow, that, while comfortable, can be somewhat limited by where you can place it. I’ve had people of different heights sit in and comment on the chair and most of them said that both possible pillow positions were either too high or too low for them. By my estimate, you’ll ideally need to be around 180 or 190 cm tall for it to fall somewhere in your neck area.
On the other, hand, the lumbar pillow completely steals the show in contributing to the comfort level of the chair. First, as I mentioned, it makes the usable backrest area a bit wider while also making the seat a bit shallower and comfier for shorter people. Second, since it completely fills the lower backrest area there’s no need for straps to hold it in the best position for your back. And third, it’s both very soft and highly supportive, perfectly following the natural spine curvature to always have you sitting in the absolute best position.
The pillows are the main comfort contributing factor
All the above, along with the size of Kaiser 2, made it one of the few gaming chairs I half-way treated like a living room armchair. I could lie back, push into the sides or even cross my legs and the combination of the highly cushioned seat and excellent pillows made each position highly comfortable.
CONCLUSION
As a full package, there’s very little bad to say about Kaiser 2. It’s a big, premium, and sturdy chair that you can literally sink into for hours on end. Consider this. What’s a better testament to Kaiser’s comfort and versatility than the fact that I had a great experience while barely being in its targeted audience? Certainly, it’s clearly aimed at people on the larger end of the spectrum, but it’s feature-rich enough to bring a highly supportive, comfortable experience to almost anyone.
