Over the past few years, gaming chairs have really become the standard as an office chair for everyone interested in tech and games. They are large and comfortably made for long sessions and usually come with bright colors and exotic features. For those who have their gaming rig in the living room or are looking for a more modest design in video call for work, there is the MSI MACH CH130; a beautiful chair that wouldn’t look out of place under any desk and has surprising properties.
In terms of design, the MSI gaming chair stands out because it comes in a gray fabric version, which feels wonderfully soft. My first impression was that this felt like velour, but MSI used their own REPELTEK fabric for this. The result is a chair that is beautiful to look at, soft to the touch, but at the same time protects against all threats of the household. The fabric is water and dirt repellent, making it easy to keep clean, and extra scratch resistant. If you have a cat at home that likes to claw at sofas and chairs, this is ideal. Of course there is a limit to this, but when I – in the name of science – put my roughest cat (and some other animals) on the chair, I was able to wipe the lines in the fabric again.
Big and comfortable
So the fabric is fine, but how is the comfort? If you spend more than 300 euros on an office chair and spend a long time in it, this is the most important feature. Fortunately, I can tell you that this is fine. The chair is ergonomically shaped and has a wide (52 cm) and especially deep (57 cm) seat. The material is also to blame for this, as the high density foam with 45/48 kg/m3 does not deform quickly. What I also definitely noticed is the breathable nature of this fabric. This prevents a sweaty bottom during long sessions and in warmer temperatures – something that definitely benefits me with long working days in the same position in my seat.
Your back is already well supported as standard with the racing seat-inspired design, but the MSI MACH CH130 also comes with two cushions; the first for behind the head or in the neck and a lumbar support for the back. The pillow really added a lot of comfort to my seating experience and is easy to move with the adjustable straps and the accompanying snap closures. The lumbar support added less in my opinion, as it is quite strong and hard and therefore got in the way rather than helped. To solve this I tried many different heights, but in the end I found the chair more comfortable to sit without. A big reason for this is that the deep seat makes it possible to sit all the way back, so that my back was naturally cushioned by the backrest.
Mounts easily
Assembly of the 25kg chair is easy enough and requires no tools other than the two sizes of Allen key supplied. You simply press the wheels into the steel, black legs and mount the mechanisms on the underside of the seating area. This makes it possible to tilt the chair freely (it can be almost completely flat at 165 degrees) or to fix it, in addition to the fact that the chair can of course be adjusted in height. MSI provides clear instructions for this assembly and my new chair was ready in no time, neatly finished with beautiful covers over the screws. It also brought a smile to my face to notice how smoothly this chair rolled towards the desk and how nice a noiseless chair is.
The market for gaming chairs is now quite busy with many excellent choices. That’s why it’s great that the MSI MACH CH130 manages to excel in between, and that without neon colors and LED strips. Instead, you get a nice, chic-looking desk chair that wouldn’t look out of place in an office space. Made of water and dirt repellent fabric which is also scratch resistant, MSI makes an easy to maintain and durable chair. At the same time, it also feels very comfortable and is easy to adjust in height and how much it reclines. The thick, breathable foam provides a firm, yet airy seat, so that hours flew by effortlessly. The MSI MACH CH130 is a wonderfully sitting, attractive chair for every situation.
