Edit September 2020 #2: Chair is completely broken. The cracked portion of the base mentioned below completely broke, leaving a huge hole in the frame. The chair is basically unusable now. Still no response from AK's warranty team. I don't mind supporting a product that could use work as long as a company stands behind it, but I'll never recommend that someone buy anything from a company that is dishonest with their warranty. 5/10-year warranty? Yeah right. Go buy a SecretLab for just a little more you'll be better off. Edit September 2020: Chair is failing unfortunately. It is incredibly wobbly and creaky on the base, so I took the chair off to look at it. The metal portion of the base part that connects to the bottom of the chair is actually cracking. Not sure how long before it breaks entirely but I'm just going to bite the bullet and buy a Secret Lab. The chair hasn't been moved, tipped over, dropped, or anything. I reached out to AKRacing's warranty team and they asked for a receipt and photo of the damage, which I sent a couple weeks ago and never heard back. On top of the failure of the base the fabric is very worn as well, and there's all sorts of lumps underneath the surface of the fabric. Overall the chair is looking quite ragged after less than 2 years, which is disappointing, especially considering AK's longer warranty is the reason I bought this chair in the first place. Edit March 2019: Chair finally started emitting a faint squeak when rocking. Very impressed with how long it held out. I pulled off the star base and lubed up the bearings with some white lithium grease, and let some thinner household grease seep into the tension spring while it was upside down. Squeak is now gone again! Edit Jan 2019: I've decided to update my review from 4 to 5 stars. The one reason why is because this chair after almost 4 months of daily use is still just as solid as the day I bought it. That doesn't sound like an achievement but it is for me, mainly because of two reasons - I adjust the chair a lot, and I rock back and forth in it a lot. The I put the chair and armrests in a different position depending on whether I am gaming or not. When I'm not gaming and just lounging watching YouTube or movies, I channel my inner grandpa and use the chair almost everyday like a rocking chair. Every single chair I have EVER owned, including $600+ leather office chairs at work start feeling loose after a little while, but worst of all they start to SQUEAK. This chair still is not only solid with no wobble at all between the cylinder and the seat itself, but it is still silent as the night. Every other chair I've ever owned lasts maybe 2 or 3 weeks or less before they start to squeak, but not this thing. So despite my few reservations listed in my original review below (sub-par assembly instructions and no physical attachment between the chair and the base) I think for the long term this chair is going to be well worth the purchase price and those two small caveats. I highly recommend it. Original review: There are a few things in life that I believe are worth spending the money to get good quality instead of looking for the budget option. These often are the things that will be used for many years on a daily basis, such as furniture, appliances, a mattress, etc. A good office chair falls into that category for me. I would much rather spend a little extra now to get a good quality chair that will last for 5 or 10 years rather than find something cheap that I'll have to shortly replace. While this isn't the top of the line, it's certainly much more expensive than all of the most popular chairs on Amazon, but there's reasoning behind that. The frame and base are all full metal, and the gas shock and wheels are likely better quality than what you'd find in something cheaper too. Overall the build quality and materials are very good, and don't pretend to be anything more special than they are. Many of the "budget" chairs have plasticky fake leather material, which after a year or two is going to start wearing and peeling. I speak from experience! While that looks fancy, it doesn't last. This chair thankfully is all cloth, which will wear much better than the cheap chairs over time and has the added bonus of not being super cold if you sit in it without pants on. Don't ask me how I know that... The other big plus for me is adjustability. Not only can this chair's backrest tilt waaaaay back (much like a car seat), but the armrests are very adjustable too. They can be moved up or down, pointed straight, outwards, or inwards, and even be moved forwards and backwards. This is a big deal for me since I'm very picky about making sure that the armrests are at just the right height and position for my desk so as to not strain or aggravate my shoulders and elbows. Overall I'm happy with this purchase. I'll be happier if the chair still is equally solid in 3 years or more. The only reason that it has 4 stars instead of 5 is because: 1. There is no way to fasten the chair to the gas cylinder, and no way to fasten the gas cylinder to the base. This means that gravity and your own weight are what hold the bottom half of the chair together. It's not a huge deal, but something to keep in mind if you're planning on picking the chair up to move it around, as that big heavy metal base might come off in the process. 2. The instructions are not the worst I've ever seen, but they're not the best either. I was able to put it together without any difficulties, but less-assembly-savvy people might have a little trouble. What I DID struggle with for just a moment was trying to figure out how in the world the two pillows should correctly attach to the chair. This is not mentioned anywhere in the instructions, and there are no completed photos of the back of the chair, so you're left to pretty much figure it out by yourself. Overall I do recommend this chair. It's a little pricey for the final product, but if it lasts the test of time it will be worth it.
