A comfortable heavyweight: Anda Seat T-Pro 2 Gaming Chair review

The T-Pro 2 comes to us from Anda Seat, a brand that’s been producing gaming chairs since 2014. It’s a high-backed chair where ergonomic considerations blend with a mature, gamer-friendly design. It’s pricing situates it as a competitor to some of the industry’s biggest and flashiest hitters, but can it keep up? Having sat on far too many chairs to remember, What’s The Best’s William Lobley puts the Anda Seat T-Pro 2 gaming chair to the test.

Verdict: The Anda Seat T-Pro 2 is a heavyweight gaming chair carrying a smart design with comfort to spare. While the seat’s basics are well-delivered, there are some flaws with the armrest mechanisms and smaller points of detail - a shame, considering the price point.

This article was originally published on 16/04/21. We’ve checked back to update the links and change some formatting, so the date at the top of the page may not match up. The words and score of the original review remain unaltered.

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Build

• Heavyweight

• Robust frame

• Borrowed style

The first thing that anyone will notice about the Anda Seat T-Pro 2 is that it's heavy. Packaged up in the box, it weighs around 35kg, and though that’s bad news for delivery drivers, it’s a good indication of the T-Pro 2’s quality. The frame is steel, which results in a very sturdy and robust build that promises to withstand years of use.

The T-Pro 2 sits on 65mm PU casters that plug into an aluminium base. From here, the Class 4 hydraulic piston leads up to the heavy-duty tilt mechanism, with height and tilt levers. This is bolted straight into the steel frame at the base of the bucketed seat, which has a dense moulded foam filling. The upholstery is a thick linen fabric with black velour panel details. The arms attach to the seat's underside and offer four-axis adjustment: height, left-right, forwards-back and pan. The backrest bolts to the seat’s 160-degree recline hinges and, too, is built on a steel frame with dense moulded foam and fabric upholstery.

The elephant in the room is that the design, style and price are very close to the range of gaming chairs offered by Secretlab. On the surface, there seems little differing what the two brands are offering, but the devil is in the details. It's with these that the Anda Seat begins to fall below the Secretlab Omega and Titan. The black cap hinge covers are noticeably cheap, and there are a few loose threads around the T-Pro 2’s detailing and embroidery. While the main fabric used is comparable to Secretlab's patented SoftWeave material, the velour material used for the black panelling instead of suede is a notable down step, suggesting reduced wear resistance. The biggest difference between the two is with the armrests, which are the T-Pro’s biggest flaw - but more on this later.

Usability

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• Solid hydraulics and recline

• Flawed armrests

The mechanisms and hydraulics of a chair should be forgettable. This is because reliable and well-made chair parts can be relied on and require very little interaction in daily use. This is very nearly the case with the Anda Seat T-Pro 2.

The hydraulic mechanism and tilt on the T-Pro 2 are as reliable and easy to use as anyone could hope for, and the height setting is held well with no call to readjust due to a loss of pressure.

Recline is adjusted using a handle on the right-hand side of the seat. The mechanism releases and allows, in theory, the user to adjust the backrest recline to a maximum of 160-degrees. Though this is the grabby headline of such a mechanism, in reality, it means that you can adjust the backrest a few degrees to get a comfortable position - much like a car seat. The ratchet here has plenty of adjustment and is simple to use.

It's not such a positive story with the armrests. The adjustment mechanisms and levers are made of a hard plastic that doesn’t match up to the premium price tag in feel, look or operation. Making adjustments is a tricky and inaccurate process, often requiring a hard pull here and there that feels risky to the mechanism's longevity. The only good thing to come from this stiffness is that they lock securely in place - but this does feel more like an incidental side effect rather than an intention.

Comfort

• Comfortable

• Soft foam padding

• Excellent lumbar cushion

There’s no denying that the Anda Seat T-Pro 2 looks comfortable. Thankfully, that’s true in practice, too. Once the height, armrest and recline adjustments are made, you can simply sink into the dense foam for a day of work and an evening of gaming.

The high-density foam that Anda Seat has used to pad the T-Pro 2 is both supportive and a little luxurious. The foam has a softness usually sacrificed by premium brands for reasons of ergonomics. I can’t say anything about the scientific validity of soft-versus-rigid foam, but it sure does make for a comfortable chair, and I’ve noted no hip or leg ache as a result.

Unlike its competitors, Anda Seat hasn’t chosen to patent its own cooling foam. How this will fare in the summer months, I don't know as my test took place in early spring. But, I felt no discomfort or excess heat from the foam storing my body temperature throughout a day of use.

Often, bucket seats should be treated with caution - though they seem like a good idea on paper, for all but the slimmest of users, they can prove restrictive. That’s not the case with the T-Pro 2, as the seat is welcomingly wide. Wide too is the backrest, which has gentle curving to improve user posture and comfort. This works, but the real hero here is the lumbar support cushion. The lumbar pillow is excellent. Its gentle angles and low profile mean that it tucks behind the back nicely. It’s the kind of thing you wish you could take with you to every seat.

Price

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At the time of writing, the Anda Seat T-Pro 2 is listed on the brand's site at £399.99, but is available elsewhere for £349.99. This is by no means an extraordinary price tag for a gaming chair, though I am surprised that Anda Seat would so clearly situate its chair next to the Secretlab range. The T-Pro 2 is in direct competition with the Secretlab Omega, Secretlab Titan and the noblechairs HERO, all well-established and highly accomplished chairs.

Verdict

There’s a lot to love about the Anda Seat T-Pro 2 Gaming Chair. It’s a heavy-weight chair that remains comfortable even after many hours of continuous use - the lumbar support cushion is particularly sublime. The styling, though unoriginal, is well-delivered and a great accompaniment to a home office or games room.

Where the Anda Seat T-Pro 2 starts to underperform is in the details. The most egregious fault is the armrests, which are closer to the standard I would expect to find on a £150 chair. This, coupled with the occasional loose thread and cheap plastic cap takes the shine off of what could’ve been a brilliant chair. It’s up to you whether Anda Seat takes inspiration from rival brands or is just an imitator, but anyone opting for the T-Pro 2 will have to deal with the fact that more refined chairs were within grasp.

William Lobley is a Content Writer and reviewer for WhatsTheBest, specialising in technology and outdoors. He also writes for Empire Online.

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