DXRACER Martian Pro Gaming Chair review
Ever wish you had the gaming chair equivalent of one of those beer hats? You could attach two two-litre bottles of Pepsi Max to it and it’d be chilled, and fed to you through a straw. I have, because I’m terrible, and while the DXRACER Martian Pro Gaming Chair doesn’t quite offer that convenience, it comes damn close.
Priced at £580, the Martian Pro isn’t cheap, but it dials the comfort factor up to 11. It’s firmly aimed at those who spend a long time in the company of their gaming chairs; streamers, pro gamers or those who enjoy extended gaming sessions. From a built-in bum warmer to powered lumbar support, it’s packed with features.
The catch? First, you’ve got to put the Martian Pro together. It’s easy enough to assemble the basic structure of the chair, but it’s crucial to pay attention to what wire goes where. There were a couple of connections that were tucked away, so I ended up having to disassemble the chair to connect them properly.
Once assembled, the Martian Pro is an impressively solid, sturdy chair, supporting users up to 5’11″/275 lbs. The model I was tested was black with red triangles and stripes, making it look less like office furniture and more like something an esports team would roll out, which I suspect is the point.
The one immediate oddity is the neck pillow which, unlike the chair’s leatherette finish, is made of fabric and comes separate from the main chair, attached by magnets. I initially thought this was a bizarre cost cutting feature, out of character with the rest of the chair. But the magnet’s strong enough to hold the pillow in the perfect place to support your neck, and it means you can add it or remove it to suit your own preferences.
Adding the pillow is one of maybe two operations you have to do manually because, beyond that, your comfort is a button-press away. The Martian Pro offers plenty of support by default, including plenty of padding, but built-in inflatable airbags allow you to electronically alter the precise amount of lumbar support the chair offers. Lean back, manipulate the four arrow buttons and just let go when you hit the sweet spot.
Want a quick snooze? Another button will slowly recline the chair, without the awkwardness of yanking away at a lever. Granted, I never quite managed to drift off but I can report that even at full recline, I never felt like I was about to fall off the Martian Pro. The controls are comfortably within reach, so a remote’s not a necessity, though it would be a cool deluxe add-on.
Speaking of cool additions, the Martian Pro has a heating and a cooling feature in the base. While the heating aspect made my trousers toasty, I felt only a mild gust from the cooling fans. According to DXRACER’s website, the latter is supposed to help you “stay continuously dry and comfortable,” which suggest it’s more about dealing with any damp. I’m not convinced dried sweat is necessarily more comfortable, but make of that what you will.
But the ultimate in comfort has to be the DXRACER Martian Pro’s massage feature. Unlike the Autofull M6 Ultra 2.0 chair, which offers a rolling massage of your lumbar region, the Martian Pro instead administers alternating pressure up and down your whole back. It’s every bit as relaxing as the M6, albeit with the occasional, faintly worrying sensation that someone’s about to put their hands on your shoulders.
All of these fancy features are powered by a 5000mah battery which, while hefty, remains out of sight behind a flap. There are some adjustments you have to handle yourself: raising and lowering the chair, locking and unlocking rocking mode, but you’ll be grinning at the sheer amount of automation on offer.
I do have a couple of gripes with the chair, however. Firstly, it’s a little too easy to catch the magnetic arm-rest covers’ release buttons, leading to them coming loose. And, while DXRACER says the battery is long-lasting, I typically ended up with a week max. Maybe DXRACER’s estimate is based on minimal use of its powered options, but why would you not use them? Fortunately, you can run the chair plugged in, which is what I’ve been doing intermittently.
The DXRACER Martian Pro is a powerhouse of a gaming chair; sturdy, super-comfortable and packed with more user-friendly features than you can shake a pair of fluffy slippers at. At £580 (with a two year warranty) there are cheaper options, but if you crave luxury, comfort and convenience, it’s worth every back-massaging penny.
This review of the DXRACER Martian Pro Gaming Chair was facilitated by a review unit provided by DXRACER. The chair will be available directly from DXRACER.
