REVIEW – Like a lot of you out there, I work from home so I spend a lot of time in my office, and being a Gadgeteer, I use my office for reviewing products as well. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time sitting in front of a computer. Being that I’m a big guy, 6’6″ and heavier than I wish to admit, I’ve gone through some office chairs. I’ve always just grabbed what was inexpensive and supposedly designed for the Big and Tall from Amazon and settled for it. Well, after a third chair in about 5 years could no longer perform its duties, I was determined to look into better alternatives. So, when Vertagear offered a pick from their 800 series, I couldn’t respond to Julie fast enough to say PUH-LEEEESE let me review this.
What is it?
The Vertagear PL6800 Big and Tall gaming chair is an ergonomic gaming chair for the big and tall person
What’s in the box?
- Vertagear PL6800 gaming chair, some assembly required
- Hex wrench
- Bolts
- Assembly manual
Hardware specs
- Product Dimensions – 29″D x 29″W x 56.3″H
- Built-in Contour Max Lumbar, Ergonomic
- Material Faux Leather, Steel, Memory and UPHR Foam, TPEE, Aluminum Alloy
- Frame Material – Aluminum, Alloy Steel, Polyvinyl Chloride
- Item Weight – 59 Pounds
- Maximum Weight Recommendation – 400 Pounds
- Item Weight – 59 pounds
Design and features
The Vertagear PL6800 Big and Tall gaming chair is not a cheap chair. It’s more than I’ve spent on the last few chairs I’ve purchased combined. So let’s justify the price by telling you what you get in the Vertagear PL6800 gaming chair. Vertagear has what they call the patent-pending ContourMax Lumbar system.
Most of the chairs I’ve had with lumbar support have had a small panel that slid up or down and was hard. Not so with the PL6800. Although it’s not adjustable, it does contour to my back and feels great.
The Vertagear PL6800 also includes what they call the VertaAir seat. It’s embedded with 8 hexagonal air pillars that provide pressure relief for your “sit bones”.
Sit bones aside, it is very comfortable. I don’t find myself shifting around in my seat as I did with my last one. Ok, look, I’m not as spry as I used to be and I’ve been blessed with hereditary arthritis, so my hips are very appreciative of the new chair.
Another feature that I found interesting is Vertagear’s Hygennx fabric made from coffee fibers and silver-coated embroidery for odor control and neutralizing bacteria growth. I can’t say that it actually does that but I thought it was cool nonetheless. Another plus is I don’t get hot when sitting in this chair for long periods. I switched to mesh-backed chairs because of that problem, but haven’t that issue with the PL6800.
Of course, the Vertagear PL6800 Big and Tall gaming chair tilts and rocks like most other chairs on the market. It has 4D armrests that move up and down, in and out, forward and back, and even turn. If you can’t find a comfortable position with the armrests, then I can’t help you. It also has a steel frame and aluminum alloy base for a solid build. This sucker is solid and it holds this big boy just fine.
Setup
Putting the Vertagear PL6800 together is just like every other chair I’ve assembled. Upon opening the box, you’re greeted with this.
I was actually impressed with how all the pieces were wrapped or protected with foam to prevent scratches. The included toolkit was nice to see. The T-handle hex wrench was very much appreciated. And that grey and white object labeled Vertagear? That’s a washable lint roller and it works well.
If I had a gripe, it would be the casters.
They’re ok, but I’ve been replacing the included casters on my office chairs with ones that look like rollerblade wheels for years now. They add some height to my chair and roll better, especially on carpet or in my case, a rug. I will say I do not need the wheels to raise the seat height. The height of the Vertagear PL6800 is perfect. In fact, if I decide to replace the casters, I’ll actually have to lower the seat a bit.
Here’s a little thing that Vertagear did that I think was great. They had the bolts for the arms and base of the chair in the seat bottom already instead of separately in a bag. So what, you say? Well, with them already in the holes where they belong, any anodization or paint has been cleared from the holes so there should be no reason for you to have any problems bolting things together.
As you can see, the Vertagear PL6800 has a beefy build. I mean, look at the hydraulic cylinder!
And that base is aluminum, not plastic.
What I like
- Solid build
- Extremely comfortable
- I don’t overheat!
What I’d change
- Casters. They don’t roll as easily over the carpet as I’d like.
Final thoughts
I really like my Vertagear PL6800 gaming chair. I probably would’ve never spent the money on something this nice for myself before, but I will going forward. It’s made sitting in front of my laptop for work much more bearable. I also think this chair will last quite a while, justifying the price even more. I mean why buy three mediocre chairs when you could buy one great one?
Price: $469.99 at the time of writing this
Where to buy: Vertagear and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Vertagear.
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They say this is for Tall people but made it 2-3 inches shorter than the PL6000 for some reason
I’m 6’0 tall and the PL6000 was a good height … the PL6800 being shorter is really disappointing.
If it helps, I’m 6’6” and it’s perfectly sized and comfortable.