SIHOO Doro C300 Pro review – nice feature upgrades, some returning frustrations

REVIEW – I was able to review the SIHOO Doro C300 ergonomic office chair last year and I really liked it – the adjustability, the comfort, and build quality really worked for me. I’ve been using it as my main office chair since then. When the opportunity came up to review the SIHOO Doro C300 Pro I was very interested. There are a few nice upgrades in this model that seemed like good improvements over the previous model.

What is it?

The SIHOO Doro C300 Pro is an upgraded version of the SIHOO Doro C300, an ergonomic office chair wide a wide variety of adjustment options designed to fit the user just right.

What’s included?

• All the parts of the chair
• T-handled Allen key
• Standard Allen key
• White Gloves
• User Manual

Tech specs

Design and features

The SIHOO Doro C300 Pro is an ergonomically designed chair with adjustments for height, recline angle, headrest, armrests, and seat position. The seat, back, and headrest are made of mesh fabric, which is designed for breathability and flexibility. The chair comes in black or white to suit your space. 

From SIHOO’s website: Upgraded from our most popular chair, SIHOO Doro C300 Pro is made for comprehensive and next-level support and comfort for users of all body shapes.

• Dynamic lumbar support for continual back comfort
• A design that suits users in different sizes
• Bigger cushion with seat depth adjustment
• 6D coordinated armrests for arm support in all positions
• Complete control in one handle

The 6D armrest adjustments are as follows:

• Up/Down
• Forward/Backward
• Armrests Inward/Outward
• Reclining With Seat Back
• Armrest Support Inward/Outward
• Up to 35º Armrest Angle

The chair also features one handle to control height, sliding the seat forward and backward, and locking and unlocking the angle of the seat back. Compared to the handle used to control features on the C300 I feel this is a welcome, easy to use upgrade.

Assembly, Installation, Setup

Putting the chair together took just under an hour, including the time it took to take the arm supports apart because I forgot to put a piece in place on both. SIHOO includes the tools you need other than a knife to cut open the plastic packaging that holds the screws, washers, and other small parts. The tools are a t-handled Allen key and a standard Allen key. 

I did experience one minor problem when putting the wheels on the frame. Two of the wheels didn’t want to go all the way in the holes provided. I tried pushing them in by hand, then pounding the frame & wheel assembly on the floor as much as I felt comfortable doing, but they still wouldn’t lock in. I put the chair together on a carpeted floor so I couldn’t tell if it was sitting level but when I took it down to my basement (which is where it will stay) it felt level and the wheels weren’t an issue. I’ll check up on them later to see if they go into their final resting place but I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.

Once the seat is put together the fun part is figuring out the best position of all the adjustable features. The seat raises and lowers, and slides forward and backward, the headrest tilt and height are adjustable, and the arms have the 6D adjustments. I will say some of the adjustments aren’t as fun as others, but it’s still nice to have such flexibility and so many options.

There was one new adjustment screw that wasn’t on the original C300. It sits underneath the seat and has a + and – with an arrow between them. I assumed this would be a tension adjustment for the seat back but when I adjusted it I couldn’t feel any difference. This was not mentioned in the manual or on their website so I’m not sure exactly what it’s supposed to be adjusting, but I don’t notice a difference when I change it.

(I couldn’t get this YouTube link to embed properly – can you fix that? I’ve done it before but it’s not working anymore.)

Caption: Timelapse of the assembly process

In use

I’ve been using the original C300 since I put it together last year and overall I like it. I will say that over time my tailbone gets sore and I have to get up and walk around for a bit to get the feeling back. I often put down a pillow before I sit down to help minimize this. I haven’t yet experienced this with the C300 Pro but I haven’t had near as much time with it to know for sure.

The chair is overall as comfortable as the one I reviewed last year, but the seat feels even softer than before, which I hope will help with the pain I sometimes feel from sitting in the other one too long. In the interest of saving space I’ll focus this portion more on the changes from last year’s chair. Please be sure to check out this link to last year’s review to learn more about the main features. 

One nice addition is the ability to slide the seat forward and backward. This one change can help with posture and positioning yourself correctly in front of a desk or table, making it easier and more comfortable to work for long hours. I found that keeping the seat slid all the way back was most comfortable for me since it put my back closest to the lumbar support, which feels good to me.

Another change is the way the one handle control works. This one handle controls several of the main functions and is easier to use than the C300’s handle. The handle doesn’t stick out as far and has three positions for adjusting the seat – forward allows the seat to slide forward and backward, rotating the handle backward unlocks the seat tilt, and the middle position locks everything in place. Pulling up on the handle allows for seat height adjustment. 

Probably the biggest change is the 6D positioning of the arms. The most notable changes here are that there is a new rotation on the base of the armrests and the armrests tilt up to 35º. The extra rotation can be helpful if you have longer arms or if you need extra width for your mid-section. I’m not sure yet why I’d want to tilt the armrests up, but it might be good for certain gaming situations.

Finally for the main changes, the seat goes a little higher than the C300. The maximum height is now 22.32” vs 19.49”. I like to sit up higher so this is a welcome change for me.

As much as I liked the chair there are some things I would like to see changed. First of all I wish the lumbar support was manually adjustable. As it is, it does move with the seat back when it reclines, but I wish I could adjust it myself as well.

The new armrest adjustments make the biggest problem I had with last year’s model even more of a problem. It’s almost impossible to sit in the chair without moving the armrests away from the position you want them in. I’d prefer to be able to lock the armrests where I want them and have them stay put. The adjustment options are nice, although I don’t really see the need for the tilt option, but since they’re so easy to move, they just don’t stay put.

Lastly I have a few issues with the seat back. I wish there was a locking incline position just a few degrees off of vertical. As it is the first position is 15º back, which is nice if I want to sit back and think, read something, or just not be leaning forward for a while, but for my main work I’d like to be just a few degrees back. The other problem I have with the seat back is that it’s too easy to push back, meaning I can’t just push the seat back a bit and stay there, it always wants to go all the way back.

What I like about the SIHOO Doro C300 Pro

• Wide range of adjustments
• Higher maximum seat height
• Single handle control for many functions

What needs to be improved?

• Adjustable lumbar support
• Locking arm adjustments, or make it so they don’t adjust so easily every time you move
• Smaller first recline angle on the seat back
• Stiffer seat back recline

Final thoughts

Overall the SIHOO Doro C300 Pro is a welcome upgrade from the C300. Some of the things I liked before are improved, such as the seat height and overall comfort. Unfortunately, some of the things that bothered me before are the same or even worse. I do plan to spend some more time with this chair to see if it will be the one I choose to continue to use long-term or if I’ll go back to the original C300.

Price: $699.99
Where to buy: shoooffice.com or Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by SIHOO. SIHOO did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.