REVIEW – It’s oft said that it is worth investing in quality items that connect you to the ground – such as shoes, a mattress, or car tires. For those of us sat at a desk all day, that includes an office chair. There are lots of options out there, all promising to be more comfortable or supportive than the others. X-Chair is a familiar brand with several innovative product lines, and we’re having a seat in their X3 A.T.R. Management chair to see if it’s worth the investment.
What is it?
The aptly named X-Series of chairs by X-Chair has several models, with the X3 sitting right in the middle of the pack. These are ergonomic, feature rich office chairs with high end materials and a modern aesthetic. Each chair can be customized, though the higher end models have more features standard.
X-Chair is amongst the Exemplis family of brands, which includes gaming chairs by Mavix.
What’s included?
- X3 ATR Management Chair (Gray)
- Configured with:
- Headrest
- ELEMAX cooling, heat and massage
- FS 360* rotational arms
- Roller style FS wheels
- Configured with:
Tech specs
Click to expand
| Height | 48.25in – 58.25in |
| Width | 29in |
| Depth | 26.75in |
| Seat Height | 18.5in – 22.5in |
| Seat Width | 20.75in |
| Seat Depth | 16.75in – 19.25in |
| Armrest Height | 5.875in – 8.875in |
| Weight | 55.5lb |
| Weight Capacity | 275lb |
Design and features
The X3 Management chair can be built out to your specifications, and the X3 we have in our possession has most of the available options equipped. This chair features X-Chair’s A.T.R. fabric, which is water, spill and stain resistant.
Starting at the top, the optional mesh headrest is color matched to the rest of the chair and incorporates a comfortable curvature. It can be adjusted vertically and also pivoted depending on where you need the headrest to be to cradle the nape of your neck.
The chairback itself is also mesh, which is great for breathability and is perfectly tensioned to be supportive. X-Chair has a built in lumbar support system (dubbed Dynamic Variable Lumbar support) that is self-adjusting, but also height adjustable to land where needed to support the lower back. This mechanism works by raising the entire chairback, which can be done easily while seated. Chrome accents are also found throughout the lower of the backrest, the arm rests, and into the wheel base.
Nestled into the lumbar support is the optional ELEMAX cooling, heat and massage pad, which is controlled by three buttons at the back. This is battery powered and charged with an included USB-A to barrel plug cord.
Whether you go for the standard 4D arms or the FS 360 arms, these attach securely to the chair frame. The FS360 arms allow for a near limitless range of motion for placement options.
The seat itself is padded, and while ours is the standard option you could also get this in memory foam. It has a nice waterfall at the edge so there are no sharp spots to catch the back of your legs on.
On the left side of the seat is the control for adjusting the seat height, as well as the seat depth. On the right is the recline switch, and recline resistance adjustment knob.
Lastly, for wheels I went with the non-locking rollerblade style, as we’d be using this chair on our hardwood floors. These are super smooth and glide easily.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
The X3 Management chair arrives disassembled, though assembly of this chair is relatively easy. X-Chair helpfully provides the bolts you’ll need in packaging that is easy to identify which goes where, and the included hex key makes tightening those bolts down a breeze thanks to its handle.
The steps are pretty typical – wheels go in the base followed by the piston, and is capped off with the seat cushion. Arms get installed next, followed by the backrest. Add on the headrest if you ordered one, and you have a chair!
I noticed that X-Chair included covers for attachment points in the event the chair was ordered without certain options – such as the headrest. This is a nice touch and ensures you get a clean look regardless of how you configure the chair itself.
For those interested in using the chair without armrests, you could do that, but due to their attachment point there’s not a great way to ‘hide’ the fact that they’re missing. The armrest support is part of the seat frame, and the attachment point extends beyond the seat itself. X-Chair also offers the X3 with a wider seat option.
Performance
Having sat on the X3 Management chair every day for the past month, I can say without reservation that this is an excellent chair. I’ve spent significant time on the Aeron and Mirra by Herman Miller, as well as the Leap by Steelcase as points of comparison. Those seats have lead me to preferring a cushioned seat such as the Leap over the open mesh style that Herman Miller is famous for.
Points of adjustment are critical to having an ergonomic chair that is supportive of you where you need it. It’s why I tend to prefer office chairs over gaming chairs, as typically an office chair will give you more flexibility in dialing in the perfect fit. X-Chair has a video which helpfully covers both the adjustment points and guidelines to how you should be seated in the chair.
For me one of the draws to the X3 Management Chair is the combination of a mesh back with padded seat. I mentioned earlier that I prefer having a cushion to sit on, but further I prefer having a mesh backrest for breathability. The padding on the cushion tracks towards firm, but the slight contours of the seat cradle your derriere and is comfortably supportive.
The height adjustable backrest in conjunction with the seat depth adjustment is a very big deal for this type of chair with integrated lumbar support. I’ve reviewed cheaper options of this format, and not being able to position the lumber support or position the seat so that your back is actually in contact with the support can be a major challenge with getting the chair to fit properly. X-Chair has absolutely nailed this element, and the ease of adjustment is a major win.
In addition to the mesh back being more breathable by design, X-Chair took this to another level by designing their dynamic variable lumbar support to be able to house a removable heat and massage pad. If you go for the ELEMAX option you also get cooling fans. The massage is a basic vibration massage with a couple power settings, but for me I never really found it to be very effective. It’s working through the mesh fabric of the chair in addition to whatever clothes you’re wearing, and being a battery unit you just won’t get get a ton of power. The heat system suffers from the same problem, and while I could certainly feel it get warm, it was not the same experience as running a dedicated heating pad. Cooling was perhaps the star of the show as you could absolutely feel the air circulation, however it does come at the cost of some added noise. Not anything that would interrupt a call, but it’s there. If I could design this as a 2.0, I’d remove the massager entirely and focus on a quieter fan system.
Another area that the X3 Management chair excels is being able to seamlessly transition from work to play. The FS 360 arms give you an absurd range of motion which is perfect for when you want to kick back with a controller or handheld gaming system. The armrests will easily go wide enough and pivot to give your arms a platform for support.
The recline mechanism is smooth and locks in at various points along the recline path, or you can leave it open and just recline as needed. The tensioner works really well here so you never get the feeling that you’re crashing to the floor when the chairback moves.
In terms of build quality, the X-Chair is solid. At this price point, details really matter – and the X3 Management chair ticks a lot of boxes for me in terms of what I want to see to feel comfortable with giving it a pass on quality:
- 5 year warranty on moving parts, 15 year warranty on frame
- Well tensioned fabric throughout
- Components appear well manufactured and have excellent fit
- Less in the vein of quality, but I do appreciate the limited branding. A few X-Chair logos are found throughout, and they’re tastefully done.
X-Chair has other accessories sold separately that fit the X-series aesthetic perfectly, including an adjustable footrest. I’ve been enjoying incorporating using this throughout the day to periodically change up my seating position.
What I like about the X-Chair X3 ATR Management Chair
- Excellent ergonomic adjustment points and support, coupled with great build quality
- Lots of options to build out a chair that suits your needs
- ELEMAX cooling system (fans specifically) in the backrest is useful
What needs to be improved?
- May be subjective, but I found the massage and heat functions to have limited utility
- OEM rollerblade wheels are an expensive option comparable to the market
Final thoughts
There are so many options out there for ergonomic office chairs, and price alone is not an adequate barometer of comfort or quality. The X-Chair X3 doesn’t cost as much as some of the bigger players in this space, but still delivers a very well built, well designed, and comfortable chair. While novel, the massage, heat and fan system could be improved from a performance and utility perspective. The chair itself otherwise delivers excellent value, and is worth that premium to keep you comfortably connected to the ground all day.
Price: $979 – $1722 depending on build
Where to buy: X-Chair and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by X-Chair. X-Chair did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
