AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL review: bursting at the seams with features - and value
Andaseat Kaiser 3 XL: Two-minute review
If you're looking for a great value, do-it-all chair, with all the bells and whistles of some of the bigger brand options (most notably Secretlab) then the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL is absolutely the chair for you.
At $500 / £500, the XL gets you an incredibly comfortable, plush, bucket-seat design, combining an impeccable feature set that includes 4D magnetic armrests, in-built adjustable dual-lumbar support, a magnetic pillow headrest, an impressive steel chassis, and some of the best castor wheels I’ve ever seen on a gaming chair. This thing is a monster of a gaming chair, that comes in seven different color combinations in the Premium PVC leather option alone. Swap to fabric mode and you get another two variants on top of that.
It’s still not the cheapest out there, and you are penalized going for the XL over the L (by $100 / £100 depending on your region), but it makes for a darn fine gaming chair, perhaps one of the best gaming chairs out there right now, regardless of your size.
The only downside is that some of the stitched-on logos look kind of pixelated, and its bucket-seat design is a bit antiquated these days as well. In fact, most chair manufacturers (such as the Razer Iskur line, and the Secretlab Titan series) have opted for a more mature look in recent years, one that fits in just as well in a professional office as it does in a gaming room.
Still, if you can look past all that, for the price, it’s hard to be too critical of the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL; should you pick one up, it’ll be all the gaming chair you need for many years to come.
AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL: Price and availability
Right now, you can pick up the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL from a number of major US retailers, including Amazon. It’s available in a variety of color schemes, including the black PVC leather option our review unit was finished in, along with mint green, maroon, and white as well (although the latter will typically cost you $50 extra). As standard it clocks in at just shy of $500.
You can also get a few more colorways when buying directly from AndaSeat, where there’s a wider variety of schemes to choose from. Additionally, if the XL isn’t for you, then you can opt for the slightly cheaper L variant instead, and save yourself $50 in the process (sorry tall people).
For the UK, Amazon and AndaSeat directly are still your best bet (with pricing starting from £500), and the same goes for Europe. In Australia, you can get it shipped from AndaSeat directly (priced in USD) and JB HiFi has the chair available at $750 AUD.
AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL: Specs
AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL: Design and features
The AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL follows a very similar design to some of its competition. You still get the five-pronged ergonomic base, some absolutely stunning roller casters (they’re super smooth to glide about on), a full-on bucket seat with comfortable bolsters that aren’t too aggressive, full reclining and locking backrest (pivoting from 90 to 165 degrees), magnetic, four-direction (4D) armrests, a magnetic headrest pillow, and of course the creme de la creme, built-in adjustable dual lumbar support.
The list is quite extensive. Combine that with a plush PVC leather fabric, and some seriously impressive cushioning, and the Kaiser 3 XL is easily one of the most comfortable gaming chairs you can get right now.
If you take a Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 XL and put it side-by-side with the Kaiser 3 XL, the feature set is darn near identical. They look alike aside from some slight tweaks to the sizing and the backrest is different, and AndaSeat does have a more aggressive, traditional bucket shape. But the bolster stitching, the logo placement, the armrests, and the little plate on each arm are all practically the same.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it feels like you’re paying for a slightly different bucket, castor wheels, base and materials, and a few dimension tweaks, rather than anything majorly different between the two brands. That different bucket and base does lead to some dimension differences.
The seat base on the Kaiser 3 XL is slightly wider, the bolsters on the Kaiser around the waist area are slightly narrower and slightly broader in the shoulder department, and it’s a slightly lower chair as well (we’re literally talking half an inch in some cases). And it also doesn’t rise quite so high as the Titan Evo does, or the Noblechairs Hero, but that’s really it.
However, the Kaiser 3 XL has one big advantage and that’s the price. The 3 XL is nearly $100 / £100 cheaper than the Secretlab Titan Evo XL, which is a huge price drop by comparison, particularly as you‘re getting practically the exact same feature set.
AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL: Performance
But how does the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL perform? Well, let me preface with the fact I’m a 5-foot-8.5-inch human (174 cm), the Kaiser 3 XL is suggested for folk 5’11" and above, and I can wholeheartedly say, that is absolutely not true. That’s not to say it's too small for the larger person either; some of my 6-foot-plus colleagues had a blast using it too.
The only awkwardness about being such a short human, by comparison, is how heavy this thing is, and moving the packing box around. AndaSeat has gone above and beyond on the design of the Kaiser 3 XL and there are some seriously premium materials. Whether that’s the PVC leather, the seriously impressive internal bracing, or the awesome amount of steel in the overall construction it’s made this thing an absolute solid unit. Not once have I had any comfort issues at all, even over longer eight-hour days, sat at home working away or in long gaming sessions.
Construction is an absolute breeze, and AndaSeat includes a fairly impressive manual with it too. Everything is packed in the box well, and there are a few nice touches in the accessory box. Building it and working around the tilt arm is a little nerve-wracking, particularly as it comes with a security screw and a strap around the base unit, but otherwise, if you’ve built one gaming chair, you’ll know what you’re doing with the Kaiser 3 XL.
A lot of the branding and logos are a little disappointing as many of them are stitched rather than embossed making it look somewhat like you’re staring at a 360p screen in some places, and the magnetic covers that go over the screws securing the base to the backrest are somewhat weak.
The showpiece, the integrated lumbar support, however, is impeccable. There are two dials located on either side of the chair back, and you simply twist them to adjust the support to your liking. It’s very much a fire-and-forget thing. You set it up once, and then you’re good to go for the foreseeable future.
For those cross-legged sitters out there, the Kaiser 3 XL supports that too, and the base bolsters aren’t quite as aggressive as something like Corsair’s T3 Race. Admittedly it’s not quite as smooth and squishy as the Secretlab’s Titan Evo is, but it’s certainly a close second, especially given that it’s $100 / £100 cheaper.
Andaseat Kaiser 3 XL: Should you buy it?
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How we tested the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL
I spent more than a week with the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL putting it through its paces. I’m 5’8.5”, and weigh in at around 156lbs (75kgs) or so. I built and assembled the chair at home, before testing it in all manner of sitting positions. I used it in video calls and spent countless hours gaming, and writing in it as well. I tried different lumbar positions, with and without headrests, and also different heights and armrest orientations too, to really get to grips with how it felt. I documented that entire process, taking notes throughout my time using the chair.
I also got a number of my close colleagues and friends, all of whom are different shapes and sizes, to sit in it, and provide me with their feedback on how they felt the chair was, before collating that information and using it in my review.
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