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Redragon Coeus review: The divisive gaming chair

Redragon is a name that’s becoming increasingly popular in the country thanks to their extensive line of peripherals that offer fantastic value for money, and now they’re challenging the gaming chair segment with their black and red Coeus.

I cannot think of a more Marmite product than the gaming chair. People for and against these chairs come out in droves whenever the topic is mentioned.

Those against it say that it offers no real value over a regular office chair, stating that the bucket seat design is just for looks. Proponents of gaming chairs swear by their features and they prefer the aggressive styling.

So where does the Coeus fall?

The first time I got my hands on this chair it was rather striking. This colour scheme has become something of a meme but I personally like it. That being said, I do work alone in a home office, so I got a load of people around and, as you’d imagine, it’s polarising.

All I can say is that the material it’s made of – a kind of faux leather – looks great and does have a quality feel. The trade-off is that it’s not that breathable, but that’s an inherent problem with any kind of leather or leather-like material.

Finally sitting down and you will find that the Coeus grips you very tightly with the sides holding you in from around the waist and thighs.

Now, in a fast car these types of seats make sense: they’re intended to keep you put when going around a corner, but I struggle to see why this is needed when I’m at home editing spreadsheets. The fit here is so tight, that I was not at all comfortable sitting in it.

So much so that I again had people around to see if it was just me… and it was. I heard a lot of praise from family members and friends. In fact an older uncle absolutely adored sitting in it after he recently hurt his back.

This leaves me, as the reviewer, at a weird crossroads. While I didn’t have a good time sitting in the Coeus, many other people did.

And here’s where the Marmite problem creeps up again. This tight fit is a subjective problem, not an objective one. My specific body and tastes have shed a negative light on this product whereas others have only found good things to say.

This continues with my other big problem here: the arm rests. They swivel, which is nice to get them into position, but it means that they will move around if you use them for leverage when trying to stand up.

Even worse, though, is the fact that they don’t extend to the back of the chair, meaning you have nowhere to rest your arms when you’re leaning all the way back. This is something you will want to do when watching longer videos at your desk, especially when reclining all the way back – the Coeus can go almost flat at 180 degrees.

If you decide to buy yourself one of these you will also be getting an extra cushion for your head and lower back, but I found this to be bothersome and a bit of an afterthought with their lacklustre harnesses.

The feeling of quality also comes through in the weight of the chair. It’s more than 20 kilograms heavy with an extremely rigid steel frame. This means it can be a bit of a bother to get it into the office, but once there it glides around so easily on the five casters that it’s not a problem, and it feels good to sit on something so sturdy.

If you’ve ever had a problem with cheap office chairs breaking in the past, this will fill you with a lot of confidence.

And that’s the Coeus really. It’s a high quality gaming chair with the only problems I can see being subjective ones. But the tightness of the fit here really should not be overlooked as I can see some people being unhappy about this when they take delivery – so much so that they may consider trying to return it.

The RRP for the chair is R5 049. While that is steep it’s what you should expect to pay for this kind of chair. That being said, we routinely see it discounted into the R3K range, so you can pick it up for less if you hunt around on local online retailers.

This really has not swayed my opinion on these chairs and I have not become a zealot for them. But with so many people I introduced to it loving it, all I can do is point out the problems I had and let you decide.

If you can, I really suggest getting your butt into one at a trade show or at a retailer and making a decision from there.

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