Corsair TC100 Relaxed review: "Like a couch on wheels."

The Corsair TC100 Relaxed bucks the trend of the gaming chair market, offering some excellent comfort and top-of-the-range features at a much lower price than the competition. It feels as though Corsair is gunning straight for Secretlab with this seat, and although there are definitely a few imperfections, this is a really great gaming chair you can't afford to miss off your consideration list.

At only $249.99 / £199.99, it comes in significantly cheaper than the likes of Secretlab's Titan Evo 2022, which is our current pick for the best gaming chair. Without looking at the budget range, it's hard to find bespoke gaming chairs for this kind of price, especially if you still want some plush comfort and a quality build. 

Annoyingly, there are fairly limited design choices here which I'm sure will be a bit of a turn-off for a lot of gamers seeking a chair with a bit more flavour. Regardless, great armrests and the sort of plush cushioning usually reserved for office chairs make this a super-strong contender. 

Design and Features

The Corsair TC100 Relaxed seeks to create a blend of supportive, posture-correcting gaming chairs and the plush comfort found in a lot of office chairs. The methodology here is to use a wider seat with softer contact points while staying true to that iconic racer-style build that can support the body for hours on end.

The TC100 Relaxed comes in either a Plush Leatherette material or a Soft Fabric that feels similar to upholstery found on a couch. In the Leatherette material, the chair is only available in a deep Black & Black colour. The fabric model, however, can come in the same Black & Black, or in a slightly lighter Grey & Black. I'd have liked there to be more options in terms of design and colour - especially seeing as a big draw to gaming chairs is the amount of personalisation you can gain.

I was sent the fabric Grey & Black variant for testing, which blends in really nicely with my black wooden desk. This fabric feels highly breathable - something that's beneficial for gaming chairs since people tend to spend a lot of time in them. Leather and unbreathable fabrics can get fairly warm and uncomfortable in the summer months, but the TC100 Relaxed always feels consistent and fresh.

When it comes to size, you have an 81cm backrest, 38cm seat depth, 59.5cm backrest width, 54cm seatbase width, and a wheel caster diameter of 65cm. Corsair says the maximum weight the chair will support is 120kg / 264 lbs. In terms of maneuverability, there's a 10cm gas lift range for height adjusting, a 90-150° Reclining seat back, and 65mm anti-roll dual-wheel casters. The armrests are also fully height adjustable, meaning you can match it up well with one of the best gaming desks.

In the box, I got plenty of spare nuts and bolts to help with assembly - I thought this was a nice touch since I was given more than the customary one or two extras that, let's be honest, really only make you feel like you've missed a screw hole somewhere. Finally, you get the standard lumbar support cushion and neck pillow which strap around the back of the chair and don't have to be used if you don't want them.

Performance

The true star of the show when it comes to the TC100 Relaxed is the seat cushion. I've tried out a fair few gaming chairs in my time, but mostly I gravitate to ergonomic, less rigid, office chairs. I understand gaming chairs being designed for better posture, but I usually find that gaming seats go too far in their pursuit of this to actually be comfortable at all. The TC100 Relaxed felt like a perfect halfway house that offered the comfort and plush padding I like, while also giving my spine the support it needs more of.

This may sound odd, but I love the action of sitting down in this chair. From the first tentative attempt after assembly to the most confident fall into it I'll perform now, the TC100 Relaxed catches you with its cushioning in a way that makes it feel like a couch on wheels. For that reason, it'd be a cracker for anyone looking for one of the best console gaming chairs.

Of all of its dimensions, I'm fondest of the seat depth and width. With plush cushioning under you, there are plenty of positions you can sit in on this chair without feeling boxed in or restrained. Yes, gaming chairs are supposed to help maintain good posture, and there are mechanics in place with the TC100 Relaxed to help with that, but let's be honest. How many of us actually sit in the posture-corrected position we're supposed to at all times? The wider and deeper seat of this chair allowed me to sink into it when I felt too lazy, and the extra width allowed me to sit cross-legged on more than one occasion. Yes, I am a freak.

Just in case you weren't certain that I sit in terrible positions and most certainly have bad posture, I've never liked the neck cushions that come with gaming chairs. When you combine them with the lumbar support and rigid backs so often present, it always feels more to me like I'm being slumped inward even more than I would naturally. I found the neck cushion and lumbar support a bit intrusive in this chair - both feel a bit too firm and like they stick out too much from the rest of the build. Either way, the lumbar support definitely helped me to gauge my posture better, so I preferred having it attached.

The chair as a whole feels way more premium than its price would suggest - not that £200 isn't a lot to burn in one go, especially if you're splashing out on one of the best standing desks, too, but the majority of other brands are much pricier. It's disappointing then, that the one part making things feel a bit more "budget" is the casters. Anti-roll wheels on chairs like these are supposed to add convenience and a bit of safety, but even when sat in the chair I found it difficult to get it moving into the positions I wanted to. This isn't a chair with a lot of dexterity, and that's something to keep in mind.

Assembly was fairly average - maybe around half an hour all-in-all. There was nothing too challenging about putting the TC100 Relaxed together, and it felt sturdy once built. After almost a month of testing, it hasn't squeaked or started to feel loose at all - which is a positive sign. One thing I would have liked though is clearer assembly instructions. When I found no paper instructions in the box, I expected they'd be a quick Google away. Unfortunately, Corsair's generic assembly instructions that fit any one of its chairs were a little hard to find, and I wasn't wholely confident the steps I was following would apply to my product.

Should you buy the Corsair TC100 Relaxed?

The Corsair TC100 is well worth a buy for anyone on the hunt for a new gaming chair. Annoyingly, there aren't better personalization options in terms of colour and design, so if that's what you want, take a look for the best pink gaming chairs. Despite that, the quality of seat you get here for the price is excellent. 

$250 / £200 would maybe get you half a gaming chair from one of the biggest brands like Secretlabs. Even the Razer Iskur X, which is reduced at the time of writing, is priced well above the £350 mark. Meanwhile, the TC100 Relaxed offers you almost all of the same features and design aspects as those brands do, while also having a much larger onus on comfort. All the while, it's significantly cheaper, too - a serious bonus when the cost of living is high.

The TC100 is proof that you can absolutely get a top-drawer gaming chair from a well-known brand for less than $300.

How we tested the Corsair TC100 Relaxed

The Corsair TC100 Relaxed has been my chair for around a month before writing this review. During that time, I've used it every day for work, sitting in it for at least 7 hours a day. Besides that, I've used it for gaming on PC and live streaming as well - so I've definitely put it through its paces. 

As part of the testing process, I assembled the chair when it arrived and timed how long it took to put it together. I compared my experience with the TC100 to the other gaming chairs we've tested, especially ones that have a more plush build with a fabric material. I used the chair with and without its additional cushions, taking note of how different configurations felt, and how they supported my posture. 

To read more about how we test the latest gaming accessories and technologies, have a read of our hardware policy.  

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