When it comes to the best gaming chairs around right now, the Asus ROG Destrier Ergo has to be up there in contention – and this review will assist you in knowing whether or not it's a chair you should be investing in as you look to upgrade your gaming setup.
With that Asus ROG branding attached, you would expect this to be a high-end, premium-level gaming chair option, and that's exactly what we found. We've been testing it for comfort, posture support, and everything else that's important to gamers.
If you're going to be doing more shopping in your search for the perfect gaming setup, then we've got more recommendations to give: check out our guides to the best gaming desks and the best gaming TVs after reading this review.
Asus ROG Destrier Ergo: price & availability
The Asus ROG Destrier Ergo gaming chair is out now and the widgets embedded on this page should give you direct access to the best prices that can currently be found on the web. At the time of writing, we're seeing the chair retailing for around £600/$900; in the UK you can find it at retailers including eBuyer and Asus itself.
Asus ROG Destrier Ergo: design & setup
Assembling the Asus ROG Destrier Ergo is a serious undertaking, one which took me the best part of an hour solo – ideally, you'll want to have someone else around to help you put this up, but you can just about do it on your own. To be fair to Asus though, the instructions bundled in the package are straightforward to follow, with screws and Allen keys included (and all labelled for easy reference).
It's certainly one of the more striking gaming chairs we've seen in terms of its design, all angular corners and bold lines. On the other hand, there's very little colour here other than black: there's a red dash on the headrest in the shape of the Asus Republic of Gamers logo, and that's it. Suits me, though, I'm a fan of this look.
If you're measuring out space at home, when you've put the chair together its dimensions are 720mm wide, 840mm deep, 1440mm high when fully extended. The seat on its own is 570mm wide and 500mm deep, and designed to manage a maximum load of 150kg. When everything is out of the box and assembled, the chair weighs a substantial 24.65kg.
As I was assembling the chair, I was impressed with the quality of the materials and the finish – there's no mistaking this for a cheap affair, and it doesn't feel as though Asus has tried to cut corners in any way. In short, it's not the easiest gaming chair to put together, but it's worth the effort.
Asus ROG Destrier Ergo review: features & comfort
That feel of premium quality is matched by how comfortable this Asus gaming chair is to sit in: every part of my body felt well supported. It's a substantial step up in quality from a standard office chair. It's the sort of chair that makes you sit as you feel you should be sitting – hence the Ergo in the name – which is to be applauded.
While the Asus ROG Destrier Ergo can take some getting used to, that's true of every new chair, and after a couple of hours I found that I'd adapted to its contours. Even better, I never got hot or sticky while sitting in the chair, thanks to the copious amounts of breathable mesh fabric that's deployed here. You don't have to stay fixed in one position too: you can move around and change your sitting style quite easily.
I should note that there's mesh fabric on the seat as well, rather than any padding. That might not suit everyone, but I had no problems with it – and of course it helps with breathability and making sure you're comfortable for longer periods of time. If you want to feel like your body is well cushioned while you're gaming, you might want to look elsewhere for your next chair, but I think most people will like it.
Credit to Asus too for just how customisable this gaming chair is: from the height of the armrests to the tilt of the chair, you can easily tweak it to get it in the perfect sitting position for you. It's worth mentioning that Asus has used fabric loops rather than handles for the main chair adjustments (height and tilt) – I'm not a fan of this, as it's a bit more fiddly, but it's certainly different.
Asus ROG Destrier Ergo review: Verdict
There's a lot to like about the Asus ROG Destrier Ergo gaming chair, not least the comfort and the posture support over sessions lasting several hours in front of the computer: I always felt like I was sitting correctly in this chair, and always felt that the experience of using it was worth the high asking price.
You get a lot of flexibility in terms of customisations too, with the available tweaks extending as far as being able to adjust the lumbar support separately on the left and the right. There are few other gaming chairs that you can play around with as much as you can with this one, and so if you're someone that likes to get your sitting position and monitor viewing angles just right, this is going to appeal.
As for the design, you can see from the pictures accompanying this review that the aesthetic here is certainly bold and eye-catching. Design appreciation is somewhat subjective, but I definitely like the look of the Asus ROG Destrier Ergo – and there's absolutely no arguing with the excellent build quality and all the premium fabric, steel and aluminium used in this chair's construction.
The Asus ROG Destrier Ergo is a chair that's going to last and keep you comfortable for a long, long time – which is good, considering the relatively high price that you're going to be paying for it. It just about justifies that price, though, but that won't be true for everyone.
Also consider
You're certainly not short of options when it comes to gaming chairs at the moment. The Boulies Master Series impressed in terms of comfort, and we particularly liked the premium fit and finish of the chair. There's a choice of colours to pick from, and it costs significantly less than what you'll pay for the Asus.
Another option is the Noblechairs Legend, which again has that combination of premium materials and superior comfort levels (you can see why choosing a gaming chair can be so tricky). The lumbar support is particularly excellent, we noted in our review, although you may struggle to get hold of it in the UK.
