Hardware & Technical Suggestions for a gaming/flight sim seat

[BradHann]

I've had my eye on one of these: http://www.playseat.com/shop/au/au/flight-simulator/flight-simulator-chair.html but it seems they either don't make them anymore or simply aren't interested in selling to Australia. So anyone got any suggestions for a good chair? Must have the following:

1. No squeaky springs
2. Be comfy
3. No squeaky springs
4. Bits where I can put my HOTAS (I currently lack the desk-top real estate, so am forced to use PS4 controller). Preferably the option to have the stick in either the centre or the right, because I haven't figured out which is more comfortable for me yet
5. If it has any springs, they can't be squeaky
6. I don't need massive trays for kb+m or multiple monitors or other peripherals
7. Have you guessed that my current chair has squeaky springs?

Any suggestions?

 

[Aussiedroid]

Hey BradHann,

In Australia too, and found options to be somewhat limited locally. Quite a few cockpits, but not many for flight sims.

I ended up buying one of these:

https://rseataustralia.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=59

Quality wise, very good, solid azz, heavy etc. Seat movement back/fwd is a little limited if you are particularly tall, but for me at about 6 feet, perfect. No springs

Seat is comfortable, tight-ish fit (I am a big lad), but I can sit in it for many hours before needing to get up and stretch. Straight bolt on for TM Warthog, but needed to drill some holes for my MFG Crosswind pedals (TM are bolt on tho).

I got the K/B & Mouse attachment too but found it pretty useless for actually using the K/B & Mouse in the game. I just use it to place my headset when not in use.

I ended up buying some thick 'safety' perspeks from Bunnings and cutting to size to give a small shelf area where you would normally fit the steering wheel. Works a treat, although some further modifications may be needed later for Star Citizen which may need better mouse placement for FPS module. Certainly do-able though, but not sure which way I will go to modify at this point.

It is not that cheap though, and also remember there will be import duty on the unit to include in the price, unless you keep it under 1k (I think it is). Its not called out on the website that implies it is Australian based when it is not.

Delivery was not much longer than 2 weeks, from Bulgaria I think its shipped from.

Anyways hope it helps mate.

 

[BradHann]

Okay, so what with the complete lack of interest of manufacturers to sell to the Australian market, I decided to go with your suggestion. And here are my initial thoughts.

First, there are definitely no squeaky springs

Price was... rather steep, actually. Retail is almost $1,200, which attracted an additional $380 customs duty. Delivery, however, was very fast - 9 calendar days, including the Easter four day weekend. Assembly was fairly straight-forward. Not as easy as your typical Ikea bookshelf, but not so horrible as to require a degree in structural engineering. A second pair of hands to help hold things in place whilst screwing in bolts would be welcome, but isn't completely necessary.

It's comfortable to sit in. Not nanna-nap comfortable, but nor does it leave me with numb buttocks after an hour like some office chairs do. Take note, however, that it sits a couple of inches lower than a standard office chair, and the base is quite long. Ergonomically, it probably shouldn't be used to replace your standard office chair when you're not playing a flight or racing sim. But I'm too lazy to keep swapping seats around, so I'll just reach forwards a little bit whenever I need to type something (like, for example, right now). Fortunately it slides under the desk forwards enough that I don't need to dislocate any verterbrae in order to reach M&KB.

Be aware that the central column is designed for a steering wheel, not a joystick. It sits quite far forwards, not in a comfortable position to mount your stick. It's also welded firmly to the base (I thought it would be removable like the side mounts), which actually makes it rather difficult to climb over (it's right-side mounted, and on the left of my desk is a wall, so...). I'm tempted to just cut it off completely. Also, the side mounts come with rather small panels, which will make it difficult to mount the throttle and stick. I might have to play around with your idea of some extra perspex shelves or something.

Truth be known, I'm not yet convinced that it was worth the rather large pricetag. I might change my mind once I actually get my HOTAS mounted.

 

[Aussiedroid]

Truth be known, I'm not yet convinced that it was worth the rather large pricetag. I might change my mind once I actually get my HOTAS mounted.

Glad you are liking it overall. Certainly such purchases are rarely worth the larger price tags tho right? lol I think once you spend a few hours in ED once you have it setup and start getting comfortable that you might not mind as much either way

I find having a small cushion behind lower part of your back on longer session does help keep the comfort there too, but yeah no nanna-naps.