Especially when you’re trying to build a piece of furniture. Even more so when you’re trying to build a piece of furniture with an encyclopaedia-length instruction booklet. That was my first, and only, moment of panic when building AndaSeat’s new Kaiser 3 Series Premium Gaming Chair. Things got much simpler when I realised that I only needed to pay attention to pages one to three. The rest were the same instructions in different languages. Phew. Crisis averted.

My first piece of advice for assembling this chair is: bring a friend. In this case, I brought my mother. She taught me everything I know including how to hard boil an egg and change the bedsheets – two activities that I still often need assistance with, but that shouldn’t reflect her motherly lessons in the least. The reason you won’t want to go solo is firstly because of the sheer weight of the horrifyingly large box that will arrive on your doorstep. And secondly, because you absolutely need four arms. It’s likely impossible that you have four arms all of your own, so bringing a friend is the next best option.

In terms of assembly, the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 actually requires only a few simple steps. Put together the wheels, attach the mechanism to the bottom of the seat, attach the back of the seat, and you’re done. Smaller parts, like the screws and the included allen key, are labelled clearly so you don’t have to go searching for them. The furniture pieces themselves are not labelled but there’s so few pieces that it shouldn’t be hard to discern the hydraulics mechanism from the armrests.

The most difficult part of putting the chair together is simply having to account for the weight of each piece. You have to, for example, hold the back rest in place and attach screws (this is where lefty loosey, righty tighty will come in handy). The problem is that you have to lift the back slightly in order to get the holes even with the screws. This is the part that will be much easier if you followed my previous advice and brought a friend along. You’ll likely need them to hold the pieces in the correct place while you place the screws.

Now, let’s talk comfort. I was sent the L/XL version of the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 Gaming Chair. I am a tall and wide person and the seat fits my sizable bottom quite comfortably with even a bit of room to spare. It’s available in premium PVC leather or linen fabric, and I opted for the fabric option. It’s very airy and pleasant to the touch – and best of all, bare skin doesn’t stick to it when you try to get up. Always a plus. The back of the chair is high but it comes with – probably the coolest part – a magnetic pillow that you can slide up and down to your desired height.

I work from home, so I’m at my desk for roughly seven hours a day. As such, it’s essentialy that I have a supportive chair that encourages me to not slouch and focus on my posture. This is it. The Kaiser 3 is entirely adjustable, allowing you to change the tilt of the back, how far the chair leans, and how high it is from the floor. I currently have the chair with the back mostly upright as I know how desperately I need to work on my posture. The average gamer might lean the chair back for a more relaxed feel. I really appreciate how many ways you can adjust the chair to make it perfect for you.

With a hefty price point of £400/$529, it can be difficult to recommend the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 over a simple desk chair that can be picked up for a fraction of the price. But after sitting in the Kaiser 3 and using it for some time, it’s difficult to not recommend it considering how comfortable it is. Usually after a long work day, my back or neck aches slightly from being sat in the same position. But I haven’t had any kind of aches or pains since placing my butt in this new chair. If you’re looking for something simple to sit in for a few hours a day, grab something a bit more affordable. But if you’re going to be spending extended periods sat at a desk or in front of your computer, I highly recommend the AndaSeat Kaiser 3.

The AndaSeat Kaiser 3 Premium Gaming Chair is available directly from AndaSeat or from Amazon. It has an RRP of £400/$529.

A unit was provided by AndaSeat for the purposes of this review.