Gaming chairs, even within the gaming community, have evoked a love-hate relationship with players. Sure, they can boast some neat features and flourishes, but it’s debatable whether either are necessary. After all, are they even better than regular office chairs? Enter the Ninja Pro from Boulies: a London-based chair manufacturer that’s been around for nearly a decade. With the Ninja Pro Series, they show that they’re here to stay-and they mean business.
“Ergonomic” is one of the most overused descriptors of any chair with form factor, but it would be an injustice not to describe Boulies’ Ninja Pro in just this way. In both form and function, this gaming chair is ergonomic to a tee.
Even before it’s been unboxed, the Boulies Ninja Pro makes its case as budget competitor to alternatives from other top brands. At just £229.99 / $259.99, it’s a more affordable option than its big name competitors. Doubters would be forgiven for thinking that means it makes some sacrifices to achieve this. This time around, the doubters would largely be wrong.
The Ninja Pro has a no-nonsense design that houses all the features you’d expect. Racing-inspired silhouette? Check. Multiple colour options? Check (there are four). Highly adjustable and comfortable where it counts? Check and check. The Ninja Pro has every crucial feature a gaming chair needs to be considered a gaming chair, without any tired bells or redundant whistles. It simply is what it is, and what it is quite frankly astounding at this price.
Before getting into that, a word on assembly. It’s fairly simple to build out of the box, with a full-colour manual that makes it easy to see what’s what-even if more images for each step would make the process much smoother. During assembly, the high quality of the materials comes into focus. The seat is all beautifully stitched leather and microfibre suede, with aluminium and rigid steel framework. The armrest material is exceptionally designed as well. It gives way just enough to remain comfortable on the elbows, but is sturdy enough to resist becoming misshapen even after hours of being impressed upon.
Once built, the Ninja Pro really shines-not only against its competitors, but as a fantastic product in its own right, too. The build is spacious and comfortable, with the aforementioned high-quality materials working together as a cohesive whole that feels sturdy and reliable. That being said, the build design isn’t totally consistent. While the seat itself is extremely comfortable and feels remarkably sturdy, some of the levers and plastic casings aren’t of quite the same quality. This is entirely forgivable and understandable given that it’s technically a budget gaming chair; concessions must be made somewhere, and they’ve been made in just the right places.
There is one key area where some users may be put off, however. While the Ninja Pro’s seat height can be raised and lowered, the range of the height adjustment isn’t anything to write home about. This means that the very short and very tall may struggle to get the position just right without making extra adjustments such as a foot rest or foot well. This isn’t quite a deal-breaker, but it’s something to bear in mind.
Alongside the chair itself, lumbar and head support cushions are also included. These are great quality, with a soft, squishy feel that springs back into place when not being pressed-a good sign that they’ll retain their shape for a long time. Elsewhere, the large seat is perfect for gremlins who like to sit with their legs up, while the generous padding ensures pins and needles are a thing of the past. For added comfort-and this might be overkill for some-the Ninja Pro boasts “4D” arm rests. The already comfortable arm rests can be manoeuvred in eight directions: up and down, side to side, forward and back and even inward/outward on a pivot. It’s a level of customisation that not every user will need, but it’s an excellently executed addition for those who are interested.
All this ensures the chair never gets uncomfortable, even after long working days and gaming sessions. This is a feat for any chair, let alone a “budget” option. As with all top-notch gaming chairs, the Ninja Pro is ideal for more than just gaming; it does a solid job as an office chair as well. Indeed, during Cubed3’s testing, this reviewer used it in that capacity a majority of the time. It’s unnoticeable in the best way, which is to say, it does a fantastic job of remaining comfortable without any discomfort that leads to shifting or repositioning.
Naturally, the same can be said of its performance as a gaming chair. It goes toe-to-toe with its more pricey rivals and does not flinch, effectively blurring the line between “budget” and “quality”. In a nutshell, the NInja Pro is reliable, comfortable, inoffensive on the eye and doesn’t break the bank. What more could the discerning gamer want?
