Unold kettle is pretty much the same size and design as Bonavita kettle but with a style to boot.
When people think about buying the best travel pot, the first thing on our mind is a small size and weight. However, the design of a travel kettle is actually more important if you use it frequently enough, and here is where the Unold travel kettle dominates.
The classiest travel kettle? You’ll be the judge.
If you travel a lot or even use a travel water heater in the office, you will pretty much see it on the table every day and it should look beautiful. Yes, being smaller than a classic electric kettle is nice and all, but aesthetics plays an important role.
Unold Travel Kettle Review – Best High-End Electric Kettle For Travel?
Everybody is their own judge when it comes to a design of a travel kettle so here is a quick look at Unold electric kettle to see how it looks like. You can also compare it to other kettles for travel to see which one is the best looking:
The beautiful design of Unold water heater is the main reason why it lands in the high-end kettle category. Don’t worry about the price – it’s not above $50 or anything. Oh, and it has 1000 W of power. This makes it the most powerful electric kettle for travel around (translation: you’ll get your coffee or tea about 10-20 seconds quicker than with other kettles).
Deciding for Unold kettle is pretty easy and it does like this – if you like it, you get it. Being high-end means you’ll probably spend $10 more for a kettle but it will be solid, durable and look beautiful (again, here you are the last judge).
Freshware kettle can collapse in a teeny-tiny travel kettle; perfect for backpacking and camping.
What is really fascinating about the Freshware PT-100 travel kettle is its sheer size – it’s the smallest travel kettle you can find (if somebody finds a smaller one, please do include it in the comments). You can check out the best travel kettle list here.
It is absurdly mini – only 114 inches3 – and it weighs less than a pound (0.8 pounds to be exact). This, of course, makes it perfect for hiking because the whole point of hiking kettles is being light-weight.
Oh, have I mentioned it doesn’t need electricity? When you’re out in the wild, there is no electricity. Freshware travel kettle is heated up on a stovetop. A stovetop is probably something you have with you already when camping or hiking.
Freshware Collapsible Kettle Review – The Smallest (Mini) Travel Kettle Perfect For Hiking And Camping
Is this mini travel kettle for making anything above espresso size? You betcha!
Here is where the collapsible travel steamer design comes into play (it can actually make 5 small cups of coffee in one sitting):
Despite being such a mini travel kettle, it is durable and affordable.
Just an important reminder: Freshware kettle is almost exclusively used for camping and hiking. Basically to help you get out of the tent in the morning and up the hill.
As the Starks from the Game of Thrones series always say “Winter is coming”. They say it as a warning because in the winter things die. If you’re looking at your expensive $300+ air conditioner right now and wish it wouldn’t die during the fall and winter, you’re in luck. With the smart use of air conditioner cover during winter, you can easily protect your AC unit from the environmental elements.
The air conditioners provide a refreshing breeze in the summer but if we’re not careful about property storing or protecting them in the fall and winter season, even the most expensive AC units won’t last for 10+ years. For example, through the wall air conditioner covers for winter protect indoor AC units during the winter.
This is true for window and indoor air conditioners, and especially for outdoor AC units. Having an outdoor central air conditioner cover is key to keep the elements away.
We’ve prepared the Top 5 best air conditioner covers lists with reviews so that you’ll be able to protect your AC. There are three sections (you can click on one to jump to that particular list):
If you’re having a problem with the insulation of the air condition in the summer, you can check the Top5er’s review of 5 Best Window Seals For Portable AC.
For the outdoor air conditioners, there is just no avoiding weather. It doesn’t matter if you have 9000 BTUs or 25000 BTUs model, the central AC units are right there in the open and the protection with the outdoor AC cover especially during the fall and winter months is of utmost importance.
What to look for when looking for an outdoor cover? The most important factor is the dimensions of the air conditioner cover. A tight fit is the best because it’ll give the elements the minimal possible opening to reach the precious and protected AC unit.
Task for yourself: Measure your outdoor AC unit before buying the cover. When picking the cover, it doesn’t matter if you have a Carrier or Lennox AC. What matters the most is, well, the size or the dimensions of the AC.
The design of central AC cover is also important; you’ll be looking at the cover on your yard for most of the fall and all of the winter, you should at least like the look.
1. Jeacent Central Air Conditioner Covers for Outside Units [Best Seller]
The Jeacent cover is the go-to cover if you have an outdoor air conditioning unit in need of fall and winter protection. The cover is made out of 100% woven polyester fabric, a material that can prolong AC life due to:
Water-resistance. Especially useful in heavy rain.
Extreme temperature resistance. The 100% woven PE shows its value when the winter temperatures go subzero.
UV-resistance. Minimizes the UVA and UVB sunlight effect.
Minimizes electrical failures. Keeping the water, rotting leaves out of the air conditioner.
One key feature that gives the added value to the Jeacent central AC cover is its natural ventilation system. The cover has several mesh vents that allow airflow within the air conditioner under the cover. This prevents water from condensing inside the AC as well as prevents moisture which could prompt some bacteria or even fungi growth:
The Jeacent No. 1 outdoor air conditioner cover provides thorough protection and has a unique ventilation system to keep out moisture, bacteria, and fungi.
Despite being the No. 1 choice to protect your air conditioner, you really have to measure your AC unit before you buy the Jeacent outdoor cover. The Jeacent cover is available in 6 dimensions, for small AC units with 24 inches (Width) x 24 inches (Depth) x 22 inches (Height) to large 36” x 36” x 32”.
When you find the cover dimension that fits your outside air conditioner neatly, you have to install it over your AC before fall/winter. The Jeacent cover is very easy to set up; you get an elastic hem cord to secure the cover on the bottom, at the sides you should use Velcro closure and the outdoor cover comes with adjustable buckle straps which tighten the grip of the cover (for strong winds).
If you’re serious about protecting your outside air conditioner and need the best cover, you can order it here:
2. Premium Covermates Outdoor Air Conditioner Cover [Versatile And Elite]
The Covermates covers have always been known as a luxury type of outdoor covers. In short, it is the most versatile and elite central AC cover you can buy, and it is the only one that satisfied the exquisite taste. Honestly, the high-quality cover like this makes sense only if you have a $500+ outdoor air conditioner.
This elite outdoor cover is not just more thing to keep on your yard that your neighbors will be envious of. The variety of dimensions, and yes even different colors of 300D stock-dyed polyester, can’t be matched in the world of outdoor or any kind of air conditioner covers.
The thick 300D polyester (you can read more about the high-quality 300D polyester at Oxford Fabrics) comes in 4 distinct colors; namely, Green Vinyl, Khaki, Charcoal, and, if you want to be even more lavish, the ultimate 600D Ripstop Black.
The Elite Covermates cover in Khaki 300D polyester color. Most appropriate for expensive outdoor AC units.
On the photo, you can see several features of the Covermates outdoor air conditioner cover that are vital to prolonging the life span of your AC unit. Those include the water-resistant polyester and the covered mesh vents that enable air circulation within the air conditioner under the cover which prevents moisture and bacteria, fungi build up during the fall.
With the 14 available dimensions, you’ll be able to fit and protect the smallest outdoor AC unit as well as the biggest 25,000 BTUs one. This also makes the Covermates most versatile outdoor cover available and it will fit pretty much any Lennox or Carrier air conditioner. You can pick your dimension here and follow the instructions on how to use the elastic hem, buckle straps and snap closure to put the cover over your air conditioner in the yard:
3. Ravenna Square And Round Cover For Central Air Conditioner
Ravenna is one of the best air conditioner covers IF you have a 32″ x 32″ x 30″ (Width x Depth x Height). The key is in the material that is used – the durable woven polyester – which is what most of the patio protecting covers are also made out of.
Here they’ve added the UV-stabilized coating and a water-resistant laminated backing in order to create a material that protects the air condition in your garden or yard best.
As you can see, it would be nice to have a bit more dimensions of the Ravenna square air conditioner cover. The 32-inch x 32-inch x 30-inch can cover a big percentage of outside AC units in the US but not all. If you check out #1 and #2 pick, you’ll find much more available cover dimensions.
However, what makes the Ravenna cover unique is that you can buy a round outdoor air conditioner cover. That’s right, even if you have a round central AC unit in your backyard, you can still protect it during the winter months using one of these:
Ravenna offers a way how to protect round outdoor AC units during the winter months.
In order to check if the Ravenna round cover fits the AC outside your house, you have to go measure it. The Ravenna cover will fit perfectly if the diameter of the unit is 34 inches.
If you have a round AC, you should take a meter and measure the diameter (the straight distance from one end to the other end that goes through the center of the top of the unit). If it’s between 32 inches and 36 inches, you can go right ahead and buy the Ravenna cover here:
4. COSFLY Big And Best Budget Air Condition Cover [And Stylish!]
COSFLY is the best budget choice as the Lennox air conditioner cover or the bigger Carrier air conditioner cover. The reason being that both Lennox and Carrier are known to have bigger models of outdoor AC units.
Being the best budget cover, you would think that COSFLY will cut corners, especially on the materials. Nothing can be further from the truth. The COSFLY cover for outside AC units is made out of high-quality 600D polyester that provides both water and UV protection. If you set the air conditioner cover correctly in your backyard, even the snow won’t be able to touch your AC:
Best Budget COSFLY outdoors cover with surprisingly high-quality 600D polyester and terrific snow and water protection.
Unfortunately, the COSFLY is only available for larger central air conditioners. The minimal dimensions of the cover are 32” x 32” x 36” and the maximum dimensions are 38” x 38” x 40”.
The cover itself is as solid (if not even better) than other outdoor covers on the Top5er list but none has as an affordable price as the COSFLY:
5. Veranda Square Outdoor Lennox Air Conditioner Cover
Veranda cover is in many ways similar to Top5er’s #3 pick; it has only one available dimension but it also has an option for a round cover if you have a round-shaped AC unit.
The square dimensions are the 34-inch x 34-inch x 30 inch which, incidentally, is one of the dimensions Lennox frequently uses when making air conditioners. So it comes naturally that the Veranda can be a cover of choice for Lennox owners.
Many Lennox AC units have the 34” x 34” x 30 dimensions. The Veranda cover will fit them nicely.
The Veranda also comes with all the necessary accessories to install it over a Lennox AC with ease. These include the elastic hem for the bottom part of the air conditioner and closure buckle that keeps everything in place even in the case of strong winds.
Moreover, the Veranda cover is quite reasonably priced with a cost of less than $30:
Best Indoor Air Conditioner Cover For AC Units Inside The House
Indoor air conditioner covers differ from outdoor AC units covers in three noticeable areas:
The dimensions of indoor AC and covers are smaller. Average dimensions are 25-inch width x 17-inch depth x 2.5-inch depth.
They are designed to protect the air conditioner inside the house against dust build-up, keeps the noise down and helps make the indoor AC more energy efficient. They don’t have to protect the unit against the environmental elements; your house already does that.
It can be used year-round and you can use the cover even when the air conditioner is turned on. You can just cover the AC during the winter and save yourself wondering how you’re going to store it and re-install it every season.
Especially dust build-up is problematic and can shorten the lifespan of even the best indoor air conditioners. The best fabric that prevents dust particles to enter the air conditioner inside the house is quilted cotton.
The indoor AC units are less exposed to the elements. However, inside the house, there are several dangers that inside AC faces such as mites, fluid spills, bacteria, allergens, pet dander and so on. Having allergen bacteria-infected AC can make nighttime breathing, asthma, and allergies a lot worse.
Note: When denoting the dimensions of AC covers, we follow the Width x Depth x Height measurements. Having a cover that fits your air conditioner well is pretty much the only important thing you have to worry about (and measuring the AC before buying the cover is always advised).
The best indoor air conditioner covers will be at least partly made out of quilted cotton; the No. 2 on Top5er list even has a whole layer of 100% quilted cotton to catch all the dust particles that want to enter and jam your AC.
Again, the important thing when picking an indoor AC cover is the dimensions that should fit your indoor AC unit as close as possible. You can get many different dimensions of inside covers that can fit a 3000 BTU AC up to 15000 BTU unit. They also cover all kinds of indoor air conditioner brands such as Honeywell, Lennox, and Carrier.
Indoor AC Cover:
Jeacent Indoor Double Insulation AC Cover
Gerrard Larriett Premium AC Window Cover
QUALITYDEPOT Indoor Poly/Cotton AC Cover
Alritz AC Cover For Inside The House
Sturdy Covers Big Indoor AC Cover
Photo:
Dimensions:
16'' x 13'' x 2.5'' 21'' x 13'' x 2.5'' 25'' x 16'' x 2.5'' 28'' x 20'' x 2.5''
24'' x 15'' x 4'' 28'' x 20'' x 4''
17'' x 13'' x 2.5'' 21'' x 14'' x 2.5'' 25'' x 17'' x 2.5''
17'' x 13'' x 2.5''
21'' x 14'' x 4'' 25'' x 17'' x 4'' 28'' x 20'' x 4''
1. Jeacent Indoor Air Conditioner Cover With Double Insulation [Best Seller]
Jeacent indoor cover so popular because its simple to install, provides double insulation (including quilted cotton layer) and looks as neutral as possible when covering the air conditioner inside your house.
The double insulation consists of two materials with two distinct functions:
Polyester layer that prevents the indoor air conditioner to bring in the cold air during the fall/winter season (this is the inside layer facing the air conditioner).
Quilted cotton layer that prevents dust from entering the insides of the air conditioner (this is the outside layer facing the room – and it looks quite neutral).
Jeacent is the No. 1 indoor AC cover because it’s simple, neutral and provides double insulation against cold air and against dust build-it.
The installation of indoor air conditioner cover is even easier than with outdoor cover. You simply flip it over the air conditioner inside your house and the elastic around the edges will tighten the fit and keep the cover from falling off.
The Jeacent is available in 4 different dimensions. The smallest one for 3000 – 5000 BTU air conditioners is 16 inches wide, 13 inches deep and it has a 2.5-inch height. The biggest one that fits the 12000 – 15000 BTU units is 28” x 20” x 2.5”. You can check them all out and pick the one which fits your indoor air conditioner best here:
2. Gerrard Larriett Quilted Indoor Air Conditioner Covers for Window Units [Premium Choice]
The air conditioner cover inside your house will affect your internal design. Luckily the Gerrard Larriett, a brand who knows how important the internal design is, has come up with their over indoor AC covers and they are lavish, to say the least.
Gerrard Larriett has always been a luxury brand with a great sense of style. They’ve created a double insulating cover with 3 layers, each serving its own purpose when it comes to protecting the indoor air conditioner:
The triple layer of 100% quilted cotton, batting, and liner works synergistically to prevent the cold air from entering our house with the air conditioner hose. It proves the air conditioner itself with a block against the dust particles that might settle in the AC unit if it weren’t for the quilted cotton barrier.
The best thing about the Gerrard Larriett is that it offers you a variety of colors and themes like Frozen or Mickey Mouse you can choose from. You have everything from stylish Ivory tones to children themes to even an American flag cover:
Gerrard Larriett offers premium covers with different themes and stylish colors. Theme: the American flag.
These premium covers are most appropriate for middle-sized and big indoor AC units. The dimensions range from 24” x 15” x 4” for middle-sized units to 28” x 20” x 4” for big ones.
You’ll notice that there is a big 4-inch height measurement associated with all Gerrard Larriett covers; those provide you with a better and tighter fit around the AC unit:
3. QUALITYDEPOT Hypoallergenic Dust Mite And Allergy Control Cover [Best Budget]
The QUALITYDEPOT is the best indoor cover for your buck. It comes with the regular double insulation layers; one being made out of polyester and the other one out of meticulous quilted cotton.
It is important to point out that all covers provide people allergic to dust mite and other allergies a breathing space. If you’re allergic, you know that removing everything where the dust might settle is very useful, and the indoor air conditioner is known to create a safe harbor for dust in your house.
That’s why the quilted cotton in the QUALITYDEPOT air conditioner cover for inside the house is so important. It filters out all the dust particles that might otherwise enter the AC unit and be sprayed out as soon as you turn on the air conditioner.
QUALITYDEPOT is a simple, budget-friendly and efficient indoor AC cover that keeps out dust and cold air.
There are 3 available dimensions for small-sized and medium indoor AC units. The smallest one has measurements of 17” x 13” x 2.5” and the biggest one has dimension of 25” x 17” x 2.5”. You can order them here:
4. Altriz Indoor Cover For Small Window Air Conditoner
The Altriz cover is a small air conditioner cover perfect for window-mounted AC unit. It is available in only 1 dimension – 17” x 13” x 2.5”. It will not fit the big 15000 BTU air conditioner, of course, but is it perfect for smaller 3000 BTU to 5000 BTU units.
The double insulation with polyester and quilted cotton provides the internal air condition with protection against dust and also keeps the cold air that might come in your house via the AC hose out.
It’s a sweet little cover with a diamond shape stitch pattern that fits nicely with the existing interior design. Here’s one example of how the installed air conditioner cover looks in a room:
Altriz is a small window AC cover that fits nicely with the interior of the room.
It also costs less than $10 and usually comes with free shipping:
The Sturdy Covers cover has some surprising features. The type of polyester used on the internal insulation side (the one facing the AC) is 210 PU which is great at repelling the cold winter air that could sip inside your house via the air conditioner hose. The effective insulation helps you preserve heat during the winter and slashes the electricity bill.
This cover is made mostly for big indoor air conditioner units (usually mounted near the window) with 12000 BTU or even 15000 BTU:
Sturdy Covers is designed to fit even the biggest 15000 BTU indoor air conditioners.
The biggest available dimensions measure 28” x 20” with the full 4-inch thickness (or height). You can see from the photo above how well those 4 inches surround the air conditioner’s vents.
Additionally, you can pick between the white and black color, depending on which one will fit your internal design better:
Best Wall Air Conditioner Cover For Wall-Mounted Outdoor AC
There are two main purposes that point out why we need a cover for the outdoor wall air conditioner:
To protect AC against the elements and prolong its lifespan(the obvious reason). Think rain, snow, leaves, grass, even birds nesting.
To prevent drafts(less obvious reason). The cold air can enter the wall air conditioner and through a hose enter into our house since the AC unit and the one inside the house are connected.
Prolonging the lifespan of wall-mounted air conditioners is just plain hygiene; why would you not protect a $300+ worth of sophisticated equipment?
The less obvious reason why to cover a wall air conditioner is the drafts. In the winter, the cold weather outside can enter our house and raise the heating bill quite a bit if we have to constantly fight off the cold air.
Again, when choosing the wall-mounted AC cover it doesn’t matter that much if you have a Lennox or Carrier unit. What matters the most are the measurements; so do measure your wall air conditioner before buying a cover:
Window AC Cover:
AC Defender Wall AC Cover
iSOLe Wall AC Unit Cover
Jeacent Wall AC Cover
LBG Products Heavy Duty Wall AC Cover
Foozet Small Window AC Cover
Photo:
Dimensions:
21'' x 16'' x 15'' 25'' x 21'' x 15'' 27'' x 25'' x 19''
21'' x 16'' x 15'' 25'' x 20'' x 17'' 27'' x 23'' x 18''
17'' x 12'' x 13'' 21.5'' x 16'' x 15'' 25.5'' x 20.5'' x 17'' 27.5'' x 23'' x 19''
21'' x 16'' x 15''
17'' x 12'' x 13'' 21'' x 16'' x 15'' 25'' x 20'' x 17'' 27'' x 23'' x 18''
1. Sturdy Covers AC Defender Wall Cover [Best Seller]
The AC Defender easily takes the No. 1 place as the best wall air conditioner cover. The serves the two main jobs of any wall AC unit cover perfectly:
Protection against the weather. Its heavy-duty design with the thick 600D polyester exterior is designed to withstand the strongest storms, rainfalls, winds, and snows. The double strap buckle also fixes the cover to the wall air conditioner tightly.
Completely prevents drafts. To completely prevent the cold air from entering the house via AC hose, you mustn’t leave air openings between the cover and the AC, and the cover fabric has to be as insulting as possible.
The AC Defender uses the two-buckle system instead of a one-buckle system to strap the cover over the air conditioner as tightly as possible, leaving no openings for the cold air to leak in.
What is more, it uses 600D instead of 300D polyester. The 600D version is thicker, provides better temperature insulation and is completely waterproof. Here is how the AC Defender looks like when covering a wall air conditioner:
The AC Defender is the No. 1 wall AC cover. Its made out of superior 600D polyester and has a two-buckle system for locking the cover over the air conditioner.
Most of the wall AC overs opt for a dark-colored cover. The AC Defender is available in black only.
It has 3 different dimensions that will accommodate almost all wall-mounted air conditioners, ranging from 21” x 16” x 15” to 27” x 25” x 19”. The price of the AC Defender is as reasonable as they get, you can check the price and pick the right dimensions below:
2. iSOLe Window Air Conditioner Cover [+ Storage Bag]
The iSOLe cover is made out of heavy-duty 600D polyester which is just the material you should be looking for in your outdoor window air conditioner cover. The 600D is thicker than the 300D and provides better insulating properties which is important when it comes to stopping the cold winter air entering your heated and warm house via the wall AC hose.
The fabric itself is also coated with a UV-stabilized coating that makes the iSOLe cover durable on the sunny days.
Together with the cover you also get the neat storage bag where you can keep the wall AC cover over the summer when the air conditioner is working full throttle:
iSOLe cover comes with a storage bag to keep the cover neatly packed over the summer months when the AC is doing its job.
As most of the wall air conditioner covers, it’s sadly available only in black. Similarly to Top5er’s #1 pick, the iSOLe is available in 3 dimensions, ranging from small (21” x 16” x 15”) to big (27” x 23” x 18”).
You should measure the air conditioning unit on your window sill in order to nail down the dimensions. After that, you can pick the dimensions that best fit your AC here:
3. Jeacent Window Air Conditioner Cover [Most Reliable]
Jeacent is the big name in the small industry of air conditioner accessories. They provide 4 dimensions of some of the best outside window air conditioner units on the planet.
The Jeacent cover is designed to keep everything that might cause problems out of the wall-mounted air conditioners. Around the house, you can see leaves, grass, insects, dirt and even dust particles that would just love to settle and rot inside the AC unit. By covering it up with the heavy-duty Jeacent cover, you can prevent that and prolong the lifespan of your AC unit:
Insulating your wall air conditioner with Jeacent cover will prevent debris, leaves, insects, and dust to build up and rot in your wall AC unit.
Needless to say, the cover is water-resistant and reduces the heating costs during the winter by keeping the cold winter air out.
Jeacent cover is available in 4 dimensions. The smallest one is meant for really small 3000 BTUs units (17” x 12” x 13”) and the biggest one for really big 15000 BTUs AC units (27.5” x 23” x 19”). You can get the cover in robust dark brown color here:
The LBG Products cover is another decent cover that you can get at a bit of discount compared with the other wall air conditioner covers on the list.
It is made out of 600D PVC and includes the 2 strap buckles with which you can easily strap the cover over the wall air conditioner.
The problem is that it available in only one size; namely the 21” x 16” x 15”. These dimensions are one of the most frequent for wall air conditioners sold in the US:
LBG Products cover comes only in one size: 21” x 16” x 15”.
If this is exactly how wide, deep and high your wall-mounted AC is, you can get the cover here:
The last on our triple Top5er list of the 15 air conditioner covers is the small Foozet cover. Why small?
Well, it features the XS version of the wall-mounted AC cover with the dimensions 17” x 12” x 13”. That’s a perfect dimension for 3000 to about 5000 BTUs units and if you haven’t find an appropriate cover for your unit by now, you just might want to check the dimensions of the Foozet cover:
Foozet cover features the smallest XS cover that can cover even the small 3000 BTUs units.
Additionally, it is available in 4 dimensions, ranging up to 27” x 23” x 18”. You can check them out here:
We’ve seen a lot of DIY cover projects over the years. If you have made your own air conditioner cover, you can give us some tips.
Otherwise, $20 or $30 is usually enough to protect a sophisticated machine that is valued at least 10 times as much as the value of the cover. You should also check how you can additionally help your air conditioner in the long run by going through 21 AC maintenance list and tips.
Having a cover over the AC unit should help her to keep her stamina for years on end. Hopefully, you’ve got all the info you need when it comes to choosing a particular kind of AC cover.
Jack Nicholson didn’t go mad in Shining because of the chair he choose.
But he just might have if he would have to use his office chair to play video games (Tetris was big in 1980). But can you imagine having a gaming chair in the office? Should gaming chair be found only in your mom’s basements completed with a sick rig?
Simple fact: You can’t have a gaming chair in the office simply because everybody in the office will think you’re playing Counter Strike even if you’re looking at Excel spreadsheets 10+ hours a day. Nobody wants to be viewed as a complete nerd while sitting behind an office desk.
This is how I imagine office mates would look at me if I parked a gaming chair behind my desk.
Gamers always have the dilemma of choosing a gaming chair VS office chair. Why?
Because we usually have some office chair that we sit on and we’re thinking:
“Those gaming chairs look awesome. Should I get a gaming chair and ditch the office chair? Will it be more comfortable and will I get an edge in gaming because I’m more relaxed and less tired even after hours of gaming?”
There is no such thing as a gaming office chair (unless you’re working at a really chill office with a Playstation – think start-up offices).
However, there is a simple formula when comparing gaming chairs versus office chair.
Simple Formula: Gaming Chair Versus Office Chair?
You don’t have to be an Einstein to figure out that the gaming chair is meant for playing video games and an office chair is for working. But can you combine the benefits of a gaming chair with the benefits of an office chair?
Yes, you can. We’ll go through some lists of best-mixed gaming office chairs that you can both use for gaming and office work. First of all, let’s establish the simple formula when it comes to contrasting between gaming and office chairs:
If your primary use of the chair is gaming, go for a gaming chair.
If you use a chair in a more conservative office, go for an office chair.
You want to use a chair both for gaming and office? We have some ideas for you.
Here is the summary of the best chair for each activity, with the best chair for both gaming and office included (in the middle):
How Does Gaming + Office Chair Looks Like?
Best Gaming Chair
Best Mixed (Gaming + Office) Chair
Best Office Chair
WENSIX Gaming Chair
noblechairs ICON (Gaming Chair + Office Chair)
Herman Miller Aeron Office Chair
Very comfortable, designed for hours of gameplay.
Can swivel for gaming, reading, watching movies.
The cheapest option.
Both comfortable and ergonomically designed.
Used for gaming AND office work. Conveys adequate office authority
Mid price range option.
Sturdy but ergonomically designed office chair.
Primary use: working behind the desk. Conveys authority.
Can you imaging parking the WENSIX gaming chair behind your office desk? That would be seriously awkward. Of course, no one would flick if you brought the Herman Miller Aeron to work. Everybody would probably want to try it out.
BUT! If you have to choose a chair for both sitting comfortably in your basement for gaming and for sitting ergonomically 8+ hours in your office, the noblechairs ICON is the perfect mixed-chair. It doesn’t look unusual in the office (in fact, it’s quite a nice-looking office chair in itself). Is very comfortable for gaming.
What’s The Difference Between Gaming And Office Chair?
The differences are actually quite substantial. It’s less like Call Of Duty vs. Battlefield and more like, well, I don’t know, Call Of Duty and Civilization. Chairs that belong in the office are completely different than the chair that belongs in front of the PC gaming rig.
Here are the most striking differences when comparing gaming chair vs office chairs (we’ll dive into them later on):
Chair design – how it looks like.
Ergonomic properties – how bad for your back it is.
Comfortability – how comfortable it is, duh.
Included adjustments – swivel, chair height and so on.
Materials – what’s it made out of.
Cool features – in-built speakers, Bluetooth, RCA cables, compatibility with Xbox, PlayStation etc.
Difference Between Chair Designs
The first, the most striking and the most important difference that separated office chairs and gaming chairs is the design. One look at an office chair and you know it’s an office chair; the same goes for gaming chairs.
I mean, just look at the Ironman themed gaming chair. You don’t have to ask if it’s a gaming chair or office chair:
Ironman themed gaming chair. Nobody confuses it with an office chair.
Gaming chairs will feature striking colors and the design itself can be inspired by a particular game. You can have racing chairs, shooter game themed chairs or very comfy gaming chairs designed primarily for playing strategy games.
Does that mean that gaming chairs are better than office chairs? For gaming, sure. For the office, no way. The office setting is completely different. What is in the office is that:
Office chair should convey some sort of aptitude, or authority.
When on a job, you don’t really want to communicate you play video games because it comes across as nerdy or even childish. An important difference that differentiates office chairs is that they look sturdy and designed for, well, grown-up people with jobs, taxes, credit scores and all that.
Are Office Chair More Ergonomic Than Gaming Chairs?
We can both sit on gaming and office chair for hours on end. But office chairs are usually designed to be more ergonomic than gaming chairs because people working in the office usually spend 30+ years sitting on them every single day.
Limelight reports that an average video gamer spends 6 hours per week playing video games. That’s A LOT less than 40h working weeks but for everybody who thinks working is more important than playing video games, I have this message:
We should also sit comfortably during that time, right?
The point I’m trying to make is that by default office chairs are more ergonomically shaped. However, we must differentiate between “ergonomic” and “comfortable”. Ergonomic means that they are good for your back and provide lumbar, high-back support and so on. Comfortable means that they are just very comfy. And here the gaming chair has an edge.
It is easier to spend an entire LAN party sitting on a gaming chair than an office chair because the gaming chair is more comfortable. Yes, it might not be as good for your back as an office chair, but who really thinks about the long-term effects of sitting on a chair: office people or gamers?
Included Adjustments (Gaming Chairs Are Better)
Gaming chairs are pretty versatile when it comes to chair adjustments. Everything from chair height to armrests, backrests and back-ward tilt can be adjusted considerably with ease. It is not uncommon for a PC chair to be as agile as WENSIX gaming chair:
WENSIX gaming chair can be adjusted from 90 to 180 degrees with ease.
This is something you just can’t do with an office chair. Chairs that belong in the office can be customized to a certain degree but that’s light years away from versatility and agility that gaming chairs can demonstrate. There are many benefits associated with office chairs vs gaming chairs but adjustability is certainly not one of them.
Are Office Chairs Of Better Quality Than Gaming Chairs?
As far as materials are concerned, office chairs are usually made out of much fancier materials than gaming chairs. Where gaming chairs are standardly made out of synthetic materials or ‘fake’ leather, the office chairs are made out of sturdy materials and real leather. One benefit that office chairs have over gaming chairs is that they are made to last.
Of course, the higher quality design of the office chair does come at a cost – quite literally. It is not uncommon for office chairs to be every 500$ more expensive than normal gaming chairs, and a lot of that has to do with sturdy materials that are designed to last.
Some low-quality gaming chairs (price range below $100) have a lot of synthetic materials and plastic parts. Eventually, they can’t keep up with wear and tear but at least they are very inexpensive and it’s not really costly to buy a new one.
Cool Features (In-built Speakers, Bluetooth, RCA cables, Compatibility With Xbox, PlayStation etc.)
The cool features, of course, are the speciality of gaming chairs. There are no gaming chairs with Xbox compatibility (and if they are, let me know, I’ll buy one for my office). The possibilities to add some gadgets on a gaming chair are endless. You have audio chairs, PS chairs, Xbox chairs, racer chairs and so on just based on the variety of cool features they come with.
So Which Is Better: Gaming Chair Or Office Chair?
It really depends on what you need. A chair for gaming? Go for a gaming chair. A chair for office? Go for an office chair.
But if you want to have a chair that can handle gaming as well as being in the office, you can go for noblechairs ICON which is kind of a perfect marriage of both worlds.
Are you still duct taping your portable air conditioner’s vent out of the window?
Don’t get me wrong – it is a good practice. Knowing how to properly insulate the space your portable AC hose makes in the window frame will:
Make a mobile air conditioner more efficient.
Drop the temperature quicker.
Save you a few bucks on the electricity bill.
Keep the mosquitos out.
5 Best Window Seal Kits For AC Unit
Most owners of air conditioners are not explicitly aware of the range of options you encounter when wanting to buy a window cover for your portable AC.
That’s why we’ve made it easy. We looked at 10s of different kits and distilled which 5 are the best. Here are our editorial Top5er picks for the best window seal kits for portable air conditioners:
The problem is how many of us still seal a window (including the sliding glass window and even sliding doors) with, well, a duct tape.
Why?
Because there is a much better and more convenient way of ensuring the hot air from a portable air conditioner will fully be released into the environment.
We are, of course, talking about the modern window enclosure for portable AC.
Note: If you have a problem with cold air leaking into your house in the winter via AC hose, you should consider checking out our article about the best air conditioner covers.
What Is A Window Seal For Mobile AC Anyway?
All portable air conditioners need a vent for the hot air generated by the AC to be vented out of your house, flat, you name it.
Windows seals that are designed specifically to accommodate AC vents are nothing new, really. They have been around for about a decade and they are there to do 1 job and 1 job alone (or maybe 2):
Insulate the portable AC exhaust that goes out the window.
(Should look great).
In short, a window seal is basically the best way of how to vent your mobile AC out of the window. It should fill up all the nooks and crannies.
BUT!
With style. The design of these tight enclosure seals for window frames should be to your liking. After all, you’ll likely be looking at the window and the seal strapped (with Velcro tape) on it for the whole summer.
So if you have a portable air conditioning unit, why didn’t you install a window cover for PAC 10 years ago?
How To Install A Seal For AC On The Window – Simplified
There is a simple reason why we’re only now experiencing a boom about window seals.
No, it’s not the duct tape method of sealing windows that went out of fashion.
It has everything to do with how easy modern window seals can be installed.
10 years ago you needed an AC expert to strap a window seal very carefully on the window frame. We ordinary people just found it too complicated and the window seal installation was bothersome.
In the last years, however, there is an emergence of the AC window seal kits. Yes, kits. Something an ordinary fellow can use to install the window enclosure in a DIY way with a simple use of Velcro tape.
The kits usually include everything you need to install the seal and insulate windows out of which the AC vent goes. And they cost around $20 in total.
However, one thing in mind when picking the best window enclosure kit for a portable air conditioner is how clear are the instructions written.
This is not basic and ugly duct tapping of the windows. You get quite a few pieces with every one of these kits and thorough and clear instructions are essential in order for you to properly install it.
You wouldn’t like for the window insulation to start peeling off after a week because the instructions were not clear about how to tightly seal the insulation tape, right?
No. 1 Window Seal Pick
No. 1 HOOMEE Universal Window Sealer For AC And Tumble Dryer
The best window seal is the HOOMEE universal Velcro-based seal. What is more, being universal, this can cover the window frame now just when using a portable AC unit but you can use it for tumble dryer as well.
One thing that HOOMEE offers is the variety of window seal sizes. A normal seal for the AC vent can be attached to a 157” or 158” window. You can have two problems with that:
Window is too large. Whatever you do with the AC seal, there is no way to stretch it beyond 158-inches or so.
Window is small. You can apply the normal window seal on it but much of the material such as Velcro tape you buy will go to waste. If you have a 50-inch window, shouldn’t you buy a smaller AC unit window seal for a lower price?
Additionally to standard size 400 cm seal, HOOMEE also offers two other versions:
The big window enclosure for AC. Can fit a window up to 560 cm, or 219 inches.
The smaller window seal. Will fit a window of length up to 300 cm, or 117 inches. It costs about 5 bucks less and you’ll have less Velcro waste to worry about.
Both with the small, normal or big version, you can fit not only one but two or more air conditioning vents (or you can have one from the tumble dryer and one from AC):
Fit 1, 2 or more vents from AC or tumble dryer through the HOOMEE sealed window cover.
This makes the HOOMEE seal the most versatile on the list.
In every case, keep one thing in mind when applying the Velcro tape to the window frame – it has to be applied on a dry, smooth and flat surface. If you can find such a surface, you shouldn’t have any problems with seal installation even without the step-by-step instructions.
Pros
Pros
Universal: For AC and tumble dryer.
Only one with various sizes: small, normal, big.
Can fit more than one vent easily, if the window allows it.
Is the best selling universal window seal.
Cons
Cons
The installation instructions are not as details as with other seal kits.
There is not a window seal on the market, for AC, tumble drier or anything else, that would be as simple and fully functioning as the Airly seal.
Their motto of ‘Keep Cool’ translates very-well into the seat itself. The zipper for the enclosure and adhesive fastener make the installation process very simple, and adhesive fastener just helps with that.
Apart from doing the job (and it does it well), the Airly airlock actually looks nice on the window.
Truth is that many of the seals on the market are not exactly visible appealing. Made out of plastic or low-grade cotton, they are not a much more pleasing sight than a window tapped all over by duct tape.
Here is how Airly window seal looks like when fully installed on a window:
Airly seal perfectly fits the vent and the window, and it actually looks nice while doing so.
Does the Airly window seal fit most windows?
Airly can be installed on all windows with a maximum window length of 158 inches. That is quite an above-average max. window length for an AC seal and it will fit almost any window. Of course, if you have a window that is longer than 158, Airly won’t fit on it. However, given that you have to deal with a mobile AC unit, you can easily just put in under another smaller window in order to use the best window seal.
The essential part of every window kit for AC are the instructions. Without clear instructions, it’s hard to Velcro tape your way around the window, and mistakes can happen. Here are the step-by-step instructions for Airly that pretty much everybody can use:
Simple step-by-step instructions for installing the Airly window seal for portable AC.
As you can see from the instructions on how to install the window seal, it can be pretty straightforward. Paste the Velcro tape, trim the edges, make sure that the seat aligns with the window frame, and unzip.
The installation shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes and it will actually look like a proper installation job.
One reviewer pointed out that, despite the smoothness window panel installation, the Velcro tape should be a bit more ‘sticky’.
A lot has been said about the stickiness of Velcro; for some needs, it is too sticky and for other, it should be stickier. In the world of window seals, we found that Velcro tape is pretty much the standard way of attaching the seal to the window frame and every seal for AC uses one. So, no way around that using Velcro (don’t resort to duct tape, of course).
All in all, if you’re looking how to seal space around the portable air conditioning vent, you’ll find Airly simple enough to use and tight enough so that no hot air (or mosquitos) will enter the room from the outside.
Pros
Pros
Appealing to the eye materials.
Zipper and Velcro tape included.
Step-by-step instructions can be easily followed.
Everyone can install this by him or herself.
Clear winner as the No. 1 window seal.
Cons
Cons
Velcro should be a bit more ‘sticky’.
Not appropriate for windows with a total length above 158 inches.
When it comes to blocking the draft from a mobile AC unit via the window, Fitfirst does come in handy.
It’s easy to install and made out of high-quality materials that Fitfirst seal for the window is made out of giving it a nice and clean look.
What length of a window can you install Fitfirst on?
It should be 157 inches long or shorter. Also, be aware that it can be a bit of a stretch attaching it to any window that is 150+ inches. Yes, with a bit of trouble it can fit a 157-inch long window frame, but it will require a bit of sweating on your part.
Luckily, after it’s installed (photo below), your air conditioner will be more efficient and will readily cool you down and reduce your sweating:
Fitfirst window seal when installed on a short-length window.
What kind of window can you install Fitfirst seal on?
Pretty much any window will do that is not too big. If the window near your air conditioner is too big, it might be a good idea just to move the AC unit under the other window. It’s portable, so that’s quite easily done.
Basically, the illuminated white fabric window seal is made out of lightens up the whole room. If you’re looking for air conditioners that work with a skylight, this light-my-room feature can be quite amazing to see.
Pros
Pros
High-quality materials are durable (despite the weather).
Tightly seals most types of windows.
Can illuminate the room substantially (white fabric + sunlight).
Almost comparable to No. 1 pick but a buck or two cheaper.
Cons
Cons
Has simple but not very thorough installation information.
MorningRising cloth seal for windows (if you need to put the AC hose through the window) is another good example of how simple and easy it to DIY the window seal.
Their window seal kit comes with everything you need to fill all the space around a portable air conditioner’s hose, and you can do it by yourself in less than 10 minutes – but do take 20 minutes in order to be as accurate in laying the Velcro tape around the edges of smooth-surface window frames as possible.
It can be used as a single-vent or double-vent air conditioner. However, the limiting factor is the type of window. It can’t be mounted on every kind of window; it is most commonly used on tilting windows but if want to install it on a basement window, skylight or balcony door, you’ll have too many problems with keeping it all intact.
In short, it can’t be used on these types of windows. It’s best to use it exclusively on tilting windows and you have to use a zipper in order to tighten the space around the vent like this:
Zip the seal tightly around the AC hose. Example: MorningRising seal.
Some AC units can also be stationed near sliding windows or doors. While No. 1, 2 and 3 pick on this list can accommodate such windows (albeit with a bit of struggle), the MorningRising cloth seal specifically informs their potential customers that the product cannot be used on the left or right sliding window or doors.
Nonetheless, this is the cheapest seal for a window on the list and is our budget pick.
Pros
Pros
Can be installed in 10 minutes.
Perfect for tilting windows.
Can accommodate one-tube or two-tube air conditioners.
If you’re looking for a reliable window seal to prevent the hot air from being released in the room the air conditioner is located in, you can opt to pick the JOYOOO AirLock.
Comparing it with other seals, two things stand out:
Little info about how to install it (you’ll need to have a bit of technical inspiration to DIY it).
Durable. If you manage to put it on the window, it will stick there for quite a long time; it is very well made which makes it quite durable.
Instructions are essential when putting a seal on the window; most of the seals come with step-by-step instructions. AirLock JOYOOO, however, lacks information to such a degree that somebody who bought it actually asked on Amazon how to install it.
That’s not a good sign.
However, nobody can deny how long the window seal can last, and that is the main reason that JOYOOO AirLock is included in the Top5er list.
It has some versatility as far a the length of the window is concerned (max. length is 158 inches). You should be a technical type to use the tape it without the manual but if you do a good job, the durability of the materials will ensure that you’ll be able to use it with the air conditioner for years.
Let us know in the comments. Even if you use duct tape, you can share a photo or two. Some people use foam to seal the space between the AC vent; would be interesting to see one of those as well.
Picking a high-end executive office chair has a lot more to do with the ‘executive’ than with the ‘chair’. How is a CEO’s chair any different than any other chair (and why should it be)?
You can tell someone’s job and importance in a company simply by looking at what he or she sits on.
A CEO (or somebody inspiring to become one) should be sitting on a chair that inspires confidence.
You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘dress for the job you want, not the job you have’ a million times. Well, in the office environment, looks do matter quite a bit and a classy executive chair can give us that extra charm.
5 Best High-End Executive Chair For Office Or Board Rooms
Here at Top5er we looked at 100s of different executive chairs and went into in-depth research about the technical features, the reviews people shares and the pros and cons of all the chairs to finally pick the top chairs for the office.
You can read about the criteria we used answering ‘what makes an executive chair a great executive chair?’ further on. But now, without further adieu, here are the top editorial picks of the best executive office chairs:
1. Herman Miller Embody Chair With Graphite Frame – The Ultimate CEO chair
Of all the chairs that a modern CEO (or somebody aspiring to become an executive) should put in the office, Herman Miller Graphite Frame is the No. 1 choice.
First of all, you won’t have to explain one bit about your chair – just saying “It’s Herman Miller chair, the executive version” will turn people envious. Everybody knows this high-end brand, and pretty much everybody wants one (not everybody can afford a Herman Miller though).
Secondly, this outstanding office chair hits all three major requirements for an executive chair:
Employees perceive you as a manager. Just by looking at the chair and knowing that’s the Herman Miller executive chair will convey a firm and persuasive message – this person is in control.
You perceive yourself as the head of the office. An executive chair should fit you like a well-tailored business suit. Herman Miller graphite chair definitely makes you feel like a million bucks, with confidence to boost up your productivity and stature.
Ergonomic masterpiece. Designed by 2 famous designers with the help of 30 physicians and PhDs to work out how to create the most comfortable ergonomic chair for the office.
Here is how the Embody chair for executives looks from the side:
Ergonomic. Elegant. Commanding. The No. 1 Executive chair by Herman Miller.
Regarding the features, it is the top of the line chair. The most important thing all these features work toward is for you to feel comfortable and improve your focus and even add to the work ethic.
What Makes It The Absolute Best Refined Chair For Office?
If you work in the office for more than 4 hours a day, the Herman Miller graphite chair features will be your most important companions. The executive chair was specifically designed to stabilize and enhance spine and posture health.
The base and the frame, as seen in the photos, is made out of hard black graphite. This alone gives it a tremendous look that’ll not easily be forgotten by whomever you have a business meeting with.
It is important to first customize the Herman Miller managerial chair features to your stature. The black armrests and adjustable seat depth should be adjusted according to your height and arm length.
The whole point of the Embody chair is to embody your full form precisely. Having a well-tailored chair that fits your body form perfectly will not go unnoticed.
Anybody who sat across a person who sat a chair that was too large or too little for his or her form will understand just how important an impeccable chair in the office is.
Herman Miller Embody Graphite chair should embody you. It is designed to inspire confidence and boost work focus.
Graphite base of Herman Miller chair is covered by a rhythm fabric. This is an uncommon fabric for a chair because honestly, it is too expensive for a normal chair. However, a senior executive and CEO should be able to afford it and experience all the benefits of the fabric.
Rhythm is smooth soft to the touch and it fits the graphite frame like a glove. The added value is that prevents heat buildup. If you have problems with sweaty shirts because the leathery back of your chair doesn’t dissipate heat well enough, you will find the executive chair by Herman Miller quite refreshing.
Because of the unique and precise design of the chair, it has to be shipped in one piece. That alone speaks volumes about the chair itself.
Try »I don’t have to assemble my chair, it comes in one piece«.
It also makes quite a scene when a fully assembled Herman Miller chair arrives at the office, fully assembled. Everybody notices.
Of course, it does make returns a bit more difficult; but generally, you don’t have to worry about that. This premium chair does come with the bulletproof 12-year warranty but it’s unlikely to need one: one-piece sturdy Herman Miller chair that looks fit for a CEO is as durable as it looks.
Herman Miller chairs are prized above almost every chair; there is no chair like it, and Herman Miller knows that it offers great value (and image) with all of their chairs.
In short, this is hands down the best executive chair for the office.
Pros
Pros
Bragging rights: it’s Herman Miller after all.
Rich rhythm fabric is top-notch.
Magnificent design. It looks like a masterpiece in the office.
This is a sleek and leather chair that lives and breaths modern design. White ergonomic genuine leather chair by GM Seating brings to the table exactly what Herman Miller chairs might lack:
Genuine top grain leather.
Authority and leather go hand in hand (I hope this doesn’t sound too wrong). The old-school people will always connect executive chairs will fine leather. A chair that you find in a lawyer’s office will almost always be made out of leather; it gives the office an aura of knowledge and respect.
The modern CEOs and the younger crowd, however, value design and ergonomic properties much more than the fabric of their chair for managing the office.
GM Seating Ergolux combines both:
Fine-grain leather.
Modern design and ergonomic qualities.
Here is how the perfect marriage of the old-school and new-school looks like, in terms of business chairs:
No. 2 Executive chair – GM Seating Ergolux in chrome (left) and white (right) genuine leather.
Aside from the looks, high-quality leather and ergonomics, there is a full package of customizable settings that come with the GM Seating managerial chair for the office.
Things like seat slide adjustment, tilt tension, 3D armrest and back support can be a bother to set at first. However, when you have customized it the executive chair should fit you like a glove – and it won’t offset your spine in the years to come.
Adding to the standard package of ergonomics properties that are common to other high-end executive chairs, is the unique lumbar support system. Ergolux chair has perfected the lower back support; sitting on it you’ll experience your pelvis more forward a bit which elevated the tension and the curvature of your spine.
The exceptional lumbar support feels like somebody took away 10-20 pounds of your upper body mass. All that mass is now supported via the lower spine support element of GM Seating chair. In effect, it gives you more upper body power and improves the movement of your arms.
The GM Seating also provides the 5-year limited warranty in case something goes wrong with the office chair.
Pros
Pros
Old-school leather gives confidence.
Modern design is fantastic.
Ergonomic properties are above average.
Exceptional lumbar support.
Can choose chrome (a bit more expensive) or white leather.
Cons
Cons
Arms are not perfectly fixed (and will move if you pull on them).
Not everybody loves unique lumbar support.
According to one review, shipping is sub-standard.
3. Aeron Embody Chair By Herman Miller Review (No. 3 High-End Executive Chair – Great Task Chair)
If you go through some of the reviews of office chairs, or even executive chairs, you are bound to encounter the following question:
“Are Aeron chairs still the best office chairs in 2018?”
Herman Miller Aeron chair is widely famous for being the best task chair for the office. Hard-working people, the doers, love it because it increases focus and decreases fatigue of sitting for longer than 8 hours.
That being said, how appropriate a chair is Aeron for a CEO?
If you are a leisure-loving CEO and want to send the message ‘look at me, I don’t do long hours, I make smart decisions and work only 4-6 hours per day’, the Aeron is definitely a chair you’re looking for.
However, if you’re hardworking, ‘let’s get it done’ kind of person, who dedicates a lot of time to the office management and work, and need to be relentless in determination and focus, the Aeron is the ultimate executive chair for yours.
The famous Aeron Embody chair by Herman Miller takes the 1st place for the best task chair and 3rd chair for the best executive chair.
What makes Aeron such a great task chair, especially for executives who work longer hours, is the effortlessness of sitting in it.
If you have even done a 12-hour shift in the office, you know that sooner or later you’ll start feeling your office chair grinding in your back. You have to walk around a bit, stretch or even go to the water cooler just to relax your back a bit.
With Aeron chair, walking around and stretching are optional. If you have to catch a deadline and do an all-nighter, the best chance for not having some back pain problems in the morning is Herman Miller Aeron chair at your back.
There are 4 factors that contribute to the seating effortlessness Aeron is known for:
Kinemat tilt mechanism. You don’t have to customize everything as with other high-end office chairs; this mechanism ensures that your neck, shoulders, knees, and ankles will pivot effortlessly.
The heat-dissipating fabric. Aeron is covered by follicle suspension designed specifically to dissipate body heat. What does that mean? No sweaty shirts at the back.
“Waterfall” edge. This is a specifically designed part of the seat where your thighs are. The waterfall design keeps the pressure off the thighs. This ensures that the blood will flow from upper to lower body effortlessly – the result is increased physical durability and focus.
PostureFit mechanism for the pelvis. This is a kind of lumbar support that moves the pelvis forward and thereby decreasing how curved the spine near your kidneys is. Aeron’s spine alignment is a contributing factor when it comes to decreased back pain.
Being primarily a task chair, it isn’t as prestigious as Herman Miller executive chair (No. 1 pick). Nonetheless, it gets a lot of prestige from the Herman Miller brand itself and is quite a statement.
Aeron chairs are always associated with hard-working people who need to work for long hours in the office.
Some negative concerns are pointed out by the reviewers; the Aeron chair is not fully customizable. Some people hate having to set every setting, other people love it. With Aeron chair for office, you don’t have to customize it; in fact, you really can’t do all the big changes yourself.
If you have more than 300 pounds, this might not be a chair for you. Despite the size C of the chair supporting 350 lbs, the comfortable executive chair ceases to be comfortable and ergonomic.
On the upside: you have the 12-year warranty from Herman Miller you can always call upon.
Pros
Pros
Most famous task chair.
For hardworking people.
12-hour office seating should include Aeron – the best overtime chair.
More affordable than Herman Miller graphite chair (No. 1 pick).
Heat-dissipating fabric does its job well.
Cons
Cons
Not for people over 300 pounds.
Without full customization.
Not everybody is a fan of multi-level ergonomic features that made Aeron famous.
4. Flash Furniture Traditional High-End Chair For CEOs
Before the 70s the Flash Furniture leather chair would truly be a chair every CEO and the executive would fall all over their tails to get.
Much has changed from the 70s, though, chairs that managers seat upon are no different. In fact, we have seen a distinctly modern design of chairs evolving with one thing in focus:
Ergonomics.
However, not everybody loves the new ergonomic wonders. They can look commercial, aggressive and are obviously way less comfortable than traditional leather chairs.
A CEO can hardly imagine him or herself with a glass of whiskey and a cigar in the new Herman Miller chairs. This is where the traditional executive chairs come in.
Here is how the best of the old-school chairs for CEO’s looks like:
Flash Furniture traditional burgundy leather executive swivel chair is the best old-school chair for a CEO (or a lawyer).
Traditional professionals such as lawyers still prefer the standard genuine leather office chairs. That gives a sense of not only certainty and stability but also of higher class.
If a modern CEO, for example, being ‘new money’ needs a bit of ‘old money’ class, placing a burgundy leather office chair in their office is the easiest first step.
More than one review, however, worries about how it holds up after some time. The leather is a very durable fabric and the Flash Furniture chair is sturdy but the chair’s legs might be a bit too weak.
It also lacks all the modern ergonomic paddings, tilts and supports that the new-age chairs have. Admittedly, some padding is available and the Flash Furniture is definitely the most comfortable executive chair on our list, but in terms of today’s ergonomic standards, the traditional chair cuts a bit short.
Nonetheless, all in all, this is one of the finest standard leather chairs, most appropriate for old-school styled bosses and stylish lawyers.
Some people can’t handle full mesh office chairs. Others see them as stylish and breathable.
The style of executive chairs is a bit of a subjective thing. However, the full mesh chairs are definitely made for breathing.
That includes you and the chair. Mesh office chairs such as Balt Butterfly will readily dissipate heat through the mesh; and the positioning of the mesh ergonomic in such a way that you’ll be able to breathe easier.
Are mesh back office chairs comfortable for 8+ hours of work?
Of course, they are. Similar to Aeron chair, mesh chairs are made for hard-working people who spend quite a bit of time (and overtime) in the office.
If you look at the photo of Balt Butterfly mesh chair, you’ll notice the natural lumbar support for the lower back and the distinctly curved headrest for neck support and increased focus:
Balt Butterfly is one of the best full mesh chairs, and definitely the most comfortable executive chair with strong ergonomic features.
When we talk about the most comfortable executive chairs, we usually think about traditional leather chairs. However, modern high-end chairs focus more on ergonomics than leisurely comfort.
The Balt Butterfly, nonetheless, is an ideal example of the optimum balance between modern ergonomics and comfortable executive chairs.
Comfortable; yes.
Sturdy and durable; not so much.
The problem of Balt mesh chair is its fragility. It is a wonderful chair for office but many people who bought it said that in 2 or 3 years, you’ll have a problem with either a leg, one of the plastic pieces or the arms.
If you can afford a new executive chair every 2 years, this is definitely a good choice – for the following 2 years, after which you’ll have to fix it or buy a new one.
What makes the mesh chair so hard to resist is the comfort level that it can provide.
Pros
Pros
Most comfortable modern executive chair.
Designed with ergonomics in mind.
Full mesh is breathing and dissipating heat.
Cons
Cons
Can break down in 2 or 3 years.
Can’t brag about the reputation like Herman Miller chairs have.
Sub-optimal composition with some weak spots (legs, arms, plastic parts).
A Fine Executive Chair Sends A Message In Your Office
A very neatly chosen executive chairs (such as Herman Miller chair everybody is in awe of) will send a strong message and will differentiate you from all the regular, less ambitious employees.
What message can a high-end managerial chair convey about the personality of a person sitting on it?
A sturdy chair – this person is trustworthy; will get the job done; stable.
A stylish executive chair – open-minded to creative ideas, has exquisite taste, design-oriented.
Visible ergonomically design chair – this person takes care of himself or herself; he or she leads by example.
“Our CEO really makes it a point to take care of himself or herself. Stable spine stable life.”
The short of it all, a truly tremendous executive chair should inspire confidence, authority, and trustworthiness. That is, towards the other co-workers.
Equality, if not more important, is the ability of the chair to make us feel:
Hitting the core of our confidence and the confidence of the people we work with and our business partners is the true psychological value of the best executive chair.
What Makes An Executive Chair A Great Executive Chair – Analysis
In order to pick the best office chair for senior management and CEOs, we looked at both physical features of the chairs (tilt mechanisms, padding, materials, ergonomic features) as well as psychological features that have an impact on us and everybody who sees such a chair in an office environment.
These include design and the value attributes that go along with the chair – sturdy, authoritative, persuasive, stylish and so on.
Traditional Vs. Ergonomic
Most of the top chairs, we found, are the pinnacle of ergonomic design today. The various lumbar, low and high back support mechanism and system (some are even patented) added to the healthy aspects such executive chairs have on posture and spine.
The downside of being ergonomic is that ergonomic chairs are not usually as comfortable as traditional leather chairs.
There is also a major difference between an old-school of thought about which executive chairs are the best and the new and modern thought. While traditional chairs look like something Winston Churchill would sit on with a glass of whiskey and a cigar, the modern chairs are more appropriate for CEOs who know the value of a healthy spine.
What materials are chairs for management made out of?
High-quality materials are vital for high-end executive chairs. Which is the best fabric to be used in such chairs?
There is no one right answer to that question. Is it indeed hard to evaluate which fabric is better – leather, rhythm or mesh? One looks high-end, the other is a very forward-thinking solution and the third has some great heat dissipation properties.
To determine which is the greatest executive chair of 2018 we took into account that it matters what kind of an executive you are.
Are you hard-working or would you like to be perceived as one? Aeron chair is the best for you.
Do you want respect from your employes? Herman Miller’s graphite executive chair will inspire confidence.
Are you a traditional leader with conservative core values? Well, the traditional chair would be best for such a CEO.
All these assessments were taken into account when making a list of the best chairs.
Weight Of The Chairs
Not the most important property of a manager’s chair but we point it out because it is the easiest to evaluate.
The rule of thumb will tell us that the higher quality chair will use higher quality materials that have greater density and there mass. In short, the chairs that are heavier are also better.
On the other hand, if you find an executive chair that weighs less than 40 pounds, you have to think twice before buying it. Most of the top chairs weigh 50 pounds; so there is a 10-pound difference, and you can bet it is because of different materials.
How Much Is Appropriate To Pay For An Executive Chair?
Well, a lot more than for an ordinary chair for gaming or kitchen. In fact, it is quite hard to find a decent leather chair for $500.
A part of the point of the executive chair is that it is expensive. It should look expensive as well as be expensive. It is a kind of a status symbol, after all.
There are many chairs for executives that easily surpass a price tag of $3,000. But what additional value do they bring in terms of ergonomics, durability, and materials? Little to none. In fact, the most expensive chairs can be a little disappointing when comparing them with the ergonomic Herman Miller chairs, for example.
What they do offer is the thought ‘I’m seating on a $5,000 office chair, I’m important’. However, this is not the way we wanted to go; we didn’t want to offset our list with expensive chairs just because they are expensive (and because some of them lacked the ergonomic qualities).
What Do You Think About Our Picks?
Let us know what you value about your chair. If you have a specific chair, you can name it in the comments and point out its pros and cons and why you decided to choose it in the first place.
Have you ever been camping in the woods? It’s all fun and games until you find yourself in need of a toilet.
If you have ever used a shovel to dig a small hole for your business instead of using a portable camping toilet, you can probably relate. Even the most clumsy portable toilet can be a luxury compared to squatting in the woods, or god forbid, hanging your business over a boat.
In fact, portable toilets are pretty useful when you go camping, boating or any other place that doesn’t have a clean and fixed toilet. Portable toilets for camping are not only convenient and inexpensive, but they also give you privacy and an enormous amount of decency when you want to use the toilet outdoors.
To make the choice of which portable toilet for camping is the best, we’ve created a Top5er list with the 5 absolutely best toilets in 2020.
Best Camping Toilets Of 2020 – Top5er list
We’ve compiled a list of the most popular portable camping toilets for camping based on quite a few factors. Starting with the capacity, weight and flush number of each toilet and up to how popular they are and how much does a camping toilet cost. Here is the list of best outdoor toilets:
Let’s check what to actually look at when choosing the perfect portable camping toilet. We’ll also cover what types of movable toilets there are and what are the problems you can encounter (and how to fix them quickly).
Let’s start off with the overall summary you can quickly check in the infographics below to get a bit of a grip on what to look for when buying a portable toilet:
Best Overall Portable Toilet
1 – SereneLife Outdoor Camping Toilet Review (Best Of All)
When it comes to outdoor toilets, the overall best pick is SereneLife and it’s quite easy to see why just from the picture. It is robust and durable; these are two very important qualities when it comes to portable toilets for camping where you need for a toilet to withstand dirt, rain and other nasty problems.
SereneLife is the #1 portable toilet. Despite having advanced features, it’s very easy to use and robust enough for camping.
As you can see from the list of best camping toilets, they all have 5-6 gallon capacity. What makes SereneLife an outdoor toilet better than all the rest is the flushing technique and convenience.
How to flush a portable toilet? Most of them have a flushing method but the SereneLife toilet is the easiest and more reliable to use. You can see the flush nozzle of the outdoor toilet that you just press like a normal toilet button and start the flush.
Being above 11 pounds, it is the heaviest reviewed toilet for camping. Well, how heavy are the best camping toilets for outdoor? About 10 pounds is the short answer. We’ll see a toilet that weighs only 3 pounds and is very movable. However, when designing a camping toilet, you really need to have two separate parts – the water tank and the bowl, along with the sealing waste valve, waste tang tube with cap and so on. All of these add weight to the camping toilet making it a bit less portable but much more comfortable and useful.
The SereneLife toilet holds 5.3 gallons in the portable toilet water tank which is enough for more than 50 flushes. Oh, and just look at the reviews on Amazon. Have you seen a product that would have a 4.9/5 star rating? Pretty much everybody loves the reliability of the SereneLife toilet.
How much does the best portable camping toilet cost? About $100. If you’re spending $300+ for a tent, then $100 for doing your business conveniently shouldn’t be a problem at all. You can check the price of the portable toilet here:
Luggable Loo is a literally a bucket with a toilet seat. But it is the simplest, lightest and cheapest portable toilet for camping, fishing and hiking.
At first sight, Luggable Loo looks pretty much like a bucket you do your business in. And guess what, it’s exactly that! With an addition of a toilet seat, the Luggable Loo is the cheapest camping toilet on the list.
Admittedly, it looks like a bucket but this portable toilet bucket is the only one of all camping toilets that has more than 1,000 positive reviews on Amazon. And most of them are very positive at that! What makes this bucket with toilet seat the most talked-about outdoor toilet?
It’s simple. It’s light. It’s cheap. That’s right, you literally get what you see. A 5-gallon bucket you can do your business in.
Being light is very important for a portable toilet. In fact, how portable a toilet pretty much comes down to size and weight, and this bucket with toilet seat weighs only 3 pounds. Which camping toilet is perfect for camping or fishing? Well, Luggable Loo is one strong choice.
The Luggable Loo doesn’t have the option to flush. Do all camping toilets flush? Some do, some don’t, but the ones who don’t are easier to clean and less can go wrong with them.
But the real reason everybody loves Luggable Loo is the price. How much should you spend on a camping toilet? You can spend $200 for a luxury version but the Luggable Loo is pretty much the cheapest portable toilet you can get. You’ll need $40 for one of these and you don’t have to worry much about it breaking down. For this price, the camping toilet is pretty much expendable.
If you want a simple and light toilet for fishing, camping or hiking, you can check the price below:
3 – Porta Potti Portable Toilet Review (The Luxurious One)
You can even find some luxury even as far as outdoor toilets are concerned. The Porta Potti toilet is a choice for everybody who wants to go to the loo at a camping trip the same way you do at home. The Porta Potti is basically a mini standard toilet. It comes with a big 5.5-gallon waste tank and a 4-gallon water tank that is enough for about 70 flushes.
Porta Potti is the most indoor-like portable toilet. With 18 x 18 x 16 inches dimensions, it’s also the biggest toilet on the list.
If you’re looking for an RV portable toilet or for longer trips, the Porta Potti will do the job. The design of the outdoor toilet is quite impressive – it’s sleek and modern, and it even comes with comfortable seat height.
The height of a camping toilet seat is on average quite lower than for an ordinary toilet (even below 13 inches). Porta Potti offers a considerable 15-inch height from the floor to the seat.
When you’re asking yourself what is the best portable toilet for camping, RVs, vans and so on, you have your answer. The great thing about this high-end outdoor toilet is that using it feels like you’re at home in your own bathroom. It even has a compartment for a toilet roll.
How do you carry the camping toilet around? That’s very important because you don’t want to just touch one of these all over the place. As you can see from the image on the left, the Porta Potti has a handle between the water tank and toilet bowl. That’s how you can pick it up and carry it wherever you want. Nonetheless, be aware that despite weighing 10 pounds, it can weigh more than 30 pounds when fully filled with water.
It’s also easy to clean it. We go through the section on how to clean and how to dispose of the camping toilet waste further on. For example, some RV or camping places have a designated ‘dump space’ where you can empty a camping toilet. Cleaning it can be a messy business but the curly edges and few joints Porta Potti has makes cleaning an outdoor toilet easier. On top of that, it has a rotating pour-out spout that’s useful when you’re emptying the portable toilet water tank – you won’t get the backsplashes.
Sealed valve: it is golden. Portable toilets can start to give away a bad odor, especially if left for a few days in the sun, as you might imagine. The Porta Potti has a special sealed valve that prevents bad odor from spreading. Like all high-end toilets, it’s leak-proof which further prevents odor from spreading from the camping toilet.
Being a high-end toilet, it also has the highest price. Nonetheless, for $30 or so extra you’re buying the most expensive portable toilet but also the most comfortable and best-looking one. Check the current price here:
4 – Zimmer Comfort Camping Toilet Review (Easiest To Carry)
Zimmer Comfort is a small and practical outdoor toilet for travel and camping. It has two separate parts made out of polyethylene – the 5-gallon waste tank that you can easily empty, and the 3-gallon freshwater holding tank.
The 15″ high x 14″ wide x 14.5″ dimensions make it one of the smallest camping toilets that you can normally seat on. Sure, there are some even smaller toilets for hiking, but doing your business sitting on those feels like trying to hit a paper cup with your business.
A great thing about the Zimmer camping toilet is that it can both be neatly packed for trips and camping, and, above all, it is light. While an average toilet for camping has a weigh of about 10 pounds, the Zimmer Comfort toilet weighs less than 6 pounds. You can pick it up quite easily, even if it’s filled with 3 gallons of water.
Here is how it works in 3 easy steps:
How to use a portable toilet.
As you can see from the toilet photos, the upper compartment holds the water and uses a sophisticated flush to use as little as possible water to flush. The lower compartment holds the waste and it can be cleaned out quite easily with some portable toilet cleaning chemicals and water.
The key feature of the Zimmer Comfort toilet is the sealing waste valve that is a must for all decent camping toilets. The seal makes a permanent barrier between the upper compartment and the lower waste compartment. This, in turn, keeps the waste and the bad odor trapped in the lower compartment. If you worry about the stink from the portable toilet, your best bet to keep down the odor is by buying a camping toilet with a sealing waste valve.
To even further keep down the smell when you’re on vacation and use an outdoor toilet on a daily basis, you can use deodorizing tablets that sanitize the smell of the toilet even further.
You can buy one of the smallest outdoor toilets below and add the deodorizing tablets as well:
5 – Camco Standard Travel Toilet Review (Standard Toilet For Outdoors)
There is nothing special about the Camco Standard toilet for camping. And that is exactly the point! The Camco Standard has all the standard specifications that a good camping toilet should have.
Standard camping toilet by Camco.
What is the portable toilet made out of? The standard polyethylene hard plastic, of course. It has all that an outdoor toilet needs; a 5.3-gallon waste tank that is well-connected to the 2.5-gallon water flush tank. You can get something like 40 flushes from that 2.5-gallon camping toilet tank.
The upper water part of the toilet bowl is separated from the lower waste tank by a valve lock that seals perfectly and takes care of the odor. On top of that, it prevents leakage from the Camco portable toilet. To keep the two parts together, the connection is reinforced with side latches as well.
What are the dimensions of a standard camping toilet? 15.5″ x 14″ x 16″, which is larger than a small toilet for camping (#4 pick) but smaller than the high-end toilet for the entire family (#3 pick).
Nonetheless, if you need a sturdy-looking and reliable toilet for camping, RV or a boat, and you’re not picky about how it looks like, the Camco toilet is a suitable option:
We can all agree that picking the best toilet doesn’t seem to be the most important task in the world. But on the other hand, we do spend quite a bit of time in our lives sitting on a toilet.
We have to buy a toilet, regularly clean one, look out for an environment while doing our business. And most importantly, a toilet has to be nice and homely. Why?
Well, we spend up to 30 min per day on the toilet. That is about 1 week per year – just sitting on a toilet (even more if we use mobile phones). That’s a lot! This also means that we better make a well-informed decision when it comes to buying a toilet (you’re looking at $300-$500 prices).
Best Toilet Of 2021 (With Reviews)
Many things come down to picking the best toilet. At Top5er, we made a shortlist of 5 absolute best toilets, based on how popular they are, what costs they entail, how easy it is to clean them, how they look and so on. Below the list, you’ll find the individual toilet reviews:
We’ll go above and beyond to look at every aspect when it comes to choosing and buying the best flushing toilet. What to consider when buying a toilet, what are the prices, the regular problems to be aware off – in fact, we’ll go right down to how to measure your bathroom and even screw sizes you’ll need with this all-in-one comprehensive 2021 toilet guide. Oh, and by the way, in the Top5er fashion we’ll start with the 5 absolute outstanding toilets(to give you an idea what most popular toilets look like).
What to consider when buying a toilet? [Infographic]
Before going over our top 5 picks for the best flushing toilets, we’ll quickly cover the basics of picking a toilet (you’ll find the details about the best ways of looking at toilets a while further).
Usually, we already have a space in a bathroom reserved for a one-piece or two-piece toilet, but this is about it. We’ve taken care to give you some preview of what things to consider when buying a toilet, neatly packed into the infographics (check it out before moving on):
In short, few things to consider are how comfortably we want to sit (floor-to-seat height and elongated bowl), do we want the modern one-piece toilet or the standard two-piece and always be sure to look at the warranty – we’ll cover those in the best bowl reviews as well.
Best One-Piece Toilet
1 – Swiss Madison St. Tropez Dual Tornado Flush Toilet Review
When talking about best toilet brands, we’ve all heard about Toto, Kohler and of course American Standard. How come that at the top of the list we find a bit edgy Swiss Madison toilet? Well, here are quick facts that will make your bathroom design juices flowing.
The Swiss Madison has created the No. 1 dual tornado flush toilet – the ‘St. Tropez’ model. It is the 1st Swiss Madison model that outperforms TOTO, KOHLER and American Standard toilets.
Swiss Madison, the St. Tropez model, is an exceptional one-piece toilet. Just look at how it looks in the bathroom setting (on the left).
Type of flushing? It has a dual tornado flush – saves water and is thus good for the environment and your water bill.
Comfortable 18-inch height and elongated seat – that is one of those modern soft closing toilet seats.
It’s has a staggering price for such a stylish one-piece toilet (about $300 or so). And best of all, everybody loves it. In fact, it is one of the most popular and best selling toilets on Amazon.
We’ll cover the basics of what makes a great toilet below in the toilet buying guide but it’s safe to say that Swiss Madison #1 toilet has all the right qualities. We don’t need to lose words about the modern toilet design because that’s quite apparent from the photo.
That’s the clear advantage of one-piece toilets; they look modern by default and some of them, including the Swiss Madison toilet, has a soft closing toilet seat.
As far as the comfort is concerned – the elongated toilet seat is a must for a comfortable loo experience. The 18-inch seat height is a bit above average what other toilet producers offer and it does make a slight, but noticeable difference. Given that we spend quite a bit of time on a toilet, comfort is after all very important.
With a dual flush, the best Swiss Madison toilet is eco-friendly. Old toilets can use up to 4 gallons of water per one flush. With dual flush toilet, you can choose to use only 1.0 gallons of water for urination and 1.6 gallons for more serious business (you know what we mean). The average flush should come up to 1.26 gallons which represent a significant reduction of water consumption and you spend less on a water bill.
What everybody really loves about the Swiss Madison toilet is the price. The best one-piece toilets should be available at above $500 but the No. 1 toilet costs much less, you can check the current price here:
2 – TOTO Drake 2-Piece Toilet Review (Best Budget Toilet)
Most of the best toilets are still two-piece ones with a separate water tank and bowl. What really can lack (but shouldn’t) with two-piece toilets is a sense of modern style. The TOTO Drake toilet is an exceptional example of a 2-piece toilet that can match in style any one-piece toilets. And it has a ton of other benefits as well.
TOTO Drake is one of the most affordable TOTO’s two-piece toilets.
As far as comfortability goes, the TOTO Drake is designed to have an elongated bowl. This provides you with additional seating space – it might be as little as 2 inches but even 2 inches means a lot when it comes to the best toilet bowls. The TOTO Drake seat height is about 17 3/4 inches. This is quite the industry standard height. What is important to know is that the TOTO Drake you see on the left comes without a toilet seat. If you buy a toilet seat with an above 1 1/2 inch thickness, you can get that seat height up to or above 18 inches.
What is the TOTO Drake flushing system like? Well, being one of the best TOTO toilets it has a G-Max flushing system installed. This can guarantee low toilet water consumption because it brings down the one flush quantity to 1.6 gallons of water. In the instructions or other best toilet reviews by TOTO you can see something like 1.6GFP/6.0LPF when they talk about how much water does the toilet use.
The GFP and LPF are standard units of for toilet flush; what does GFP mean? It’s an abbreviation of ‘Gallons Per Flush’. It’s a similar meaning when you ask yourself what does LPF mean when it comes to toilets. It’s an abbreviation for ‘Litres Per Flush’, a unit of toilet water consumption that is predominately used in Europe and other non-US markets.
One difference between one-piece toilets like Woodbridgebath toilet and two-piece toilets like TOTO Drake is the space they take. How much space does a toilet take? Well, a two-piece toilet is usually quite bigger because we have to put the separate tank somewhere. The TOTO Drake toilet has a 12-inch rough-in (rough-in, as explained below, is the distance between the toilet flange and the wall behind the toilet).
General tip: You can find toilets with 10-inch or even 14-inch rough-in distance and generally two-piece toilets have a 12- or 14-inch rough-ins while one-piece toilets are smaller and have a 10- or 12-inch rough-in distances from the toilet flange to the wall.
A special feature of TOTO Drake toilet is the fast flush. This is possible because this affordable toilet comes with a 3-inch flush valve. The standard valve is 2 inches wide. Simply put, the wider valve allows for a faster flush because you can fit more water through the toilet valve at the same time.
If you check the price of the toilet, you’ll quickly see why we have designated it as the best budget toilet on the market. It has all the good things a two-piece toilet can offer and it cost only about $300. Nonetheless, before you decide to buy TOTO Drake toilet, count it that it comes without a toilet seat.
A toilet seat can cost as little as $20 if you know where to look for the cheapest toilet seats. Oh, and the warranty is standard 1-year limited warranty – not as great at with the #1 best toilet – but it will get you the required security and peace of mind when you decide to buy the toilet:
3 – American Standard Champion-4 Toilet Review (Best High-End Toilet)
If anything at all, you’ll see what a good warranty for a toilet looks like when you see the 10-year worry-free warranty that American Standard offers for one of it’s best Champion-4 toilet. And that’s not an only exceptional feature this American Standard toilet has to offer.
Champion-4 has a design of a two-piece toilet with the looks of a modern one-piece toilet.
If you look on the left, you’ll quickly notice what a fusion design the Champion-4 truly is. You don’t have to be a toilet expert to see that American Standard fused the design of the one-piece toilet with the looks of a two-piece toilet. Do you notice it?
You can clearly see the toilet tank and it’s actually quite wide for a tank (also has a neat flushing handle). But when you look at the bowl, you can see they are fused together to form one of the best designed one-piece toilets.
The bowl is elongated here as well and the seat height it 17 3/4 inches, the same as with the TOTO Drake toilet, yet this one does come with a toilet seat.
What really makes American Standard Champion-4 one of the best toilets on the market is, however, hidden to the naked eye.
So to speak, the machinery of the toilet happens within the toilet itself. By now you’re probably asked yourself what does Champion-4 stand for? After all, the AS decided to name the toilet after some important feature.
That special toilet feature is the 4-inch accelerator flush valve. The standard flush valve is 3 inches wide and even with #2 TOTO Drake with a 3-inch valve we saw the advantages of quick flushing. Well, the Champion-4 is a class of itself when it comes to blizzard quick flushing. The 4-inch valve does all the flushing the toilet needs in one sitting in three times less time than a regular 2-inch standard valve would.
So is this a toilet with a bigger water consumption? Not at all. The water consumption of Champion-4 toilet is comparable to #1 and #2 top toilet – it consumes 1.6 gallons per flush. However, it does not have a dual flush like Woodbridgebath toilet that would allow you to choose between a big and small flush.
That big 4-inch valve does entail a thing or two, like a siphon trap way, for example. When you have a high-capacity toilet like American Standard Champion-4 is, you’ll also need a wider siphon trap way. The #3 best toilet on our list comes with the widest siphon trap way in the toilet industry – it is a 2 3/8 inch fully glazed siphon. A standard siphon trap way side is 2 inches. Even though the increase from a 2 inch to 2 3/8 inch siphon doesn’t seem much, the bigger siphon can handle an almost 70% larger mass than an ordinary one.
And if you’re worried that this high-end and high-capacity toilet might be sticky at times, have no worries. Firstly, it is a one-piece toilet that it is easier to clean. And secondly, all the internal toilet parts are impregnated with an EverClean surface. That is the toilet surface impregnation American Standard is famous for in toilet industry, you can see on the right how efficient an effect it has on maintaining the cleanliness of the toilet.
As far as the price of the toilet is concerned, you’re looking at a high-end toilet with a middle-range price. It comes with a spot on the 10-year warranty that pretty much the best warranty out there it can still cost less than $500 (and it comes with included seat). You can check the current toilet price here:
4 – TOTO Ultramax II Het Toilet Review (Best TOTO Toilet)
TOTO is one of the most well-known if not the most popular toilet brands around. They’ve been in business for more than 100 years and have made a number of the best-seller toilets in their time. The Ultramax II Het is, given all the features, their top toilet.
By the way, you know why we think the best toilets are made in Japan? Well, simply put, because TOTO is a Japanese company and they make the best toilets in the world for quite a while now.
TOTO has designed one of the best looking and most efficient toilets, and it even comes with the Double Cyclone technology.
If you check the Ultramax II Het design on the left, you’ll notice that is has a similar design to the #3 pick on out top toilet list. The Japanese have perfected the one-piece toilets that look and feel like two-piece toilets. This is a part of the transition from traditional toilets to modern and the Ultramax II Het design is exactly that – traditional but modern.
As far as comfortable sitting is concerned, the best TOTO toilet comes with an elongated bowl but has a lower than average seat height – 17 1/4 inch height is a bit below 18-inches. However, the ADA standards require toilet manufacturers to have a seat height anywhere from 17 inches to 19 inches, so this fits right in.
The mastery of the best Japanese toilet is its flushing efficiency and Double Cyclone flushing technology. You know that we’ve asked ourselves how much water does one toilet flush use, right? With all the previously reviewed best toilets, they used about 1.6 gallons per flush. The TOTO Het toilet is much more efficient when it comes to flushing. What does HET actually standards for? High-Efficiency Toilets – and here is the eco-friendly WaterSense approved and bill saving effect they have:
HET toilet by TOTO requires only 1.28 gallons per flush (this translates to 4.8 liters per flush). That is full 20% less water per flush than other already eco-friendly toilets. According to Conserve H20 organization, this can literally translate to few 1000s of gallons per water saved. You can even calculate how much that saves you in water costs.
Add Double Cyclone technology to this. You might wonder what the Double Cyclone technology is when it comes to toilets. Most toilets, most probably even the one you have at home, use gravity to clear the water and feces in the toilet. The Double Cyclone adds, well, two cyclones that help the gravity do its work more efficiently. It can be a bit difficult to explain but here is the picture that really gives you an idea what the Double Cyclone technology is:
Double Cyclone flushing is designed to flush more efficiently to preserve water.
As you can see, the Cyclone Technology forms two powerful jets of water at the left and at the right side of the toilet bowl. This additional water thrust pushed and cleans the feces more effectively, and it requires less water in the process.
The whole inner side of the toilet is coated with SanaGloss that acts as a kind of a self-cleaning ion barrier that protects the toilet. When it comes to cleaning it’s usually useful to know what do you clean SanaGloss with, and the answer is that a simple soap or disinfectant will do.
Given all the additional technology that TOTO Ultramax II Het comes with, the price is a bit higher than with the other toilets on our list. The original price of one of the best TOTO toilets can be as high as $800 but if you buy it on Amazon, you can usually get a below $600 deal, check the current price here:
Another all-favorite brand of toilets is KOHLER. They are a big US company with over 150 years of tradition in pretty much everything that relates to plumbing. Of course, this also includes them making the best American toilets. We picked the Cimarron Comfort as the best KOHLER toilet precisely because it is the peak achievement in toilet design and performance.
KOHLER Cimarron is one of the best two-piece toilets with a comfortable seat height, powerful flush system, and timeless design.
To start off, this is one of the best looking two-piece toilets, consisting of K-4309 bowl and the K-4421 tank. While other companies like TOTO prefers to go with one-piece toilets that look like two-piece toilets, KOHLER is staying true to the traditional toilet model that has been around for decades. Just remember that even the best two-piece toilets are harder to clean than simpler one-piece ones.
Despite having a standard look, the best KOHLER toilet is anything but standard. With everybody in the toilet industry trying to decrease the flush volume, KOHLER invented its own AquaPiston technology. It has enabled them to deliver a fast, powerful and low-volume flush. How many gallons does the best KOHLER toilet use?
Well, thanks to the AquaPiston technology, it requires only 1.28 gallons per flush. That is even below the modern best toilet standard of 1.6 GPF.
On the other hand, it’s seating arrangement of Cimarron Comfort KOHLER toilet is, as the name says it, very comfortable. What makes a toilet more comfortable?
Two things – the elongated bowl that does require more space but gives back in comfort, as well as 18-inch floor-to-seat height. Unfortunately, the KOHLER Cimarron Comfort toilet comes without a toilet seat – which means that we can only say that a toilet seat of standard thickness will bring the seat height to 18 inches.
The KOHLER toilet that comes with standard 1-year limited warranty costs considerably less than the best TOTO toilet. When considering how much you’re spending for two-piece toilets vs. one-piece toilets, you’ll find that two-piece ones are much more affordable. This is the case with the best KOHLER toilet as well:
As we’ve seen going through the best toilet picks of 2021, the Swiss Madison toilet is an overall #1 pick and hands down the most popular 2021 choices for modern bathrooms. We thought it best to look at it and learn what makes the T-0019 model such a successful toilet. This will help us better illustrate and understand the whole toilet buying guide.
We will go through all the considerations when it comes to buying a brand new toilet, down to the siphon size and the basic plumbing fixes. If you don’t find the information you’re looking for, just do a quick comment and we’ll try to help you as best we can.
When it comes to basic toilet design, the first thing we should as if we want a one-piece or two-piece toilet. We have covered some of the one-piece and two-piece toilets in our list, here we’ll focus on the Woodbridgebath toilet simply because it is the best toilet of 2021:
First of, the Swiss Madison is a one-piece toilet. Most of the toilets we use in our homes, restaurants, hotels and so on are the two-piece settings. They are comprised of a toilet tank that holds up to 2 gallons of water and a separate bowl that we sit on. This is the old-school toilet standard that is quickly being replaced by the new standard – the one-piece toilets.
Why are one-piece toilets better than two-piece ones?
One-piece toilets are stylish, easier to clean but more expensive. In the photo: TOTO Neorest (costs almost $5000).
Well, two-piece ones are generally cheaper but harder to install (you have to put two pieces together) and harder to clean. You can imagine that there are all kinds of cracks between the toilet bowl and tank and lots of nasty stuff gets caught up there.
Woodbrightbath one-piece toilet costs about $300 if you can find a good deal, and in fact, the average cost of a flushing toilet is about $400. However, the T-0019 is an exception when it comes to pricing (a good one!). Most of the one-piece toilets cost $50-$200 more than two-piece toilets. For example, one of the most expensive toilets (costs almost $5,000) is TOTO’s Neorest and it is, of course, a one-piece toilet.
Preference comes down to you: Nonetheless, the choice between one-piece vs. two-piece toilets comes down to you. Both are quite comparable when it comes to doing your business, but you’ll notice the difference in elegance, cleaning requirements and the price of the toilet itself.
2. What makes a toilet comfortable? (Elongated bowl and 18+ inch height)
During the list of the best toilets of 2021, we have talked a bit about what makes a toilet comfortable. Considering we spend about half an hour per day being seated on a toilet, comfortability is something we should definitely factor into the equation when we’re buying a new toilet.
How comfortable a toilet is generally a subjective matter – you might find one comfy and the other one very disagreeable. Nonetheless, there are two objective things that roughly speaking make toilets more comfortable.
The obvious one is the bowl. Here we have two varieties of toilet bowls – round and elongated. The best toilets usually have an elongated bowl. As a matter of fact, all the top toilets on our Top5er list have elongated bowls. What is an elongated bowl anyway? Here are two KOHLER toilet bowls – one is round and the other is elongated:
Round (left) and elongated (right) toilet bowl. You can’t really see the difference until you sit on them.
A standard bowl was round (not a circle, more like an ellipsis) until a few decades ago. Someone has a great idea: if you want a more comfortable toilet experience, why not just make the bowl longer? And the elongated toilet bowl was born. Obviously, you have more space now and all the guys will know the struggle of sitting on a round bowl with little to no space in the front.
Of course, longer bowl and requires you to reserve more space in your bathroom for the toilet. The difference, however, is quite small – you’ll need an additional 2 or 3 inches from the wall. For a standard bathroom, this shouldn’t be a problem, but if you have a small bathroom, you might check out some round bowl toilets as well.
An edgy idea if you want an even more comfortable toilet experience.
The second less obvious contributor to toilet comfortability is floor-to-seat height. ADA regulations require all toilet seats to be 17” to 19” from the floor. These are the comfort height toilets (you can check out Top 5 Comfort Height Toilets list here).
Experience shows that some people find a 17-inch height less comfortable. A general rule here is that best toilets as far as comfort is concerned to have 3. a floor-to-seat height of 18 inches or more.
Side note here: producers many times talk about floor-to-bowl height which is not the same as the floor-to-seat height. The seat thickness is the difference there. Why do they do that? Well, quite often the toilets are sold without a seat, so they can’t really talk about floor-to-seat height, can they. An easy calculation is to add a 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch to the floor-to-bowl height and we’ll get the floor-to-seat height. This is because a regular toilet seat has a thickness of about 1 inch or a bit more.
3. Eco-friendly And Saver Toilets
When it comes to great toilets, they also have to be great at conserving water. About half of the water we use in our home is used in the bathroom and the biggest water drain in the bathroom by far is the toilet. This only means that we can save quite a bit of water if we’re smart when it comes to choosing a toilet.
How much water does one flush of toilet use anyway?
Not too long ago, even the best toilets used even up to 5 gallons of water per a single flush. Today, the best toilets use innovative technology to reduce water consumption to about 1.6 GPF. This a result of stricter ADA requirements and not only saves us big time on water bills; it is primarily designed to protect the environment and enables us to have better control over our water consumption.
General tip: When choosing a toilet, just make sure that it doesn’t use water unnecessarily. That means that toilets with 1.6 GPF / 6.0 LPF are already a great choice, and anything below those numbers is considered exceptional and eco-friendly.
Toilets with WaterSense label use 20% less than average water per flush. That’s 1.28 GPF or less.
As a matter of fact, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formed a so-called ‘WaterSense’ label. It is quite a nifty label that is connected with all kinds of products which use 20% less water than an average product.
In the case of toilets, if a producer like TOTO or KOHLER can achieve a 20% reduction in water flush volume, they can use the WaterSense label on their products. If you check our post about the best low flush toilets, you’ll notice that the first 3 spots are reserved for TOTO and KOHLER toilets.
The innovation in the toilet industry has allowed for the creation of water-saving toilets with different systems like HET and G-Max flushing system (that’s the one in the best TOTO toilets).
20% less than average GPF brings the water consumption down to 1.28 GPF or less. What is important to remember, however, is that dual-flush toilets can be exempt. For example, the small flush in the best dual flush toilets can be as little as 1.0 GPF but the big flush is usually 1.6 GPF which is too much to be given a WaterSense label.
4. Toilet Warranty Standards
Toilets are built to be as durable as possible. A toilet should be replaced only every 20 years or so. And, after all, the cost of the toilet is quite high and you should always check the warranty that comes with the toilet.
Usually buying a toilet is quite risk-free because they’re built to last for ages. We’ll cover the common problems with toilets below but they can be quite easily fixed. What can’t be fixed is if we get a defective toilet right from the production line and this is exactly why the warranty is the most important for.
The golden standard as far as toilets go is a 1-year limited warranty. Anything above 1-year is great, anything below 1-year is below average warranty.
KOHLER, for example, is a company that offers a 1-year limited warranty with most of their toilets. American Standard, on the other hand, can offer some great warranty on specific toilets.
Here is an example of an exceptional warranty for the #3 on our list – American Standard Champion-4 toilet. Here is an excerpt from American Standard product warranty page:
This toilet comes with a limited lifetime warranty on chinaware, a limited 10 year warranty on all mechanical parts of the toilet and a limited 1 year warranty on the toilet seat if included with product.
As you can see, the toilet warranty is actually a warranty on specific parts like chinaware, mechanical parts (that’s usually flushing system) and toilet seat.
When reading the warranty focus on the mechanical parts warranty. Those are usually the most complex and expensive to fix. That is, of course, if you don’t choose one of the fancy electronic auto lifting seats – those can be costly to replace as well.
The main thing to remember is that a warranty is a standard consideration when buying a new toilet. Everybody gives you some kind of warranty, just make sure you read the small print and you’ll be able to compare different toilets as far as the warranty goes as well.
Hope You’ll Enjoy Finding A New Toilet
Hopefully, we’ve given you some things to think about when choosing a new toilet. As we’ve learned, it actually quite an important and interesting part of bathroom design. Besides that, it is the one we spend most of the time sitting on in the bathroom and that uses up quite a bit of water.
In any case, always look for durability and water conservation when it comes to the best toilets. You want an elegant piece that will serve you for 20 years or more and will not be a drain on your water supply and will be friendly to the environment.
Even something like picking a perfect toilet can be fun!
The craziest thing about the so-called “most comfortable gaming chairs” is how uncomfortable they can be.
As you might have figured out, not every chair that is marketed as the most comfortable gaming chair is, well, comfortable.
That doesn’t mean there are no comfy gaming chairs; it just means that you have to cut out all the marketing comfy BS and focus on the parts that really make a gaming chair comfortable (which is what we did).
Moreover, the most comfortable gaming chairs can be much more snug (and cheaper) than ordinary office chairs. Here’s a Reddit comment that hit the nail on the head:
Here we’ll focus on the comfortability of a gaming chair. You know what we’re talking about: the relaxing, enjoyable snugly gaming chair that envelops you for a cozy (and healthy) gaming experience.
Look at this comparison between two gaming chairs and tell me which looks more comfortable for you:
#1 Best-Seller Homall gaming chair (left) vs. #2 Most Comfortable RESPAWN 110 gaming chair (right).
The left chair is actually one of the best selling gaming chairs. But does it look cozy to you? If you look at the one on the right (RESPAWN 110), it’s pretty obvious it’s much more comfortable to play games in.
It has a thicker seat, wider shoulders, deeper padding, more ergonomic form, and even a footrest.
Most Comfy Gaming Chair Reviews – Top 5 List
We picked the top 5 comfortable gaming chairs—the ones with ample padding and customizable settings that will keep your body relaxed and focused on the game. Our max. budget: $200 per chair.
1. NOKAXUS Gaming Chair With +30% Thicker Chair Seat (Most Comfy Chair For Gaming)
RPG games are usually not as intensive as shooter games. Playing World of Warcraft is less intense than Call of Duty, but you’re usually playing WoW for longer periods of time.
That means you have to be smart about conserving focus and strength, and the NOKAXUS chair can help you with that.
What you need if you play games for longer periods of time is a thick and comfy seat. NOKAXUS has one thick seat; in fact, it’s more than 30% thicker than a standard gaming chair seat. You can look at how deep it is here (hope you like pink):
NOKAXUS has a +30% thicker chair seat than a standard gaming chair. Makes for one comfy-ass seat. Don’t worry, the pink is not the only color NOKAXUS chair comes in.
That low-back padding in your kidney area is another feature that makes the NOKAXUS so comfortable.
The human spine can withstand a lot, but if you’re going to be sitting to game for more than 4-5 hours, you really need low-back support. The high-back support is great for shooter games but what the NOKAXUS chair specializes in is the long-running RPG games.
All the weight of your upper body is pushing down on the spine and muscles in your lower back, and that’s where you need most of the support for marathon sessions.
This comfortable gaming chair is also made out of higher-end materials like PU leather with carbon fiber accent, and it has a sturdy base. The framework is so strong it can support a 300-pound gamer with ease.
Oh, and by the way, don’t be afraid of the pink color. The NOKAXUS is available in 6 different colors but if you do like pink, I mean really like pink, you can check out where on the list of best pink gaming chairs you can find the NOKAXUS.
The downside is the smell when you unpack it. It may be comfy, but it has a leathery smell because of the PU leather. Fortunately, it does go away in a week or two.
Pros
Pros
Thick seat – more than 30% thicker than in regular chairs.
2. RESPAWN 110 (As Comfortable As Sitting On A Cloud)
RPG games are usually not that intensive as shooter games. I mean, playing World of Warcraft is less intensive as Call of Duty but you’re playing WoW for longer periods of time. That means you have to be smart about conserving focus and strength, and the RESPAWN 110 can help you with that.
What you need if you play games for longer periods of time is low-back support and arguably RESPAWN 110 has the best low-back padding. Check it out:
Sitting on the RESPAWN 110 feels like sitting on a cloud.
The ergonomics of the RESPAWN 110 chair are insane. Usually, gaming chairs designed for comfort have one main support.
If you look at the RESPAWN 110, however, you can see that it has:
Low-Back support (for long-hour games like RPG, Strategy)
High-Back support (for focused games like FPS, Racing)
Side support
Footrest
Unlike other gaming chairs, this one covers you from all sides and is sturdy enough to support a 275-pound gamer. AND you can pick your own color.
Pretty much every part of this relaxing gaming chair can be customized. If you want armrests a bit higher, no problem: just add an inch. If you want a little higher seat, you’ve got it!
The RESPAWN 110 is a comfortable chair that looks like most standard gaming chairs. With all the customization, deep padding and ergonomic support from all sides, it is one of the best gaming chairs overall.
The Blue Whale is the textbook comfortable gaming chair. It combines all the elements that make a gaming chair pleasant to sit.
The two main things to look for when choosing a comfortable gaming chair both concern the padding (or sponge, if you will). It has to be:
High-density. We’re talking about cold-cured memory foam.
Thickness. The thicker the better.
The simple thick and high-density sponge that you see on the Blue Whale gaming chair is the basis for a pleasant chair. What makes the Blue Whale the most comfortable gaming chair are all the additional features you can see here:
Blue Whale is the most pleasant chair to game it. It comes with the perfect sponge, large lumbar pillow, 2D armrests and even a retractable footrest for maximum comfort.
When it all comes together, you won’t really notice the lumbar pillow or the 2D armrests. You’ll just feel coziness. The Blue Whale is specifically designed as a textbook comfortable gaming chair.
It can also be used as a regular office chair if you’re not above 6’4”.
Pros and Cons of Blue Whale chair
Pros
Pros
Thick and high-density sponge.
Retractable footrest.
Built to last (from the top to bottom).
Textbook example of a comfortable gaming chair.
Affordable price.
Cons
Cons
Not appropriate for really tall people (6’4” or more)
HEALGEN chair is generally well-known for being very comfortable. A lot of it has to do with its dense padding. That’s just the beginning though.
This ergonomically designed chair can offer even something that the Blue Whale (No. 1 pick) lacks: the padded armrests. In fact, the linkage armrests are one of the two things HEALGEN chair is famous for (the other being its coziness, of course).
HEALGEN relaxes the whole body and it takes special care for your arms. Why? Well, every action in the gaming world goes through your arm. Want to shoot an enemy? Sure, just quick scope it with your arms. Your arms need to be rested and that’s where the HEALGEN is the best. Here are some other comfy aspects as well:
HEALGEN relaxes your body and, most importantly, your arms. The padded linkage armrests are worth their weight in gold.
The thick lumbar pillow is also equipped with a massage function. However, it really needs to be said that the massage the HEALGEN has to offer is not all that great. Sounds great but it is about mediocre at best.
The thick padding, now, that is really what the HEALGEN chair does well. Having such high-quality padding with a higher than average density does make the HEALGEN one of the most comfortable gaming chairs around:
Pros
Pros
Padded linkage armrests.
Hugging effect.
Thick padding with thickened headrest.
Bonus: Retractable footrest.
Cons
Cons
Massage function is mediocre.
The whole is the backrest isn’t really there to increase breathability/reduce sweating.
5. WENSIX Racing Chair Review - The Most Comfortable Standard Gaming Chair
There's not much missing with the WENSIX, and that's why it's one of the most popular picks.
It gives you both high back and low back support. This gives you both the focus to play shooter games like Call of Duty or lets you relax to play strategy games like Civilization VI.
The extensive padding of the comfortable WENSIX gaming chair is immediately visible here:
#2 Comfortable WENSIX chair is built like a cockpit. High back support (for focus) and low back support (for relaxation).
What really makes this the best comfortable gaming chair is the foam density of the padding. Usually, cheap gaming chairs will have a 'light' or less dense foam.
These just cave in and flatten quickly. The WENSIX chair has a super dense foam padding. This really adds to the comfy effect of a gaming chair.
What you need to do to get the most enjoyable position is play around with the settings.
You can adjust the height of the seat between 18.8'' and 22'', the incline and yes, even the big armrests can move up and down considerably.
All in all, WENSIX is the best $200 gaming chair for comfort.
Pros and Cons of WENSIX Gaming Chair
Pros
Pros
High-density foam padding.
Both high and low back support.
Adjustable height, the incline, and even armrests.
Hands down, best overall gaming chair for less than $200.
Selection Criteria: How Did We Pick Those Comfy Chairs For Gaming
How comfortable are these gaming chairs and what exactly does make them so cozy? Here are a few things we looked for when making these comfiest gaming chair picks:
Padding - How much padding does a gaming chair have? More padding usually means more comfort. X Rocker chairs are known for having deep padding. However, too much padding might be counterproductive. You don't want to be too snugly enveloped in the relaxing gaming chair because it can take your focus away from the game.
Support - Which part of the body does a comfortable chair for gaming support best? All chairs for gaming try to cover all your body, from your feet to your head. However, they primarily support either head, high or low back. People who have problems with pains in the lower back should go for low-back supported chairs. For increased focus, however, the high back and head support chairs are the best.
Gaming - Which chairs are best for your favorite gaming category? If you're into shooting games like FPS (and most gamers are - here are the gamer statistics), you should look for a chair with high back support (focus) and great audio settings (you want to hear every enemy step). On the other hand, strategy games and RPGs are a bit more relaxed and you should go for easy low back support for extended comfort.
Gaming chairs can be cheap, but for a comfortable one, you'll have to pay a bit more. The prices here start at about $150 and can go up to $500.
Additional Resources:
Gaming Chairz - a very comprehensive place for everything that has to do with gaming chairs. That includes all kinds of comfy gaming chairs as well as keyboards, headsets and PCs/laptops that enhance the gaming experience.
HighGround Gaming - a wonderful article on the 19 best PC gaming chairs and if you look at them closely, you'll see that some of them are very comfortable.
Ultimate Game Chair - they have an article about gaming chairs as well and introduce an exceptionally great difference between rocker-style chairs and standard gaming chairs.
Gaming Factors - it's a site that goes well beyond comfortable gaming chair but you'll find some good point about those as well.
Do you know which is one of the most overlooked bathroom parts?
You guessed it – the shower arm.
The shower arm is supposed to be as unnoticeable as possible. That just means that it has to be reliable – the best gooseneck shower arm is the one you don’t ever have to worry about because it fits perfectly and holds for 10 years or more.
We prepared a Top 5 straight and gooseneck shower arm reviews. Three of them are “S” shaped (gooseneck shower arms) that lift the showerhead for 5” or more, and two of them are straight, strong and long – perfect for mounting rainfall showerheads.
“S” or gooseneck shaped shower arm lift a showerhead. Straight arm is best for bigger rain shower heads.
You pretty much know by now if you need a gooseneck or a straight shower arm depending on where the piping enters your shower area. Here is a simple rule of thumb:
Piping far above your head? You need a straight shower arm.
Piping in your general head area? You need a gooseneck shower arm (lifts the showerhead above your head).
Shower arms are attached to the wall with a 1/2” NTP screw. The flange usually comes with every shower arm.
How much does a shower arm cost? The arms are relatively cheap and durable – you’re looking somewhere between $10 to 30$ for standard models (which are more than enough). Of course, you can find MOEN shower arms that cost more than $100 – here is one for about $150.
1. Purelux 16” Extra Long Review – Simply The Best Pick
Picking the best shower arm is not rocket science. Purelux 16” shower arm is all about not being noticed – and that’s exactly what you want in a shower arm.
This is a straight and very long model (16 inches). The simple design and the length make it suitable for pretty much any showerhead. It will hold anything from the standard 8” showerhead to the big 16” rainfall head. Why?
The only stainless steel shower arm that will hold anything from 8” standard showerhead to 16” rainfall head.
Purelux shower arm is made out of stainless steel. If you go through the Top5er table again, you’ll see it’s actually the only shower arm that is made out of stainless steel – others are out of varying qualities of brass. Brass is a standard material for shower arms but if you want a higher grade material, you go for stainless steel shower arm.
It has a nickel polish that fits neatly in every bathroom design.
Basic features: It’s 16 inches long – that is very long for the shower arm and it enables you to fit any showerhead (you don’t have to worry about tight spaces). Of course, if you have a small shower room area, go for a 12-inch one instead.
It comes with the flange (the part that surrounds the arm at the wall) and it’s easy to install (2 minutes and no tools).
You can check the price of this shower arm below – it should cost $20 or so.
2. LDR 520 High Rise Review – Best Gooseneck Shower Arm
If you need to raise the showerhead with a new shower arm, the straight models won’t help you. That’s what the gooseneck shower arms are for. The best one of those (that also raises the showerhead the most) is LDR 520 High Rise model.
This arm will raise the showerhead for full 10”. Other models elevate the head 6 or maybe 7 inches up. However, unlike with Purelex or other straight shower arms, you have to be careful what kind of showerhead you want to attach to it. Look at the LDR 520 design first to see where to screw on the showerhead:
LDR 520 rises a showerhead full 10”.
At one end (the one which goes into the wall) you see a flange that comes with the arm but I want you to focus on the other side. If you see how the angle of the arm looks like you should be asking yourself what kind of showerhead can you mount of the shower arm.
For example, the big square 16” rainfall shower head won’t work here because it’s simply too big. The LDR 520 gives you the 10” inch rise but, when considering it, have in mind that this shower arm is most appropriate for a standard-sized showerhead. For example, a 6” shower head would be a perfect fit. Luckily, most of us have standard showerheads which can be simply mounted on the LDR shower arm in a minute.
You be careful about two things:
Less distance from the wall (about 5”).
Thin-walled brass.
With straight shower arms, you can get even 16” inches away from the wall. On the other hand, the “S” shaped arms put less distance between the wall and the showerhead, so keep that in mind, especially with the LDR 520.
The other thing to be careful about is the thin-walled brass. Brass is a great material but if it’s thin-walled you must not twist it because the outer layer will just peel away and the whole things will rust. It also isn’t resistant to damage as much as solid brass is.
3. SARLAI 16” Shower Arm Review – Best Budget Straight Arm
SARLAI is a well-known brand when it comes to bathroom supplies such as showerheads and other faucets. And yes, they have their own 16-inch long shower arm as well.
The great thing about these longer shower arms is that you can mount any showerhead on it. In fact, anything from the standard 8” head to the big 16” rainfall showerhead will fit on the end of the arm (look at the 2.5” extension at the end).
The design and the dimensions are pretty much the same as with the #1 pick. Here are the dimensions:
SARLAI 16” shower arm dimensions.
You can see the 1/2” NPT that is the standard with all shower arms. When figuring out how much weight can a shower arm handle, the 1/2” screw is designed to hold up even if you mount the heaviest rainfall showerhead on it.
However, compared to the #1 shower arm pick, there are two differences:
SARLAI’s shower arm is made out of solid brass (instead of stainless steel).
It has a chrome finish (instead of a brushed nickel)
Of course, it is better to have stainless steel and brushed nickel (that’s why Purelux shower arm is the #1 pick) but SARLAI is somewhat cheaper – even up to 20%.
Other than that, the SARLAI is a solid choice regardless of if you’re choosing one of their dual showerheads or their best straight shower arm.
4. MODONA Gooseneck Solid Brass Shower Head – With Satin Nickel Finish
The “S” shaped shower arms have a bit of an advantage over straight ones; namely, the producers can play a bit with the design to create a beautiful shape. This is most distinctly seen with the MODONA shower arm – it’s one of the most beautifully designed shower arms out there.
On top of the beautiful “S” design, what gives the MODONA shower arm an edge is the satin nickel finish. That is a high-end finish that will fit in the well-decorated bathrooms. Here is the arm with the satin finish:
MODONA created one of the most beautiful shower arms.
If you look closely, the “S” neck part of the shower arm actually goes to the wall a bit – this is a design feature yet unseen with other arms. What this does is give you the space to mount even the biggest shower heads.
The “S” shaped arms usually lack this extra space. Yes, they do lift the showerhead for up to 10”, you simply can’t put a 16” rain shower head on it. Well, with the MODONA you now can.
The distance from the wall is also an incredible 12 inches. Usually, only a straight shower arm will deliver such a distance, but the unique design of MODONA is much longer than a standard “S” shaped arm for the shower.
It is also made out of solid brass through and through and with a 5-year warranty, you won’t have to worry about the durability. The beautiful design and the quality material, however, do raise the price somewhat – this shower arm will cost you a little less than $30.
#5 HANEBATH Gooseneck Shower Arm – Most Luxurious Pick
When designing a high-end bathroom, you should look at details and a shower arm is usually a detail that is easily missed. For luxury bathrooms, a HANEBATH Gooseneck shower arm is a smart and elegant choice.
The core of the shower arm is made out of brass and you can choose between brushed nickel and oil-rubbed bronze finish. For most bathrooms, the brushed nickel fits in nicely but if you have darker colors in the bathroom, the bronze is a more elegant fit. Here is how the bronze version of HANEBATH Gooseneck looks like:
HANEBATH Gooseneck with an oil-rubbed bronze finish. Appropriate for darker bathrooms.
As you can see from the design, you can fit a 12” square showerhead without tilting it. Can you fit a 16” head without tilting it? Sadly, no. The very large showerheads cannot be used with the HANEBATH shower arm.
Many people go absolutely mad because the bronze color you see is something they were looking for for a very long time. However, here is a fair warning: the picture shows the shower arm being darker than it actually is. Even when you look at the HANEBATH shower arm, you see that isn’t bronze color – it’s too black. That’s probably the angle or the lighting of this particular show – just be prepared that when you unwrap it, it will have a bronze-like shine, not a black one.
The price of the HANEBATH arm is the highest in our top 5 selection of the best shower arms. You’re looking at something like $30 or so.
When picking the best gooseneck shower arm, there are all the things from the shape of the arm to the distance from the wall and the material that you have to consider. For example:
What is shower arm made out of? The material most commonly used for bathroom faucets is brass. Just a warning here: there is a difference between solid brass shower arms and thin-walled brass arms. The solid brass is always better; however, if you can get a shower arm made out of stainless steel, go for stainless steel – that’s top-notch material.
How far does the shower arm extend the showerhead from the wall? The dimensions here are very important because there is an optimum place where a showerhead should be. Any distance from 10” to 20” is ok. Obviously, if you have a bigger shower head – maybe something like the big and popular 16” LORDEAR rain showerhead – you’ll need a longer shower arm (for straight arms) or will have to count a bit if you have an ‘S’ shaped arm. The simplest way, of course, is just to get the long 16” shower arm (just be careful if you have a really small shower area).
Do you need to raise your showerhead with a shower arm? If you have the shower piping somewhere around your head area, you’ll need an ‘S’ or ‘gooseneck’ shower arm to get some extra height. You don’t want to crunch while taking a shower, right? The ‘gooseneck’ shower arms can raise the showerhead even up to 10”.
Where To Learn More About Shower Arms?
Of course, we didn’t cover everything in this Top5er piece. You’re welcome to research on your own but here are some great blogs with shower arm reviews:
A Great Shower – they feature top 8 shower arm extensions and help you out of a jam if your piping was installed by a hobbit.
Best Shower Heads – this is a site primarily about shower heads but they have an excellent guide on how to buy a shower arm for every kind of showerhead.
jchansdesigns – if you need to look at some high-resolution photos of shower arms, this is the right address.
Back To You
Now it’s time for your questions or recommendations.
If you’ve used a specific shower arm, tell us how it went. If you have problems with how to install a shower arm, you can tell us the model in the comments and we’ll try to help.
