TechRadar Verdict
The Anda Seat Spider-Man Edition is an incredibly constructed gaming chair with a unique look that's perfect for any Marvel fan (providing you're tall). There are other official Marvel designs to choose from, so you can find a fit no matter who your favorite hero is.
Pros
- +
Premium construction
- +
Head-turning Spider-Man design
- +
Quality materials
Cons
- -
Not built for short folk
- -
You lose some functionality due to the aesthetic
- -
Expensive
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Two-minute review
The Anda Seat Spider-Man Edition is part of a collaboration between Marvel and Anda Seat, a gaming chair manufacturer known for well-built racing-style seats. Also included in this series are Iron Man Edition, Ant-Man Edition and Captain America Edition gaming chairs, and these feature not only the obvious design inspiration of their superhero namesakes, but also individual builds to the chairs themselves.
We opted to test the Spider-Man chair given the recent release of Spider-Man: Miles Morales for PS5 and the upcoming Spider-Man 3 movie, and we weren't disappointed with our choice. The cosmetic styling and details of the AndaSeat Spider-Man Edition are incredible, with the wonderfully bright and premium-feeling PVC catching your eye when you walk into the room.
The assembly was straightforward and could be done alone, rather than requiring the two people recommended in the enclosed instruction manual, providing you're strong. This is an extremely hefty piece of furniture. The only issue we had putting the AndaSeat Spider-Man Edition together was some confusion over the side panel protectors – trust us, they will snap into place if you apply a little more pressure, and shouldn't break.
We didn't experience any squeaking noises over the several weeks of reviewing the Anda Seat Spider-Man Edition gaming chair, and all of the hydraulics used to control the sitting position and height operated without any issues. The chair is solidly built and doesn't wobble from side-to-side, providing more support than we've experienced in many other gaming chairs.
In all, this is a luxurious piece of gaming furniture with a unique and well implemented aesthetic. Despite looking like something marketed towards children, the Anda Seat Spider-Man Edition gaming chair is made for geeky adults who want a premium product that thematically compliments their hobbies and interests, and it ticks all of these boxes to provide a fantastic addition to nerdy setups.
Price and availability
The Anda Seat Spider-Man Edition is available via the AndaSeat website or Amazon for $549.99 (£429.99, AU$819.99). For anyone interested in the other official Marvel designs, we've listed their prices below:
- Iron Man: $469.99 / £349.99 / AU$699.99
- Ant Man: $399.99 / £299.99 / AU$499.99
- Captain America: $529.99 / £399.99 / AU$799.99
The AndaSeat Spider-Man Edition Gaming Chair can be purchased on the AndaSeat website or via Amazon, as can the rest of the Official Marvel collaboration.
Design
Max rec. height: 6ft 8in
Max rec. weight: 440lbs (200 kilos)
Recline: 90°-160°
Armrests: 4D
Colors: Red & blue
Material: PVC Leather
If you're looking for the ultimate geeky gaming chair then this is it. Rival brands such as Secret Labs offer various special edition variants of their chairs that incorporate designs from content like Cyberpunk 2077 or Game Of Thrones, and while they do this well, it doesn't hold a candle to the effort that has gone into the AndaSeat Marvel range.
The chair design is immediately identifiable as Spider-Man, and includes a lot of nice finishing touches, such as the 'eyes' located on the headrest, formed from solid textured plastic to emulate the appearance of Spider-Man's mask. The colors are bright and scratch-resistant, with accompanying memory foam pillows to support your head and back should you need them.
We found the Anda Seat Spider-Man Edition gaming chair to be plenty comfortable enough without these extra additions, but the constant theming through all the additional accessories should be applauded. Every meeting or video call was met with a compliment on the styling of the chair, so this is sure to be a hit with fans of the Marvel franchise.
The chair also comes with a circular floor mat to protect your flooring or carpets from the heft of the chair. The floor mat is the only bit of this collection we feel doesn't deliver a premium feel, as it's stiff and easy to get caught under the wheels. Visually speaking though, it works to complete the Spider-Man aesthetic and certainly does its job to protect your flooring (we spilled water onto it during our review process and no liquid leaked through to the carpet underneath).
Comfort
The armrests are 4D, meaning that you can adjust their height, position, and rotation. This level of customization is intended to adapt the chair to its environment and aid in preventing wrist discomfort.
These changes can be made by pushing a button on the inside of each rest. You can also recline the AndaSeat Spider-Man chair between 90°-160° safely with the knowledge that your weight will be supported, making this suitable for anyone that needs to rest at their desk.
The main body of the Anda Seat Spider-Man Edition is a high density molded foam that promises to retain its shape for years to come. The racing seat style of the chair isn't medically ergonomic, but we found it to be extremely comfortable for lengthy periods of sitting and didn't exacerbate any joint or back issues.
The chair is coated with hard-wearing PVC leather which makes it resistant to scratching and spillage, and as such would make this a great option for kids.
Or at least, it would be a great option for kids if it were a tad smaller. The only real complaint we had about the chair is that the accompanying memory foam head pillow is unusable for anyone under a certain height. In the instruction manual, the pillow is shown to hook through the section of the chair occupied by the solid white plastic eyes on the Anda Seat Spider-Man.
This is likely because the Spider-Man design is based on an existing Anda Seat model and shares its instruction manual with the version of the chair that hasn't had a Marvel-themed cosmetic overhaul. We reached out to Anda Seat and they have confirmed that the plastic sections cannot be removed from that chair, but you can still strap the headrest pillow around the backrest. This sits much higher than the illustrated image as it can't loop through the lower 'eye' holes.
The reviewer measures in at 5ft 6-inches, and found the height of the pillow to be completely unusable, but this didn't ruin the overall experience too much, as we found the pillow wasn't necessary when trying to get comfortable in the chair.
The AndaSeat Spider-Man Edition does also state its height range is suitable for people on the taller side, which is unfortunate given how many teenagers and women would love to have a well built comic-inspired chair.
The chair offers plenty of room to sit with legs crossed or extended, and the additional memory foam lumbar pillow is a great addition for anyone who requires a little support. Overall, sitting in the Anda Seat Spider-Man Edition gaming chair for lengthy periods is extremely comfortable, even for a shorter individual who can't use the additional extras.
Buy it if...
You're a Spider-Man fan
This probably goes without saying, but the Spider-Man theming is exceptionally well done, and other geeks will be gushing at how cool this gaming chair looks.
You're over 6-foot in height
This chair has an impressive height and weight limit, so if you've struggled to find a comfortable fit, the Anda Seat Spider Man Edition could be a good choice for you.
You want high-quality piece of furniture
The entire Anda Seat range has great build quality, and this Spider Man Edition chair is no exception. It's solid, very sturdy, and made of hardwearing materials, designed to last for years.
Don't buy it if...
You're short or buying this chair for a child
The chair is perfectly usable for anyone under 5ft 8-inches, but it was designed for adult men, so shorter folk may feel like the chair is on the large size for their needs.
You're on a budget
At $549.99 (£429.99, AU$819.99), this isn't a cheap gaming chair. Avoid if you're on a budget as there are less expensive options available.
You hate comics
It's literally designed to look like Spider-Man, please don't buy this if you're not prepared to sit on his visage every day.
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Jess is a former TechRadar Computing writer, where she covered all aspects of Mac and PC hardware, including PC gaming and peripherals. She has been interviewed as an industry expert for the BBC, and while her educational background was in prosthetics and model-making, her true love is in tech and she has built numerous desktop computers over the last 10 years for gaming and content creation. Jess is now a journalist at The Verge.