Duelhawk Ultra Gaming Chair review

The gaming chair space is a fairly established one in the grand scheme of things. It's a busy field, with popular brands like Secretlab and DXRacer being known players in the field. That’s why Duelhawk, a fairly new London-based company, trying to break through that noise is tough. 

That being the case, with the Duelhawk Ultra, the premium gaming chair from the company, it’s clear they deserve their spot in the scrum. 

The Duelhawk Ultra Gaming Chair, ships to the UK and most of Europe, and is currently listed for £339 or €374 (around $450, AU$620). There’s currently no word on if the company looks to expand its regional offerings, so for now, it sadly remains out of reach for most of the world. 

Assembly

The chair arrives disassembled in a flatpack box, but it's well protected and reached us with no damage or wear. However, the box is large and heavy. It will be an ask for your delivery person to carry it themselves, and will be cumbersome to get around, especially if you need to get it up a flight of stairs. With that in mind, asking for someone else to help you with it is probably the wisest move. 

If you’ve ever assembled a gaming chair, there shouldn’t be any surprises here. The back, seat, and wheelbase come disassembled but it’s all relatively straightforward to put together. For the most part, everything goes where you might expect it.

There are some fiddly side plates to the back of the chair that hide unsightly mechanics meant for adjusting the resting angle, which are somewhat of a pain if done on your own. That said, the visual instructions were sufficient to make it obvious how to overcome this. It's certainly possible to put the whole chair together by yourself within twenty minutes or so.

Aesthetics

The key problem with so many gaming chairs is that they can come across as gaudy or excessive. While this can be great for Twitch streamers and those embodying an outward persona, it can leave those wanting something a little more subdued failing for options. 

This is perhaps where the Duelhawk Ultra really steps up. In the unit provided, Moonrock Fabric, it offers a shape that is undeniably a gaming chair but it's much softer on the eyes. It has a logo on the front of the backrest, with the Duelhawk signage at the top of the headrest, but otherwise, it’s fairly unintrusive. If you like, it comes with a headrest pillow to cover up that signage too. The pillow comes with the same typography, but since it’s black embroidery on a black pillow, it’s impossible to tell at a distance. 

Frankly, it’s one of the most ‘adult’ looking gaming chairs out there. While its shape will always betray its gaming roots, it's a chair that in every other way would be at home in an office setting. 

The fabric feels great too, and after several weeks of testing, has shown no signs of wear. It also avoids common ‘sweating’ issues that come with leather-like chairs. That being said, Duelhawk does offer the chair in a PU Leather if you prefer that too.

Comfort

The Duelhawk Ultra uses a unique cure foam that creates a comfortable, if not firm sitting experience. For those looking to sink into their chair, this might prove a little hard. That said, if you like a chair that holds its shape a little more this should be up your alley. It’s well supported and even after extended periods of sitting, be that for gaming or even just general workday use, no issues have arisen. 

The chair also has some fairly impressive armrests, that allow you to adjust to the situations you need. Each one has a surprising amount of movement, offering up to 76mm of length adjustment. On top of that, they can be turned individually at three different settings, facing out, forward, and inwards. The armrests are quite long too, making a nice rest for your elbows and up your forearm. 

However, perhaps the biggest issue with the Duelhawk rears its head when it comes to adjustments. The seat feels a little low. The adjustment of the chair’s height feels limited, and even at, what I’d consider a fairly standard desk height, I have to bring the armrests all the way up in order to clear the lip of my desk. This may not be a huge problem for some users, but for someone who likes their armrests a little higher than their desk, it was a very snug fit. There’s a lingering want for another inch or two that the chair just won’t give. 

The chair has some other features that are worth your time interacting with though.  The adjustable armrests are nice, and that kind of flexibility is embedded into the backrest too. 

The chair has an impressive adjustable angle range. You can sit 90 degrees straight up, or adjust it to almost be laying down. What’s nice is that it seems you can lock at any angle instead of having several set positions. It’s a fluid movement, so you can find what works for you. The spring lock also feels secure so your preferred angle shouldn't give.

Elsewhere, the chair also offers an adjustable lumbar support mechanism. This raises the middle of the backrest to be pushed up into the curvature of your back to better support longer periods of sitting. It’s hard to tell exactly how much this affected my sitting experience, but it’s certainly a nice addition and may be crucial for those in need of better support. 

Verdict

Simply, the Duelhawk is an impressive product and does manage to stand out in a crowded space. A lot of that comes down to it being one of the best-looking options for those who like subtler aesthetics. If you are looking for an “adult” option, the Duelhark Ultra should take some serious consideration. 

At £339, it’s not the cheapest chair out there, but nor is it the most expensive. It comes in cheaper than the Secretlab Titan, and it does offer a very similar feature set too. That being the case, it’s still not something you are going to want to pick up on a whim, and there are good, cheap options out there too.

The chair also feels like it could be a little more giving in the heigh department too, running into some issues with fairly standard desk sizes. That’s especially noticeable if you like to sit close to the desk and have your armrests higher than the lip. 

That all being the case though, that is mostly a nitpick of what has been a reliable, great-looking chair. While Duelhawk still has some work to take on established brands in the field, if it keeps up with products like the Ultra, it could soon see itself as a regular player in that conversation.

If you are looking to pick up the Duelhawk Ultra yourself, you can buy it directly from the company at their website.

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