X-Chair X-Tech office chair review: Ultra premium, ultra expensive

The right desk chair can make a huge difference in your day-to-day work life. While I occasionally use my standing desk to actually stand, the majority of my work time is still spent in my desk chair, and as I’ve started to experience back problems, good support and proper posture have become increasingly important. The X-Chair X-Tech is designed to be the ultimate desk chair for those who value adjustability, comfort, and proper support.

The chair certainly isn’t cheap though, starting at an eye-watering $1,915. That said, while it’s pricey, many will be willing to pay the money for something that lives up to the claims of truly offering superior comfort and support. So, does it? I’ve been using the chair for a while now to find out.

The X-Chair X-Tech definitely looks and feels like a high-end chair, with a design that immediately stands out thanks to its premium materials. It has a solid, well-built design, and certainly feels durable. The chair is highly adjustable and customizable too—but I’ll get into that a little later.

The chair comes with an optional “Elemax” back massager, which also has heating and cooling in it. I skipped it, as my experience with a similar feature on a previous chair left me a little unimpressed over long-term use, and I never really turned it on. Assembly for the X-Tech was straightforward and took around 10 minutes, thanks to the detailed and helpful instructions.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

The chair features a wide, 22-inch base which has a contoured M-Foam cushion, finished in what X-Chair refers to as its “Brisa Soft Touch fabric.” While this is technically a faux leather, it’s quite convincing in both look and feel, and it offers good breathability. In terms of durability, it’s still early to say definitively, but after a month of daily use, the chair is holding up well and seems built to last for years. That said, it doesn’t necessarily feel quite as durable as the fabric-covered X-Chair X3 that I’ve been using for a few years now. Though again, it’s still really too early to tell.

X-Chair X-Tech review: Adjustability

Adjustability is one of the reasons the X-Chair X-Tech stands out — it offers a massive range of possible adjustments, including many found on other chairs and some that aren’t typical. Practically every part of the chair can be tailored to your needs — from seat height and depth to the backrest and headrest. There’s dynamic lumbar support that adapts as you move, and you can fine-tune the tilt tension or lock in your preferred recline angle.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

You even get a few different options for armrests. The standard armrests let you adjust height, width, depth, and angle, but you can upgrade to the 360-degree armrests that add more flexibility with swiveling rotational armrests that can essentially let you set the armrests at any angle. It’s a cool feature, but I wish there were more options for locking the armrests into place. You can lock the frame of the armrest into place, but the cushions on top of it still swivel, which can be annoying when you have a spot where you want them to stay. Frankly, most should stick with the standard armrests.

Frustrations around the armrests aside, the sheer amount of flexibility in this chair is staggering. If you’re someone who has specific positioning needs, or simply wants to make sure you can get the perfect position, then you’ll love what’s on offer here.