Genesis Nitro 550 test. Leather and material ensure comfort

The test of any chair is so difficult to carry out as maintaining high reliability simply requires spending at least a few weeks with a given model. Such time allows you to check how this strictly utilitarian object copes with the hardships of everyday use, but I will be honest with you – I spent only a month on Nitro 550. Is that a lot? It depends, because if you take into account the fact that it was used every day for 12-16 hours with breaks of several dozen minutes, these 4 weeks will translate into several months of “normal” use for several hours a day.

Box, equipment and assembly

The adventure with Nitro 550 is not different from unpacking and assembling other strictly gaming models. The seat comes to us in a large box, in which all elements are properly secured, be it foil or foam, so that even individual upholstery can withstand the greatest hardships of travel.

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There are a lot of these elements, because in addition to the standard components, the Nitro 550 includes two pillows (one for the neck and the other for the neck) and a number of plastic plugs. The whole assembly process is so ugly to say “foolproof”, because on the one hand, the instruction in a text and graphic way leads us by the handle, and any problems with matching the screws are solved by a simple cardboard binder with appropriate markings.

Although we can definitely handle the folding ourselves, taking care of the use of box covers to protect, for example, panels, in two, several stages can be significantly easier. Tune in to no more than an hour of work before you sit down on your new armchair for the first time, which … well – can it be described as high quality?

Materials, workmanship and design

Genesis Nitro 550 is definitely not a typical gaming chair, but an attempt to offer something more at the lowest possible price. It can be seen on the all-metal five-star base, which is crowned with quite traditional and unattractive workmanship and appearance, but at least covered with a layer of protective rubber, double wheels with a diameter of 60 mm. They can handle any type of floor and only catch hiccups on dense pile carpets, which is no surprise.

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We mount the included gas lift to the base, with a maximum load of 150 kg, which is above average, which is useful when we sit on it with impetus. In turn, we sit on a large seat, 51 cm wide and 49 cm deep, at a height adjustable from 48 to 55 cm, which suggests that the chair is intended for people with a height of 160 to 195 cm and even “plus size” stature. Do not count, however, that the Nitro 550 will appeal to people with an impressively built, because its bucket shape hinders it. This applies to both the seat with characteristic padded sides and the contoured backrest 81 cm high and 56 cm wide.

Compared to other gaming chairs, the Nitro 550 stands out in particular with a mix of materials, because the cold-formed foam that surrounds the metal skeleton is finished with both artificial leather and breathable fabric. The manufacturer has made sure that the leather is located exactly where we have the least contact with the chair, and the material where there is the most. Hence the pleasant-to-touch material in the form of a micro-mesh all over the seat (excluding the sides) and in the center of the backrest.

On the sides of each element there is a combination of black and azure (in this color version) good quality leather with visible stitching. This also applies to the lumbar pillow on elastics and buckles, but (oddly enough) not the one intended for our neck, but this problem is easily solved – just turn it upside down to the side with the material, which I recommend. In addition, the entire back of the seat is covered with a durable plastic material finished with a carbon pattern, which is complemented by the manufacturer’s logo.

For the very end, I have left the biggest problems with the Nitro 550, and in fact only one – the armrests. If not for them, it would be difficult to say anything bad about this chair, but because the Genesis went along the lowest resistance line in their case, providing only the possibility of adjusting them up and down, which in my case made them somewhat useless in everyday use. Especially that the lack of the possibility of withdrawing them interfered with my arrangement of desks with a specific support, and the natural position of the elbow of the hand dedicated to the mouse forced me to rest it on the very edge.

In terms of workmanship, they also seem to be the worst element of the entire chair, even taking into account a badly drilled hole for the plug, from which it falls out after a few seconds.

Impressions of using Nitro 550

I held the Nitro 550 longer than I intended before writing the test, thanks to a warning from a friend that after a month I will see a squeaky mechanism. I couldn’t believe it, but I waited and in fact I heard the first squeak after only two weeks, both when sitting down, resisting and standing up. It is definitely not a slight creaking, and it is a kind of louder, which will probably only get deeper. So do not count on the fact that this armchair will be completely silent, although compared to my worn-out armchair with 3 years on the back of the neck, it is almost silent.

Just as the regulations work perfectly well, I have doubts as to whether Genesis has properly taken care of securing the rocking function regulated with a simple screw present in this model. This is because it comes down to a simple metal blockade in the form of a bar pressed between the seat and the mechanism, which for me (a person who does not use the rocking function) irritates by the sound of metal hitting metal each time I adjust my position.

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The initial delight with the possibility of reclining the backrest to a lying position and spending so much time in the form of rest also passed quickly, leaving another important feature of Genesis 550 useless. At least for me, but I am aware that this is a function that is desired by many. In this position, if you try hard, you will surely have a spectacular encounter with the floor, but otherwise this armchair is really difficult to overturn, thanks to its 21 kg weight and low center of gravity.

Nitro 550 test – summary

The world is divided into those who hate gaming chairs and those who do not mind them, and I am one of them. Despite spending too much time in front of the screen, I do not require sitting for whatever – if it is comfortable and does not irritate me in the long run with its flaws, then I do not need more to be happy. I am mentioning it so that those of you who approach the subject in the same way as I do (~ 180-centimeter, 85-kg chap) can be sure that Nitro 550 will be a good choice for you.

This armchair is not perfect because of its messed up armrests, which are a huge mistake, but aside from them, it’s hard to really fault anything else. Especially that at this price, even the quick “new” creaking is nothing unusual (in my way of using the armchairs), which is why the Genesis Nitro 550 deserved in my eyes the recommendation: