Today we have a special product to talk about - it is this cream and navy stunner of a chair from Royale! We will go through the process of customisation and things we learned along the way, and, of course, do a full review of the chair itself. Let’s check it out!
Having an item with your own custom logo, may definitely sway the opinion and make the review a bit biased but at the same time it is one of the main features that drew our attention to Royale customizable chairs.
The customization process is actually surprisingly easy. Just head over to Royale website, press Custom and choose what type of chair you wish to have. From there on just let your creativity take over. Be aware that each type of materials will have different colour options so if you’re particular about a specific colour, you might want to first check out all of the chair variations and then land on a material that has your desired colour. Our particular choice was based on feedback about NAPA leather, so we were curious to try if it’s as soft, smooth and durable as advertised.
After we chose the chair, we had to face probably the biggest and toughest decision of this whole process, which was - choosing the right colour or colour combination. Royale offers to mix and match up to three different colours, as well as choose a colour for all the stitching. We were debating between choosing a practical option which would be darker colours or risking and getting a lighter chair that would look amazing but could be more prone to visible stains from darker clothes. Eventually we went with the risky choice and selected the Off-White with Deep Space Blue side accents, and I think it looks pretty epic!
For additional price you can also customize the armrests and add your own logo or any other design that is not copyrighted. Looking back, we should’ve been more careful with instructions about the logo placement, the sizing in particular. Even though Royale does make sure the logo is correct and done to the customer’s requirements by sending the final logo embroidery for approval before proceeding, I wish they would’ve double checked the sizing and position as well. In our case we just went with the sizing that was on their sample logo, forgetting that our logo has a completely different shape. So the position is not ideal… But apart from that it’s basically what-you-see-is-what-you-get. The preview picture helped a lot in deciding process and we were very happy to receive it looking exactly as selected.
We have used it for about two months now and feel ready to give you a full rundown, plus our thoughts and suggestions.
The first thing you might ask is - what is NAPA leather?
It is a type of real leather that is incredibly soft, smooth and strong. It is made from full-grain leather, which is essentially the best quality among all leather types. Different pigments and products are applied to the leather to get a more durable finish that can withstand the daily grind. But there are also disadvantages - since it is full-grain leather, it is more expensive and also more sensitive to dirt and sunlight because its pores are not sealed.
Pricewise with all our customisation add-ons the chair turned out to be close to 900 Singapore dollars. If you skip all the customisation and simply want a NAPA leather chair, you can almost halve the price.
The NAPA leather feels miles better than the PU leather version that we used before. Of course, it can’t be compared with mesh chairs, they are in a completely different category, but having said that, this custom Poseidon is still very breathable and I have no issues sitting in it for long periods of time, even with the average ambient temperature being 28°C.
Let’s talk about the most important aspect - comfort. Right from the get-go I noticed that the seat is firm, but not in a bad way. The middle section has patterned stitching which had me worried that my butt would not appreciate it. But luckily I can reassure you it has not caused any discomfort. Unfortunately seat depth cannot be adjusted, it is fixed at 52 cm.
The side edges are slightly raised for additional support, however unlike some other chairs - they are not in a way for comfortably sitting cross legged. And it was nice to see that Royale also included a lumbar support along with the chair. It makes a big difference in posture and also makes the whole experience more comfortable.
The entire structure is made of steel and foam so hopefully it is not going to lose its shape. It has two levers - one to adjust the height and the other to lock or unlock the rocking mechanism. The gas hydraulic is smooth and responsive. It doesn’t just drop you like a bag of potatoes, instead - the adjustment feels nicely controlled.
It has 4-way adjustable arm rests and the size feels just right. Since we upgraded them for a leather option, the feel is exactly the same as the chair itself - they are padded just enough and feel soft to touch, but… there are two things that keep bugging me. First is this slight protrusion that is revealed when the armrest is moved fully out and sideways. It’s my preferred way of keeping them since it allows me to cross my legs at any point without the need of adjusting the arm rests. And 7 times out of 10 whenever I sit down, I scrape my thighs with this protrusion. The second thing is the button that controls the adjustments. We noticed that on our chair the one on the right side is almost permanently jammed, it’s not a big deal since it can be easily pushed back again, but we thought it’s important to mention.
Reclining mechanism is your standard gaming chair acrobatics - the back starts from 85 and goes up to 165 degrees recline; it is nice to have, but I must admit - I never use it. It’s not the most natural of positions when the chair is fully reclined, but kudos to the engineers for somehow managing to keep it stable even in this awkward position.
On the other hand, the tilt mechanism or as Royale advertised it - Frog mechanism with multi-tilt, rocking and locking functionality, is probably one of my favorite features of this chair. I find the ability to lock the base in certain tilt positions very useful. The most comfortable position that I’ve found so far is having the seat tilted slightly back and locked for times when I need to work, and when I want to get lost in the depths of, for example, YouTube, I just unlock the tilt option and have a great rocking chair to relax in. The resistance might be slightly too strong for my liking even when adjusted to the lowest setting but that’s just personal preference.
In terms of mobility, the chair glides with ease and it’s nylon wheels are nice and quiet with smooth rotation.
To sum it all up: we all know that usually gaming chairs are infamous for their lack of comfort when used daily, but having said that, I do find this Royale chair surprisingly comfortable. The back pillow is big enough to give support spread along the whole back, and the NAPA leather gives a very premium look and feel.
And the fact that it has our logo at the front and back is like a cherry on top. The leather still looks as good as the day we received it. There are no pressure marks, dents or creases, it hasn’t started cracking or peeling and I do hope it’s going to stay that way. Also to ease your mind Royale offers 5-year peel & crack-free guarantee, as well as 3-year warranty on abnormal discoloration or loose stitching.
Ultimately, there is no doubt that with this chair you will certainly be paying a premium for the things you like. Personally I prefer mesh chairs for long periods of time, but this NAPA leather chair is a very close second.
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