Backforce One in test - Customizable, ergonomic & comfortable? My experiences!
It’s that time again: A new ambitious brand that dares to storm the gaming chair market: Backforce One! Many will have seen it on social media and in magazines, but as of today it’s also available on gaming-chair.com – my Backforce One review. I have the chair here, of course personalized & in desired colors and will tell you today my experiences with the now third chair produced in Germany.
Manufactured by the renowned manufacturer Interstuhl with 5 decades of experience, you can expect a lot of ergonomic potential, high-quality workmanship and a pleasant seating experience… right? In the next 5 minutes you’ll find out if that’s the case! But this much can be said: There are some exciting innovations that have never been seen before in a chair.
Backforce
Backforce One
Brushed aluminum base, Breathable dual-core upholstery, Breathable cover mix of faux Alcantara and PU, Plastic casters, Molded soft plastic armrests.
fold-away 1D armrests, lockable & adjustable synchronous mechanism (improved rocker mechanism), max. load capacity of 130kg, foams CFC-free, dynamic sitting, armrests with soft-touch feeling,
Features & specialties of the Backforce One in the test
The Backforce One brings some innovations that I have never seen before in a gaming chair. So again something new & fresh for the market:
- Folding armrests: You can fold the armrests back in seconds in case they get in the way of your gaming.
- Made in Germany: The chair is produced in Germany.
- Synchronous mechanism for more ergonomics: A rocker mechanism is already great, but a synchronous mechanism is even better. Read more about the different mechanisms here. In short: It ensures a better sitting posture, more movement & relief for the back.
- Beautiful back with LED brooch: Ever seen a chair that also looks good from behind the desk? This is ensured by the special design of the backrest and the "Gamer Pulse LED brooch".
- Highest quality base I have seen so far: Based on the design of horny aluminum rims, the base comes in brushed aluminum with laser-etched Backforce logo.
- Flexible personalization: On the one hand, you can choose the color of your chair yourself, on the other hand, you can have your own patch designed, which you can attach to the backrest and reorder at any time in different designs.
- Sociological & environmental sustainability: The Backforce One is completely recyclable, the foams are CFC-free, the parts come almost without exception from DE or the EU. More on the topic below.
Seating comfort & size advice: This is how well you sit on the Backforce
Before I go into detail about the features, the most interesting question: How comfortable is the Backforce One? The Interstuhl company knows what it’s doing – and it shows. I sit very comfortably on the chair. The upholstery of the seat is pleasantly soft, that of the backrest a little harder. The Backforce One is softer than the chairs from noblechairs, but harder than the Master Pro from AKRacing. So the cushion hardness should suit everyone.
A high level of comfort can be achieved through the use of the synchronous mechanism, the padded head area and the dual-core foam. You’ll find out more about the individual components and their effects in a moment.
Side bolsters: Limited leg and shoulder room?
The development department didn’t miss a beat here and sensibly incorporated as few ergonomic disturbing factors as possible into the design. There are no side bolsters at all on the seat, and the backrest also does almost entirely without them and only has suggested curvatures.
Thus, even wider gamers can benefit from the Backforce One: The legs are not restricted in any way, nor are the shoulders. You get unrestricted freedom.
Cross-legged test: maximum positional variety?
When you read about the fold-away armrests and the missing side bolsters, you can conclude that the Backforce One can also be used for cross-legged sitting: You can also sit cross-legged on the Backforce One in the test. There are neither rigid armrests that could stop you, nor steel tubes in the seat area.
And if you want to sit down differently, you simply fold up the armrests again. By the way, with my 189cm I can even sit cross-legged on it with and without armrests.
Size advice: How tall, short, heavy or light can you be?
The maximum load capacity of the Backforce One is 130kg, and the barrier-free surfaces mean that you can sit on it up to 130kg without any problems. With the body sizes can never fit a chair for all bodies. I with my 189cm and current 84kg body weight have no problems here:
The seat is still deep enough for my leg length. I also don’t reach the limits of my maximum height in the head area. A few centimeters more are still possible.
At 167cm and 53kg, my test person also sits very well, she also has some experience with chairs in the meantime. There is still a little room at the legs for a few centimeters less height.
The seat height can even be reduced significantly, so you could even sit down with 150cm. The Backforce one, for example, can be set a full 5cm lower than the noblechairs HERO. That is a lot.
My recommendation as a guideline: I think from 160cm height you can buy the Backforce One and at 191cm it stops again. So exactly you can never say, because people have different leg and torso lengths. But I think that you are very well served with 160cm-191cm, if you want it optimally. Otherwise, a few centimeters in both directions are still tolerable.
Features in detail: This makes the Backforce One an awesome chair in the test
We will now take a closer look at the individual components of the Backforce One. Through my experience, I can evaluate very well which feature you need and which you don’t, and what is really important here.
Synchronous mechanism: The better rocking mechanism
I would like to see many more chairs with synchronous mechanisms. With the rocking mechanism, the backrest and seat always remain at the same angle when leaning back. The synchronous mechanism works differently:
The seat tilts less than the backrest. On the one hand, this ensures that we move, and on the other, the contact points with the chair always remain the same, so that the lordosis is always decently supported.
The synchronous mechanism can be adjusted to the body weight of its user with this adjustment wheel underneath the seat.
Folding armrests
No other gaming chair that I know of has this feature: You can easily fold the armrests backwards. I’ve had a few users in the past ask for a test of a model with this feature, but there hasn’t been one – until now. Within seconds, the armrest is gone and back again.
However, the armrests themselves are only height-adjustable, so they are 1D armrests. If you don’t need the great variability in adjusting to the left, right, front and back anyway, that’s not a problem.
However, some might wish for more adjustment options. Perhaps there will be a product update at some point.
The armrest is equipped with a soft plastic. This is easy on the elbows and provides a pleasant feeling when resting the arm compared to the hard plastic armrests of cheaper gaming chairs.
Cover: Breathable mix of faux Alcantara and faux leather
The chair is covered with fabric & faux leather. Chairs made of PU leather usually look better but are less breathable, while fabric provides breathability but cannot deliver the classy leather look. Therefore, both upholstery skills are optimally used here:
The Alcantara imitation takes over breathability at the relevant contact points: the seat surface and the lower part of the backrest are covered with it. This covers precisely those areas where we sweat the most when sitting. A high-quality PU cover is used away from the contact surfaces.
Upholstery: Pollutant-free dual-core foam with 2 zones
Here I again notice that the product development at Backforce has put a lot of thought into it: They could have used a standard upholstery foam, of course, but opted for a multi-zone foam with two different hardnesses.
In the inner contact area we find the softer foam that delivers a feeling of coziness. In the outer area of the seat, the harder foam is used, which provides subtle support.
The upholstery foams in the Backforce One chairs are all CFC and CHC free.
Base: aluminum brushed & coated: Jewel!
Seriously, I have not had such a high quality base in my tests. Design & feel remind me of awesome aluminum rims. Again, the attention to detail catches my eye – do you take a standard aluminum cross, or do you have something really fat made?
The base is made of aluminum and gets an incredibly noble look by brushing. Finally, the Backforce logo was lasered in – the product of this process speaks for itself.
In addition, a special coating is used here, which prevents sweaty or bare feet from leaving stains on the aluminum. Well thought out.
The hybrid rollers: For hard and soft floors - small criticism
The casters are pretty standard and thus do not really fit such an exclusive chair like the Backforce One. I’ve had experience with many casters, but these tend to be among the more frugal in their class. They are office chair castors that comply with various DIN standards and thus perform their service without any problems and well, but just do not look so cool.
For me personally, the casters are usually not very important, but here they are the only item that doesn’t really fit with the rest of this well-designed and good-looking chair.
Unique look & customizability: THIS is design.
Normally, I do not go into great detail about the appearance of the chairs, because they are often similar in terms of design. However, here I would like to highlight a few things: This is a new gaming chair that looks very cool, but looks very different from the others!
And that, in my eyes, is an art, to have the courage to want to design something completely new and to do it really well.
The special backrest, which also convinces from behind
Have you ever thought about the fact that the look of the chair does not benefit you at all if it is pushed to the desk and is not used? Exactly, it doesn’t look very good in that state. That’s why the Backforce One has an exceptionally beautiful back.
The vents, which are matched to your chosen chair color, make a good impression even when not in use.
Gaming Pulse LED Brooch
This handsome LED brooch can be attached to the backrest and can either blink or light up continuously. You can use it for about 20 hours until it runs out of juice and needs to be charged.
There is also potential for personalization here, I’ll be trying things out here in the days to see what else can be printed on semi-transparent films and attached here.
Customizable - Today Pussyslayer6000, tomorrow MahatmaG69: Your own patch!
And that for a cheap $ 14,30 more. Some people change their nickname like underpants. Your patch decision does not have to be made once! This patch attached by Velcro, you can exchange and reorder at any time for cheap $ 14,30 / piece.
It doesn’t matter if you change your team, your nickname or your partner whose name you chose as a patch for her sake: You remain flexible and don’t have to look for a girlfriend with the same name as your last one. Just peel it off, order a new one, stick it on – and you’re done.
Quality & workmanship: Handmade Made in Germany
I examined the Backforce One closely during this test and could not find any flaws in the workmanship. Every seam sits where it should. No seam is crooked, everything is in place. There is also no need to argue about the quality of the materials, which is obvious and consistent.
Handmade Gaming Chair
The next point: Your Backforce is completely handmade. From head to toe, the chair is produced by hand, so every step of production is controlled by at least 2 eyes.
The potential for material defects, production errors and the like is thus substantially reduced and minimized as far as possible by subsequent quality inspection.
Sustainability: Responsibility for people & the environment
The topic of sustainability is becoming more and more important in our society every day. Most of the parts for the Backforce One come from Germany or the EU, so not every component has to be transported halfway around the world to Germany.
On the one hand, this benefits the environment by reducing emissions, and on the other hand, it benefits our fellow citizens, because production takes place in Germany instead of being outsourced to less expensive countries. This secures jobs and protects the environment at the same time.
Sustainability is also taken into account in the selection of materials: The Backforce One is completely recyclable, the materials are free of harmful substances, and overall the company Interstuhl has certifications in terms of sustainability that can’t even be counted on 2 hands. More on the subject of sustainability at Interstuhl.
Conclusion: Buy Backforce One? My experience with the southern German chair
It will come as no surprise to the reader of this review of the Backforce One that I can absolutely recommend this gaming chair. Everything fits here: The design is a tour de force and the Backforce One does not have to hide from critical judges of ergonomics.
The bottom line is that you get a chair that meets about all the requirements of a high-quality gaming chair and adds a few extras on top. In short:
- Ecological & sociological Sustainable: For the environment & jobs
- Made in Germany by hand
- Synchronous mechanism offers high ergonomic potential
- Unique design on many levels
- Cheap & efficient way of personalization
- Completely fold away armrests
A little criticism must also be: The casters don’t match the rest of the chair. However, this is almost only noticeable because the Backforce One is a masterpiece in terms of design. This would not have been noticed at all in a typical gaming chair.
I would also like to see one or two more adjustments for the armrests. The bottom line, however, is that the Backforce One is quite a bit ahead of most chairs.
Buy Backforce One - Your options
You can order your Backforce One directly from the manufacturer. If you want to buy the Backforce One, don’t waste time! You can pay via Paypal, Amazon Payments and credit card. Don’t forget: The sooner you order the Backforce One, the sooner it will be there. 🙂