Nitro Concepts X1000 test - the new price-performance killer after the S300?
Nitro Concepts starts a new attempt with the X1000 to offer as much gaming chair as possible for as “little” money as possible, i.e. in relation to other chairs. This has already worked very well with the S300 (Nitro Concepts S300 review), which is why it has been my undisputed favorite in the under $300 range for years.
But can the X1000 do just as well or even better? Find out now in my Nitro Concepts X1000 review with photos, lots of details and of course information about who this chair is particularly suitable for.
Nitro Concepts
X1000
Steel frame, nylon base, high density cold foam upholstery, fabric cover, 60mm PU/nylon casters, PU armrests.
3D armrests, adjustable 14° rocker function, backrest can be tilted up to 125°, max. load capacity of 135kg
Features & Functions of the X1000
Here in a nutshell are the features and functions of the Nitro Concepts X1000 that you can expect. I’ll explain more details on the items as the review progresses.
- With breathable fabric cover
- With $245 in the good middle class range
- Available in several colors
- Simple rocker mechanism that can be turned on or off.
- 3D armrests with design applications & soft plastic
- Backrest can be tilted by up to 125
- Generous space, also ideally suited for wider gamers
- Reminiscent of the noblechairs HERO in terms of shape
Nitro Concepts X1000 vs. S300 - the differences
The question has come up quite often how the Nitro Concepts X1000 differs from the S300. In fact, hardly, there are only minimal differences, but depending on the physique can make the difference:
X1000
- Tilt function: 90-125°
- Roll size: 60mm
- Shaping: More open, fewer sidewalls
S300
- Tilt function: 90-135°
- Roll size: 50mm
- Shaping: A little more sidewalls, but also not much
In fact, that’s all. The angle of the backrest in relation to the seat can be opened minimally less, the casters are slightly larger, and there are almost no more side bolsters compared to the previously implied ones of the S300.
Seating comfort: This is how comfortable the X1000 sits
I could almost copy and paste everything from the S300 review here, because for me with my build (189cm, 80-82kg), the Nitro Concepts X1000 sits almost the same. The chair, which is qualified as an office chair according to DIN EN 1335, sits very well and differs only minimally in terms of pure spontaneous comfort from even significantly more expensive models. Of course, there are still differences that can also affect the comfort, but more on that later.
The cushion has a pleasant hardness, is not as hard as noblechairs or Secretlab and is at the same time slightly firmer than DXRacer or AKRacing. A good mediocrity, with which I get along excellently. The lumbar cushion is not quite as suitable for me personally, I have even without a hollow back when sitting. But more about that in the course of the Nitro Concepts X1000 test.
Cross-legged seat possible?
On a wide chair without significant side bolsters, you can usually sit cross-legged without any problems, as is also the case here. Above all, the side bolsters are minimally indicated, but they consist purely of upholstery material without steel tubes.
With 167cm you have of course no problems at all with the cross-legged seat. The only limiting for me at 189cm would be the armrests here, although I can push them thanks to 3D adjustment options so that it fits perfectly.
Even those who are even taller can create more space for themselves, because under the seat are screws with which we can push the armrests on each side about 1.5cm further out.
Cross-legged test passed!
Size advice: Does the Nitro Concepts X1000 fit you?
The main question is always whether the chair fits one’s own body. After all, we want to avoid having too little space in the shoulder or leg area and the load capacity must be right.
With the height my girlfriend with 167cm and 50-52kg already has no problems, just as little as I with 189cm and 80-82kg. In addition, the Nitro Concepts X1000 has a wide seat surface, which almost completely dispenses with side bolsters.
However, the seat is also quite long, my girlfriend is there with her leg length already at the limit. You should not really be smaller than her.
With me, however, it fits great. From the seat, you can be even taller than 189cm.
Seat and backrest remind me of the noblechairs HERO, very open design, where no one will have problems with leg or shoulder room. Pictures of seat and backrest will be available later, just scroll.
Load capacity of the chair is up to 135kg, with the large space I would also say that you can also exhaust the appropriate height.
Conclusion: Maximum body dimensions for the Nitro chair
Anyone who is at least 165cm tall and a maximum of 205cm tall can sit on the Nitro Concepts X1000. It doesn’t matter if you are slim, average or very wide built, the X1000 will give you a good seating experience. Even the 135kg load limit can be maxed out in terms of physique.
In the size specifications 2-3cm tolerance are included, because the torso to leg length ratios can differ.
Features of the Nitro Concepts X1000 in detail
We’ve discussed the rough direction on seating comfort and sizing advice, now let’s look at each of the X1000’s features in detail.
Simple & solid rocking mechanism
There are different types of mechanics that you can check out here on the home page: Gaming chair home page, about heading 10. In the price range of the X1000, the simple rocker mechanism is the standard.
The backrest and seat do not change their angle to each other when you lean back; you rock backwards with the entire chair from the gas spring. You can either turn the mechanism off or on, but you can’t lock it in any position.
What I find good is that even with little body weight (about 50kg) you can still put enough weight in the backrest to use the rocker function as well. In some chairs, the rocker mechanism is too resistant for people of little weight.
Don’t forget: You can adjust the resistance of the rocker mechanism to your body weight with the adjusting wheel under the seat!
Tilt function: 90-125° possible
This is where the trend sensibly goes back. You can use a lever on your right to adjust the backrest backwards independently of the seat surface to open up the angle between the seat surface and the backrest. This can be especially useful for people with disc problems, because the greater the angle between the upper and lower body, the better for the disc.
While a few years ago there were many chairs that allowed angles of up to 180° to the seat, the trend is declining. Nowadays, 120-140° is more common, and you don’t need more. At 180°, you’re looking straight at the ceiling, and you can’t sleep on gaming chairs anyway. I tried it.
125° is 10° less than the S300, but still enough in my opinion. The Backforce One, for example, doesn’t allow more with its synchro mechanism. For relaxed movies or YT-watching it’s enough.
Seating area: Plenty of space on the X1000
We’ve covered this a lot above, but here it is again with photos. I think it’s really good that Nitro Concepts like noblechairs & Secretlabs deviate from the thick side bolsters of a sports car seat. One may find them visually cool, but they really have no use and can rather disturb.
Especially when the side bolsters are poorly padded, the legs quickly press against the steel tubes under the cover, which is very unpleasant. The X1000 does almost completely without side bolsters; there are only a maximum of slight elevations at the edge.
However, there are no steel tubes behind them; they consist entirely of soft upholstery foam. Everything was done right, and above all, we listened to the market and customer feedback!
Backrest: Also hardly any side bolsters
The backrest is also sparse with side bolsters. They are a bit more pronounced in the hip area, but they have never been a problem there. There has to be a bit of shaping, otherwise the design goes completely to pieces, especially since office chairs are also partly constructed this way.
Much more important are the side bolsters in the shoulder area, which have been reduced to a minimum here. The picture shows the side bolsters of the X1000 vs. DXRacer Formula F08 vs. Backforce One Plus. Conclusion: Less than the bucket seat advocate DXRacer, about the same as the ergonomics king Backforce from Interstuhl.
In any case, the shoulder is not hindered in its freedom of movement here or particularly pressed forward. The lack of belt feed-throughs also stands out from the classic racing design. Fits!
3D armrests with soft touch, design & button
The 3D armrests of the Nitro Concepts X1000 can be moved in 3 directions, which you can see in the video. Height adjustability is obvious, you can push the armrest forward and rotate it.
The good thing is that there is a button on the front edge of the armrest that you have to press to adjust the armrest. This is convenient because you can’t accidentally adjust the armrest when you stand up or move it. Once again, a decision for the user from product development.
More is only possible with a 4D armrest, where you can slide the support inside and outside. For the price of the Nitro Concepts X1000, 3D is perfectly fine and I don’t miss this feature.
And don’t forget: Under the seat you can loosen the armrest and push it about 1.5cm outwards on each side and tighten it again. This may be the wood version of the 4th “D”, but you have the option. And not everyone will need it anyway.
Last but not least, Nitro Concepts didn’t mind adding a nice design application to the armrest. Here, a strip in carbon look is incorporated with the Nitro flame.
Neck and lumbar pillow with fabric cover
Lumbar and neck pillows are included as always. Both are covered with fabric, which I welcome. Neck pillows with PU cover are simply much too rigid and uncomfortable in the bare neck. The fabric is not as velvety as noble & Secretlab, but of course the price is somewhere and the pillows are not scratchy or anything, just not super velvety.
The fact that the belt passages have been rationalized away in the X1000 is good for the design, but not for the adjustment of the cushions. At 189cm, I can pull the neck pillow down just enough so that it lies in my neck. If you’re shorter, you’ll probably have to use the pillow more as a pillow or leave it out, as I and many other gamers often do. I rarely lean on it completely. The lumbar cushions also suffer from the nicer backrest, as they cannot be attached as they are on the noblechairs ICON or Arozzi Vernazza. If you use it at all, you probably have to readjust it more often.
I don’t need the lumbar pillow at all. It’s not quite as thick as some competitors, but it’s too thick for my hollow back and also a bit too high. The surprising thing, however, is that even when I lean against the backrest without the lumbar cushion, there is no hollow space in my lordosis. The backrest doesn’t have its own protrusion for the lordosis, but I don’t seem to need it with an average lordosis. With my girlfriend, a minimal cavity can be discerned. The only thing I find comfortable are the memory foam cushions that Nitro Concepts offers. These are very thin and also really comfortable in the back!
Gas lift & base: nylon & loadable up to 135kg
After unpacking your Nitro Concepts X1000, you can install a Class 4 gas spring, which, like the base, can handle loads of up to 135kg. The gas spring is an otherwise rather uninteresting component that does its job without any problems.
The base is made of nylon, a plastic. The plastic inserts on the S300 match the color of the chair, but they are always black on the X1000. I think that’s a good thing, too.
The base is one of the reasons for the lower price compared to the competition: It is made of plastic instead of aluminum or metal. But as you can see, even with plastic, a stately load capacity of 135kg is possible. So I don’t really see that as a disadvantage, although metal naturally looks more elegant. But as I said: In relation to the price, it’s absolutely normal and okay.
Note: There are still some reports on the S300 on the net that the gas lift presses through the base. This was a purely production-related problem that has been fixed. It has nothing to do with the material itself. All affected customers were provided with replacement parts, even after the warranty expired. So no worries. 🙂
Rollers: Grown by 10mm
Compared to the S300, the rollers of the X1000 are 10mm larger with their 60mm diameter. There is not much else to say about the rollers, rollers are rollers.
The larger the roller, the easier it is to run, they say. With 10mm more than its predecessor, the X1000 should glide even smoother over the ground, but I can only notice a minimal difference, if any. The rollers do their job to my fullest satisfaction. Smooth and quiet, only Rollerblade rubber wheels are quieter and lighter.
Processing of the Nitro Concepts X1000
The X1000 is surprisingly cheap for its features: Apart from raw material price increases and exaggerated freight costs due to the virus that gets on all our nerves, you can get it for around 280€. Is that reflected in the quality and workmanship?
Not really. The seams run very precisely, no threads hang out anywhere, everything makes a robust & stable impression, which attests to the 135kg load capacity. The materials also make a reasonable and not cheap impression overall.
There is only one small inaccuracy here, when you sit left side panel on the backrest is a fold in the carbon part to see. At the price the Nitro Concepts X1000 costs I find that even ok, at the same time you must remember that this is not the rule.
For example, I have already had 3 S300 from Nitro Concepts with me, where the processing was right without exception. For the sake of completeness, however, this is mentioned here.
How can the X1000 be so cheap in comparison?
Some differences to the top models, which start at a good 380€, are of course already there. If you’ve read the review, you’ll probably recognize them all – but if you’re just skimming, here are the minor differences compared to premium chairs:
- Cover: The X1000 is covered with a “normal” fabric cover. More expensive examples often have even softer covers in use, which feel a bit more upscale, or quality-looking faux leather covers.
- Armrests: instead of 3D armrests, 4D is common in the premium segment.
- Mechanics: The X1000 has the simple rocker mechanism, in the higher-priced area there are usually extended rocker mechanisms that can be locked in any position.
- Materials: The material is saved, of course without making the chair unstable. For example, the base is plastic instead of aluminum or steel, and the armrests have a slightly higher plastic content.
That’s basically it. Those who can put their money to good use on other things will be very well served here. After all, the aforementioned differences have little or no effect on seating comfort. But if you want maximum ergonomics or material quality, you’ll have to spend 100-150€ more.
Accessories: Memoryfoam cushion for your X1000
You can buy accessories for the X1000 at overclockers. Among other things, you can find floor gliders that can replace your casters if you want to play racing games with your X1000 and need a firm footing.
But I find the memory foam cushions particularly interesting. They’re not exactly cheap, but they’re really comfortable, especially the lumbar pillow. On the one hand, it is thin, so that it also fits in the lordosis, and on the other hand, the memory foam is very pliable and adapts perfectly.
If every chair manufacturer had such lumbar cushions, I would probably use them more regularly myself. Because the normal lumbar cushions are too thick for the “common hollow back” in 9 out of 10 cases.
You can buy the cushions at Overclockers, at Amazon they are usually more expensive.
Conclusion to the Nitro Concepts X1000 test: Buy or keep looking?
I can think of very few things to criticize about the X1000. The only weak point in functionality or construction is the neck pillow, which cannot be placed far enough down for small people. If you don’t use the pillows anyway, you can safely forget it. If the neck pillow is very important to you, you should take a look at the S300, where the neck pillow can also be attached to the belt holes and thus lower.
Otherwise, the X1000 is just like its predecessor the S300 in my eyes a blast, if you look at the price: It does not have to hide from a good $80-100 more expensive chairs and only minimally loses in quality and functionality. So if you don’t want to spend too much money, you’re in the right place and won’t miss a thing with the X1000. Absolute buy recommendation!
- Good mechanics & 3D armrests
- Solid workmanship & quality
- Very good comfort, plenty of space
- Breathable fabric cover
- Neck pillow not adjustable deep enough for small people (possibly insignificant)