Sihoo Doro C300 Pro review - a seriously comfortable mesh office chair

Since it was founded in 2009, Sihoo has spent the last decade and a half cementing itself as a trusted manufacturer of comfortable and reliable office chairs. The Sihoo Doro C300 Pro is a recent addition to its lineup that I've spent approximately eight hours sitting on every day for the better part of this year - yes, it really has taken me that long to write this review.

Sihoo has always been primarily focused on comfort and practicality, rather than the razzmatazz of some options you might find on our best gaming chair guide. However, if you simply want a good office chair, it hits the mark, ensuring you can sit on it for extended periods of time without messing up your back. For me, it's exactly the type of chair I like to have for work or play, although I say that as someone with a fairly sensitive back.

This is one of Sihoo's premium offerings, but it's still a relatively affordable piece of furniture when considered against the broader landscape of office chairs at large. It's not like Herman Miller, where you'll easily spend over $1000 - this Sihoo chair, like all its most expensive options, is still less than $500. Though this might mean you get fewer customization options than you'll find with truly top-of-the-range options. This chair also requires assembly, but it's a simple enough process to put together.

Specs

Ease of Assembly

If you're anything like me, a big consideration with any new chair is going to be how difficult it is to assemble. I like things simple and easy, and, full disclosure, there are quite a lot of parts that make up this chair. When I first opened the box and saw the multi-page assembly guide and all the different types of screws, I was pretty daunted. I was sure that I'd face some kind of insurmountable hurdle along the way - but fortunately, this never happened.

In total, it took me approximately one hour to put the Sihoo Doro C300 Pro together, and you know what - it wasn't really too hard at all. There were one or two moments where it probably would have been easier to have a second person to help hold bits in place while I screwed on certain parts, but I still ultimately got it done without anyone helping me. The instructions were clear too, and other than accidentally screwing something on upside down (and one time where I just couldn't get one of the screws to lock in for ages), it all went off without a hitch.

So, basically, even if you're not the best at assembling furniture or doing other DIY, I still believe this chair won't be too much of a challenge. If you're someone who can throw together an Ikea wardrobe in half an hour, though, then I'm sure you'll have this chair done even more quickly than I did, especially if you have a second person there to help you.

Design

This chair's white and gray color scheme will look at home in just about any home office setup. Those colors are pretty universal, and the chair has a lot of soft, round edges. Not only do these help feed its overall comfortable aesthetic, but it means that you don't ever really need to worry about accidentally hurting yourself if you bump into it or have to move it around. Also, unlike other office and gaming chairs that I've used over the years, there's not really any risk of hurting or pinching yourself on the arms or base when adjusting height. There's enough space on either side of the central pillars that you'd really have to try hard to get your skin stuck in there.

If I had to critique any part of it, it'd be the dark gray armrests, which I think look slightly at odds with the rest of the chair. They just so obviously don't match the gray of the rest of the chair, and I think they ever so slightly slip the chair into the realms of soulless office chic, rather than the easygoing home office vibes that the rest of it gives off. I have some other issues with the arms, too, but I'll get to those when I talk about its customization options.

One last thing I'll say about its design is that it is a lot clunkier than any other office chair that I have used before. I like gliding around rooms on these things, but it's got a lot of heavy mechanisms in it, which means that rather than gliding, the most you can hope for is a bit of a trundle. After using it for several months, I'm getting to the point where I don't really notice its weight anymore, but it was quite noticeable when I first got it.

Comfort

Although it's not the comfiest chair I have ever worked or gamed in (read my Herman Miller Sayl office chair review to learn about that), that doesn't mean that it isn't pretty darn comfortable. I sit in it for a good eight hours or so most days, and unlike a lot of other chairs I've used, it doesn't leave me feeling stiff and achey. The arms and the lumbar cushion offer a decent level of ergonomic support, and I genuinely feel like my posture has improved since I got this chair, compared to how it was with the old gaming chair I used to sit in for work.

One aspect that I particularly like is its mesh back. It lets just enough air through to keep my back nice and cool, but not enough that it ever gets actively cold. I've sat in it for extended periods of both fairly high heat (over 30°C / 86°F) and sub-zero temperatures. Although I am not fond of these conditions, I was pleased that the chair never really did anything to exacerbate them, making it equally comfortable year-round.

The lumbar support also benefits from the fact that it is entirely made of mesh and is essentially hollow. Not only does this stop your lower back from getting too hot, but it also means that you've got just the right amount of resistance pressing against you at all times. I can't be the only person who's sat on chairs where the lumbar support is far too dense and ultimately feels uncomfortable (even if it is good for your back).

Also, while I am speaking of comfort, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the comfort of the others I live with. More specifically, the comfort of my feline friend. My old chair had quite big arms, and she had room to perch on them and watch me while I worked. The shape of this one means that it's not possible for her to be my co-pilot at work anymore. A minor thing, perhaps, but likely to be a deal-breaker for those seeking a cat-friendly gaming chair or office chair.

Customization

The Sihoo Doro C300 Pro offers up a decent amount of customization. It lets you alter the chair height, chair back height, lumbar support position, headrest position, and arm position (height, twist, forward/back, inward/outward, tilt). All these adjustments I found intuitive and easy to use, which is far from a given when it comes to chairs like this.

The height is the easiest and follows the same rule that every office chair I've ever used in the last twenty-five years. You pull a lever at the bottom, and if you're sitting on the chair, it goes down. If you don't have your weight on it, it goes up. Whoever first came up with this system doesn't get enough credit, because millions of people use it every single day, and we all just know because all chairs are the same. Bravo.

The arms, meanwhile, can be adjusted in just about every direction. If you pull it up a bit, it will lock in the higher position you've left it in. If you pull it to its maximum capacity, it will drop back down again, making it easy to get the right height. The armrests themselves can be pivoted to the left or the right, allowing you to let your arms rest in whichever position is most natural for you. You can even adjust the incline, with the default position having them lying flat, and the uppermost position having them pointing up at almost 90 degrees. As with the height, you adjust the incline by pulling it up, with it snapping back if you pull as high as it will go.

Now, as for the lumbar support cushion - for me, it's perfectly positioned. In fact, my back wasn't in such a good state when I got this chair, and being able to sit in a healthier position on this chair has done wonders. Obviously, I am no health expert, but my uneducated stance here is that the chair has directly contributed to my improved back health. Having said that, I believe that it could do with just a little more adjustability.

You can move lumbar padding around a bit, and it moves based on how your body presses against it, but I've seen other chairs that give greater freedom. It's hard to complain about it, though, because for me it worked really well, but I could imagine it not being quite right for somebody else.

Pricing

The Sihoo Doro C300 Pro costs $359.99 / £399.99, which is a pretty reasonable price for a chair that you can immediately tell is a very durable product. If I were to summarise that price, I'd call it the lower end of expensive. Yes, it costs more than a lot of the cheaper chairs out there (such as the non-Pro version of the Sihoo Doro C300, which sits at $319.99, or even its most basic chair, the M18, which is $169.99), but it justifies its price with the extra levels of customization and durability.

Conversely, this chair is a lot cheaper than plenty of other top-end models. Our favorite gaming chair overall is the Secretlab Titan Evo, as it's so versatile, but its starting price of $579 immediately puts it well above the C300 Pro. Meanwhile, pretty much any office or gaming chair from Herman Miller is far more than twice the price of this Sihoo model. Those chairs are great, but, to some extent, you're paying for the brand (and the fact that Herman Miller chairs come fully assembled with a 12-year warranty), which isn't really the case with Sihoo.

Verdict

Put simply, the Sihoo Doro C300 Pro is one of the most comfortable chairs I've ever sat on for extended periods of time. I never find myself experiencing aches and pains after prolonged sits, and that's something that I can't say about quite a lot of other chairs I've used before. My back is quite a tender thing, and so it gets the sensitive back seal of approval.

The use of mesh throughout is a major part of this chair's appeal, too. It provides excellent support but remains breathable, making prolonged sitting on warmer days swamp-free. It's not quite as adjustable as some options, but it offers more than most, and combined with its generally excellent build quality and comfort, it does enough to justify its reasonably premium price.

It doesn't have fancy LED lights, and there aren't any fun designs dedicated to your favorite games, or anything like that. So, if you've got a gaming room where all your bits of hardware have choreographed lighting or every other part of your setup is dedicated to Doom, then the Sihoo Doro C300 Pro is probably going to stand out as a bit of a dud. However, it'll work well with most decors and is not ugly by any means.

Ultimately, I can foresee the Sihoo Doro C300 Pro being my office chair for many years to come, and have no hesitation recommending it for anyone seeking a versatile, comfortable, and premium office chair.