Gaming comfort has always been one of my key priorities in life sandwiched firmly between having a roof over my head and enough teabags in the cupboard. I’ve wasted hours rejigging my tiny living room to optimise the couch to TV ratio so that I can see what’s going on without having my retinas burnt out. But, lo and behold, now I have a gaming bean bag from GreatBeanBags to review for you.
Not a chair, and not a sofa
Beanbags are a funny thing. I’ve had a few in my life but they’ve mostly turned to flat sacks I’ve not been bothered to refill. Mostly due to my laziness, but which one of you can honestly say you’ve purchased beanbag balls? Where do you even get them from? Do they weigh anything? I don’t think they do. I hope Royal Mail and the like courier them for free!
There’s a good amount of balls in this bag, no question. You have to punch it a bit to get the back to stand up and then drop your derriere into place. And then you can game. Sort of.
Lack of accessories
I’ll get in to the quality of the beanbag shortly but one thing has to be said, there’s nothing about this beanbag that distinguishes it as a ‘gaming bean bag’. If the maker was thinking it’s the straight (ish) back, then the two my mum bought about 20 years ago are also ‘gaming bean bags’. We may or may not have reviewed other beanbags that I can or cannot link to in this article but the lack of a drink holder, stool, or controller charger (I kid about that last one) seems a bit odd when the bag retails at £188.99 (currently discounted to £112.99).
Quality is apparent
This is by far the highest quality beanbag I’ve owned with regard to the material. It’s a lovely velvet which feels really nice. The stitching is flawless and my 6-year-old son has been practicing his WWE moves on it for the last few weeks and not one of those seams has even threatened to give.
It’s also easy to clean. My son has used this as much as me timewise 50-50 and has had many meals on it. Many meals which have fallen from his fork onto said beanbag and been easily wiped away. Snack, drink, eat a three-course dinner on this thing, you’re assured of an easy cleanup operation afterwards.
Too small for my big behind
I’m not the smallest man ever to have graced this planet – and this beanbag only comes in one size. Put these two things together and you have me routinely sliding down towards terra firma, pausing the game (dying if it’s an online game), readjusting beanbag, and continuing. The combination of its small (ish) size and the softness of the fabric meant far too many restarts/resets for my liking.
This in turn made it almost inadequate for any long gaming session. And this is the problem if you’re looking to a beanbag to solve your gaming comfort woes. The shape of it isn’t rigid enough and there’s no stool to stop that inevitable slide downwards.
Conclusion
This is from the product’s description itself:
“From a fashionista’s lounge to a chic wine bar, these bean bags won’t look out of place in any room.”
And they won’t. But they’ll probably serve both of those places better than a gaming room.
So if you’ve looking for an extra bit of comfort for your friends when they pop over, or your patrons if you run a wine bar, these are perfect. If you’re looking for something to give you an edge in the new Call of Duty regurgitate or whatever, then you’re better off sticking with a gaming chair or a couch/sofa. Just don’t spend too long rejigging your living room. That’s a week I’m never getting back.
Dyl
If you’re interested in this beanbag, check out the product page.