Corsair has jumped headlong into the ever-crowded gaming chair market. Initially announced at CES 2017, the prototype wasn’t quite ready as Corsair was still selecting what kind of casters to use. As of now, Corsair’s T1 Race is available.
“Inspired by racing, built to game” is the chosen mantra for the T1 Race, and hence its namesake, the T1 Race draws inspiration from bucket-seat, racing style chairs. The T1 Race is comprised of a streel frame, dressed in dense foam cushions and PU leather. PU (polyurethane) leather, also known as bicast leather, offers an affordable alternative to authentic leather and is generally considered easier to clean and maintain. Also included with the chair are PU pillows for neck and lumbar support, in clone-like fashion to the many other gaming chairs on the market (see: Vertagear, Dx Racer, HyperX chairs). Carbon fiber-esque adornments can be found upon the flanks of the seat and armrests.
The armrests of the T1 Race offer 4-D movement; that is to say, they can be moved up, down, forward, backward, side to side, and even move at an angle, the same as found on Vertagear, Dx Racer, HyperX, and Thermaltake chairs. A class 4 gas lift allows the chair to move up or down, while the seat can tilt up to 10° and recline anywhere from 90° to 180° -- with the latter being completely parallel. The abovementioned wheel decision ended with Corsair opting to ship the T1 Race with nylon casters. These casters are generally soft and polished for a non-abrasive finish, ensuring a smooth—and abrasion free—glide on surfaces like hardwood, granite, and marble. These are effectively rollerblade wheels, for point of comparison.
The T1 Race is available in five colors—yellow, white, blue, black, or red—and costs $350, with a two-year warranty. That price point puts Corsair in direct competition with several models from DX Racer’s Racing and Drifting series of chairs, as well as Vertagear’s SL4000 and SL5000.
The Corsair T1 Race is available through Corsair, Newegg, or Amazon.
- Eric Hamilton