ThunderX3 Flex Pro Mesh

The ThunderX3 XTC Mesh stands out as by far the most impressive mesh chair I've tested under £250, and since my back always favours mesh chairs, it's become my thing to try them all. Fractal Refine, Asus Destrier, Razer Fujin, DXRacer Air... There are plenty of options today but in my opinion nothing is more comfortable or more affordable than the XTC Mesh. It's wonderful and the fact that you can buy it today for about £250 is almost absurd. It's worth twice that price without a doubt and if you have hesitated and have not yet purchased it, you should do so right now.

The ThunderX3 Flex Pro Mesh is the big brother of the XTC Mesh. It's built on the same base, it's built on the same basic idea, but there are some innovations here, and other possibilities to customise the ergonomics to your liking. The first and biggest difference from XTC Mesh is that the lumbar section is a separate part of the chair, which can be adjusted outwards and inwards and determine the angle of the lumbar support you want. This works fine and I have had zero problems finding perfect support for my lower back.

The next part that differs from its little brother is the headrest, which can now be moved forwards and backwards in addition to the height adjustment that can be done on the XTC Mesh. This is not particularly important to yours truly as I never tilt my head that far back, but it's a welcome addition that extinguishes what many seem to see as a minus point in the concept for a simpler chair model within the same product series.

Another aspect that ThunderX3 says is "great news" is that the armrests can be rotated 360° this time, in addition to being height-adjustable, of course. Personally, I find it hard to understand why anyone would want to angle the armrests so that they stand straight out from the sides of the chair you're sitting in, or why anyone would want to turn them 180° and thus only get a small edge to support their elbows, but there's always someone it benefits - in the same way that my needs for stiff lumbar support are very odd compared to someone who has a perfectly healthy back without titanium screws in it.

The ThunderX3 Flex Pro Mesh is comfortable in the same way that the XTC Mesh is, straight out of the box. Well, no... it's more comfortable because the fabric and the mesh feels softer and as though it provides more support at the same time. I really like the lumbar support and the extra adjustment possibilities here and I sit comfortably in this chair. However, there are a number of things that annoy me a bit and that I cannot overlook. Firstly, I don't really understand why the tilt of the headrest is predetermined and can only be set in three pre-selected steps rather than stepless. I'd prefer to be somewhere in between mode one and mode two, and (as with the Destrier Core from Asus) this is becoming an annoyance for me.

I don't really understand why it's not possible to lock the armrests with a screw for those who don't want to be able to rotate them. This is how most Razer, Secret Labs, Noble and (cheaper) ThunderX3 chairs work too, and I don't like that. I much prefer the locked armrests on my XTC Mesh, which feel much more solid and much more stable. That said, there is no doubt that ThunderX3 is at the top, even with this chair, in terms of pure seating ergonomics. ThunderX3 Flex Pro Mesh is a good chair with solid build quality, decent material choices, and really excellent ergonomics. However, I still think that XTC Mesh is better despite the lack of adjustable, two-piece lumbar support, and the fact that it also costs half as much means, in my opinion, that you should still buy it, and nothing else.