Bean Bag Chairs - Buyers Guide, how to choose the perfect chair

Playing video games can often be strenuous when you have been playing for so many hours sitting down and staring at the screen with your fingers on the controller. You are going to need a chair that works as an ergonomic masterpiece as well as giving you the best comfort while gaming.

Now, I know you are here because you are fond of bean bag chairs but you haven’t had the slightest clue on how to buy the perfect chair. Worry no more, because I am about to show you the simple ways to find the bean bag chair that is meant for you.

One thing you must note is that bean bag chairs were not designed for PC Gaming; you wouldn’t want to play with a mouse and keyboard while sitting on a fluffy oval chair. Supergamereviews recommends you check out our other article for Gaming Chairs.

Also read: Top 10 The Best PC Gaming Chairs

We will be conducting the verdict of which bean bag chair for gaming suits you best. This will be — size, filling material, canvas material, price and endurance.

Size

Bean bags come in all shapes and sizes—you have the stout 2-feet chair, a larger-scale 3 to 4-feet chair if you’re into space occupancy and even up to 5-feet for the bean bag dominance in the room.

If you happen to be a small person or someone with a small room who simply wants a bean bag chair or a mix of both, then a 2-feet chair is right for you.

But here is the kicker: with such a small bean bag chair for gaming, you have no allowance for your entire back nor your neck a place to rest on. In fact, 2-feet chairs are only good if you are not into playing games for more than at least 2 hours.

However, if you are the casual gamer type, the 2-feet bean bag chair is just right.

3-feet and 4-feet chairs are quite honestly the best sizes for the gamer—the proportion caters to any person of whatever height, plus it provides enough space for your back and neck to rest when playing video games.

If you happen to play especially competitive games such as Rainbow Six: Siege or Fortnite, these sizes are definitely beneficial for you. It is also great for slouching down on lazy days and simply just playing your favorite game.
It is also highly recommended especially now that God of War just came out on the PS4. As long as the room is at least 9 ft x 9 ft, then a 3-4 ft bean bag chair will certainly have enough leg space and comfort.

A 5-feet bean bag chair, however, is a rare occasion: if you so happen to always have a group of people flocking in your home to play video games together on console, this is definitely the chair you should have; it acts like a couch but it serves as a bean bag for a large group of at least 3 people.

This is especially great for Nintendo Switch players who have family members and friends joining them to play together, such as Super Smash Bros and Splatoon. Yet if you don’t happen to have anyone else in the group to play with you, you still have the choice to purchase this large bean bag chair, especially if you don’t mind occupying a large space in your home with a giant bean bag or you like to lie down while playing.

Filling Material

Bean bag chair material is judged on its “filling”—the stuff that provides the comfort, fluffiness, and softness of the chair. For this segment, we only have two kinds: memory foam and styrofoam-balls.

It may seem like memory foam-based bean bag chairs are the must-buy without hesitation but you will need to read carefully:

Memory bean bags are not quite bouncy at all. In fact, they are mostly for sinking in your butt while playing video games. They are firm, but not too hard, soft but not too squishy. Its ratio of texture is just right.

Memory foam is a very “adult” material as it helps minimize body strains. Just do not expect the price of the chair to be anything cheap as memory foam is made of virgin urethane foam—a material that is used by high-end furniture for ultimate comfort. The bean bag chair will return to its round shape when it is not seated for a long time. But here is where it gets better: it does not “shed” anything out of the chair, unlike the styrofoam-balls. Memory foam filling is done in either chunks or shreds. It is also possible to buy additional memory foam filling once it starts flattening.

Styrofoam-balls, however, are cheap but effective.
This is the traditional filling used for the original bean bag chair design. They are quite sturdy too but not as relaxing as the memory foam. The best part of the styrofoam-ball filling is that it makes the chair very bouncy, squishy and flexible. It expands just right, depending on the size of the person sitting down. The bottom line though is that this type of filling “sheds” off from the chair. This is why bean bag chair manufacturers sell packs of bean bag filling, such as Big Joe furniture: they sell their exclusive “UltimaX” bean filling, made from recycled materials into styrofoam-balls. You have to be responsible enough to clean up the room from spilled or shed styrofoam filling since the beans easily puff out from the bag.

Disclaimer: a bean-filling-based bean bag chair does not spill a lot at all. It just sheds a few beans from time to time as the chair becomes more sat on.

Canvas Material

Another trait to be judged for a preferred bean bag chair is its canvas—the coating or covering of the whole chair. It is what stores the bean bag filling.
It is divided into three materials: polymer-fabric, polyester corduroy, and microfiber fabric.

Polymer-fabric is the most inexpensive compared to other canvas. It is very cheap, but also the toughest of the rest. Polymer-fabric is also the original covering of the bean bag chair. This was mostly because of the purpose of creating a kiddie-style bean bag but wound up as a very suitable seat for teens and adults too.

Take note that this kind of material is half-plastic, meaning the texture is somewhat slippery and gets you sliding a bit on the seat, no matter your position.

Be aware that this canvas will become warm when sat on for too long during lots of gaming hours and can cause you to sweat. It is not an absorbent material, meaning that game sweat is just going to end up soaking you.

Nonetheless, it is still quite the tolerable and no-fail canvas that generations of bean bag chair users trust.

Polyester corduroy is the silkiest of the three; it provides a lavish touch and quite a fluffy comfortable feeling when sat on. If you haven’t felt the classic “love bed” material that was mostly popularized during the 70s, then this type of bean bag chair canvas is the closest thing you can get. Combine polyester corduroy with memory foam filling and you have yourself a mini bed other than a bean bag chair.

This, however, is the most expensive. After all, sophistication does mean a high price.

Last but not the least is microfiber fabric.

This is the all-around material used for any furniture, especially the modern designs.

Not too cheap, yet not too expensive, the microfiber fabric is rather a great material for a frequent bean bag chair sitter. This means it holds up and supports whichever filling the chair contains without sacrificing the overall feeling. It also does not tend to warm up after being sat on for a long time, so that means more hours for you to play video games without having to sweat. Even if you do sweat, you don’t have to worry anything since it is fast in wetness absorption. It is also very easy to wash too, in case the chair becomes stained or dirty.

Price

Overall pricing is solely based on the materials used, along with the preferred color. Yes, color also determines the price.

Bean bag chairs made from either polyester corduroy or microfiber fabric and filled with memory foam are priced at a minimum of $95 up to even $198.

The price range is actually due to the color of the bean bag canvas—the darker the bean bag, the more expensive and vice versa.

Charcoal black is always considered the priciest in the catalog due to the ink usage for the fabric. As any experienced tailor would know, the black tint is very expensive, hence the price hike when it also comes to bean bag chairs for gaming. Brighter colors such as royal blue, bright red and even white and yellow-green are somewhat on the cheaper side. Lighter color means lesser price. Again, not only are the colors the main factor here, but also the memory foam and the stretchable and sturdy canvas.

For the buyers who do not want to pay for such a price just for a soft bean bag chair for gaming, you can always opt for the polymer-canvassed styrofoam bean-filled chairs.

They only cost from $30 to $49.99. The materials are mostly from recycled stuff and are more catered to the fun and casual type rather than the serious bean sitter. Yes, the canvas will last long, but the bean fillings are otherwise: you really have to buy back-up bean fillings since styrofoam-balls tend to flat out when used frequently. If you are wondering if it is still worth the money, it definitely is. It just does not have the sophistication of the corduroy or fabric with memory foam filling.

Endurance

Last but not the least, we have to talk about the endurance or how long the bean will last. It is no surprise that at some point, these fluffy buns will tend to flatten out after long daily usage. The following will be compared based on their filling materials as well as the longevity of the canvas.

Memory foam fillings are divided into two: shredded and chunks.

Shredded fillings tend to flat out more than the chunks but are cheaper. Yes, it provides the same comfort of a memory foam bed, but it won’t be long until your chair starts to deflate after some time. This is approximately from 4 to 5 months till you buy a new pack of memory foam shredded filling.
For the chunks, it simply lasts longer, however, experienced users have claimed that it is much more difficult to buy fillings of memory chunks.

But here’s the kicker: it endures even up from 10 to 12 months.

Styrofoam-ball bean fillings are by default, much faster to deflate. Expect the bean bag chair to flat down in just around a maximum of 3 to 4 months, according to Amazon buyers. But the best part to know about this kind of filling is that you can buy it almost anywhere in the furniture market and are definitely cheaper.

When it comes to canvas, the polyester corduroy fabric stands out the most—stretchy, expandable, easy to clean and super absorbent, this type of covering is one of the reasons why the price pays for itself. It tends to live up even as long as 5 years while buying enough packs of memory foam or bean fillings.

Microfiber fabric comes in second place. While it may not make much of a difference from the polyester corduroy, the microfiber fabric is definitely sensitive to sharp objects and its threads loosening up each time you wash it. Experienced sitters and long-time fabric-based bean bag chair owners claim that this time of canvas lasts as long as 2 years and can scale up to 5 years when taken care of properly and consistently.

Lastly, we have the polymer-fabric. Ironically, Polymer expires the least and lasts out the longest but since it is just a hybrid, that sustainability is cut short. Again, you pay what you get; and if the pay is less than $50, just don’t expect the material to last very long. It is not quite stretchy at all, but it still does its job providing comfort as long as the chair is not used for so many hours in a week. This kind of material is expected to only last for 2 to 3 years or even less when it is not cared for appropriately.

Conclusion to Purchase

In the end, this is all up to your choice—your preference. Without a doubt, if you have the budget and you simply want style and comfort at the same time, go with the higher-priced memory foam chairs.

If you just want a bean bag chair for the heck of it or for fun, buy the bargain bean bag. Bean bag chairs are definitely for gaming, whatever you pick.

Bean Bag Buyers Guide

5 (100%) 1 vote