Whether you’re looking to purchase a new high-quality gaming chair or reupholster your older gaming chair, one question that must be echoing in your mind is, what is the best material for a gaming chair? Well, if that’s the case, you’re in the right place.
The differences between PU Leather vs fabric gaming chairs are quite obvious. PU leather chairs trap in heat while fabric chairs have more airflow. Leather chairs are easy to clean while fabric is much more difficult. Finally, PU Leather chairs are more expensive than fabric ones.
In this article, I’m going to talk about two of the best and highest quality gaming chair materials, PU Leather and Fabric Leather. I’m going to be comparing PU leather and Fabric leather gaming chairs with their advantages and disadvantages over one another.
So, before you buy your next gaming chair, make sure you read this article till the end.
Table of Contents
PU Leather Gaming Chairs
PU leather or Polyurethane leather is actually a type of artificial leather made of thermoplastic polymer and is used for making both furniture and apparel. It is completely synthetic.
Many gaming chairs utilize PU leather for their upholstery because of the fact that it imitates real leather extremely well with the texture and strength however, it costs just a fraction of real leather.
PU leather gaming chairs are stylish, aesthetically beautiful, and comfortable because of the smooth, textured leather that is layered on top of the gaming chair. In my opinion, PU leather gaming chairs are definitely one of the best types of gaming chairs in terms of material.
Fabric Gaming Chairs
Fabric chairs are made of synthetic fabric that includes nylon, polyester, or a similar material. Fabric gaming chairs are not very common but they definitely exist and more companies are moving towards making fabric gaming chairs nowadays.
Fabric is incredibly breathable, soft, and makes for an extremely comfortable chair material. That’s why the use of Fabric leather in gaming chairs is increasing day by day.
The texture and print quality differ in different materials but one thing that fabric chairs aren’t able to achieve is the finish which is quite like polyurethane leather in gaming furniture. Still, fabric gaming chairs are cheaper and really great in terms of price to value.
PU Leather vs Fabric Gaming Chairs
Many people ask this question – who’d win if we pit PU leather and Fabric against each other in the battle of the best gaming chair material. Well, that really depends on a lot of factors. If you really want to know, below are the pros and cons lists of each of the aforementioned material types for better comparison.
Pros of PU Leather Gaming Chairs
When it comes to PU Leather Gaming Chairs, there are many different pros and advantages that give it an edge over Fabric gaming chairs. Let’s take a look at some of the major pros of PU leather gaming chairs.
PU Leather is Identical to Real Leather
One of the best things about PU Leather is that it is incredibly similar to real leather when it comes to texture, quality, patterns, overall look as long as you’re not a leather expert.
This proves really great for gaming chairs. The entire look and aesthetic that PU leather provides is just super impressive because of how amazingly identical it is to the finish and quality of real leather.
PU Leather is Cheaper than Real Leather
The fact that PU leather resembles real leather completely isn’t all there is to it. It is also much more cheap and affordable in comparison to real leather which is used in furniture.
That’s why gaming chair companies are able to use PU leather to make such incredibly high-quality professional gaming chairs and sell them for affordable and cheap prices.
PU Leather is Very Durable for Everyday use
When it comes to everyday usage, PU leather is extremely durable. I’m talking about jumping onto the chair or misusing it in normal circumstances like people usually do.
When it comes to long-lasting gaming chairs, the first material that should come to your mind should definitely be PU leather because of the epic durability and wear and tear resilience it comes with.
PU Leather is Easy to Clean and Maintain
Probably the best reason to buy a PU leather gaming chair is it’s easy to clean and maintain the nature of these gaming chairs. We gamers don’t like cleaning our chairs again and again because that takes off time that could actually be used to play another online multiplayer session.
The texture of the PU leather is smooth and doesn’t allow crevices where food crumbs or spillage can go, which means you can easily use a damp towel to clean the chair and maintain its integrity quite easily.
Cons of PU Leather Gaming Chairs
Despite having a lot of amazing benefits and advantages, there are some major and minor flaws and cons that come with PU leather material in gaming chairs as well. Let’s take a look at the cons of PU Leather Gaming Chairs.
Heat Gets Trapped Between you and the PU Leather Chair
The thing about PU leather gaming chairs is that they are heat-absorbing machines. There are no breathability spots on the material of the chair as you know.
This lack of breathability holds the air inside and the heat also gets trapped within the chair. Ultimately causing a warm and sweaty mess when you get up after a long gaming session.
PU Leather is Durable but Lacks Strength
Although very durable for everyday activities, they’re not as strong as real leather chairs. So, if you’re got a pet with sharp claws or you’re carrying a sharp object on you, make sure you keep it away because a swing is going to leave a huge mark on your chair which isn’t what you’re going to want.
Pros of Fabric Gaming Chairs
We know that PU Leather gaming chairs are pretty great but Fabric Gaming Chairs are right up in the big leagues as well. There are many different advantages of Fabric gaming chairs over PU leather and I’m going to talk about them in the following.
Fabric Gaming Chairs can Breathe
What lacks in the PU leather gaming chairs is in abundance in the Fabric gaming chairs, that is – breathability! There are many openings in fabric chairs that allow dissipation of heat and overall breathing of the chair so you can avoid a sweaty and smelly mess when you get up after playing video games for a few hours in your chair.
Fabric Chairs are Cheaper than PU Leather Chairs
We know that PU leather is pretty cheap but the great thing about synthetic fabric gaming chairs is that they’re even cheaper! This can be a great option for people who have a non-flexible budget and desperately want a good-quality gaming chair for themselves.
Fabric Chairs are Strong and Durable
When it comes to strength and durability, Fabric Gaming Chairs are behind no one. They’re very durable and can last for a long time to come. The color and the prints remain in shape for a long while and the chairs hold up well when it comes to wear and tear.
Cons of Fabric Gaming Chairs
Well, with the benefits of Fabric, also come the array of cons that this material gaming chairs have. Let’s take a brief look at some of the problems that you’re going to have to face if you’re getting a Fabric gaming chair for yourself.
Fabric Gaming Chares are a Lesser Build and Finish Quality than PU Leather
If you compare the finished texture and the overall sleekness of a fabric chair with a PU leather chair, you’re definitely going to see that the fabric gaming chair isn’t as smooth and neat as the PU leather gaming chair and I believe that is a major quality difference.
Spillage on a Fabric Chair can Cause Severe Problems
If you’re a gamer who eats food and drinks on their gaming chair and you’ve got a fabric gaming chair, the chances of food spillage are very bright, and trust me, spilling on fabric material is incredibly bad because the stains do not come off as easy as PU leather gaming chairs.
Fabric Chairs are Difficult to Maintain
Like cleaning, the maintenance of fabric gaming chairs isn’t as easy as PU leather gaming chairs either. You’re going to have to spend quite some time with a solvent and a proper cleaning towel every now and then to maintain the quality of the gaming chair.
Which Material Should You Choose for a Gaming Chair?
In my opinion, you should definitely go with PU Leather Gaming Chairs over Fabric Gaming Chairs. The reason is that although you’re going to have to pay a bigger price for the material, you’re going to get compensated with a professional aesthetic high-quality look along with a comfortable and clean gaming chair.
However, if you have a small budget and you want to somehow complete your gaming setup with a good quality chair immediately, I’d suggest you go for the Fabric Gaming Chair, you won’t be disappointed by the performance and quality either.
Conclusion
Honestly, at the end of the day, it is your preference that matters when it comes to gaming chairs. But I’ve tried to provide you with an honest unbiased comparison between two of the most used, best materials for gaming chair upholstery.
You can choose either of them and have a great comfy gaming experience. But I’d definitely point out that this experience would be amplified with a PU leather gaming chair. I wish you happy gaming.
