Sihoo Doro C300 Pro review: A good-to-great ergo chair that's worth your time (when it's on sale)

I have a weird relationship with Sihoo office chairs. At first sitting, I'm rarely a fan (apart from when it comes to the overall best budget chair ever, the Sihoo M18). It may be because they all take an age to assemble. But also I don't think they look very pretty (again, excluding the M18). However, it didn't take long for me to change my mind, especially when I started thinking about what Sihoo chairs offer for the asking price.

The Sihoo C300 Pro – the expensive version of the standard C300 – is kind of a case in point. Sitting in it for the first time felt awkward. But after a few adjustments (of which there are many), I ended up really enjoying it. With a retail price of $699 (though it enjoys regular price dips to $399), the Pro is unlikely to hit the top spot of my list of the best budget office chairs out there (would you please see the M18!!). But I think it's earned a place in the best office chairs for back pain, thanks to its cradling comfort, its solid ergonomics, and fantastic armrests. Let's dig in...

Aesthetics & price

It's all subjective, of course, but I'm not a fan of the look of most office chairs, especially ergonomic chairs. They can look over-engineered, and have a busy, dark, hard plastic look that seems cheaper than it is (many of the best office chairs use hard plastic with beautiful results – see all Herman Miller chairs).

Thing is, historically you've had to pay through the nose for good-looking chairs. That is until companies like Branch started making gorgeous chairs at a reasonable price. The Branch Verve is still one of my favourite-looking chairs, and sells for $549. The recent Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro is both lovely-looking and supremely comfortable, and retails for $499 (it's my favourite mid-priced chair). So you see, there's no excuse. Nowadays, you should be able to buy a good ergo chair at a reasonable price, that looks great. The C300 Pro hits two of those three marks. Kind of.

Sihoo has long excelled at offering budget chairs that don't particularly look great, but are comfy and ergonomic. So the Sihoo C300 Pro looks exactly how you'd expect a chair from the Chinese-based company to look: functional. And that will be absolutely fine for many users. But for creative types who want their office chair to add an aesthetic flourish to their curated home office, there are better options. And for a retail price of $699, it's not great value either... you know what is great value? Sihoo's M18 chair (this is the last time I'll mention it, honest). It represents the best of Sihoo. Excellent comfort, looks chic, and costs less than $300. The only reason I'm giving this chair four stars out of five is because the retail price for Sihoo chairs is a little bit of a red herring. They're always enjoying discounts in sales. Right now you can get it for $399 direct from Sihoo. At that price, this is great value.

Ergonomics & comfort

Now for what the Sihoo C300 Pro does so brilliantly. Sitting on the Pro is very comfortable indeed, and that's only increased by the many ergonomic features it has. The chair's back and base is made of mesh which offers a firmness that also has a bit of spring, so you get a sink-in feel that's great. It can't compare to the leather chair seats out there, but it benefits from being more breathable than leather, so on warm days, things don't get uncomfortable with the C300 Pro.

I have to say, when I first sat in this chair, I gave a big sigh. I felt tilted forward, the arms were in the wrong place, and the headrest wasn't anywhere close to being supportive. I needn't have worried. All this, and more, are totally adjustable, and within 5 minutes things were a lot more comfortable. Within 10, I had a really supportive, comfortable chair under me.

The lumbar support is one of the more comfortable that I've experienced. Some chair manufacturers seem to think that lumbar support needs to be stiff and hard to be taken seriously. Not so! It's to help support your back to stay in its natural s shape – not bend or break it into submission!

Elsewhere, you get all the adjustments that you'd expect from a higher-mid range ergo chair. But the real star of the show is the armrests. I may be accused of focusing a little too much on armrests in my reviews. They are, after all, only one element of a chair. But I think they can make or break an office chair. They feed into how your arms sit on the desk, and how much you can freely move your arms around while at the desk – both super important in good ergonomic, healthy sitting.

These armrests are great! They go up/down, forward/back, they tilt (see photo above). But most impressively, the range of movement that they have to move laterally closer to your chest, and out, makes for loads more options of how to sit with this chair. It may read like a small detail, but I assure you, it's a fantastic feature.

Assembly

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This is a Sihoo chair, so the usual labour-intensive assembly is a given. At this point, with the many chairs I've put together over the years, this isn't really something I think about until I write up the review. But if you haven't bought a chair for a while, it's worth considering. It may take you 30 to 40 minutes to put the chair together. Expensive chairs come pre-made. But you have to work for your throne with Sihoo.

Verdict

It's not a clear case of you should definitely buy the C300 Pro, and it's not a case of you shouldn't – as with many chairs out there. The bottom line is, this is a very comfortable chair with ergonomic smarts, that is not visually appealing (to me), and that, at its retail price of $699, is too expensive. If you look at the photos in this review, and you can catch it in the sale, at around the $400 mark, then I can wholeheartedly recommend the C300 Pro. Otherwise, there are better options out there.