INTRODUCTION

   If you're a long time Star Trek fan like myself then you must miss the old days when Star Trek games came out all the time. And they weren't just "mediocre" games either, for example TNG: A Final Unity was extremely impressive for its time as were TNG: Generations, Starfleet Academy, Klingon Academy and yes, the amazing Bridge Commander (which for some strange reason never got its much deserved sequel). Unfortunately, things haven't been good when it comes to TV series either so just like Star Trek Enterprise before it the latest Star Trek Discovery also fell short of boldly going where no one has gone before both in terms of viewership and popularity. Still with Sir Patrick Stewart set to reprise his iconic role as Captain Jean Luc Picard in the upcoming Picard series (announced a couple of months ago) fans may finally be getting another dose of The Next Generation (trailer looks quite promising actually). This of course means that sales of Star Trek related products including gaming peripherals may sky rocket which is also why today we'll be taking a look at one such product and more specifically the Verona Pro V2 Star Trek Edition Gaming Chair by our friends over at Arozzi.

   Arozzi is a Swedish company founded in 2013. Arozzi gaming chairs are built in the spirit of Esports and feature ergonomic design with high levels of comfort. Our products have a refined aesthetic that draws inspiration from the world of motorsports. Each Arozzi chair can be finely adjusted to your needs to ensure you are in the best position achieve your next victory, whatever the game!

   Even though the "regular" Verona Pro V2 model by Arozzi is currently available in six color combinations the Star Trek Edition is available in just three (red/white/black, blue/white/black and all black) complete with the Star Trek name and the Starfleet and Starfleet Command logos. Looks aside however everything else has remained pretty much the same so the Verona Pro V2 Star Trek Edition features a breathable faux leather cover, metal frame, class-4 gaslift with support for up to 150Kg (backrest and seat included), height adjustable armrests, removable head and lumbar support pillows, 70mm wheels, backrest adjustment (up to around 165 degrees) and the somewhat classic tilt/rocking (up to 12 degrees) and the more durable z-support height adjustment mechanism. In terms of size and foam density the Verona Pro V2 Star Trek Edition has a 55cm wide and 82cm tall backrest with a foam density of 25Kg/M3 and a 54cm wide seat with a foam density of 40-45Kg/M3. So, let's see if Star Trek fans all over the world finally have a Gaming Chair, they can call their own.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A large picture showcasing all three color combinations, a product description in 3 languages and the color selection are all printed on both the front and rear of the box.

The chair size and weight are printed on both sides of the box right next to the main features list in 9 languages.

The entire bundle is placed in plastic bags and between thick pieces of foam and cardboard.

The 5-star base was placed at the very top of the box so naturally it was the first piece to be taken out.

After that we took a cardboard box out inside which Arozzi has placed a pair of cloth gloves, Allen key, assembly instructions, safety precautions paper, warning paper, 5 wheels, class-4 gaslift, gaslift plastic cover and the two side backrest plastic covers.

The Z-support mechanism is placed inside yet another cardboard box and as you can see its handles are not mounted (saves space inside the box).

Next was the backrest which as you can see has both the neck and lumbar support pillows already mounted on it.

Finally, we took out the seat with its height-adjustable arm rests.

ASSEMBLY

Although one can always start to assemble the chair from the backrest, we prefer to start by mounting the wheels to the base as seen above.

After that comes the class-4 gaslift with its plastic cover.

70mm wheels are probably the best for a gaming chair, not too large to hit on things and yet not too small to easily break or have difficulty moving.

The seat comes with two green elastic bands and three bars for increased support and durability.

Each armrest is attached with the seat by 4 Allen screws (8 in total).

4 more Allen screws are required to secure the z-support height and tilt/rocking mechanism onto the seat.

Attaching the height adjustment and tilt/rocking function levers is very easy, just make sure that you push them all the way in.

There are two Allen screws mounted on each side of the backrest along with a small X shaped cut in between as seen above.

Once you’ve secured all Allen screws you can use the bundled covers.

With the top end of the chair finally ready all that’s left is to place it onto the class-4 gaslift.

FINISHED LOOKS

Even though this is a Verona Pro V2 model it looks a lot better (IMHO) than the "regular" model.

The Star Trek logo is stitched on the top of the backrest and on both support pillows.

Quality is once again very good for a faux leather cover gaming chair but also far from the best (this is a mid-end model after all).

The height-adjustable armrests can be adjusted from 30cm all the way up to 37cm.

Turning the chair around we find the Star Trek name once more along with a very large Starfleet Command logo.

Arozzi claims that the backrest of the Verona Pro V2 Star Trek Edition can drop up to around 165 degrees but closer examination makes us believe that they also take into account the 12 degrees of the tilt/rocking function for that number (this basically means that the backrest drops around 153 degrees).

SCORE

Many of you recommended (including some manufacturers) that we place a chart pointing to the pros and cons of each gaming chair we test. Now of course since there's really no way for us to "benchmark" gaming chairs we decided to rate them based on their size, comfort and quality after using each chair for at least one full week. Size and comfort usually go hand to hand (the larger the chair the more comfortable it usually is - that however also depends on the amount of padding and the cover) while in terms of quality having tested dozens of models over the past years, we think we have a good idea about that as well. Of course, these scores are based on our personal opinions (including the samples we get – isolated/early sample issues are always possible) so do take them with a grain of salt.

CONCLUSION

   I don't know how many of you reading these lines have seen The Office series (US version) but there's a really funny scene in the last season where Dwight is painting a Battlestar Galactica model and Jim walks in and says "I love Star Wars as much as the next guy". This of course has nothing to do with the Verona Pro V2 Star Trek Edition Gaming Chair by Arozzi but I thought a lot of that scene during tests and since it’s very funny I thought I’d share it with all of you. With that small "parenthesis" out of the way we really enjoyed using the Verona V2 Pro, it's very comfortable, quite large (larger than many others) and thanks to the color combination and the Star Trek references it looks better compared to the "regular" models. Unfortunately, just like with the "regular" Verona Pro V2 model the Star Trek Edition could use more foam padding and after pointing that out to Arozzi in our review of the Verona Pro V2 we really hoped they'd listen. True even with this amount of padding the Verona V2 Pro is very comfortable but at times it's clear that especially the backrest could use more foam. The addition of 3D armrests would also be nice (would also truly make this a special edition model) but that's the last thing we care about when testing a gaming chair.

   Currently the Verona Pro V2 Star Trek Edition Gaming Chair can be found for USD399.99 inside the USA (Arozzi.com) and for 307.99Euros (depends on the color however, check the price link for more details) inside the EU (Amazon.de). This price tag puts it a vast number of similarly priced gaming chairs but the Star Trek theme alone is enough to make it stand out, for Star Trek fans that is. Overall, we are very satisfied with the Verona Pro V2 Star Trek Edition Gaming Chair by Arozzi, granted it's not perfect and it could use more padding to become even more comfortable but that aside it doesn't really lack anything else and so just like the "regular" model/version it too deserves our Golden Award.

PROS

- Good Build Quality (Faux Leather / Steel Frame)
- Star Trek References / Design / Available Color Combinations
- Comfortable
- Features (Adjustable Backrest / Height Adjustable Armrests / Z Support Mechanism)
- Removable Neck and Lumbar Pillows

CONS

- Overall Padding
- Price (US)