INTRODUCTION

   Although the PC gaming community dates as far back as the late 80's / early 90's it took nearly two full decades for gamers to witness and enjoy the big bang in the gaming peripherals market. What really stands out however is the just how fast gaming chairs have managed to climb in both popularity and sales compared to pretty much every other gaming peripheral out there (especially if you take into account their comparably higher prices). That being said it's quite understandable that every single person that spends countless hours in front of a screen would be interested in getting a good gaming chair (and yes not just gamers) so both their popularity and sales numbers do make sense. Arozzi is one of the leading gaming chair manufacturers in the EU (perhaps even the world) and today we'll be trying out their latest Inizio Gaming Chair.

   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!

   The brand new Inizio by Arozzi is yet another cost-effective gaming chair which lands just over their Monza and Enzo lines and right next to their Milano line. Now the good news is that unlike the Monza, Enzo and Milano lines which feature fixed armrests and backrests the Inizio offers height and rotation adjustable armrests and an adjustable backrest which falls roughly 140-150 degrees. The Inizio also features a cover made out of breathable fabric (ideal if you have cats or dogs at home like we do), metal frame for increased durability, 60mm nylon caster wheels, class-4 gaslift (supports up to 105kg), height adjusting mechanism, 5 star aluminum base and as expected it also comes with removable neck and back pillows (also dressed in breathable fabric). For good or bad the Inizio was not designed with large people in mind since leaving out its medium sized backrest (82.5cm tall) the somewhat small amount of foam padding used (35Kg/m3 for the seat and 30Kg/m3 for the backrest) is not something we've seen many times in the past.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Most gaming chairs are shipped in plain cardboard boxes that just have the model name and company logo on them and as you can see the same applies for the Inizio.

The various parts of the chair are placed in pieces of foam and bubble and between several pieces of cardboard.

As usual the 5 star base followed by the butterfly height adjustment mechanism were the two items first out of the box.

Both the backrest and the seat came out next and as you can see this is the first time we see an exposed backrest adjustment mechanism.

The Inizio also features removable neck and lumbar support pillows and these were the next ones out of the box.

Finally we took the two armrests out of the box along with a small cardboard box inside which Arozzi had placed the class-4 gaslift with its plastic cover, all 4 side covers, the 5 wheels, Alen key, 4 short Philips screws (for the side covers), warning information paper and the assembly instructions.

ASSEMBLY

Many assembly guides say you should start from adding the backrest to the seat but we always start by attaching the wheels onto the base of the chair.

The 60mm caster wheels may not be of the best quality but they are larger compared to what we usually see from similarly priced models.

Next on the list was the class-4 gaslift with its plastic cover (some gas lifts have small plastic caps at the top which need to be removed).

The seat has a total of three metal bars but lacks the usual elastic bands we've seen with most models in the past.

Both armrests have left and right markings at the front.

Each armrest is secured onto the seat with a total of 4 Allen screws (8 in total).

The butterfly height adjustment mechanism is secured onto the seat via 4 Allen screws.

This chair rolled out of its factory in China on November 2017.

Two Allen screws are as usual already mounted on each side of the backrest.

Once you’ve mounted the backrest onto the seat you can also mount the bundled covers with their Philips screws as seen above.

With the upper end of the chair complete all that’s now left for us is to mount it onto the class-4 gaslift.

FINISHED LOOKS

Just like the AK Racing Prime (which also features a breathable fabric cover) the Inizio may not look stunning but still a lot better compared to most office/desk chairs.

Typically Arozzi has placed their logo at the top of the backrest and as you can see quality is quite good (for a fabric cover).

Both armrests can be raised an additional 7cm as seen above.

We were quite was surprised to see that the orientation of the armrests is also adjustable (for a budget chair this is something very rare).

The backrest may not fall a full 180 degrees like some other gaming chairs but even 140-150 degrees should be more than plenty for most people.

By adding both removable pillows the looks of the Inizio improve quite a bit.

The Arozzi logo is also placed on both pillows and at the rear top of the backrest.

Here we see a picture of the Inizio's rear.

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. Size and comfort usually go hand to hand (the larger the chair the more comfortable it usually is - largely depends on the amount of padding however) while in terms of quality having tested 20 models currently we think we have a good idea about that as well. Of course these scores are based on our personal opinions so do take them with a grain of salt.

CONCLUSION

   I don’t really know whether or not manufacturers release gaming chairs with breathable fabric covers for people with pets but what I do know is that the one I do have at home has survived for over 2 years with 3 cats constantly climbing on it and scratching it so at least for me models like the Inizio (which are quite rare in this industry) are a one way (did try using a cover on a gaming chair with PU leather cover and that didn’t work). That being said although the Inizio offers things that not many others do in its price range (like an adjustable back rest and adjustable armrests) the somewhat limited amount of foam padding did leave a mixed impression. Sure the chair is still quite comfortable but nowhere near what it could have been with more padding (we did like what AK Racing did with the Prime model in that specific area) and with most gamers spending many hours in front of their PC screens ample foam padding is never a bad thing.

   At the end of the day however we also need to take into account the price of a gaming chair and since the Inizio Gaming Chair currently retails for just 219Euros inside the EU (Directly from Arozzi) it’s quite understandable that Arozzi couldn’t had used the same amount of foam padding as with their more expensive models. Long story short the Inizio was ment to be a cost-effective chair featuring some of the things we usually find in higher-end models and although it’s obviously not award-winning material it still deserves your attention if you’re looking for a gaming chair covered in fabric which will not set you back by much.

PROS

- Good Build Quality (Fabric Cover / Steel Frame)
- Features (Adjustable Height / Height And Rotation Adjustable Armrests / 140 Degrees Backrest Adjustment)
- Head & Lower-Back Removable Pillows
- Available In Three Color Combinations
- Ideal For Places With Pets (Always Compared To Synthetic PU Leather Models)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Amount Of Foam Padding (Reduces Comfort Levels)
- Fabric Not As Elegant As Synthetic PU Leather