Fractal Design Refine review: A wonderful chair for long gaming sessions

The Refine is the first gaming chair from Fractal Design and at first glance looks more like a normal office chair. This is probably intentional, as the Swedish company is conveying a kind of Scandi-chic that is already widespread in many homes. The chair should therefore suit you particularly well if you prefer a simple look to colorful logos and RGB lighting.

Further reading: Don’t ditch your gaming chair – upgrade it!

Fractal Design Refine: Design

In our case, the chair looked a little more boring or even old-fashioned, but this hardly bothered us during the test. It’s just a shame that the gaming chair is only available in white or black, with the white version looking rather light grey.

The Fractal Design Refine is an excellent, ergonomic gaming chair that is also suitable for the home office. It doesn’t really impress with its look, which is rather plain and un-agitated. However, the inner values, i.e. the workmanship, ergonomics and comfort, were convincing across the board in our tests.

It is much more important that the chair is well made and this is the case with the Fractal Design Refine. Incidentally, there are two versions available, one with upholstery fabric and one with mesh (both in black or white). However, we recommend the version with upholstery instead of mesh, as it is generally better to have an upholstered surface rather than just a mesh backrest, especially when sitting for long periods of time.

Fractal Design Refine: Structure, ergonomics, and comfort

Assembling the Fractal Design was relatively easy and could be done alone. As with most of the other chairs, you can already tell how well the product is made. In addition to the seat elements, which feel heavy and of high quality, the individual seams and screws also fit very well.

Once the chair has been set up, it’s time for the adjustment options–and there are many of them. In addition to the seat height, the position of the backrest and the armrests, which can be adjusted in four directions, you can also set the seat depth. This makes the chair suitable for people with both long and short legs.

The height of the neck cushion can also be adjusted to provide ideal head support. At the back of the chair, on the other hand, there is a rotary wheel that can be used to adjust the position of the integrated lumbar support. If these two points are set correctly, the natural shape of the spine is ideally supported.

Overall, we were completely impressed by the ergonomics of the chair. The backrest in particular stands out here, as it is not only ergonomically shaped, but also comfortable and allows just the right amount of room to sit a little more actively than simply leaning back.

Thanks to the built-in Synchro-Tilt mechanism, the seat and backrest always adjust together, which should prevent the body from falling into an unnatural and uncomfortable position. We found this to be very reliable in the test.

The memory foam neck cushion is also ideal, as it is neither too hard nor too soft and supports the neck much better than many other versions we have tested so far. We also found the Refine to be very comfortable even when sitting for long periods.

The only drawback of the chair for us is the armrests. This is because they are too easy to adjust and therefore keep slipping if you accidentally touch them with your arm. They also wobble slightly when you shake them, which means they don’t look quite as high-quality as the rest of the chair.

Fractal Design Refine: Conclusion

The Fractal Design Refine is an excellent, ergonomic gaming chair that is also suitable for the home office. It doesn’t really impress with its look, which is rather plain and un-agitated. However, the inner values, i.e. the workmanship, ergonomics and comfort, were convincing across the board in our tests.

Basically, we can therefore recommend the chair without reservation, as it is not only comfortable but should also be suitable for people who have problems with their back or neck. However, you should pay attention to whether you opt for the fabric or mesh version. This is because they not only differ in their covers, but also slightly in their dimensions (see also the technical data).

Fractal Design Refine: Specifications

• Product weight: 25.7 – 25.8 kg
• Maximum load: 125 kg
• Recommended height: 1.65 m – 2.0 m
• Recommended weight: 60 kg – 125 kg
• Material: cold foam, memory foam, plastic, aluminium; cover: either nylon reinforced mesh fabric or woven, non-organic Alcantara fabric
• Seat width: 540 mm (fabric), 550 mm (mesh)
• Seat depth: 460 mm (fabric), 465 mm (mesh)
• Seat width: 435 mm
• Seat height: 475 mm – 595 mm (fabric), 490 mm – 610 mm (mesh)
• Seat depth: 425 mm – 480 mm (fabric), 450 mm – 505 mm (mesh)
• Armrest height: 160 mm – 270 mm (fabric), 145 mm – 255 mm (mesh)
• Armrest spacing: 420 mm – 560 mm (fabric), 430 mm – 560 mm (mesh)
• Armrest depth: adjustable up to 60 mm
• Castors: Hubless 65 mm castors with soft PU plastic
• Gas pressure spring: 120 mm class 4
• Mechanism: Synchro-tilt
• Lumbar support height adjustment: 110 mm
• Lumbar support depth adjustment: 20 mm
• Max tilt angle: 125° (~130° under load)
• Mechanism tilt function: Donati Dynamic
• Backrest/seat tilt ratio: 2 to 1
• Headrest height adjustment: 120 mm
• Warranty: 5 years