ASUS ROG are a company typically signified by high performance gear and designs running the gamut from glorious to gaudy, but where does the ASUS ROG Destrier land in there?

Well, today we’re going to give you a rundown of everything you need to know about the Destrier, so you know whether it’s considerable price of £699.95 is worth it.

So, we’re going to go over the design, build quality, ergonomics, and of course, the unboxing and assembly experience. Speaking of which:

ASUS ROG Destrier gaming chair

Height range

5’4″ – 6’1″

Maximum load

150 KG/330 lbs

Seat width

570mm

Tilt-lock?

Yes

Height adjustment range

8.5cm

How We Review

Pros

Villainous design
Breathable mesh upholstery
Straps instead of handles is a nice change

Cons

Difficult assembly process
Some manufacturing tolerance issues
Ergonomics could use some work

Tech Specs

Height range

5’4″ – 6’1″

Maximum load

150 KG/330 lbs

Seat width

570mm

Tilt-lock?

Yes

Height adjustment range

8.5cm

Seat depth

500mm

Backrest width

720mm

ASUS ROG Destrier: Unboxing & assembly

Turns out the wrestling the massively heavy box through the door was actually the least painful part of putting the ROG Destrier chair together.

It started out well, though, with all the individual pieces packaged super securely. Front and centre after opening the box was a nicely laminated page of instructions, outlining the steps both verbally and via diagrams.

Our first hurdle came as a result of a tolerance error, making it almost impossible to insert one of the castors into the 5-star base. This was annoying but about 10 minutes of aggressive shoving managed to sort it.

The worst bit was the headrest and acoustic panel, as the diagram really wasn’t clear and you absolutely have to put the headrest ton, before the panel, both which are tight fits even in the correct order.

Once we figured this out, the chair came together as smoothly as any other gaming chair, however, this was definitely the most challenging chair build that we’ve done here at WePC. Thank god we didn’t do an unboxing video, as the editor would have lost it at the amount of bleeps that would have been needed.

ASUS ROG Destrier: Design

THE ASUS ROG Destrier earns a considerable number of points back here, as the overall design is nothing short of villainous. With the tall silhouette, sharp angles, and dastardly dark color scheme, if Blofeld was a nerd, he’d sit in this chair.

particular praise should be placed on the armrests, specifically the vertical strut used to adjust them. It’s made from a cool, powder coated rectangular piece of metal shoved through a gunmetal-grey mounting section.

As you move the armrests up and down, you see the powder coated section go through the other section pointing towards the floor, giving its a sword in scabbard vibe that we think looks wicked.

That same gunmetal grey look is carried over to the back of the chair too, with the apparently cyborg-inspired spine of the chair. it originates from two points under the chair, merges into a single strut, then splits out to pieces again to join onto the shoulders.

All this mixes with the greyed out mesh fabric to create an overarching design that’s both stealthy and standout. Unfortunately, we see a hilarious oversight when we move towards the adjustment handles peeking out from under the chair. Firstly, they aren’t handles, as the ASUS ROG Destrier has been equipped with fabric loops instead. Through which you put you fingers and yank, instead of messing with handles.

From a functionality standpoint, we like this as its about as easy as normal handles are, and from a visual perspective we love it as even the coolest gaming chairs just look like office chairs from this point downwards.

Unfortunately, in this case at least, the guys at ASUS ROG have left a literal typo in the fabric of these loops. The one that’s supposed to say ‘TILT‘ instead says ‘TIL T‘, which clearly isn’t a design choice as the others don’t have rogue spaces. We’re no strangers to a typo here at WePC, but they are never quite as permanent as this.

ASUS ROG Destrier: Ergonomics & comfort

The ergonomics and comfort of the ASUS ROG Destrier are, unfortunately, all over the place. Firstly, we love the mesh! It rides the line between firm and springy perfectly, and of course, it’s ideal for warmer climates. Even those of us who live in dreary, grey Britain occasionally get some sun, so everyone can benefit from the additional breathability.

In an effort to appeal to mobile gamers, the ASUS ROG Destrier armrests have an extra thick section towards the back, creating some additional padding for the elbows of gamers as they hold their devices up to their faces.

It’s a nice touch, no doubt, however, given that the idea of mobile gaming is at odds with sitting in a gaming chair, we have doubts over how useful this will actually be. Furthermore, the price of around £700 casts doubts over how many people will buy the ASUS ROG Destrier anyway.

So, it’s comfy, but is it ergonomic? Unfortunately, there are a couple of key design choices that prevent it from being a musculoskeletal marvel.

First up is the lumbar support. First impressions were good, as you can adjust the intensity of both sides individually, which is a rarity in even the most expensive of gaming chairs. Unfortunately, the lumbar support cannot be adjusted up and down, meaning that it will only suit a very limited height range, adversely affecting it’s applicability for a lot of people.

ASUS ROG Destrier: Build quality

We’ve already mentioned the tolerance issues we found during the assembly process, and the amusing typo on the fabric loop. Luckily, this is where the issues end,

For the most part, the ASUS ROG Destrier build quality is great. with the solid steel and aluminum components making us retroactively grateful for the super heavy box that we mentioned at the outset of this review.

Happily, the build quality is so consistent that there isn’t really a lot to see here, as we’re fully confident in the ASUS ROG Destrier’s ability to last throughout the years, though we fear a tear in the mesh could grow far quicker and far more destructively than it would in another material.

ASUS ROG Destrier review: Final Verdict

We end this review in two minds: One the one hand, it’sgot substandard ergonomics, and there are some issues that make it a pretty tricky build.

On the other hand, its a wicked looking chair made from breathable mesh with good levels of comfort.

On the surprisingly present third hand, it costs £700, which, for comparison, is significantly more costly than the Secretlab Titan EVO 2022 Series.

This makes it a tricky sell. However, the super cool design will be enough to win some people over, and it almost won us over too. 3/5

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