Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair review: a compact chair that doesn’t compromise on comfort

One-minute review

The Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair is easily one of the best gaming chairs and most comfortable gaming chairs on the market if you’re shopping specifically for something that will fit in a smaller setup. Its frameless design is quite unlike anything else available right now, using a slightly flexible plastic mesh that gently curves to support the shape of your spine. 

There’s no backrest cushioning or a lumbar pillow in the traditional sense, but the results speak for themselves. This chair is incredibly comfortable to sit on and offers a formidable range of adjustment options, including the manufacturer’s popular Harmonic Tilt, to help maximize support for your back.

Despite the chair’s slight profile, its seat pad is still wide and spacious and has a generous level of cushioning and a contoured shape that cuts down on fatigue. Although predominantly constructed using plastic, materials are uniformly top-notch. Parts are cleanly produced and feel seriously durable to the touch. Add on a 12 year manufacturer warranty, and you’ve got a chair that’s going to be able to endure years of daily use. The unique design also lends this chair a very striking overall appearance which is only further enhanced by the wide range of bright color options to choose from. 

In fact, the only area where the Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair falls short is in its lack of any real head or neck support. There is no headrest present on this model at all, which is an understandable limitation given the clear intention to keep the size down but will be a deal breaker for those who need one.

Price and availability

• $1,020 / £755
• Available from Herman Miller
• 12 year warranty

The Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair is available directly from Herman Miller in the US and UK where it costs $1,020 / £755. It’s not widely available in Australia yet, though. There are a range of color options to choose from, including bright Neon Green, clean Studio White, plain Black, Red, purple Interstellar, and, my personal favorite, the electric blue Ocean Deep.

Shoppers in the US can also choose a Slate Grey seat color, rather than the standard Black, at no extra cost. This is in addition to a ‘High Height Range’ height adjustment option, which takes the price up to $1,075 and allows you to adjust the seat height a few extra inches. Neither of these customizations are available in the UK right now.

Purchases include a 12 year manufacturer warranty, which is significantly better than the warranties offered by most competitors. Both the Razer Fujin Pro and Secretlab Titan Evo, to name two examples, are covered by shorter 5 year warranty periods.

Specs

Design and aesthetics

The Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair impresses when it comes to design and aesthetics. It’s effectively a recolored version of the existing Herman Miller Sayl, which is sold as an office chair, but that works to its advantage. The more abstract form factor is a real breath of fresh air in a market that is dominated by more generic designs inspired by racing seats. Its mesh-like backrest is eye-catching, highly breathable, and comfortably soft, though still rigid enough to provide plenty of support where it counts.

The majority of the chair is constructed from a sleek black plastic with a slightly textured finish. There are still some brightly colored elements depending on your choice of colorway, including the backrest and the adjustment controls underneath the seat, making them easy to identify and adding a very pleasing level of contrast to the overall look. 

The seat cushion is a slightly curved shape, keeping you centered while you sit. Its cover is slightly rough compared to the usual synthetic leather or soft fabric found on other gaming chairs, but this creates a good amount of friction and stops you from sliding around. 

The chair’s base is constructed from plastic, with five casters that work well on both hard surfaces and carpets. Like the rest of the chair, these casters are very high quality and can glide across floors smoothly and with little noise.

Comfort and adjustability

The Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair offers plenty of adjustability. Its backrest features a Harmonic Tilt mechanism that causes it to automatically recline as you lean back. The level of force required to cause the chair to tilt can be increased or decreased by turning the tilt tension knob, which is found on the right hand side underneath the seat. It sits alongside a lever which can raise or lower the seat height.

On the other side of the chair’s underside, you will find a mechanism that adjusts the limit of the recline. This can be set at three levels, ranging from an upright to partially and fully reclined position. There is also a forward tilt lever, which allows the backrest to move further forward as you lean in.

You can adjust the overall seat depth too, moving it either closer or further away from the backrest. This allows you to adjust the amount of space between the back of your knees and the edge of the seat which is ideal for ensuring a healthy sitting position.

The armrests can be adjusted either up or down, or pivoted a few degrees if you’d prefer to use them at an angle. Their width or depth can also be easily tweaked by simply pushing the top of each armrest and sliding it in your desired direction.

The manufacturer’s online adjustment guide provides a detailed explanation of each of these functions, in addition to some helpful tips on how to correctly use them. With everything fully adjusted, the Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair offers a seriously impressive level of comfort. The backrest provides absolutely perfect support and feels extremely natural as it shifts in conjunction with your body. That said, I often sit leaning slightly forward. Those who prefer to lean back would likely be better served by a model with a headrest, like the Herman Miller x Logitech Vantum, for that added support.

Assembly

The Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair comes fully assembled in a large cardboard box. Setting it up is as simple as cutting open the box, wheeling out the chair, and removing a couple small product tags. The overall process is quick, easy, and absolutely perfect for those who are not familiar with assembling gaming chairs. A QR code that links to a brief online manual is included in the box should you require it.

Should I buy the Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider…

If you’re not sold on the Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair, then these two alternatives are worth considering.

How I tested the Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair

• Tested for over three weeks
• Used for office work and gaming
• Compared to other gaming chairs

I tested the Herman Miller Sayl Gaming Chair for over three weeks at our London office. I used it as my primary chair as I completed productivity tasks and played a selection of games. This included a range of titles on Amazon Luna, such as River City Girls, XDefiant, Fortnite, and more, in addition to mobile phone games including Zenless Zone Zero and Dicey Dungeons.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2024.