X-Chair X2 K-Sport Management chair review

The X-Chair X2 office chair stands out with an optional massager and heating pad

X-Chair X2 K-Sport Management chair
(Image: © X-Chair)

Tom's Guide Verdict

If you get the X-Chair X2 office chair, spend the extra bucks for the heating and massager.

Pros

  • +

    Solidly built

  • +

    Very adjustable

  • +

    Optional heat/massager

  • +

    Good lumbar support

Cons

  • -

    Can take a while to get everything adjusted

  • -

    Pricey

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X-Chair X2: Specs

Seat width: 19.5-20.5 inches
Back width: 20.5 inches
Recline angle: 40 degrees
Seat depth: 19-21 inches

It took me a while to finally get comfortable in the X-Chair X2 K-Sport Management chair. But now that I have, I don’t ever want to give it up. 

This office chair, which starts at $799, not only looks great, but you can adjust practically every part of it to fit your body. Even better: the X-Chair X2 comes with an optional lumbar heating and massage pad. Now, when you’re on one of those endless Zoom calls, you can sit back and relax in comfort. 

During my X-Chair X2 review, I — and my wife — discovered why it’s one of the best office chairs, it’s definitely one that should be on your shortlist. 

X-Chair X2 review: Price and availability

I tested X-Chair’s X2 K-Sport Management chair—the company’s most popular model—which starts at $799. The model with the built in massager and heater starts at $899. You can choose between four fabric colors (white, gray, red, and black), add a headrest ($90), extended-width seat ($50), and X-Wheels ($50-$75). These look like the wheels you’d find on rollerblades, and while they look cool, they did not roll well on my low-pile carpet floor.

Other models in the company’s line include the X1 Flex Mesh Task Chair (starting at $689), the X3 ATR Management Chair (starting at $929), and the X4 Executive Leather Chair (starting at $1,149). There’s also an X-Basic Task Chair ($524) and the XS-Vision Small Task Chair ($599).

X-Chair X2 review: Design

This is definitely a step up from your AmazonBasics chair. The X-Chair X2’s aesthetic is somewhere between what you’d find from a sports agent and Elon Musk’s office decor. The lower chrome section of the X-Chair gleams, while the seat, back, and arms are a matte black. Both the seat and the back are mesh, which kept my backside nice and cool all day long. It’s a solidly built chair, and was shipped fully assembled. Fortunately, you can disassemble the X-Chair X2, which I had to do to get it up the narrow stairs to my attic. 

(Image credit: X-Chair)

Just about everything is adjustable on the X-Chair: the height of the seat, the angle the seat tilts forward or back, how far forward or back the seat is from the back of the chair, and the height and angle of the armrests.

The back of the chair raises and lowers so that you can get the lumbar support in just the right spot on your back. The mechanism has four notches, but if you go past the top notch, it resets to the bottom. I wish the chair featured some sort of lock. 

(Image credit: X-Chair)

The X-Chair’s ball bearings were so smooth that my two-year old daughter could easily spin me around. She thought it was pretty funny.

X-Chair X2 review: Comfort

Maybe it was because I was used to testing the best office chairs under $100 that it took me so long to adjust — and get adjusted — to the X-Chair. You can move, slide, tilt, and raise and lower so many things with the X2 that it took me a long time to figure out how best to configure the chair so I could sit comfortably at my desk. If I set the height of the seat too high, my legs felt squished, but if it was too low, then my wrist would rest uncomfortably on the edge of my desk when I used my computer’s mouse. 

X-Chair X2 K-Sport Management chair review

(Image credit: X-Chair)

At one point, I got frustrated enough to switch back to the $50 Furmax Office Chair, which has far less in the way of adjustments — you can raise and lower the seat height — but was more comfortable for my sitting style. After watching a video on X-Chair’s site, though, I was able to get the chair to fit me just right. 

My wife had no such trouble getting the X-Chair X2 set up to her preferences. Immediately after sitting in the X-Chair, she didn’t want to give it up. I had to wrestle her to get it back to finish this review. 

(Image credit: X-Chair)

Aside from its comfort, the one thing that really sets the X-Chair X2 apart is the X-HMT optional heating and massage pad in the lumbar support section. The first time I turned it on, I felt like a teenager sneaking into Brookstone at the mall to sit in one of their massage chairs. 

You can select either a continuous or pulsing massage, and one of two power levels. You can also turn the heating element on and off. The massager and heating pad can run off battery power, which will give you an hour or two depending on the settings. Alternatively, you can plug it in. 

(Image credit: X-Chair)

However, a plastic panel which holds the X-HMT massaging/heating pad in place kept popping out of the back of the chair. While the massage pad didn’t move, I was surprised that this little detail was overlooked.

X-Chair X2 review: Verdict

Back in August, I wrote that the Midea U smart air conditioner may have saved my marriage. The X-Chair X2 K-Sport Management might end it. Both my wife and I like it so much, it’s a race to our attic office to see who gets to sit in it for the day. 

At $799 (or $899 for the X-HMT massage option), the X-Chair X2 is not cheap, but it’s much less than the Herman Miller Aeron — and that chair doesn’t come with a heating pad or a headrest. 

Mike Prospero
U.S. Editor-in-Chief, Tom's Guide

Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. He oversees all evergreen content and oversees the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom's Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.