LEVL Alpha M Series Gaming Chair Review

Human Made

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Penned by Benjamin Barr

Ben grew up on a healthy diet of Nintendo, Xbox, and PC Games. He founded High Ground Gaming in 2014.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Thanks for stopping by and checking out this gaming chair review. Greg, the LEVL rep who reached out to me, sent me their black and white Alpha Series M gaming chair for testing. Read on to find out what my experience with the chair was and if it’s worth your hard earned cash.

Trying to find your bum’s next best friend? Peruse our list of the best gaming chairs.

Unboxing

• Casters
• Nylon Base
• Oversized Lumbar and Neck Pillows
• Chair Seat (PU Upholstery, Steel Frame)
• Chair Back (PU Upholstery, Steel Frame)
• Gas Cylinder
• Instruction Manual

The LEVL Alpha M Series Gaming Chair is a formidable chair that ticks most the boxes gamers are looking for. It is a heavy (50 pounds) well-built chair. I think if a mountain goat and this chair charged each other the Alpha M Series would win. After my experience with their chair I’m certain LEVL offers serious competition to the likes of DX Racer, AK Racing, and other racing type gaming chairs. Overall it is a sleek looking chair, with some ergonomic features to boot.

The heavy steel frame means business. it’s got good bones. There isn’t a cheap core inside this chair. LEVL incorporates high quality steel that is hand welded. As such, it is a heavy chair. Once you get it put together you aren’t going to want to move it around much (unless you are racing on the wheels), which shouldn’t present a problem to most users. Likely most of us will only want to move to console to PC if that.

The chair came in a large cardboard box with LEVL Gaming branding. Truth be told, I was a little worried it was going to take up a good chunk of my night. Upon opening, I found everything was well organized and packed in the box. And my cynical past self was proven wrong—I didn’t have an awful time putting it together. I’d put it in the middle of the furniture spectrum with a massive King bed frame/headboard/slat supports from Ikea on one end and a cheap task office chair on the other.

The only issue I got hung up on was the two side covers that conceal the screws used to mount the back to the seat. They seemed flimsy at first and I was worried about damaging them. I got one on pretty good but the other popped off whenever I reclined the chair. Finally, I gave them a good smack and that did the trick.

The Alpha & Omega

I started using the Alpha M Series chair at home as my primary personal use chair. At work, I’m sitting in the Steelcase Leap chair about 8 hours a day. With both chairs I’m not getting any back pain or discomfort (that was not the case before I upgraded to the Steelcase chair, I had a $60 chair from Office Max that was killing my back). The big difference I feel is that the Leap’s back fluidly adjusts to the amount of pressure I’m putting on it. Depending on my posture, the chair works to automatically adjust to my back and spine. The LEVL gaming chair’s back rest is static. There is no fancy ‘live back’ feature.

The saving grace is that LEVL has included a lumbar pillow to force your spine into an ergonomic position. Just like a back rest for the car or chair, this little lumbar pillow works its magic and keeps your lower back pain free. LEVL also includes a head rest pillow. It wasn’t for me and I couldn’t get use to it, but some may enjoy the added neck/head support. I’m 6 foot 1 so maybe I’m a little too short or tall to line up with it.. I don’t know. The cool thing about both pillows is that they come free with the chair so you won’t feel guilty about not using one or the other. At any rate, I’m not sure if its fair to compare the two chairs. The Alpha M Series is at the $300 price point and the Steelcase Leap starts at about $900. But the fact that I’m not having a significantly different experience with either chair bodes well for the LEVL chair.

Overall this is a very comfortable chair. LEVL didn’t cheap out on the foam padding. Their ‘high density cold cured foam’ does provide ample padding and support. The feel of the PU leather isn’t like the touch of premium real leather, but it doesn’t feel cheap either. One has the feeling that the upholstery will last many a gaming session. Although I haven’t split anything on mine yet, I think it will be very easy to clean in the event I stumble into my desk at home in the morning in zombie mode and slosh coffee over it.

LEVL isn’t on the cutting edge of ergonomics such as a Steelcase or Herman Miller. But they aren’t charging you a $1000 bucks a chair either. That’s not to say they didn’t pack some features in here to take care of your spine and body. The chair has 2D arms, lumbar/neck cushions, swivel and tilt mechanism, 135 degree back angle reclining adjustment, and of course height adjustment. I think you’re still getting support where you need it from the chair and as I spend more time in it I’ll be able to gauge that even better (will update here if I run into issues).

The steel frame inside this chair is built like a tank. Every component of the chair feels and looks pretty robust and I doubt the chair will need any serious replacements for 5+ years. I would have liked to see an aluminum base or something a bit sturdier than the nylon, but the base is thick and will get the job done.

This gaming chair looks very much like the other racing style gaming chairs on the market. There’s not much innovation here and you get to expect this aesthetic from a gaming type chair. It doesn’t look bad — the black with white piping is sharp and if you want something flashier they have red and blue options too. The Alpha chair will definitely fit in an entertainment style space, but does not toe the line of looking professional too, and is something that wouldn’t work in an office or business setting.

The price is competitive. It’s right there with Arozzi, DxRacer, AK Racing, etc. I’d give them a 10 if they could get a package like this down to $150-200, but we might have to wait for fully integrated robot assembly lines or less expensive raw materials to get better prices on gaming chairs. At the end of the day, you’re getting value for your $300 — something that is going to last longer than a couple years and will be more comfortable than your average office chair.

Related Reading

• The Top Gaming Chairs for Gamers on a Budget
• Design your Entertainment Room: The Best Couches for Gamers
• The Top Models from DXRacer