Sarah Chaney
After my first positive experience testing out the M18 office chair from SIHOO, I was excited to try out the company’s newest Doro-C300 chair. I love this chair even more than the M18 because of its flexible mesh seating, unique white and silver design, and of course, its attention to ergonomics.
There are some things I dislike about the Doro-C300, like the plastic curved pieces on the sides of the seat. But most of my experience with this chair over the past month has been positive. My back and sciatic nerve pain isn’t screaming at me after sitting in this chair for a long day of work, and that’s the best praise an ergonomic office chair can receive!
SIHOO’s Doro-C300 chair is estimated to be available on June 20th, but you can pre-order it right now for a discount. The chair will retail for $399.99, but if you pre-order it now, you can snag it for only $270.
Here's What We Like
- Sleek design (that comes in both white and black)
- Ergonomic features provide ample support
- Flexible mesh is comfortable and easy to keep clean
And What We Don't
- Wish the armrests could flip up and lock
- Seat design doesn’t accommodate wider bottoms
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Build Quality & Setup
Building SIHOO’s Doro-C300 chair was a straightforward 30- to 45-minute process. A few months ago, I reviewed the SIHOO M18 chair, and the building process with this chair was very similar. However, there was a noticeable difference with how the armrests were attached. With the Doro-C300 chair, the armrests attached into the back piece rather than under the seat like on the M18 chair, which made for sturdier construction.
As with most chairs, you build from the bottom up, starting with the aluminum base. To build the base, you insert five aluminum legs into the main base piece, and then insert a wheel at the end of each leg. Then, you flip it over so the wheels are on the ground and insert the hydraulic piece in the center hole.
After attaching the mechanism piece to the seat, it’s lowered onto the hydraulic piece. Then, it’s time to assemble and attach the armrests and the back piece. The armrests consist of two pieces connected by screws and washers. Once the two armrests are constructed, you slide the back piece into place on the back of the seat, slide each armrest into its proper spot on the back piece, and tighten everything down with screws.
Lastly, you slide the neck piece down into place on top of the back piece and affix it with two screws. Those screws are covered with a decorative SIHOO cap piece.
Fully built, the Doro-C300 chair has a max load of 300 pounds. Since the chair itself weighs just over 66 pounds, the max weight for a person would be about 234 pounds.
Comfort & Design
Even if you’re only sitting in a chair for a few hours at a time, it needs to be comfortable. A chair’s comfort is primarily determined by the materials used, smart design choices, and its adjustable and ergonomic features.
SIHOO’s Doro-C300 chair uses see-through mesh all over the chair, which makes it breathable and easy to clean. One of my biggest gripes with mesh-covered cushions is that they’re difficult to clean because debris gets trapped beneath the mesh and it’s impossible to get it out.
Luckily, with the Doro-C300, any debris or crumbs that fall on top of the seat are either small enough to fall straight through to the floor or large enough that you can swipe them away with your hand. Nothing gets trapped!
The mesh is also incredibly flexible, which is a great feature on the seat. Unfortunately, the seat isn’t as comfortable as it could be because of the hard plastic pieces that curve up on the sides of the seat. If I’m sitting with both feet on the floor, my hips sit more on top of those plastic pieces than they do inside of.
SIHOO states that the Doro-C300 has a max hip width of 20 inches, so if you measure more than that from one hip to the other, it might be a bit uncomfortable for you. I don’t typically sit with both feet on the floor, so I don’t find this to be a major issue. I alternate between tucking one leg under me and sitting criss-cross, and usually this variation eliminates any discomfort from the hard plastic pieces.
The armrests are covered in a polyurethane-coated material, which has kind of a squishy, synthetic leather feel to it. There’s a slight concave at the back of the arm rest for your elbow to nestle into, and then your arm just hangs comfortably off the edge on a slight incline. I prefer the armrests on the M18 chair I reviewed, but there’s nothing wrong with these.
Then, I love the white and silver design of the Doro-C300 chair I received. But if you want a more traditional look for your office chair, it also comes in black, with both the plastic pieces and the mesh in black.
Adjustability
There are plenty of available adjustments on SIHOO’s Doro-C300 chair, which make it easy to adapt the chair to multiple different heights. You can adjust the chair’s overall height and move the backrest up and down within 2.3 inches. When you move the back piece, you also move the ergonomic piece and the neck piece with it.
The neckpiece can be further personalized in three different ways. It moves 2.6 inches back and forth, rotates 40 degrees, and moves 1.8 inches up and down. The ergonomic piece, however, is attached to the back piece. When you sit down, the ergonomic piece naturally settles into the best position for you, but it’ll move back to its starting position as soon as you stand up.
There’s no way to lock the ergonomic piece in place. For the most part, this ergonomic support piece did a great job of giving the support I needed. It was nice to not have to mess with a bunch of manual adjustments and find the perfect balance. Plus, when you recline the chair, the ergonomic piece moves along with you, providing perfect support at every moment. You can lock the chair in a seated position, a fully reclined position, or halfway between the two.
Then, the armrests are 3D adjustable, meaning they can move forwards and backwards, inwards and outwards, and up and down. When you want to adjust the armrests down, you have to pull them all the way up, lower them all the way, and then set them where you want them. This is a bit frustrating because if you get it wrong, you have to start the lengthy process all over again, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.
I wish that the armrests could flip up and out of the way because sometimes, I just don’t want armrests at all. Surely, I’m not alone in that feeling. I also wish the armrests could lock into place once you’ve determined where you want them. I’ve accidentally slid the armrests forward when sitting down more times than I want to admit.
Ergonomic Features
It’s important to note that the term ‘ergonomic’ doesn’t mean a product has gone through any specific tests or followed specific guidelines. An ergonomic product is simply one that’s been designed with efficiency and comfort in mind for long-term use. When a product is marketed as being ergonomic, you should be able to use it for a long time without experiencing any major discomfort.
The biggest ergonomic feature of SIHOO’s Doro-C300 chair is the sliding piece on the back. When you sit down, this piece moves on a sliding track on the back piece and automatically settles into a position that’s supposed to be optimal for your body. There aren’t any support rods or solid structural pieces here. Instead, all of the support in this piece comes from sturdy, flexible mesh.
The biggest perk to this design is that you don’t have to manually adjust the lower back support. That said, there are perks to manually choosing how much support you want, especially if you need a lot of support. Overall, it’s not bad, but I like the back support adjustment on the M18 chair from SIHOO better than on the Doro-C300.
There’s also quite a bit of ergonomic support on your hips and thighs. The seat supposedly resembles the curve of a waterfall, and the seat suspension is built to effectively distribute your weight to minimize the pressure on your thighs and hips. I definitely noticed the pressure relief on my thighs when I would sit normally with my feet on the ground.
Verdict: SIHOO Adds Another Great Chair to Its Catalog
I’ve tested out two chairs now from SIHOO and they’ve both been great and budget-friendly. The Doro-C300 is slightly pricier than the M18, but I think it’s worth the jump in price, if not just for the armrests. Being able to adjust your armrests more than just up and down is an underrated feature in office chairs.
The Doro-C300 feels like it’s thoughtfully constructed, and it’s a great option for people who don’t want to worry about perfecting ergonomic back support. All you have to do is adjust the back piece to your height, and the chair does the rest!
Here’s What We Like
- Sleek design (that comes in both white and black)
- Ergonomic features provide ample support
- Flexible mesh is comfortable and easy to keep clean
And What We Don't
- Wish the armrests could flip up and lock
- Seat design doesn’t accommodate wider bottoms
