A good gaming chair can make a surprisingly big difference to your setup. Whether you’re gaming for a few hours, working at your desk, writing reviews, playing a board game, or simply watching something at the end of the day, having somewhere comfortable to sit quickly becomes just as important as the screen you’re looking at. The Blacklyte Athena Pro is aimed at people who want something a little more premium, combining the familiar gaming chair design with a range of ergonomic adjustments and a focus on long-term comfort.
Going into this review, my expectations were fairly high. At around £399 in the UK, the Athena Pro sits firmly in a price range I would usually not consider, so I expected more than something that simply looks good. Comfort, adjustability, build quality, and how well it fits into an everyday setup all matter here.
Product Name: Blacklyte Athena Pro Gaming Chair
Manufacturer: Blacklyte
Pricing: £399 / $499
Unboxing And Initial Impressions
The Blacklyte Athena Pro immediately feels like a substantial piece of kit. This is a large gaming chair, weighing around 27.8kg before packaging, and that translates into a reassuring feeling of solidity once everything is put together. Blacklyte has gone with a full-steel frame, an aluminium alloy wheelbase, and a Class 4 KGS gas lift, so there is considerably more going on here than simply a large padded seat.
Visually, I really like the direction Blacklyte has taken. The Athena Pro still has the unmistakable silhouette of a gaming chair, but it doesn’t rely on excessive styling to make its point. There are no unnecessary lights or overly aggressive design elements. The black leatherette version in particular, my favourite and the one I have, has a fairly understated premium look. It has a much cleaner appearance that would work equally well in a gaming room or home office. This is something my wife really appreciated.
Blacklyte offers the Athena Pro in both leatherette and fabric versions, with several colours and special-edition designs available.
Assembly is relatively straightforward, with Blacklyte supplying the necessary tools and installation gloves in the box and a huge sheet of step-by-step instructions. The packaging includes the seat backrest, seat base, frog mechanism, wheelbase, gas lift, magnetic head pillow, casters, and the required hardware. It’s a fairly sizeable box and certainly isn’t something I would recommend moving around by yourself if you can avoid it. But that’s to be expected from a chair of this size.
Product Specs & Technical Details
The Athena Pro is built around a full-steel frame and uses an aluminium alloy wheelbase. The Athena Pro is equipped with a Class 4 KGS gas lift and 50mm PU silent casters, and the chair supports a reclining range from 90° to 149°. It can also rock between 0° and 14°.
One of the biggest selling points is the built-in four-way lumbar support. Rather than relying on a loose lumbar cushion, the Athena Pro integrates support directly into the backrest, allowing adjustment for both position and depth.
The chair also features:
- Upgraded dual-layer memory foam seat cushion
- Medium-firm seating with a softer upper cushion layer
- Dual magnetic head pillow
- 4D adjustable armrests
- Frog-shaped tilt mechanism
- Class 4 KGS gas lift
- 700mm aluminium alloy wheelbase
- 50mm PU silent casters
- 90° to 149° recline
- 0° to 14° rocking mode
- Full-steel frame
- 3-year warranty, with the option to extend to 5 years
Overall Usage Experience
Comfort is obviously the most important part of any gaming chair, and this is where the Athena Pro’s feature set starts to make sense.
The dual-layer memory foam seat is designed to provide a balance between immediate softness and longer-term support. Rather than being an incredibly soft chair that you sink into, the Athena Pro has a medium-firm feel. That makes sense for a chair designed for both gaming and desk work, where you don’t necessarily want to feel like you’re sitting on a sofa.
The seat and backrest also feature raised side bolsters. These aren’t as aggressive as the bucket-style bolsters found on some traditional racing-inspired gaming chairs, but they do help guide you towards the centre of the chair.
The built-in lumbar system is arguably the standout feature. Being able to adjust the lumbar support, rather than simply accepting whatever position a fixed cushion happens to sit in, is a big advantage. Everyone’s preferred sitting position is slightly different, so being able to move the support up or down and adjust how pronounced it is makes the Athena Pro considerably more flexible.
The magnetic head pillow is another nice touch. Instead of using straps that need to be threaded around the chair, the pillow attaches magnetically to the backrest. It can therefore be repositioned without wrestling with the chair itself. This is the sort of feature that might sound like a gimmick initially, but it makes practical sense. Being able to quickly adjust the pillow to suit your sitting position is considerably easier than dealing with a conventional strapped-on cushion.
The 4D armrests provide another useful level of adjustment. Being able to move the armrests into a position that works for your desk setup is particularly important if you’re using the chair for more than gaming. Keyboard and mouse users, controller players, and people who spend a lot of time writing at their desk can all benefit from fine-tuning their arm position.
The recline mechanism also adds versatility. With a maximum recline of 149°, you can move from an upright working or gaming position to something much more relaxed when you’re watching videos or simply taking a break. The additional rocking function lets the chair move up to 14°, giving you another way to adjust your sitting position.
The casters are another area where Blacklyte has made a sensible choice. The 50mm PU silent casters are designed to move smoothly while producing less noise than traditional hard plastic wheels. Which is a godsend for those who’ve had to deal with the latter with other gaming chairs.
A couple of things are worth considering before buying.
The Athena Pro isn’t the most breathable chair available, particularly if you choose the leatherette version. Fabric is likely the better option for anyone who regularly gets warm while sitting for long periods.
That’s something I would strongly recommend considering before buying. The Athena Pro is designed as a one-size-fits-most chair, but “most” doesn’t necessarily mean everyone will find the proportions perfect. I recommend trying to find somewhere you can “try before you buy.”
Another big thing when it comes to gaming chairs is how much weight they can take. As someone who is on the big side, I have had many problems in the past with chairs not being able to stand the test of time and eventually breaking. Blacklyte recommends the Athena Pro for users weighing under 150kg (330lbs), which gives me some extra peace of mind. This chair doesn’t feel like it will have the same problem; I trust that it can last a while. But this again plays into price, as I would never seek out something at that price point if I wasn’t confident it could handle someone who is bigger than the average person.
The chair also isn’t attempting to completely reinvent the gaming chair. Its approach is more about taking established features and executing them well. The result is a chair that feels refined rather than revolutionary. And honestly, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Sometimes a product doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. If the fundamentals are right, having comfortable padding, useful adjustment options, solid construction, and a sensible design can be more valuable than introducing a dozen features that nobody actually needs.
Accessibility
The Athena Pro doesn’t appear to have been designed specifically as an accessibility-focused chair, and Blacklyte doesn’t advertise a dedicated accessibility system for the model.
However, several of its adjustments could make it easier to accommodate different users. The 4D armrests, adjustable lumbar support, reclining mechanism, and magnetic head pillow all offer ways to adjust the chair to suit individual preferences.
Adjustable lumbar support is particularly useful because a fixed lumbar cushion can be difficult for some users to position comfortably. That said, anyone with specific mobility or accessibility requirements should consider the chair’s dimensions and adjustment range carefully before purchasing.
Final Verdict
The Blacklyte Athena Pro is a premium gaming chair that puts comfort, support, and adjustability ahead of unnecessary gimmicks. Its steel frame, memory foam, four-way lumbar support, 4D armrests, and magnetic head pillow make it a strong option for the £399 price point.
With Its understated design, it makes it suitable for both gaming and working, although the leatherette version may feel warm, and taller users should check the height range carefully.
Overall, the Athena Pro is a solid upgrade from a basic gaming chair. It may not offer anything revolutionary, but for anyone spending several hours a day at their desk, its combination of comfort, support, and adjustability makes it well worth considering.
Review Disclosure Statement: This Blacklyte Athena Pro was provided to us by Blacklyte for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media, technology, and hardware, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.
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The Blacklyte Athena Pro Gaming Chair promises to bring comfort, support, and a premium feel to those long gaming sessions. In this review, I take a closer look at the Athena Pro, from its design and build quality to its adjustability and everyday comfort, to see whether it deserves a place in your gaming setup.
Pros
- Beautiful
- Quick box to build time
- Comfortable
- Wheels glide on the floor
Cons
- Price
- Width of arms could be bigger
