Sihoo Doro S300 office chair review: The final frontier?

In my time reviewing office chairs for Expert Reviews, I’ve come across a couple of models from the Chinese brand Sihoo. The M57, for instance, appears on our best office chair roundup as an affordable option that still offers plenty of adjustable features. 

The Sihoo Doro S300, on the other hand, is not quite so affordable, at a rather specific launch price of £797. Yet, if an aerospace-inspired office chair comes with an ‘anti-gravity’ mechanism for a “weightless recline experience”, perhaps such a high price is justified? 

Ultimately, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The Doro S300 is indeed a very comfortable office chair that offers some unique features, but the overall product is a little more down-to-earth than Sihoo’s marketing implies.

Sihoo Doro S300 office chair review: What do you get for the money?

First of all, I should note that the Doro S300 is delivered for self-assembly in a very large box and is extremely heavy. Indeed, at 26.2kg according to Sihoo’s own specs, it’s one of the heaviest office chairs I’ve reviewed.

As Sihoo itself describes it, the chair is made from an “aerospace-grade glass fibre” supported by a metal exoskeleton (described by a colleague of mine as Gigeresque) with a mesh material making up the seat and backrest material.

The Doro S300 is impressively adjustable. In addition to height, you’ve got adjustable seat depth, tilt, tilt tension and the ability to set the tilt limit in three different positions. Moreover, the tilting action is not isolated to the backrest, but works so that arms and seat move in tandem – thanks in part to a sprung suspension system that is designed to also reduce pressure on your body.

On the topic of armrests, the chair’s “6D coordinated armrests” are adjustable by height, depth and width as well as inward/outward and upward angle, which is about as adjustable as armrests get.

Lumbar support takes the form of two wing-like pads at the base of the backrest, which can be adjusted as one. Finally, the upper part of the chair’s backrest is height adjustable, which is great if you’re on the taller side and need the support. The chair’s integrated “headrest” isn’t really a headrest as such but instead more of a subtle, curved support at the top of the back.

Sihoo Doro S300 office chair review: What does it do well?

The Sihoo Doro S300 is comfortable and supportive. While it might take a little while to get used to the shape of the backrest, I was a big fan of the adjustable lumbar support and the way the “wings” cradled my lower back.

The recline is great and the fact that the seat moves back with you feels natural and comfortable. The recline actually goes much further back than I initially expected and while claims of “defying gravity” are obviously exaggerated pieces of marketing, I must admit I did get the sensation I was falling backwards on a couple of occasions.

As I mentioned earlier, you might not necessarily consider the headrest on the Doro S300 to be much of a headrest at all. Nevertheless, the curve of the upper backrest can provide decent support to the neck area, especially if you adjust its height properly.

On that subject, adjustability is a key selling point of the Doro S300 and this was another aspect with which I was impressed. The height adjustable top portion of the backrest is a nice touch and I’ve personally not come across any office chairs whose arms are quite as adjustable as the S300’s 6D armrests. If anything, you’ve got too much freedom with them: it’s not entirely clear why exactly I’d need to angle my arms upwards as I work, but it’s nice to know I can if I want.

Sihoo Doro S300 office chair review: What could be improved?

Admittedly, most of the faults I found with the Doro S300 were rather minor grumbles for the most part. However, these things do add up and become more frustrating when you consider the price.

First of all, some of the chair parts do feel a little loose. For instance, there is a small bit of cowling towards the base of the chair that isn’t really held in place by anything. Of course, you’re not making contact with this part of the chair with day-to-day use, but it’s a little odd that it’s designed this way. The mesh seat fabric also feels like it could provide a bit more buoyancy than it does, which slightly undermines the shock absorbing function of the suspension springs underneath.

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Speaking of construction, I have to confess that I had a rather difficult time putting the Doro S300 together. Like the Sihoo M57, it requires you to attach each individual leg to the base part before attaching the wheels, which proved quite time consuming – and the build process wasn’t helped by loose plastic parts that fell out of the legs and had to be re-inserted. As I mentioned earlier, the Doro S300 is also extremely heavy and, while this does win the chair points in the build quality department, it also made attaching the backrest to the seat quite awkward. In any case, I wouldn’t recommend assembling this particular chair on your own.

I previously praised the arm adjustability of the Doro S300, and while I stand by this praise, the arms are another part of the chair that feels a little loose. They are a bit too sensitive to pressure being applied and, during testing, I would occasionally “adjust” the armrest depth or angle by accident simply by leaning a bit too much on one side.

As I said, these things aren’t huge complaints when taken individually. But for an office that costs almost £800, they take on more significance. If I’m paying a premium for an office chair, I don’t expect to run into these issues. To put it into context, this is one of the most expensive chairs I’ve reviewed (at the time of writing), beaten only by Herman Miller’s Sayl and Aeron chairs.

Sihoo Doro S300 office chair review: Verdict

On the whole, reviewing the Sihoo Doro S300 has been a bit tricky. On the one hand, I really like it: it’s comfortable and offers some unique ergonomic features that work very well. However, it falls down in areas where chairs half the price perform much better. 

As with so many things, it comes down to the usual test. Does the Doro S300 feel like a chair worth £800? While I can’t ignore its merits, its unique adjustable features and aerospace-inspired design, I’m afraid it just falls short.