The Great American Stool Hunt

[sparksterz]

I figured this may be a good time to begin this thread right after cdamm has shipped out a bunch of his recently imported machines. I have a machine on its way as well and am trying to figure out what I should do for seating arrangements. I'd like to get something similar to a traditional stool, but something I can pick up in the US. I'm unfortunately in a wonderful area where I can't even find an Ikea nearby. Some of the other options I've seen are mostly posts on Arcade Otaku which tend to point to products that don't have a US equivalent that I can find. With this in mind I've been attempting to scour Amazon so that I can put my prime membership to use!

I referenced the following Arcade Otaku page to get some of the standard stool measurements and tried my best to truthfully convert them to stupid imperial units. Having never actually seen a real stool, here's what I came up with:



Seat dimensions:
Width: 16"
Length: 14"
Depth: Inaccurate/varied results

Heights: 2 Main heights
CRT cab 17"
Viewlix 19"


Trying to use these as baseline requirements for other stools proved to be a bit challenging. I'll post the 3 I came across which I thought might be usable. I of course welcome and encourage anyone to chime in with stools you're using or have come across which you think may be suitable as well. Also if you've found any decent benches. I didn't really pay any mind to benches on my hunt.


Yamaha PKBB1 X Keyboard Bench
Price: $36

Pros: Seems to be closest to a standard candy cab bench with more padding. Collapses well, and low cost!
Neutral: Seems to be an off-brand and not Yamaha.
Cons: Could end up being a bit higher than desired, hard to tell.

Seat dimensions:
Width: 17"
Length: 12"
Depth: 3"

Heights: 3 Adjustable
~18"
~19"
~20"


Traxion 2-410 C-Frame Roller Seat with Padded Tractor Seat
Price: $48

Pros: Seems like a nice shaped comfortable seat
Neutral: Has rolling wheels and storage area
Cons: Height non-adjusting and may be too low

Seat dimensions:
Width: 17"
Length: 19"
Depth: Uncertain

Height:
16"


Mapex Double Brace Thick Cushion - Heavy Duty Drum Throne
Price: $78

Pros: Full range of popular heights. Thickest padding
Neutral: Chair spins
Cons: Expensive

Seat dimensions:
Round: 14"
Depth: 4"

Heights: variable
18" - 26"


My view on it is that the Yamaha is one worth checking out and is the closest to a standard cab stool. The Traxion is the most out of the box, but ultimately I'm thinking it will be too short. I'm wondering if I'll have a problem with that or not being 6' 3". The Mapex drum seat looks nice and at full height might not be bad for other cabs...but at that price, picking up 2 is a bit of an investment. Still cheaper than importing two benches from Japan I suppose. Anyone here try something else? Feel free to offer any suggestions, insight, or even other products that aren't on Amazon. Just looking for a solid alternative rather than importing.

 

[grendelrt]

I am looking myself after picking up a cabinet from Windy. I saw these really cool padded bar stools (with lower back support) with adjustable height at Value City yesterday. I didnt know what height was good when I was looking, I think they went down to around 19-20 inches. It sounds like 17-19 is the sweet spot from what I am seeing so far, I would like to find something with a little bit of lower back support as well.

 

[kuze]

I know this isn't helpful for you since you don't have an IKEA nearby, but I just picked up four of their "Marion" stools for $5/piece.

It's 45cm high, so it's a bit higher than the typical 43cm stool but for the price it's a pretty good option for those with access to an IKEA.

 

[sparksterz]

grendelrt, I can't seem to find anything on value city furniture's website. It does seem to tie into location info however...so maybe it's just not sold in my region.

kuze, are you referring to these? They do appear that they'd be incredibly uncomfortable...You're not the only one I've seen who's using them however. Am I wrong? I could even order 2 of them, and ship them for less than the price of one of the above stools. I was hoping for something with a little bit of pad too them, but I'd be interested to hear more of your opinion on them.

 

[grendelrt]

grendelrt, I can't seem to find anything on value city furniture's website. It does seem to tie into location info however...so maybe it's just not sold in my region.

kuze, are you referring to these? They do appear that they'd be incredibly uncomfortable...You're not the only one I've seen who's using them however. Am I wrong? I could even order 2 of them, and ship them for less than the price of one of the above stools. I was hoping for something with a little bit of pad too them, but I'd be interested to hear more of your opinion on them.

Here is the chair I saw at Value City, I cropped myself out cause it as the most akward picture ever :O I was trying to get the height in relation to my knee lol. Looking at it now, it may be more around 20-21 inches.

 

[kuze]

Comfortability is in the eye of the beholder. But yeah when I saw them in person they screamed cheap/uncomfortable. But after I assembled one and sat in it, it was much more comfy than I expected. These things certainly aren't anywhere near the quality of the Taito stools, but for a thirtieth of the price, these definitely should be fine as a temporary solution. I haven't gotten my cab yet though so I can't comment on actually gaming with one on a Blast.

 

[sparksterz]

Yeah grendelrt, that might be a bit high...idk I'll probably abstain until I can get my machine set up and see what I prefer for a comfortable height. I'm not so much looking to replace a cheap stool with an official candy cab stool if I can manage to find a decent enough replacement however. I guess my issue is that I would have thought it'd be easier to find a square padded stool than it actually has been!

 

[kuze]

Yeah grendelrt, that might be a bit high...idk I'll probably abstain until I can get my machine set up and see what I prefer for a comfortable height. I'm not so much looking to replace a cheap stool with an official candy cab stool if I can manage to find a decent enough replacement however. I guess my issue is that I would have thought it'd be easier to find a square padded stool than it actually has been!

Neo legend has one like you describe for 50 Eur, but shipping is probably killer

 

[grendelrt]

I found this one while searching today, I will prob go out this weekend and see what I can find locally

http://www.amazon.com/Hydraulic-Tat...ie=UTF8&qid=1398976181&sr=8-25&keywords=stool

 

[kuze]

I found this one while searching today, I will prob go out this weekend and see what I can find locally

http://www.amazon.com/Hydraulic-Tat...ie=UTF8&qid=1398976181&sr=8-25&keywords=stool

That actually looks like a pretty decent option. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Mugicha]

I tend to have ongoing back pain, so I prefer chairs with back support to stools. Doesn't look as cool, but I don't care. However, I bought these at my local chinese market for my last meet up

they were about $12 a piece, they have a good butt cushion and it's nice that they fold up, but they don't sit entirely level I'm trying to score some of the cheap ikea ones for my next meet since I'm expecting a few more butts than last time.

 

[max 330 mega]

target was selling stools a few months ago almost identical to real candy cab stools... they were even made out of pink painted metal frames and yellow cushions on top.

 

[cornerstone]

On amazon, search for "Yamaha PKBB1 Single Braced Adjustable X-Style Keyboard Bench." It's the older version of the one you have in the OP. It isn't actually Yamaha brand either, but they're very comfortable. They're $27.74 right now. I bought them for $30 a few weeks ago.

I can take a measurement and pics on Saturday to show them lined up with a Blast and NNC cabs, if anyone wants.

 

[cdamm]

this is what i use:

http://www.target.com/p/threshold-s...e-top-black/-/A-13806572#prodSlot=medium_1_12

They come in black or brown. Are comfy. have a great height. Have storage in the center. Also are often on sale in the $30-$40 range.

 

[codecrank]

I can appreciate the authentic look of the japanese stools and all, but I don't know how you guys play on a seat without any backs... personnaly I like to lean back and chill when I play.

 

[ahcmetal]

I can appreciate the authentic look of the japanese stools and all, but I don't know how you guys play on a seat without any backs... personnaly I like to lean back and chill when I play.

Exactly, back support, one must achieve the perfect shmup slouch seating posture for high score runs...

 

[OMFG]

While I use regular black ottomans for gaming on my candy cabs, I have found the following chair from Ikea to be very comfortable with an added pillow pad.

This is the Bojne armchair.



I currently use it on my MVS-U4-25 and is very comfortable while I play on the cabs. It's actually my preferred seating for long sessions.

 

[lalalanasty]

I use a rolling computer chair, I don't have the back on it but I like to be able to roll around my garage from cabinet to cabinet if I'm playing or changing out games.

 

[grendelrt]

While I use regular black ottomans for gaming on my candy cabs, I have found the following chair from Ikea to be very comfortable with an added pillow pad.

This is the Bojne armchair.

View attachment 13771

I was thinking you may have found it, until i saw the price lol.

 

[Chempop]

target was selling stools a few months ago almost identical to real candy cab stools... they were even made out of pink painted metal frames and yellow cushions on top.

Pics or it didn't happen!

Spoiler:

These?!

Alvar Aalto E60 (not american)

 

[robot]

I've been using Ikea folding chairs (Jeff?) for about 7 years until they finally start falling apart (split plastic, bent frames, etc). I switched to these $10 folding chairs from target until I find the perfect stools - though I'm used to having back support now so I don't know if I'll ever make the switch.

 

[sparksterz]

I have some chairs from a bagel shop I plan on using in the mean time. They are about an inch higher than I'd care for though. I'd love to see some pics of your chair cornerstone!

Also chempop, thanks for the picture. Good to know Target refers to those as ottoman's....might be worth checking their ottoman's out in that case.

 

[Jack Burton]

I just use padded folding chairs. They seem to be a good height and the back support is nice.

 

[grendelrt]

May have found my stool at Garden Ridge, but I can only buy one if do it because they are so expensive. They are super comfy, I would say seat height goes down to around 16-17 inches (the cushion is big and compresses) and can be moved up from there. Sign up for their emails for 10% off makes its $135. If I buy one ill post the measurements.




Also saw this at Target, think it was around $35

 

[Kid Panda]

I use a padded folding chair, it's the perfect height for me to get my thunder thighs under the CP. price? 6 bucks.