Logitech Playseat Challenge X review

As anyone who sim races on a regular desk setup will tell you, compromises must be made. While most of the best racing wheels will come with desk clamps for the wheelbase, what you won't realise until you use one for yourself is the amount of self-adjustment you'll need to perform on the regular to keep yourself in an optimum position.

For a start, there's your desk chair. Chances are it doesn't lock in terms of spinning movement, which means a decent wheel with good feedback will try and turn you around its axis as you fight against the torque, requiring quite a bit of core stability to maintain a good position. There's also the angle itself, which, unless you elevate your pedal set or are a particular fan of Euro Truck Simulator, won't feel very car-like. 

And then there's the pedals, which—despite the best attempts of manufacturers—will still inevitably move around under heavy braking. All in all, it's a bit of a faff, which is why sim racing enthusiasts tend to buy a heavy sim rig frame to keep you in the optimum position and securely clamp down all your gear. Trouble is, they're big, heavy, and bulky.

That's where the Logitech Playseat Challenge X comes in. Playseat has been making gaming chairs and relatively lightweight sim rig setups for a while, and now, in collaboration with Logitech, has come up with something that not only aims to keep your sim racing gear pinned in the right positions, but can be folded away for easy storage too. 

Frame: High carbon steel
Seat: Included, Actifit fabric inner, leatherette rear
Dimensions: 140 x 60 x 105 cm
Warranty: two-year limited hardware
Price: $300/£260

At $300/£260 it's a fair bit cheaper than the $599 Playseat Trophy—although still not what anyone would call cheap in general—and while the Trophy is plenty sturdy, it doesn't fold up the same way the Challenge X does. The idea here is that you can simply pack your sim rig away like an oversized, folding camping chair. On the face of it, that is a whole lot more