Cougar belongs to the HEC/Compucase Group, which is based in Taiwan and mostly deals in chassis and power supplies. HEC owns its own factories, which means it can afford to price most of its products competitively. The Armor S is the second gaming chair from Cougar we are evaluating, and even though it is their deluxe edition, pricing puts it into the mid-range category—the price difference between the plain Armor and Armor S is only €20.

The Armor S looks impressive mainly because of its exquisite diamond stitching pattern and dimensions. The vivid orange and black color combination puts this chair into the gaming category, while its ergonomic features will please most demanding users. The smooth operation of the gas lift allows even small users to make use of the recline feature, while the armrests are adjusted effortlessly. The high backrest is sturdy and offers support to large players even without the lumbar support cushion. Finally, the seat's base uses cushioning that keeps its original shape and remains comfortable even after prolonged periods of use.

Cougar seems to have paid attention to the demands of gamers and their feedback, and actually put all of that information to use when designing this chair. The Armor S has some features worth mentioning, and it should definitely be on your buying list, especially if your budget is not very high. However, nothing is truly perfect in this world, including gaming chairs. PVC pleather is completely synthetic, and PU pleather is created by processing real leather with chemicals. Even though both materials are artificial, PU pleather has slightly better physical properties than PVC. In spite of the differences between the two, we still have and use the original Armor with the same type of upholstery in our lab, and we have yet to encounter any quality or durability problems. While its use of PVC pleather is a drawback, there is also its weight limit of 120 kg (264.55 lb). Since this chair is tagged as a "gaming chair" and most gamers tend to be quite large, I believe its weight limit to be this product's major drawback. Moreover, the one-year warranty looks low for a chair of this price. In Europe, the Armor S has a two-year warranty, which is the minimum by law, while it is only supported by a one-year warranty elsewhere, which is pretty short for a product with such build quality.