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Sumo Lounge – Sumo beanbag review

 

We know what you are thinking and yes this is the oddest thing we’ve ever been sent for review. Well this is one of the strangest things I’ve written for a while. But if you bear with me I aim to show why this is very relevant to gamers. Sumo Lounge approached me several weeks ago to take a look at one of their products and after some thought I said I was happy to do so – gamers seem to be an audience the company wants to reach and after several weeks with a Sumo beanbag in the house I can understand why.

So what the flipping heck is a Sumo beanbag then? It’s a very large bag made of rip-proof ballistic nylon. That’s nylon coated in PVC and is virtually stain proof and impervious to anything you might throw at it. The bag is filled with high-density polystyrene balls.

The practical upshot is what you have is a man’s beanbag. A military grade beanbag, a huge great soft sack of comfort and hard-wearing brilliance.

No we’re not FHM

 

Of course your lads mags will review anything in features that are “advertising features” in all but name. Do you ever trust those game reviews they do? The one thing I really wanted to avoid here was rubber stamping a thumbs-up for the Sumo and coming across all Maxim and bent for the rent just because Sumo sent me a lovely midnight-blue beanbag. After all, my wife wouldn’t have let me keep it in the house if she thought it was useless and cluttered up the house.

But the truth is that the Sumo has become indispensable for my console gaming. The distance between our sofa and HDTV is too far for gaming really. I’m sure many of you are like me and don’t feel part of the action unless we’re sat pretty close in front of the screen.

I often sit on the floor for my console gaming but recently it’s been doing my back in. The busy life of a parent of baby twins means that I’m approaching achy old age far too early and plonking myself on the rug to play Unreal Tournament III (review soon I promise) on the Xbox 360 can be fraught with painful twinges after a while.

Alleluia then for the Sumo. Plonked onto it’s side and pushed up at the back it becomes the most amazing beanbag armchair hybrid. You just sink right into it and it’s strong enough to support you. That’s thanks to the amazing ballistic nylon cover, you get the impression it would hold an elephant not only a fat old gamer approaching middle-age rather early.

The Sumo is surprisingly light too, meaning that it can be easily carried with one hand and placed wherever you want. 18lb is much lighter than either of our children.

The Ultimate Test

 

Fat old gamer proof the Sumo may be but over the last few week’s it has had to stand up to an even sterner test – 16-month old twins. Little Pat and Kitty are angels, but they can play hard and are a constant source of drips, smears and food-related stickiness.

The dynamic duo have jumped on, used as a slide, thumped, scratched at, bashed, stickied and generally put in solid work as testing to destruction experts for me. The Sumo took it all. I’ve added my own touch with beer and pizza. And still the Sumo remains unblemished and resolutely in no hurry to show the slightest sign of wear and tear, even after time spent in the garden.

An odd thing for us to review the Sumo beanbag may be. But thruthfully it’s made my gaming such a more comfortably experience. The good lady wife and babies have decided it’s the comfiest place in the house to be especially when reading. I’ve been searching for a comfortable portable seat for my console gaming for years and I’ve finally found exactly what I was searching for. I really can’t recommend it enough.

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