 Manila is now home to the largest aka store on the planet. And we at Hardware Sugar are here to tell you what stuff you should give special attention to if you are a gamer, desk setup enthusiast, or if you overall just want a more pleasing work from home experience. I want to give a special shout out to Asus Philippines for inviting us over to this event. However, this video is not sponsored by anyone and the following are honest opinions about what you should look for in akea. I'm a bit of a desk and chair freak and I have obsessed over my setup for close to six years and while I didn't get my desk or my chair from aka, aka furniture has been a very important form of inspiration for it. If you want to learn more about my desk, let's check it out in the link above. Let me start off by talking about the store experience. I have been to at least ten aka's in several different countries over the past ten years and I can tell you right off the bat that you will be receiving a very identical shopping experience. Everything from the food, the elaborate charted maze of sample design rooms and the affordable pricing are the hallmarks of what makes aka so popular. People go to aka because they can see how products can be mixed and matched in an actual room setting. In short, it's a playground for adults like me who may want to buy a gaming chair yet at the same time want to buy new food topper wares. One thing I must warn you about is that unlike other aka's, you must make a reservation on their website prior to visiting. No reservation, no entry. The good thing is that reservation slots are plentiful unlike the Bureau of Quarantine site. Okay, that's enough of a segue. Here are the top things you want to check out first. Number one, I am very impressed with the match spelled gaming chair. It comes in two attractive colors, a black version with hints of red and a white version with hints of blue. To be honest, I didn't want to be the guy who recommends the aka gaming chair because it just looks like I'm just saying the obvious because it is what is prominently currently displayed. But let me tell you that this chair is surprisingly very comfortable. I didn't expect much from this chair based on its looks simply because there is no lumbar support which is a big no-no for me normally. However, I quickly understood why I didn't have one. It didn't have one because the spine juts forward. Plus, the lumbar support is already integrated into the very anatomy of the chair. This is a daring design choice because it makes the chair look incredibly minimal and aesthetically pleasing yet you run the risk of not pleasing everyone because the lumbar support is not adjustable. Such as, for instance, the CU M57 and the Ergo Dynamic to which fall within a similar price range as the match spelled. Comfort from sitting in the chair comes from the fact that the mesh back provides natural cooling and the cushion is quite comfortable. It is neither too firm nor too soft which is what you want for an office or gaming chair. But what really got me was how the design of the chair seems to curve around my butt and spine so well that I honestly felt for a moment that the chair was the missing piece to my body. The chair cradled my back so well that I even told an elderly lady who was watching me that she should try it. Which she did and I watched and looked at the surprise and pleasure spread across her face when she sat in it. Obviously, this isn't a full review or even a full first impressions video but if you haven't upgraded your work from home chair yet, I highly consider you at least sit and try this out before making any decisions. The fact that it comes in either black or white and the minimal aesthetic makes it very versatile to room match. This costs $8,990 and so while it isn't strictly a very budget chair, it is not however an extremely expensive chair. The added protection of a three year warranty is also quite attractive and you may also want to check out the call on floor protector because I guarantee these wheels will scratch up your flooring whether what you have is hardwood, tiles, wood parquet or whatever. The floor protector looks cool however I would still recommend you invest in these roller blade casters which now go from $350 to $650 and shop your Lazada. It's cheaper and they protect any wood flooring something which I have talked about heavily already in my chair videos. The pegboards lined up at the ROG exhibit are a real eye catcher. They are essentially versatile organizers for your wall in which you can place your tools, pens and pretty much anything you want just as long as you have a belt strap or some other accessory which allows you to load it up. The beauty of the pegboard is that nothing is ever really fixed. You can just move things around from one area to the other whenever you get bored of one layout or if you find it easier to use at a different spot. One of my favorite things exhibited was this magnetized bar which you can hang your tools from just for easy access. Just pick it up and then drop it back on with no fuss. However, not everyone wants to have everything in black and so it's good that you have the option to have the boards in white and wood as well just in case you want to go for a more natural look. I want to talk about two gaming desks. The first one is the Upspell match spell which has the highlight of it being able to go up and down through the push of a button. This type of desk is meant for people who are unsure if their current chair is ergonomically compatible with the desk. It is essential that your armrests must be leveled with that of your desk so that your elbows are supported. I myself own a desk which is a little too high for my chair. The match spell also comes in handy for those who want to switch from sitting to a standing desk altogether. Now to the drawbacks. First, the price of $27,990 is a very tough pill to swallow. Then it's the fact that it is motorized. I have never owned one. However, my belief is that the more moving part something has, the higher chance of failure and I have no idea how good the after service of Ikea Philippines is, much less Ikea in general with respect to replacement and repair of this magnitude. Like, can you imagine having to send your table to Ikea? What will you use in the meantime for your computer if you do? Then there is the problem of neatness, which is that I have yet to find a desk like this, which hides the cables as neatly as the way I can with my current desk setup. You could hide the cables directly underneath the table top. However, from afar, you would still be able to see the cables. My goal was always to never see a single cable regardless of angle. Now we move on to the non-automated gaming desk. By the way, I just say gaming desk because that's what comes to my mind when a furniture supplier paints it black and adds cable management. But really, a table is a table and non-gamers can enjoy a minimalist aesthetic as well. Now, the Ott Splare, which is priced at 6,090 and 90, is a lot more affordable than the match spell. It even has built-in cable management underneath the table top and it is attractive. Most people associate Ikea with these type of desk setups in which they buy two Alex drawers or a single Alex drawer coupled with a leg and then pair that with a table top such as the Linman or Carl B. Countertop. The benefit of the Ott Tell Splare is that it's a single piece which is relatively inexpensive and attractive enough for most casual room setups. The problem with the Ott Splare is that the parts are fixed, thus you lose the ability to customize if you want to add drawers as a leg instead of just a leg. After having ordered my desk setup from a local furniture supplier, I realized that there is no way I can go back to a desk which doesn't have drawers. Yes, everything costs a lot more, but in terms of productivity, peace of mind with respect to knowing where everything is, it's worth every centavo for me to have drawer space. However, if you are on a tight budget or if being organized is secondary to having an attractive table desk setup, then you should look into considering the match spell. Finally, I recommend trying out the Poang armchair with your choice of selection of foam. Although a lounge chair isn't part of a desk setup, it is nevertheless part of a living room console gaming setup. I fell in love with this chair all the way back in 2009 when I visited my first Ikea in Beijing. When I sat on it, I remember trying to find the way to ship it back home to Manila, but it just wasn't possible. Everyone is built differently, but the way the chair is angled with respect to your body just really made sitting in this field just right. I also like the wood look, which makes it easy to blend in with any part of the house. Being priced at 7,990 complete with a matching footrest, which I highly recommend, it is neither too expensive to not consider, nor too cheap to just buy it right away. I've always been curious about how long lasting the chair frame is because the wood support seems thin. However, that is also what adds to the minimalist aesthetic. This chair is sort of the staple Ikea chair you see worldwide and I'm not saying you will instantly like it, just like how you may not instantly like everything on this list. However, it is definitely something worth contemplating on while you sit in it. None of this is sponsored by Ikea or ASUS. However, we are thankful for the special invite to film as much as we wanted. If you're interested in making an appointment to visit the Ikea store, or if you are looking for chair reviews or my own desk setup, I'll link all those in the video description. Stay safe, everyone. We wanna give an extremely special thanks to our top fans who helped make all of our work possible. ITX addict, Rafael James, Ian Meru, Liam Magnae, Richard Ongkinko, John Rubin Otia, and Christian Espinosa. It's good seeing all of you so regularly during our streams and again, thank you so much for the support.