Tama HT850BC Round Rider XL Throne

Make no mistake, this is an exceptionally well made drum throne and has a lot of advantages over the competition: high build quality, no creeks, no play in the joints, reasonable lightness.

But you would think a throne with such a deep cushion would have a little more plushness to it? No, most of TAMA's thrones are padded like rocks. This wouldn't be so bad with an ergonomic profile but if you wanted a seat that conformed to your shape more; I would avoid this as that's just not the philosophy here, none of TAMA's thrones are soft.

What's especially weird though, that for such a hard cushion, the padding still collapses at the edges if you put your weight off-centre.
Maybe it's the square edge design on the Round Rider XL. The rounder profiles found in Roc n Soc / Gibraltar thrones don't exhibit this issue nearly as much and are more forgivable.

The TAMA base is fantastic, and slightly lighter than the Gibraltar equivalent for what it's worth. The legs also fold out easier, in one movement.

I cannot criticise the hydraulic action, except to say that combination of a stiff seat with bouncy air is not entirely a natural experience.