mcc direct White Dining Chairs

Is the mcc direct White Dining Chairs worth buying?

Yes, the mcc direct White Dining Chairs are worth buying if you need four padded seats on a tight budget: £69.99 for the set, which is £17.50 a chair, and 1,313 owners rate them 4.6. The seat pad is faux leather over a moulded shell, the legs are tapered wood, and each chair carries 120 kg. For a family table that gets used three times a day, that is the job done for less than £70.

The set suits a kitchen or dining room that needs four matching chairs without a big spend. It is not the chair for a very heavy sitter above 120 kg, and it is not the one for a garden or a conservatory that gets damp, because it is built for indoor use. If those two limits do not apply to you, the value here is hard to beat.

What does £17.50 a chair actually get you?

Divide the £69.99 by the four chairs in the box and you land on £17.50 a chair, which is £14.17 less per seat than the Amazon Basics Metal Dining Chairs at £31.67. The whole set weighs 16 kg, so about 4 kg a chair, light enough to move one-handed when you clean under the table. The seat area is 48 by 42 cm, which is 2,016 cm² of sitting space per chair, more than most chairs at this price.

The backrest stands 40 cm above the seat and the total height is 82 cm, so the chair tucks under a standard 72 to 75 cm table with the seat at 46 cm. The frame holds 120 kg per chair, which is the usual floor for a dining chair but 29.6 kg below the Amazon Basics set. In practice, that covers most adults and leaves a margin for a heavy coat or a child on a lap.

What comes in the box and how do you live with it?

The box holds four chairs, a tool and a leaflet, and each chair arrives flat packed with the legs separate. Assembly is a matter of screwing the tapered wooden legs into the seat via prebored holes, and the non-slip pads are already on the feet. Four chairs together weigh 16 kg, so one person can carry the whole set upstairs in two trips.

Each chair measures 57 cm deep, 49 cm wide and 82 cm tall, which is a standard footprint for a dining chair. The faux leather seat wipes clean with a damp cloth, and the polypropylene back takes a wipe too. Nothing else is needed to start using them, though a felt pad under each foot will quiet them further on a hard floor.

Where does the mcc direct White Dining Chairs fall short?

The 120 kg limit per chair is the lowest of the four-seaters in this ranking, so a very heavy sitter should look at the Yaheetech set at 135 kg or the Amazon Basics at 149.6 kg. The backrest is a moulded polypropylene shell with no padding, which is fine for a meal but firm for an hour of after-dinner talking. The chairs are also armless and do not tilt or fold, so they are a fixed seat.

White faux leather shows a scuff more than a dark grey or brown cover, and the set is for indoor use only. It is not the chair to leave on a patio or in a damp conservatory. If you want a wipe-clean chair that can take a shower, the Amazon Basics metal set is the better buy.

How does it compare with the Yaheetech and the Amazon Basics sets?

Against the Yaheetech Faux Leather Dining Chairs at £119.99, or £30.00 a chair, the mcc direct set saves you £50.00 over four chairs and gives you a 46 cm seat against the same seat height. The Yaheetech adds a 92.5 cm high back and a 10.5 cm thick cushion, so it is the better chair for a taller sitter who wants more padding. If you want a soft high back, pay the £12.50 more per chair.

Against the Amazon Basics Metal Dining Chairs at £126.69, or £31.67 a chair, the mcc direct set saves £56.70 over four and gives you a padded seat and wooden legs instead of a bare metal frame. The Amazon Basics holds 149.6 kg, stacks when not in use and shrugs off water and rust. Choose the Amazon Basics for a busy household or outdoor use, and the mcc direct for a padded indoor seat at the lowest price per chair.