ASSTRONAUT vs ROCKSTAR: Which Chair Fits How You Play

By Remy Vale · Tested and researched by the Home in Bold team · Updated October 2026 · 8 min read

What Is the Difference Between the ASSTRONAUT and the ROCKSTAR?

The ASSTRONAUT PRO is an open-seat rimming chair you sit over while a partner lies beneath it, and the ROCKSTAR is a handle-powered rocking chair you ride with a suction-cup toy mounted beneath you. Same category on the store menu. Completely different jobs.

The ASSTRONAUT is about access: its seat is open in the middle so the person below gets an unobstructed view of the main event, and the person on top gets padded handles and a stable perch instead of hovering on tired thighs. The ROCKSTAR is about motion: there is no partner underneath, just a center suction mount plate, a toy of your choosing, and a handle that turns a gentle pull into a rocking rhythm.

Price frames the choice before comfort even enters it. The ASSTRONAUT PRO costs $145, the ROCKSTAR $299. Buying both is also an answer, but your floor space gets a vote.

How Does Each Chair Actually Work?

Start with the ASSTRONAUT PRO. It is a steel-framed chair with an open center seat, an adjustable-height frame so you can set the gap to match the person underneath, and a pillow set for the head and neck of whoever is lying below. The current generation uses a molded foam one-piece seat rather than rigid plastic, which matters more than it sounds: foam spreads pressure along the thighs instead of concentrating it at two hard edges. You sit, they slide under, gravity does the scheduling.

The ROCKSTAR works like a rocking chair that went to a very specific finishing school. A suction mount plate sits at the center of the seat and takes any suction-cup compatible toy. You grab the handle, pull, and the chair's rocking arc moves your body over the toy. No motors, no remote, no preset speeds. The rhythm is whatever your arm says it is, which is the entire appeal: machines drift out of sync with you, your own arm never does.

The ASSTRONAUT PRO's open seat and padded handles: the person on top rests, the person below has an unobstructed line of sight.

Which Chair Wins on Comfort and Body Fit?

Neither, until you name the position that currently hurts. Both chairs exist to take strain off the same three joints, knees, hips, and lower back, but they do it from opposite directions.

If kneeling over a partner's face is the position that ends sessions early, the ASSTRONAUT wins. Its adjustable height lets you set the seat so your thighs rest instead of bracing, and the handles catch the lean that would otherwise live in your lower back. Ergonomics research on seated posture keeps finding the same thing: static squatting and unsupported hovering fatigue muscles far faster than supported sitting, which is exactly the swap this chair makes. We cover the position side in detail in our guide to rimming chair positions.

If cowgirl is the position your knees have vetoed, the ROCKSTAR wins, because the rocking arc replaces the up-and-down work your legs would normally do. Our piece on cowgirl without the knee pain explains the mechanics, and the Find Your Best Sex Position tool can tell you which camp you are in before you spend a dollar. Sensitive joints are general-guidance territory, not medical territory: if a condition or injury is in play, a physical therapist beats any blog, including this one.

Side by Side: Specs, Price, and Setup

Here is the whole decision in one table.

The ROCKSTAR's rocker base and handle: the arc of the chair does the work your knees would otherwise do.

Which One Should You Buy First?

Buy for the scene you actually run, not the one that photographs well.

Pick the ASSTRONAUT PRO first if your play is partnered and face-focused: rimming, facesitting, queening, worship scenes. It is the specialist tool, and at $145 it is the cheaper experiment. Our full ASSTRONAUT review digs into how it holds up over months of use.

Pick the ROCKSTAR first if you play solo as often as partnered, if you already own suction-cup toys gathering dust against shower walls, or if seated riding is the thing your joints keep asking for. It is also the only one of the two that moonlights as actual furniture, more on that below. We made the longer case in 7 things you will love about owning a dildo chair.

Still mapping the category? The BDSM Furniture Complete Guide places both chairs in the wider ecosystem of benches, crosses, and tables, which helps if this is purchase one of several.

Living With Them: Noise, Cleaning, and Storage

A chair you hide in a closet gets used less than a chair you can leave out, so the daily-life stuff matters.

Noise first. The ROCKSTAR has zero motors, so the only sound is a rocker on your floor at whatever pace your arm sets; on a rug it is quieter than a regular rocking chair with an enthusiastic occupant. The ASSTRONAUT is static and makes no noise beyond the people using it, which, fair warning, is not nothing.

Cleaning is a two-minute job on both. The ROCKSTAR's PU leather and the ASSTRONAUT's seat wipe down with mild soap and warm water around 86°F, then a dry cloth. No bleach, no soaking the foam, and the powder coat on the steel just wants a wipe. Done.

Storage is where they split. The ASSTRONAUT is compact and tucks into a closet or under-bed gap between uses. The ROCKSTAR does the opposite: it hides in plain sight. Here is the field test. Last Thanksgiving my mother sat in the ROCKSTAR in my living room for the better part of an hour, rocking gently, praising the lumbar support. We let her. Some information is on a need to know basis.

I will add one thing from the workshop side: the powder coat on these frames has a faint, clean smell when the box first opens, like a new bike. It fades in a day. If your unit arrives smelling like anything stronger than that, air it out and write to us.

The ASSTRONAUT's slim profile is the storage win: it disappears between uses, while the ROCKSTAR passes as living room furniture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you use the ASSTRONAUT and ROCKSTAR together in one room?

Yes, and plenty of couples run them as a pair because they cover opposite roles. The ROCKSTAR's footprint is under 28 inches front to back, so both chairs fit in a standard bedroom without rearranging furniture. The practical setup is the ASSTRONAUT for partnered face play and the ROCKSTAR for riding, solo or watched.

Which chair is better for bad knees or hips?

Both remove kneeling from the equation, so it depends on the position you want back. The ASSTRONAUT PRO at $145 fixes hovering and kneeling over a partner with its adjustable seat height, while the ROCKSTAR replaces the leg work of riding with a handle-powered rocking arc. For diagnosed joint conditions, treat this as general guidance and check with a physical therapist first.

Is the ROCKSTAR loud enough for neighbors to hear?

It has zero motors, so there is no mechanical hum, just the sound of a rocker on your floor at whatever pace you set. On carpet or a rug it is about as loud as an ordinary rocking chair. If your floors are hard and your downstairs neighbor is attentive, a rug pad solves it, and the 30-day return window covers you if it somehow does not.

How do you clean the seats on these chairs?

Wipe the ROCKSTAR's PU leather and the ASSTRONAUT's molded foam seat with mild soap and warm water around 86°F, then dry with a clean cloth. Avoid bleach and solvent cleaners, which crack coated fabrics over time. The whole job takes about 2 minutes per chair.

Do both chairs work for solo play?

The ROCKSTAR is built for it: the center suction mount takes any suction-cup compatible toy and the handle gives you full rhythm control, which is why it is the stronger solo buy at $299. The ASSTRONAUT is partner-first by design, though solo users do pair it with toys and a mirror. If solo sessions are most of your calendar, the ROCKSTAR is the clear pick.

Sources

1. Herbenick D. et al., Sexual Behavior in the United States: Results from a National Probability Sample of Men and Women Ages 14-94, Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2010
2. Callaghan J.P. and McGill S.M., Low Back Joint Loading and Kinematics During Standing and Unsupported Sitting, Ergonomics, 2001
3. Openshaw S. and Taylor E., Ergonomics and Design: A Reference Guide, Allsteel, 2006
4. Taormino T., The Ultimate Guide to Kink: BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge, Cleis Press, 2012
5. Nagoski E., Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life, Simon and Schuster, 2015

Related Reading

• ASSTRONAUT Rimming Chair Review: Is It Worth It?
• 7 Things You'll Love About Owning a Dildo Chair (And Why ROCKSTAR Does It Better)
• Best Sex Chairs 2026: Reviewed & Ranked
• Rocking Chair Sex Positions: Using Motion Instead of Muscle