What Is a Rimming Chair?

A rimming chair is a stool or seat with a cutout opening in the seat surface. One partner sits on top while the other lies underneath, face up. The cutout gives the bottom partner unobstructed access for rimming (analingus), oral sex, face sitting, and queening, hands-free, with full support for both people and no neck-straining gymnastics required.

The name comes from the primary use case, rimming, but these chairs are equally popular for face sitting, queening, smothering play, and dominant oral sex sessions. The structure eliminates all the balance and logistics problems that come with improvising these activities without support.

They're sometimes called queening chairs, face sitting stools, or smotherboxes. The function is the same: one person on top, one person below, with the chair doing the structural work so both people can actually enjoy what's happening.

A good rimming chair is sturdy, the right height, and comfortable to sit on for extended periods. A bad one wobbles, is too high or too low to work with most bodies, and has a seat that's uncomfortable within five minutes. This guide covers what separates the two.

What to Look For in a Rimming Chair

Frame Stability

This is non-negotiable. A rimming chair that wobbles kills the experience instantly. You want a steel or solid-metal frame, not plastic, and you want the joints to be bolted or welded rather than friction-fit. The person on top is putting significant weight and movement into this chair, it needs to stay still. Check how the frame is welded and whether the joints are braced and read reviews specifically for wobble or tipping.

Height Range

Standard lying-down face height is roughly 6 to 8 inches off the floor, but bodies vary and positions change things. A rimming chair that's fixed at one height will only work well for a narrow range of couples. Adjustable height, ideally from around 13" to 15", gives you flexibility to match different body proportions and access angles. The difference between 13 inches and 15 inches sounds small but in practice it changes whether the position is comfortable or awkward for the person underneath.

Seat Comfort & Cutout Design

The person on top is sitting for real, often for extended sessions. The seat needs to be cushioned or ergonomically shaped, and the cutout needs to be large enough for genuine access without being so large the seat itself becomes uncomfortable. A curved cutout that's roughly oval is typically the most comfortable design. Padding around the cutout edges matters, bare metal or sharp edges against sensitive areas is not a design you want to experience.

Handle Grips

Handles on the sides give the person sitting stability and control. This is especially important if they're moving, grinding, or leaning forward. Foam-padded handles are significantly more comfortable than bare metal or rubber. The handles should be at a natural arm height so they don't require awkward positioning.

Assembly & Storage

Most rimming chairs arrive partially disassembled. Under 10 minutes with included hardware is reasonable. Anything requiring special tools or taking 30+ minutes is a bad design. For storage, look for a chair that's compact enough to slide under a bed or stand upright in a closet.

What we changed after the first version, and why

We did not get this right first time. The honest version of our own development, with photos, because you should be able to judge a frame rather than take our word for it.

The issue was not that it broke. It was that we could not honestly recommend it to a heavier body, and a piece of furniture that quietly excludes people is a badly designed piece of furniture. So we redesigned it around that.

Best Rimming Chairs 2026, Ranked

#1, ASSTRONAUT PRO by Home in Bold

The ASSTRONAUT PRO is the best value rimming chair available right now. It hits every spec that matters, 13", 15" adjustable height, thick foam-padded handles, a curved cutout seat with good airflow, without the premium markup you find on higher-priced competitors. The steel frame is genuinely rigid. It doesn't wobble. Assembly takes about five minutes with the included hardware. It stores flat under most standard beds. Ships in plain, discreet packaging.

Where it wins: price-to-performance is unmatched. The foam handles in particular are a standout feature, most budget rimming chairs use bare metal or thin rubber grips that become uncomfortable quickly. The ASSTRONAUT PRO handles feel right during extended use. The height adjustment range covers the most common use cases well.

Where it is limited: not exceptional. The seat isn't plushly cushioned, it's a firm platform with a functional cutout, not a luxury seat. For people who want extra softness, adding a thin cushion around the rim works fine and doesn't affect function.

Verdict: Best overall. Best value. The one we'd recommend for almost everyone.

#2, Master Series Face Rider Queening Chair

The Master Series Face Rider is a step up in capacity and has additional BDSM features: a removable head sling that positions the bottom partner's head, plus cuff points for restraint play. The vegan leather seat is plusher than the ASSTRONAUT PRO's seat. Price is higher, typically $180, $250* depending on retailer.

Worth it if: you need higher weight capacity, you're interested in restraint integration, or you want the premium seat feel. The additional cuff points and head sling add genuine functionality for couples who want to go further with dominant/submissive dynamics.

Not worth it if: you just want a solid rimming chair for face sitting and oral play. You're paying a significant premium for features most people won't use frequently.

#3, DIY / Etsy Options

Etsy and various DIY communities have queening stools and rimming chairs for $40, $80*. Some are well-made by small craftspeople using solid wood frames. The quality varies enormously. You might get something excellent or something that feels wobbly after three uses. No warranties, limited return options, and inconsistent dimensions. If you're handy and have a specific size requirement, a DIY build can work well. For everyone else, a commercial product with engineering behind it is a safer investment.

What About Liberator?

Liberator is the most recognizable sex furniture brand and makes excellent wedge pillows and chaises. But Liberator doesn't make a dedicated rimming chair. Their Esse chaise and other products can facilitate some face sitting positions, but they're not designed for it and don't offer the structural access that a dedicated rimming chair provides. If someone recommends a Liberator product as a rimming chair alternative, they're talking about a fundamentally different use case.

The grips are standard bicycle size, on purpose

This one is small and it is the detail we are quietly most pleased with. Hands are not standard. Grip thickness that suits one person is wrong for the next, and if your hands take weight for any length of time the difference is not cosmetic.

Because the handles are standard bicycle grip diameter, you can pull ours off and fit anything from the cycling world. Ergonomic wing grips, thicker foam, tackier rubber, whatever your hands actually want. That is an entire industry of ergonomic research you get to borrow. No other chair on this page lets you do that, because no other chair on this page is built to a size anyone else makes parts for.

Side-by-Side Comparison

OUR PICK

Two padding densities, because people genuinely disagree

We assumed everyone would want more padding. Enough people told us otherwise that we now offer both. A firmer seat holds position and gives you something to push against. A softer one is easier over a longer session. It comes down to preference and body, so we stopped guessing and made the choice available.

Why the pillow matters more than it sounds. Adding a support bar solves a structural problem and creates a comfort one, because now there is a bar where a head goes. The pillow is the answer to that. It is not an accessory we added to pad out the box, it is the second half of the redesign.

ASSTRONAUT PRO Rimming Chair

by Home in Bold

Adjustable height (13", 15"), thick foam handles, stable steel frame. Ships in plain packaging. Free US shipping.

Shop the ASSTRONAUT PRO →

How the ASSTRONAUT PRO compares

Published specifications only, taken from each brand's own listings.

Competitor details were correct at the time of writing and come from the manufacturers' own published material. We do not control those listings, we are not guaranteeing they are still accurate, and specifications change without notice. Check the brand's own page before you buy on the strength of anything here.

Feature	ASSTRONAUT PRO	Fort Troff Trench Rider	Master Series Face Rider	BadCat
Frame	Welded steel, powder coated	Not published	Metal	Not published
Reinforcement bar	Yes, across the base	No	No	No
Listed capacity	350 lb and up listed	400 lb and up listed	400 lb and up listed	Not published
Headrest	Premium firm pillow included	Ballistic nylon pillow	Removable head sling	Optional height pads
Handles	Standard bicycle grip size, swappable	None	Cuff points, no grips	Optional stocks style cuffs
Height adjust	Yes	Four settings	Not published	Via optional pads
Seat options	Firm now, deluxe padded seat in development	Single	Single, vegan leather	Skai leather
Assembly and storage	Fast assembly, packs down to fit under most beds	Assembly required	Ships fully assembled, stores as one piece	Hand made to order
Where to buy	Our site and Amazon, two to three days to most places	Retailers, often out of stock	Retailers and Amazon	Direct, made to order
Returns	One month	Varies by retailer	Varies by retailer	Varies
Discreet delivery	Always, on every order	Not published	Not published	Not published

Where the ASSTRONAUT PRO wins, and where it does not

Straight answer first. If you want the most luxurious object in the room, BadCat build a beautiful hand made chair and we are not going to pretend otherwise. If you want it out of the box and assembled with zero effort, Master Series ships that way and we do not.

What we are good at is narrower and more boring.

What you get	Why it matters
Reinforcement bar across the base	The whole reason the PRO exists. It ties the legs together so the corner joints are not carrying the load alone.
Firm pillow included	Sits over that bar so nobody feels the structure, and it means you do not need a separate head sling.
This is version three	We have rebuilt this chair twice. The photos further up show what we changed and why, which is unusual to publish.
Swappable bicycle grips	Standard size, so you can fit any grip the cycling world makes if ours do not suit your hands.
Packs down small	Assembles fast and stores flat under most beds. That is the difference between owning one and hiding one.
Lighter than it looks	Easy to move and reposition on your own.
Two to three day delivery	Stocked on our own site and on Amazon, so you are not waiting on a made to order build.
One month returns	Furniture like this either works for your body or it does not, and you cannot tell from a photo.
Always shipped discreetly	Plain outer packaging with nothing on it that hints at the contents. We cannot speak for how the others ship, only that ours is always this way.
Quieter design	Subjective, but it reads more like furniture and less like a dungeon prop. Whether that matters is up to you and your visitors.

What we are building next. We are currently working on a deluxe version with a larger padded seat, for anyone who wants more cushioning than the standard firm seat gives. It is in development at the time of writing, so if you want one, get in touch about a pre order.

Version three

ASSTRONAUT PRO

Welded steel with the base reinforcement bar, firm headrest pillow included, swappable bicycle standard grips, adjustable height, packs flat.

See the ASSTRONAUT PRO

If you arrived comparing a specific brand, we have longer pieces on the Fort Troff rimming chair alternative and the XR Brands queening chair alternative.

Frequently Asked Questions