Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition review

I’ll be sincere, when Secretlab received in contact to say it was transport me a model new gaming chair with the topic line “the new Secretlab chair you’ve been waiting for…” I used to be anticipating one thing greater than one other Titan Evo. That is to not denigrate the basic Secretlab chair—there is a motive that it nonetheless sits uncontested atop our greatest gaming chair listing—however that in itself was a reworked model amalgamating two of its predecessors.

If it ain’t broke, do not repair it. That is a maxim extra PC gaming manufacturers may do with having tattooed on the within of their eyelids when so many will change for change’s sake to hit some synthetic, iterative launch cadence. And but, and but, change is important to keep away from stagnation, particularly in the event you’ve change into comfy on the summit of your trade.

I can shortly level to Intel with CPUs, and Corsair with mechanical gaming keyboards, and if Secretlab needs to keep away from falling behind its personal competitors then it must carry on innovating.

And, for me, I assumed that meant producing one thing that perhaps did not look precisely the identical as each Secretlab chair produced previously 5 years or so. Possibly one thing so ergonomically forward of the curve that every one these copycat chairs hoping to catch individuals out on Amazon by wanting nearly similar to a Titan Evo must return to the photocopier and get some new designs out to their mass manufacturing services.

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Sizes: R (170–189 cm / <100kg), XL (181–205 cm / 80–180kg)
Material: NanoGen Hybrid Leatherette
Recline: as much as 165°
Guarantee: 3-year (extendable to 5-year through social endorsement)
Armrests: 4D adjustment
Worth: $799 | £669 (Common) $849 | £719 (XL)

I did not have “paradoxical breakthrough” with “next-generation materials” combining “benefits previously thought impossible in the same material” on my Secretlab 2024 bingo card. I am going to provide you with that seems like peak advertising hyperbole, but when you are going to have a go at enhancing a basic gaming chair design you might do rather a lot worse than ensuring it is extra comfy and extra sturdy than the earlier version. Even when it does learn like Secretlab has discovered some sort of vibranium/unobtanium weave it may well lay on high of a brand new chair.

However holy hell, I might ask you to not spike the value by some $200 whilst you’re at it.

Earlier than I get to that individual ache level, let me simply speak concerning the upsides. The Titan Evo is a contemporary basic, an excellent gaming chair that’s each reliably comfy and remarkably immune to the rigours of life as a bit of recent gamer furnishings. However, whereas our unit within the workplace seems to be nearly as good immediately because it did the second our Jacob pulled it out of its packaging, I am going to admit that I am not wild concerning the chair’s ‘experience’.

I’ve received lots of padding myself, I am going to grant you, however I’ve all the time discovered the Titan Evo feels just a bit too exhausting. This is extra supportive than most softer chairs, and possibly higher for you in the long term, however I’ve discovered myself shifting round much more on the older chair than I do with the brand new NanoGen version.

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(Picture credit score: Future)(Picture credit score: Future)(Picture credit score: Future)

So, why is that?

The dual assist pillars Secretlab is constructing its new chair upon are two new materials implementations, specifically its new NanoGen Hybrid Leatherette and the NanoFoam Composite it is utilizing for cushioning the tush.

The primary is its new coating for the whole upholstered a part of the chair, and it’s genuinely pretty. At the same time as the times have gotten colder the fine-weave leatherette Secretlab has created feels supple and mushy, and way more pleasing to the contact than the still-actually-pretty high-quality end the Titan Evo enjoys.

After all, we have come to count on that end to be immaculate, and it’s right here, too. The stitching is okay and constant, and although I nearly take that as learn with a Secretlab chair, it is all the time value noting that degree of high quality you do get with the model.

Secretlab is looking this new leatherette its most resilient but, which is difficult for me to attest to after just a few weeks parking my posterior upon the NanoGen Edition. However, as I mentioned earlier than, the Titan Evo—which has change into the workplace bike—nonetheless seems to be model new immediately, and if the brand new materials may solely match that I might nonetheless be bought. And I am a ergonomist’s nightmare; I am unable to assist however sit with one leg tucked below the opposite as my sitting secure area, which suggests footwear getting scraped towards leatherette on the common. I’ve killed Noblechairs in a comparatively quick time by exposing the naked steel body after repeated abrasions.

Of better import, nevertheless—particularly for individuals who, like me, discovered earlier Secretlab chairs too exhausting—is that NanoFoam Composite. Now, I am not going to go full Aniston, however the science bit is in combining the corporate’s cold-cure foam (the exhausting stuff) with a softer light-weight topper which offers a softer cushion. There’s additionally one thing concerning the bonding materials used between these layers, nevertheless it suffices to say the tip result’s a extremely comfy seat, that feels each mushy and supportive as you progress round, all on the identical time.

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That is the paradox Secretlab’s advertising division is on about. Gentle and resilient within the leatherette in addition to mushy and supportive with the cushioning. And it really works. That is essentially the most comfy gaming chair I’ve ever sat in, and positively essentially the most comfy a Secretlab has ever felt.

With these two beginner options you are getting the remainder of the Titan Evo expertise, too, together with the beautiful magnetic reminiscence foam neck pillow, although now with these PlushCell reminiscence foam armrests (mmm, mushy) as commonplace. Which means 4D armrests, although with a 50% larger adjustment vary. Actually, that is not been an enormous deal for me, I am a set and neglect kinda chair man, so the vary does not hit exhausting as long as I can get myself arrange within the first occasion.

And sure, that arrange is straightforward. I’ve seen people nearly break bones establishing gaming chairs (you realize who you might be) however the Secretlab Titan Evo may not be so simple as pulling it out of the field in a single piece, however placing all of it collectively takes lower than half-hour.

That is essentially the most comfy gaming chair I’ve ever sat in, and positively essentially the most comfy a Secretlab has ever felt.

However I nonetheless have points. My first is a throwback to my outgoing chair. In all honesty, I am probably not going to overlook the Mavix M9 which has graced my desk for the previous few years. It was a high-quality chair, and I dig the slighter body and meshwork, nevertheless it was a ache to arrange (I ended up having to craft one functioning chair from three separate items which arrived with me in varied states of destruction). However its tensioned tilt was one thing I did not know I used to be going to overlook till it was gone.

Secretlab talks of adjustable tilt tensioning, however actually from one excessive of the strain knob to the opposite is perhaps the distinction between the chair tilting again once you take a look at it or once you breathe on it. So, it is a locking factor not a tilt rocking factor.

My largest battle with the Titan Evo NanoGen Edition, nevertheless, is the value. At $549 for the regular-sized Titan Evo (itself $100 greater than it retailed for at launch), or $628 with these plushy armrests, it is a honest chunk of money, however truly not a foul value for a very well made piece of furnishings. That aforementioned Mavix M9, alternatively, is a $999 chair and is not as comfy or supportive a seat for the cash. Nor has it retained its seems to be or consolation over time.

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Purchase if…

You need absolutely the peak Secretlab gaming chair expertise: The consolation of the NanoGen Edition is unparalleled in every other of its chairs.

Do not buy if…

You baulk on the value premium: The one actual subject right here is that whereas it’s a extra comfy chair, every part else is similar to the only-a-little-less-comfortable commonplace Titan Evo.

However this NanoGen Edition provides close to $200 ($250 in the event you ignore the armrests coming as commonplace) on high of the unique’s sticker value. That is an enormous mark up for the additional layer of consolation the “next-generation” supplies ship. If you need the best possible Secretlab chair expertise, then sure, that is it. However I do not know if that additional value is justified by the general, comparative expertise.

Possibly it’s justified by the price of materials R&D, however the way you quantify an additional $200 value of consolation, now that is going to be the exhausting promote.

There’s a straightforward ‘the perfect simply received higher’ kiss off right here for the review, however I really feel it is just a bit extra tainted than I would really like by the additional value Secretlab is asking for the NanoGen Edition. If this had been an entirely completely different chair from the Titan Evo it will perhaps be simpler to swallow, however the data there is a far cheaper—and nonetheless wonderful—different available on the market, nicely, that is simply nonetheless residing rent-free in my mind as I end this out.