- Secretlabs Titan Evo 2022 Review – The Benchmark In Gaming Comfort - March 27, 2023
When I stepped into the world of gaming, it was a time when you plopped down, crossed-legged on the floor, and sat way too close to a CRT TV because the wired controller wouldn’t let you truly be comfortable. However, as the medium has evolved, comfort when gaming has become more important. After all, there are lots of gaming competitions where small incremental gains can be the difference between winning millions of dollars, and taking the L.
Terms like lumbar support and memory foam would have seen you laughed out of the room back in the day, but now these features are expected in even the most basic of office chairs. It seems the mothers in the nineties were vehemently ignored when they said, ‘Go outside, your eyes will go square. We all have square eyes now, and we intend to keep playing games for hours on end, so we need comfy chairs.
With that in mind, we have in our possession what is currently considered the absolute creme-de-le-creme of all gaming chairs. The Secretlabs Titan Evo 2022 model has seen unanimous praise from gamers and critics alike, offering comfort, customization, and lots of little details that make it the industry standard when it comes to gaming chairs. However, I’m sure you have a few questions. Questions like ‘Is this chair actually value for money? or ‘How comfy is this chair really?’.
It’s smart to be a savvy shopper, and in this Secretlabs Titan Evo 2022 review, I hope to give you all the core details needed to make an informed buying decision. This is the chair that you’ll be planting your butt in for thousands of hours, so you want it to make you feel like you are floating on air. Is the secret sauce at Secretlabs worth investing in? Let’s find out! Here is Streamer Startup’s Secretlabs TItan Evo 2022 Review!
Quick Specs
- Height: 89cm
- Weight: 37.5kg
- Depth: 50cm
- Width 48cm
- Recline Capacity: 165 Degrees
- Max Load: 180KG
- Materials: Leatherette/Softweave Fabric
- Warranty: 3 years
The Build
Not the most environmentally-friendly instruction manual, but convenient nonetheless. / Photo by Callum Marshall
Let’s kick things off from the moment the big ol’ box lands at your door. The build process of a gaming chair can be a daunting one, especially if the manufacturers don’t give you all the tools for the job, but thankfully, Secretlabs gives you all the bits and pieces needed to make the process go smoothly.
An immediate downside is that there is so much packaging you will need to clear out of the room before you sit down to build this seat, but the trade-off is that everything is individually packaged, from the custom tools, to the accessories and so on. It makes laying out all the composite parts a breeze, and before you know it, you are ready to assemble.
The process is very clearly laid out on a huge cardboard laminate that you can prop up against a wall. It’s a little bit overkill because a booklet would have sufficed, but I can’t deny that it was handy to have it there instead of leafing through a paper guide.
The steps are clearly laid out, and it basically boils down to popping on the wheels, adding the hydraulics, screwing the backrest and the pebble seat together, and popping in the levers. Then all that’s left to do is drop the seat into the hydraulics, and then add the extras like Armrests and pillows.
As someone that loses tools on the regular, having this snazzy little tool kit was a blessing / Photo by Callum Marshall
All in all, this shouldn’t take you much longer than about half an hour, and thanks to the tools provided, and accessible build instructions, you shouldn’t find yourself getting flustered at any point throughout. Then it’s time to take a load off.
Overall Comfort
So you now have a built and functional Titan Evo 2022. So how does that puppy handle, I hear you ask? Well, in terms of comfort, I couldn’t really ask for more. The first thing I noticed was how spacious this chair was. I felt like I had popped on a t-shirt five sizes too big, but after a second to recalibrate, I realized that this was a very welcome attribute, giving me ample space to wiggle my butt into the best position possible.
Then the next thing that piqued my interest was the memory foam cushion which magnetically sticks to the seat rather than having the typical elastic wrap around. I will admit that it moves around more than I would like, but that bad boy is soft!
Spacious, lightweight, customizable and sleek. It is a little firm, but I’m into it! / Photo by Callum Marshall
It then came time to mess around with the lumbar settings and find the sweet spot in terms of helping me not develop the posture of a retired gymnast. This is a real game-changer for those that feel they can’t get the back support they need for their gaming chair as the Titan Evo 2022 gives you a hands-on way to fine-tune these settings and make it personal to you, and I must say, it’s very accurate.
We aren’t talking about pre-set dials here. You can really get down to the minutest little tweaks if you want to. Recline this chair back all the way, and I bet it gives you better support than your mattress. Truly top-notch.
Then to put the cherry on top, the seat also has flexible armrests allowing you to switch from work mode to play-time in a flash. The lean function is excellent, even if the lever does jam every now and again, and the chair is easy to maneuver if you need to scoot across the room at speed.
The only potential issue for some that may be a dealbreaker is that the seat is pretty firm. This is a feature that I personally quite like, but if you like a little more cushioning around your backside, this chair isn’t the one for you.
Aesthetics
Now we move on to how the chair lights up a room, or blends into the dingy low lighting if that’s more your thing.
I’ll talk about the custom aesthetic options in a bit, but based on the standard model alone, the chair looks stunning. If you opt for the snazzy leatherette material, you get a sleek and comfortable chair that aligns with the chairs you find in racing cars, as has become the industry standard.
However, if you opt for the Softweave model, you get the same silhouette but with an overall design that looks like you coated the chair in some fancy Gymshark apparel, and I mean that as a compliment, I think.
Perhaps it doesn’t blend seamlessly into my more cutesy setup, but even still, it’s a looker! / Photo by Callum Marshall
The stitching is bold and adds a pop of color to the otherwise muted color scheme, and the embroidery is expertly done as well. In fact, everywhere you look on the chair, there is a new fancy way that Secretlabs have slapped their logo on the chair, with fancy inlays aplenty. Then they top that off with a certificate of authenticity to ensure that you are getting a genuine Secretlabs chair and not some convincing knock-off.
The whole design screams, ‘we are proud of what we have made here,’ and so they should be. It’s a marvelous gaming seat that oozes class, and doesn’t play its hand too much with gimmicky design choices, which I have found to be a bit of a trend within the market, and overall, you will struggle to find a more classy design anywhere you look.
However, if you want to jazz your Titan Evo 2022 up a little bit, check out below.
Custom Options
If you like what the Titan Evo 2022 has to offer in terms of overall design and craftsmanship, but need something that stands out from the crowd, you’ll be happy to know that Secretlabs have you covered. You can purchase Titan Evo 2022 models that are much more vibrant, outlandish, and in some cases, personalized to your own gaming and fandom tastes. The Softweave model comes in a number of bright colors like Mint Green, Soda Purple, and Cookies and Cream.
The Leatherette model can be customized to represent your favorite Esports team. Plus, both models have a variety of custom options that represent some cool IP’s like Cyberpunk 2077, Overwatch, League of Legends, Minecraft, Fortnite, Harry Potter, Naruto, and more.
There really is an option here that will suit just about anyone! / Image by Callum Marshall
You may be wondering, what if I find myself distancing myself from these games and stuck with a gaming chair that no longer represents me? Well, the good news is that Secretlabs also offer sleeves that slip over your chair seamlessly to cover the old design and give you a fresh new look.
Oh, and you can swap out your armrests for something more aligned with your new setup. In short, there are loads of ways you can freshen up your Titan Evo 2022, ensuring that you won’t have to swap it for a new chair for many years to come.
Best Alternatives
Okay, so here’s the biggest drawback of the Titan Evo 2022. It’s ludicrously expensive with reference to other chairs on the market. The price is justified as the chair delivers in every single way, but even with that being the case, money doesn’t grow on trees. So we have put together a quick list of alternatives that may be more geared toward you and your respective budget:
Pros
- About as comfy as it gets, with lots of custom options to optimize your setup based on your comfort preferences
- Insanely customizable, with varied size options, materials, armrests, skins, and more
- Made from high-quality materials, and boasts high-level craftsmanship that is built to last
- The best lumbar support on the market
- Relatively simple build
- Suitable for heavier guys, gals, and others
Cons
- There’s no way to sugarcoat it. This chair costs a lot
- Magnetic Pillow is sleek, but will move around
- Make sure you build on bin day; there’s a lot of cardboard
- Recline lever can be temperamental
Secretlabs Titan Evo 2022 Review: FAQs
Question: What’s The USP of Secretlabs?
Answer: The USP for pretty much all Secretlabs chairs is that you can adjust the ergonomics of your seat by hand. Very few other chairs on the market can boast the same adjustable lumbar support functionality.
Question: What’s The Closest Alternative Brand?
Answer: There are a good amount of cheaper alternatives listed above; however, if I was going to list the one company that comes closest to matching Secretlabs for quality, it would probably be Noblechair.
Question: Are Secretlabs Chairs Easy to Clean?
Answer: Less so if you go for the softweave model; however, if you opt for the Leatherette option, you will find that it’s very resistant to stains and dirt. Plus, Secretlabs also sell specialized leather cleaning wipes and products to make this process a breeze.
The Verdict
Score: 9.5/10
Secretlabs is widely regarded as the superstar of the gaming chair world. The Coca-Cola of gaming comfort, and when you look at the Titan Evo 2022, you can see why. Stripping it down and looking at each aspect of this chair will only reveal just how much time and care has gone into the design of this incredible seat.
The comfort on offer, with fully customizable lumbar support, multiple materials to suit your texture preference, flexible armrests, and memory foam cushioning, is second to none. The chair is aesthetically on point, with a style available for everyone, and the ability to mix and match with skins and detachable armrests, allowing you to change up your look without needing a brand-new chair. Plus, it’s easy to build, built to last, and reasonably mobile too.
The only small downside is that, for many, this will simply be too expensive for a gaming chair. There are loads of alternatives on the market that make small trade-offs to provide a seat that is almost as good, minus maybe one key feature that the Titan Evo offers.
The Titan Evo is basically for those that refuse to compromise on any of these features and want optimal quality in all departments. So if you won’t settle for anything but the best, then this is the chair for you! As always, thanks for reading Streamer Startup, and happy gaming!