Secretlab Titan Evo Gaming Chair
The story so far…
So 3 years ago I bought the Secretlab Titan Evo gaming chair. Largely it has held up well. Although I have had a few issues with it during that time which are worth covering so you know whether this is the right chair for you, or not.
The Chair
There are several reasons why the Secretlab Titan Evo is one of the most popular gaming chairs around.
First and foremost is how much you can adjust this chair to get the right fit just for you. You can adjust the height of the seat, the angle of the back rest, and the tension adjustments for it too. You can even push it all the way back to 165°. This gives more than enough of a platform for having a quick snooze!
image: myTechGear
There is a dial on each side of the backrest that controls the integrated lumbar support. This allows you to customise not only it’s position but also the amount of the support too. No more memory foam cushion wedges needed here.
image: secretlab
The armrests are not only height adjustable, but they can also be moved forwards or backwards, in or out, and even diagonally adjusted if you so wish.
video: secretlab
The ‘Pebble’ seat provides a nice large flat surface for sitting on. So if you’re someone who likes to sit cross-legged then the Secretlab Titan Evo easily lets you do that.
image: mytechgear
There’s even a headrest too, which continues with the memory foam cushion idea of previous versions of the chair, but this time it attaches magnetically and so is easy for it to not only adjust, but also stay in place.
image: mytechgear
Wear and Tear
I bought the Secretlab Titan Evo with their Softweave Plus fabric and have used this chair extensively over the last 3 years. I work from home a lot and get at least 8 hours of use out of it on most days. Yet despite the amount of use that it has had, the fabric looks as good as the day I bought it! There are a couple of scuff marks on the arms from me pushing it underneath the desk, but that really is it. There’s also no sagging in the seat and the headrest still looks like new too.
Comfort
So whilst the Secretlab Titan Evo has been a hard wearing chair for me, I do know of some people that don’t like the seat as they find it quite firm. I probably agree with them to some extent as it is a firm chair. However, that’s a good thing because you don’t want a seat that’s going to give as soon as you sit in it. You want a chair that is going to support your weight for a long period of time. This chair absolutely does that.
Warranty
The Secretlab Titan Evo comes with up to 5 years of warranty. Three years comes as standard. You can get an extra 2 years of warranty, if you post a social media post of your chair when you buy it. And I’ve definitely had to use that warranty a few times…
The Issues
The first issue happened after about 6 months of owning the chair. It started to creak a lot whenever I moved in the chair. This was a result of the seat fabric rubbing against the body of the chair. Secretlab’s customer support told me it was a known issue with early versions of their chair. So they sent me a fix kit to resolve the issue, which it did.
However, about a year after that, I had another issue. Yet more creaking! This time coming from the lumbar support mechanism in the back of the chair. So it was another call to Secretlab. This time I was sent an entire replacement backrest as they said that the lumbar support was faulty.
I do always worry whether a warranty is worth the paper that it’s printed on. So it’s great to know that Secretlab honor their 5 year warranty.
Now that’s not to say that the Secretlab Titan Evo isn’t still without issues though. Whilst not being faults, according to Secretlab, these are design annoyances that I think shouldn’t exist.
Firstly is the amount of wobble to the chair. Even with the chair ‘locked’ into position, there is still a degree of movement in the seat. So it can still rock forwards and backwards a bit. Whilst Secretlab have said that that’s by design, due to the tilt/tension mechanism in the chair which does result in a certain amount of free play, I still think it shouldn’t do it. It’s not a deal breaker, just a little bit annoying.
The other issue is also more wobbling, but this time in the arms of the chair. There’s just an awful lot of free movement in the arms when they’re supposedly locked into place. I’ve taken them apart, tightened the screws, and a number of other online solutions, and they still wobble. They really shouldn’t. It’s another minor gripe really.
Should you buy it?
So, despite all the issues that I’ve had with this chair, I would probably still buy the Secretlab Titan Evo again. Just because it’s held up so well, despite heavy use, and the warranty actually works when you need it. Plus if you compare it against something like the Herman Miller Embody gaming chair, well that retails for almost $2,000. So with prices of the Secretlab Titan Evo starting from $549, that’s certainly a good price! I know which one I’d rather get! Secretlab do also often have sales so I’d keep an eye out for those too.
