The world of premium gaming chairs is one that seems to have ballooned in the last few years, with more people working from home and all, and needing to go for any of the best office chairs money can buy.
For what feels like a long time now, Secretlab has established itself as a real market leader in the field, offering some truly excellent chairs for a premium price, and their brand new Titan Evo 2022 is no different.
A touch over £400 for the base Stealth model (£414 RRP from Secretlab directly) what I’ve got here is quite expensive at first glance, but let’s take a look at it, and see if it’s worth your hard-earned cash.
Setup and construction
At this juncture, I have to stress, I’m a ham fisted young bloke who can barely screw two bolts together, but the Titan Evo 2022 was remarkably easy to put together. This is largely thanks to the massive sheet Secretlab provides in the box with all the assembly instructions printed on it, which was rather easy to follow.
You also get all the tools you need bundled in the box, and everything’s presented rather nicely - even just cutting open the box and taking out its treasures felt like an expensive experience.
The actual method of building the Titan Evo 2022 is similar to other gaming chairs I’ve taken a look at in the past - base first, then gas piston and all those bits, build the seat, add the armrests, and secure the two together. All in all, it probably took around half an hour to put this throne together, which means you should be able to get up and running in no time.
Design and build quality
The phrase ‘gaming chair’ is one that conjures up the same-old image of a racing-style bucket seat type chair with sharp edges, comprised of a too-warm-to-sit-on leatherette seat and rattly plastic armrests. Well, I’m pleased to report none of the above is true for the Titan Evo 2022.
In other words, it looks excellent. Its black seat with gold accents and red stitching looks incredibly smart, and certainly makes you feel as if you’re sitting on a throne, as opposed to just a chair.
It’s also remarkably sturdy, with a mix of metals and hard plastics used in its construction. The base itself for instance is comprised of some powder-coated steel, and the armrest supports are made of metal, too. The components that are plastic, such as the side pieces and the recline lever, all feel substantial themselves.
For the Titan Evo 2022’s seat, Secretlab has used an all-new iteration of its PU leather that claims to be 12x more durable than standard PU leather. While this isn’t something I can necessarily test, the material used here feels a lot more like actual leather than some of the other, more affordable, gaming chairs I’ve sat my backside on. It just feels like it’s a better quality product, which you’d arguably expect for the near £500 asking price, of cours
Comfort and ergonomics
Make no bones about it, the Titan Evo 2022 is a supremely comfortable chair. While leatherette chairs, in general, have never been my preference, Secretlab’s latest offering might just make me rethink my decisions.
It is a lot firmer than other chairs I’ve tested, but that helps the Titan Evo 2022 to feel incredibly supportive in all the right places. The leatherette finish is smooth and wonderfully pleasing to park your backside on for a day’s work, and doesn’t feel rough like some more affordable leatherette finishes can. There are times in sitting in this chair that you forget it’s a gaming chair and when it feels more like you’re a king in a throne because of how comfortable this is.
The seat cushion and backrest itself are representative of this firmer finish, but are themselves supportive, especially thanks to the cold cure foam used in the cushion to give it a little bit of springiness. This also feels like quite a plush chair, especially with the velvet-finished headrest that attaches magnetically to the top of the backrest on the Titan Evo 2022, which in itself is incredibly comfortable, and is ingenious in its method of attachment.
There isn’t a back cushion here, but in its place, the Titan Evo 2022 features a pair of dials, one on either side, that control the in-built lumbar support, giving you pretty much infinite options as to where it’s positioned and how far in you’d like it. Using the two dials to adjust things was easy enough, although you will encounter some resistance in the mechanism itself, which is useful.
This is the R variant of the Titan Evo 2022, which is designed for people between the heights of 5ft 7 and 6ft 2, and as someone who is only a modest 5ft 8 in height, the Regular chair fitted me well, with plenty of breathing room. There are also Small and XL variants of this chair, depending on your height and weight, so you’ll be sure to find one that’s comfortable and suits your needs.
There are absolutely tonnes of adjustment with the Titan Evo 2022, as controlled by the two levers on the chair’s base. The one on the right controls the gas lift height, while the one on the left hand side controls the tilt - click it down one notch, and you’ll be able to recline. I found this particular feature especially handy, and the method for doing so is nice and convenient.
You can also recline up to 165 degrees while the chair remains level using the lever on the right hand side of the backrest, and the operation here is especially smooth. Users of Secretlab’s older Omega chairs will recognise the backrest here, also.
The armrests here are 4D adjustable and are comprised of a PU foam which offers comparable firmness to the Titan Evo 2022’s cushion and backrest. Being 4D means they can move up, down, left and right, as well as being rotated inwards, so you’re sure to find a position that suits you best.
The tops of these armrests are also hot-swappable with different materials - for the last two weeks, I’ve switched between the standard PU foam ones, and some velvet ones that are made of the same material as the head cushion, which were super comfortable and excellent at making you feel like you were sitting on an actual throne.
Should you buy the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022?
Of course, the question remains whether all of what I’ve said above makes the Titan Evo 2022 a worthwhile purchase. Well, indeed it does. This is certainly one of the best gaming chairs money can buy, and if you’re looking for some gamer chic to add to your office, then you can't get any better.
It’s supremely comfortable and nicely firm without feeling like you’re sitting on a rock, alongside looking classy with the black and gold accented Stealth colour scheme, as well as offering oodles of adjustment and customisation, so anyone should be sure to find a configuration of the Titan Evo 2022 they well like.
It’s hard to get over the high £414 asking price (from Secretlab directly), but sometimes, you can’t put a price on comfort, and that’s definitely the case here. Given how important a good chair is to your setup, it makes the high markup of this chair a little bit more bearable to swallow, and if you can stump up the asking price, it’s going to be one of the best purchases you make all year.
4.5/5
Review kit provided by the manufacturer.
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