I've never been into the fancy symbols of being a gamer. I don't have anything RGB in my house. I get by with a fairly basic gaming laptop. I hold both Joy-Con in separate hands like a badass instead of buying a professional controller. I'm fine with that, but I've always seen my chair as an extension of this ethos, and in all my time at TheGamer, and earlier in my career in gaming journalism, I've never owned a gaming chair. Until the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition arrived and I realized how wrong I was.
First, by very comfortable, I mean obviously comfortable, this is a chair that retails for over $500. But I have to say I was surprised at the upgrade over my old chair which I always found comfortable enough. The Titan Evo has a more luxurious feel, with controlled lumbar comfort rather than just a nice place to sit, and not only is it comfortable moment to moment, it's done wonders for my back.
Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition has excellent lumbar support
The lumbar control is adjustable with dials on either side, but that's more a personalization of your height and sitting position than something you adjust regularly. This has a huge impact on the comfort level, so you want to get it right. The back is not a person's most sensitive area, so when I felt lonely, I had to change what I thought was perfect a few times to get it right. When I did, the seat was incredibly supportive, while the leatherette felt soft and smooth.
It is supported by swivel and tilt system. The Titan Evo is bulky, and can feel almost like a throne at times, but it's surprisingly smooth. The wheels spin smoothly and back up easily, but you can't accidentally do it that easily. This once again creates a combination of comfort and support. It's easy to sit in, which is kind of the essence of a chair.
The throne feel also comes from the armrests, which are highly adjustable. But again, they're things you fix once and leave, rather than fiddling with endlessly. Height, forward distance and inward angle are all adjustable, but I went for simplicity. As low as possible, as far back as possible and straight forward. For anyone who uses this professionally in a job with a lot of typing, this would be the best choice. Elevating them may help more as an “elbow rest” during gaming, but adjustability here is less valuable than lumbar support.
Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition is highly customizable
The only element that reduces this feeling of comfort and control is adjusting the angle of the seat. With the straight design, there is a small lever on the right side that allows you to pull it back. The problem is that you always feel like you're about to break it. It's the only lever that feels tight, and when you pull it, nothing happens, nothing happens, nothing happens, and suddenly there's a springy squeal and the prop pulls away from you.
From here, you can hold the lever and let it return to position, still giving you control, but unlike the sleek, luxurious feel of the Titan Evo. I never broke it, and I probably wasn't in danger of doing so, but it's still a little disconcerting every time you want to move the seat position.
Sleek and luxurious also describe the look. With an all-black design, it looks a lot lower than some themed gaming chairs, which is perfect for those who just need a nice, professional seat. Everything looks smooth and elegant, without being flashy. There are definitely more exciting Secretlabs options, but I really don't want my seat to be exciting. It feels more professional than sitting on an IP crossover, although there's nothing wrong with a little whimsy.
Be careful when making Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition
It's designed to be simple to build, but unfortunately so am I. As we all do, I saw the instructions that showed two people and decided that the instructions were for wimps. The chair is a little hard to build on your own, especially if you plan to build it in an office where it has to live.
It is recommended if this office is on the upper floor, because the chair will be heavy during construction.
Despite being relatively cramped in the office, the large parts of the chair are easily connected. There is just a little bit of balance that keeps the seat and backrest at the right angle to keep both sides aligned until they are fully attached. There are also parts of the armrests that attach to the seat and you have to open them up to attach something else in between. I don't necessarily care about this, but if there was an attempt to keep the large screws together, two of the four screws fell out in the box during shipping.
The instructions suggesting you unscrew all four was confusing when there are four on each side, meaning I spent a lot of time doing the job. After quickly and effortlessly loosening the four bolts (actually since the others fell out) I had to loosen the four bolts I didn't need to loosen and was frustrated by how hard it was, before I realized my mistake at the age of three. I'm an idiot, so it's unlikely anyone else will come across this, but I'm posting it a) as a warning to other idiots, and b) because nothing else interesting happened in this gripping anecdote titled is making a chair.
But despite these minor issues with the custom build, the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition is a premium chair that's sleek, comfortable, and highly customizable. Professional and luxurious, it's a great addition to the Secretlab collection and my back has never been better.