Gaming isn’t exactly a very active hobby, and if you combine that with a desk job you’ll find yourself in a sitting position for the majority of the day. There’s a saying that goes ‘never skimp out on things that separate you from the ground,’ and the same rings true for a gaming/desk chair. If you’re spending many hours behind a desk it’s a very good idea to invest some money on a chair that suits your preferences and ensures that your back won’t be shot before you’re 40 years old.
What makes a chair worth it depends on a number of factors, both subjective and objective (click here for our guide) and with pretty much every large and small gaming company coming out with their own chairs it can be hard to see the forest for the trees. Given the fact that a chair isn’t exactly a small time investment it’s very important to do your research before committing to a purchase.
In order to help you with said purchase we’re going to be taking a look at the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022. Secretlab’s chairs have been on a meteoric rise ever since they hit the market, and they are quite often recommended by media outlets and regular consumers alike, so if you’re looking for a chair you’re likely to come across these ones. The Evo 2022 edition features a number of improvements over the 2020 edition, and we’re taking a look at whether or not those improvements are worth it, and if the Evo 2022 is worthy of your attention if you’re shopping for your first chair. Read our full Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 review in order to find out everything you want to know and more!
At A Glance
Secretlab Titan EVO 2022
Used by 6 players ()-
Twistzz
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Kyedae
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Setty
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BORKUM
The firmer cushion and padding definitely won’t suit everyone, but if you’re someone who prefers a firmer support area over a cloudy feeling for your bottom then this Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 is one of the better gaming chairs out there at this point in time.
Pros
- Great finishing and attention to detail
- Fantastic packaging and instructions, making assembly a breeze
- Adjustable in all the right ways
- Softweave fabric feels great
- Backrest reclines for the ‘lounging experience’
Cons
- Cushioning is firmer than some other similar options, some might dislike this
- Magnetic neck cushion isn’t as secure as it should be
Assembly and Features
The Titan Evo 2022 is a chair that you need to assemble yourself, but the box that it arrives in is still pretty large and heavy. I’m not writing that as a negative but it’s something that’s important to know in case you’re living by yourself and you want to get the chair up a set of stairs or something like that. You will want some help with that.
Secretlab is a company that really focuses on ease of use and making a product that can be assembled by just about anyone. Once the box of the chair is in the room you want it to be in there should be no issues assembling it by yourself. Secretlab dedicated a great deal of attention to this part of the whole experience, and everything is laid out so clearly and obviously that it’s almost impossible to go wrong when assembling the chair. Everything from the manual to the warning on the individually packaged parts to the high quality of the included tools screams ‘quality’ and ‘foolproof’ to me, and I love that. No matter how you spin it: a chair like this is a substantial investment, and it’s reassuring to know that you will be able to put it together without many frustrations and that, unless you completely disregard the packaging and instructions, it’s impossible to mess up your chair.
The Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 can be adjusted in every way that matters. It can pivot, has a tilt (and a tilt lock) mechanism, it has an adjustable seat height, adjustable arm rests, a reclining back rest, built in (and adjustable) lumbar support, and a neck support cushion. Those are pretty much all of the adjustment options you could want, and as long as you’re not too big or small for this chair you’re very likely to find a configuration that suits your body (almost) perfectly.
Important to note is that the Omega model has seemingly been ditched in favor of the ‘Titan line’. The Titan Evo 2022 comes in three sizes: small (≤169cm), regular (170 – 189cm), and XL (181 – 205cm). Which one you get depends on your height and weight of course, and there’s more info on Secretlabs’ website if you choose to go for one.
First Impressions and Materials
The Titan Evo 2022 comes with two upholstery options: their NEO Hybrid leatherette and the newest version of Secretlab’s Softweave fabric. I’m reviewing the latter because I vastly prefer a fabric chair over a leather(ette) one, but I’ve also reviewed Secretlabs’ leatherette materials and I like those a lot. The chair base and sturdy parts are made out of aluminum alloy and steel and everything feels very thick and reliable.
I gave the two Secretlab chairs I tested previously to family members and they still feel (and sound; there’s no rattling or creaking) like new, even after being used daily for multiple hours. That doesn’t exactly have anything to do with this chair, but it is interesting to know if you’re planning on purchasing a Secretlab product, which is why I’ve included it.
Let me start off by saying the following: I know that I put the backrest covers on wrong in the photos. They’re supposed to go on opposite sides. These covers now attach via a magnetic system rather than a screw-in system so I just slapped them on in my excitement and only noticed that they were on wrong when I had already taken the photos and broke down my photo setup. Apologies!
On to the review then, and let me start off by saying that I really love the look of this chair. I’m not necessarily against a ‘gamery aesthetic’ for gaming peripherals, but something as big and eye-catching as a desk chair should look subtle in my opinion. As such I love this black version. The logos (I criticized the amount of logos slapped onto Secretlab’s chairs in earlier reviews) are still all there but they’re blacked out and don’t really draw the eye, which is exactly how I like it. Secretlab chairs always come out in a massive variety of colorways and special editions, so you shouldn’t have any problems finding one that suits your setup or your preferences.
The chair not only looks the part: it also feels extremely solid and luxurious. There are no exposed unfinished parts or sections of the chair that feel like corners were cut in some ways. Just like with the packaging you really get the feeling that this company pays attention to details all throughout the process, and that’s nice to see when you’ve just bought an expensive chair.
The upholstery here is Secretlab’s proprietary SoftWeave Plus Fabric. That’s the newest iteration of a fabric that I already really loved, and I still love it today. It reminds me of the style of fabric that you can find on running shoes with its slightly flexible, yet durable qualities and as someone who actively dislikes leather (or fake leather) surfaces to sit on this is a dream. It’s breathable enough so that you don’t have any of those annoying ‘I’m sticking to the chair’ moments when it’s hot or you’ve just had a particularly sweaty gaming session and the fact that it’s fabric means that it’s never cold to the touch when you sit on it on a chillier day.
I happen to have tested the previous iteration of SoftWeave and while I don’t immediately notice any differences once you’re actually sitting in the chair I do feel like the Plus version is slightly stretchier and looks more like a knitted surface than its predecessor does, which gives it a bit more breathability in theory. According to Secretlab, the SoftWeave Plus fabric is also 3.5 times more durable than its predecessor. Given the fact that the SoftWeave chair I reviewed years ago still looks and feels pretty much brand new I’d say that only bodes well for the durability of this upholstery.
Something important to note is that Secretlab chairs aren’t the softest. The padding is quite dense and firm, leading to a sitting sensation that isn’t exactly cloudy or as if you’re sitting down on a soft stack of pillows. For some that might be a con, but I don’t personally mind it. A firmer seat, for me, discourages lounging too much, and gently nudges me into more ergonomically acceptable positions. It will probably take some getting used to (and don’t get me wrong: it’s not as if you’re sitting down on a wooden plank here) if you’ve never used a Secretlab chair before, but unless you absolutely want a cushion-like experience it shouldn’t be an insurmountable obstacle.
On the back of the chair you’ll now find an NFC tag that allows you to verify the chair’s authenticity. That seemed like a bit of a gimmick to me at first, but then I realized how popular these chairs are and how there are fake replicas of pretty much every product on the market these days, so all in all it seems like a cool little addition to me that’s especially handy if you’re buying a secondhand chair.
In Depth
If you can live with the firmer seating and backrest area the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 is a supremely comfortable gaming chair. There are no pressure points near your thighs thanks to the nicely rounded edges of the seating pan, and there are no sharp edges or unfinished parts that can catch onto and damage clothing. It’s a running theme here: everything looks and feels as if a great deal of attention has been paid to even the smallest aspects.
The arm rests have seen some changes yet again. The top padded parts can now be swapped out and are attached to the actual arm via a magnetic system. This makes removing and replacing the arm padding bits a breeze, but the arm rests can feel a bit wobbly at times. This never gets extremely annoying but it is something that I noticed during my testing. Luckily, the armrests themselves are great. They’re super easy and smooth to adjust, and the padding is thick and soft, making it a very comfortable surface to rest your elbows (or other body parts, depending on how flexible you are) on.
One of the eye-catchers of this new design is the lumbar support area. Previously, you were only able to adjust the bulge of the lumbar area, meaning that you were out of luck if the hollow part of your spine didn’t line up with the position of the lumbar section, but now there’s the possibility to move it up or down. That’s an awesome addition if you ask me, and it drastically heightens the customizability of the chair. I do have to say that the lumbar support doesn’t extend extremely far though. If you prefer your support to really fill in the arch of your spine and you’ve got a rather curvy back it might not exactly be sufficient.
The neck cushion is filled with memory foam and feels extremely comfortable to rest on. If you recline the chair all the way you can definitely use this cushion as a comfy spot to rest your weary eyes if you’re going for a powernap.
This new cushion attaches to the chair via magnets (it really seems like the engineers at Secretlab have found a surplus stash of magnets somewhere) and I don’t know if I’m the biggest fan of this system. On the one hand it of course looks very clean and it’s pretty easy to set the cushion exactly where you like it (provided it’s within the magnetic area) but on the other hand I had the cushion fall off on multiple occasions when I positioned it somewhere on the edge of the magnetic area. I can’t say that I’ve noticed issues with Secretlabs’ headrest straps stretching out, causing the headrest to sag, so for me personally this change isn’t completely necessary.
The base, finishing, and hydraulics of the chair feel nice. You never accidentally find yourself sitting lower than you sat the day before because the hydraulics gave out, and I can say from experience with these chairs that (provided you don’t do outrageous things with the chair) they don’t start to rattle or feel as if they’re falling apart easily either. The base is sturdy and the wheels glide smoothly, too. In a nutshell: it’s all quality with the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022.
Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 Review – Conclusion
The Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 is a logical successor to the 2020 version. It features a number of meaningful improvements (the height-adjustable lumbar support is the most important one here if you ask me) and further builds on the extremely solid reputation that the brand has built for themselves over the years.
The 2022 version isn’t completely perfect (I don’t really see the need for the head pillow to be magnetic, for example, and the arm rest can feel a bit rattly) but it does everything that you would want a gaming/office chair to do, and it does so with extreme attention to detail and care for the overall user experience. I can say from personal experience that the Secretlab chairs keep that ‘new chair’ feeling for a very long time so if you’re looking for a new gaming/office chair then this is definitely one to take a look at.
The firmer cushion and padding definitely won’t suit everyone, but if you’re someone who prefers a firmer support area over a cloudy feeling for your bottom then this Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 is one of the better gaming chairs out there at this point in time.
This product was received for free from the manufacturer and given to our reviewer to test and review. Brands and manufacturers have no editorial control over our reviews. For more information, check out our review FAQ.
