Review: Secretlab Titan Evo

Many would argue that comfort is perhaps not the most important part of a gaming setup, and place performance as the number one metric to optimise for. Some of the world’s best players are known to have used questionable setups in the past, even sporting regular kitchen chairs instead of purpose-built gaming furniture. 

Out of the dozen or so gaming chair brands producing probably hundreds of models yearly, Secretlab is one of the more high-end brands that appear on events, streams, and in offices of esports companies more than competitors. Secretlab’s marketing and partnerships departments really earn their wage. 

Today we are taking a look at one of the most iconic chairs of recent time, the Secretlab Titan Evo, which is the latest iteration of a chair that has been around for around four years and first launched in 2021.

The Titan Evo is the flagship Secretlab model, and the pricing depends on several factors, such as the material used, size, and design. At the time of writing, the regular version in synthetic leather costs £419, and the SoftWeave finish adds around £50 to the price. XL version starts at £499, and the SoftWeave version, such as the one tested, comes at £529. Secretlab does offer several special offers, so the amount you pay may vary.

Prices can climb up to more than £ 800 if you desire exclusive options such as Napa leather or a chair co-developed by car brand Lamborghini. There’s also a wide selection of esports-branded chairs from the brand, including the likes of Paper Rex, T1, Team Vitality, and others. Faker, the world’s best League of Legends player, also co-designed a Secretlab chair of his own. 

The Titan Evo comes in two variations: the leatherette model, which is the regular, shiny faux leather material, and something Secretlab calls SoftWeave, which is a fabric blend that offers better breathability and softness than leather, but trades it off for lower stain resistance and the potential to absorb liquids and smells alike. If it does stain or get ruined, Secretlab sells “skins” for it, which are tailored specifically for the chair and allow for customisation after buying — I think this is a great idea that eliminates a lot of buyer’s remorse for perhaps not getting a certain edition. 

Before diving into the details, I would like to commend Secretlab’s packaging and assembly experience. Once you start assembling, you can find all the tools needed in the box. The overall process took me just 15 minutes, and everything was extremely intuitive and easy, despite the chair being quite bulky and heavy. One might even say the whole process is a bit Apple-esque in its simplicity. Due to the chair being made out of fabric, Secretlab sends a sample of its cleaning supplies. 

The chair I am sitting in as I type this review is a grey model with splashes of blue stitching throughout, a good sleek look. Secretlab has so many colours on offer that diving deep into the looks is almost a waste of time, but every chair you pick will be well-made and Secretlab guarantees it’ll be free from large defects and errors – as ensured by a code you can use to check your chair’s production and see specifically who inspected it. 

What I liked is that the chair has many small design touches that make it stand out. The lower part of the backrest has an NFC tag to check authenticity, the base of the chair has a large Secretlab logo engraved, and so do the armrests and several other locations on the chair. There are tags, logos, and other small design details everywhere, which just makes it a tad more special — a nice touch to reassure you for having just spent almost £500 for a gaming chair. Overall, the build quality is very good all around, with no complaints for the chair I tested.

The sitting experience is what it all comes down to. I am 185cm tall and weigh around 88kg and the XL version of the chair takes some time to get used to, mainly because its seat is wider and longer than most other, smaller chairs. The chair also has quite a presence in the room; its backrest is 90cm tall and around 55cm wide, and the seat is around 50 centimeters in both directions. The chair feels very roomy. 

The chair has an integrated lumbar support which is adjusted by two knobs on either side of the backrest. One moves the support up and down, and the other extends it, meaning that tailoring the fit to you is a relatively easy task. In addition, if you lay down completely on the chair, the fact that you can dial down the lumbar support and make the chair flat is a very good idea. 

Sitting on it I must say it is not soft and bouncy, but is rather firm and feels more like a performance car seat than a couch. Those looking to get absorbed by the chair may not like this, but there is research that shows that having a firmer chair is actually beneficial for longer periods of time.

Users have reported on social media that the chair does get softer after a month or two of use, which is something I also noticed. The chair felt like it became a bit softer after using it for a while, but that might just be me getting used to it rather than wearing it in. However, while it may be on the firmer side, during my time using the chair I always felt comfortable and well-bolstered and did not feel like a softer chair would have been significantly more comfortable. 

The wide seat offers a lot of room for any sitting position you might be in and although I never sit cross-legged on a chair, the Titan Evo can accommodate for that. I like that Secretlab actually made the side bolsters on the Titan Evo smaller. The reason why a lot of gaming chairs have large side bolsters is because they are inspired by racing seats in cars, where a thick bolster is needed. In a chair, having lower sides means more room to shuffle around and get comfortable in, and it’s not like you’re going to fall out of your gaming chair in tight turns.

The XL model is rated for up to 180kg, which means that it has a reinforced piston designed to handle more pressure. It also pushes the chair seat up higher, allowing taller individuals to reach their desired height. Interestingly, this is the first chair that I did not extend all the way when sitting, because it was simply too high for my feet. Secretlab recommends that you always size up if you are in between sizes so they sent me the XL version, but I feel like a smaller size would also suit me well. As with other chair brands, the Secretlab website offers size charts and recommendations, with each size corresponding to a certain height and weight range — for example, the regular version is designed for people between 170 and 189cm in height and less than 100kg in weight. 

Speaking of turns, the casters (wheels) lock themselves when not pressed, and the chair will not move easily unless you want it to. Secretlab does sell rollerblade-like casters for those wanting to save their floors more and roll around easier. 

The neck pillow in the Titan Evo is filled generously with cooling gel, and is magnetic so you can move it up or down, depending on where you want it located. There’s not a massive amount of tweaking possible, but it is probably enough for most users. 

Armrests are soft synthetic leather but can be switched to gel-filled ones (£100) or ones with memory foam if you want to splash the extra cash. The ones that come with the chair are good and snap magnetically into place. I could see how the memory foam or gel armrests might be a bit more luxurious, but our review chair didn’t come with them and I can’t recommend them on just product photos alone. The armrests move in several directions: inward and outward, front to back, and can be angled towards you. Unlike some competitors, Titan Evo doesn’t offer tilt adjustment for armrests.

Using the Titan Evo for around a month after receiving it was a pleasant experience, and the chair does live up to the hype of being a comfortable, fit-for-purpose gaming chair. There is little that I would change on the Secretlab Titan Evo, besides perhaps upgrading to different wheels or other add-on accessories. 

I feel like Secretlab has created a product that will leave the majority of users happy. It is true that more money can get you a more premium chair, but if you want something that has all the core features, build quality, and attention to detail you might need, with added futureproofing, you really can’t go wrong with the Titan series.