Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition: Two-minute review
The Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition is a new variant of the classic chair from the brand featuring some brand-new materials. While there’s a familiar chair under the hood, these materials elevate this edition a little beyond its brethren in terms of sheer comfort.
The new soft materials – which Secretlab refers to as NanoGen Hybrid Leatherette and NanoFoam Composite – are legitimately excellent and make for an extremely comfortable chair. The former is an exceptionally soft leatherette that’s a joy to touch, and a material that Secretlab claims is its toughest and plushest yet, offering enhanced stain resistance. latter is a supportive yet delightfully comfortable composite that feels like it has memory foam qualities when you lean back into it. Overall, it does make for some of the comfiest chair materials I’ve experienced in years.
As comfortable as these new materials are – and they really are, don’t get me wrong – I don’t think they’re so good that a regular Titan Evo would feel uncomfortable comparatively. The reality is that a regular Titan Evo is still going to be a great gaming chair, provide excellent support and comfort, and come in a chunk cheaper. This is the NanoGen’s biggest challenge; to justify the jump in cost and convince most people to get it.
More generally, though, as a premium chair, the price is still quite aggressive in the face of the competition. With the likes of the Herman Miller x Logitech Embody and the Razer Fujin Pro coming in substantially more expensive.
Aside from the materials and price tag, the NanoGen shares almost everything else with the now well-established Titan Evo line – everything that makes that chair our pick for the best gaming chair money can buy. From an easy-as-pie construction to a robust and weighty build, plus a host of support- and comfort-enhancing features like excellent armrests and a robust set of adjustability options to a slick and chic finish to every part, the NanoGen Edition channels everything great about the Titan Evo under its new hood.
As a result, all in, the NanoGen largely justifies the price tag and its position as one of the most comfortable gaming chairs. It’s a superb chair and the new materials are not just gimmicks – they make a wonderful difference in terms of comfort and support.
Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition: Price and availability
- List price: R size: $799 / £669 / AU$1,099; XL size: $849 / £719 / AU$1,199
- Available in Pure White and Pure Black only
- Available in US, CA, EU, AU, NZ, SG, MY; coming soon to the UK
Coming in at the above prices, this new Titan Evo does come in notably higher than other models adding $250 / £200 over a regular Titan Evo size, and a jump of $200 / £180 for the XL size.
Whether the materials alone are worth this extra investment will likely depend on your preferences, needs, and budget. However, even at this early part of my review, I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the NanoGen Edition makes the other Titan Evo chairs obsolete or ‘uncomfortable’ by comparison at all. As a result, this new edition has its work cut out for it to really warrant and justify the higher price tag.
However, this still comes in much cheaper than the likes of the Herman Miller x Logitech Embody and the Razer Fujin Pro and offers that trademark Secretlab premium gaming chair feel and experience.
In turn, the NanoGen Edition is still much more expensive than the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL, a spacious chair that could provide some stern value-based competition.
Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition: Specs
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition |
| Price | R size: $799 / £669 / AU$1,099; XL size: $849 / £719 / AU$1,199 |
| Max user weight | 396lb / 180kg (XL) |
| Min seat height | 16.5in / 41.9cm (XL) |
| Seat width | 22.8in / 58cm (XL; inc. sides) |
| Recline angle | 165 degrees |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Material | NanoGen Hybrid Leatherette (finish), NanoFoam Composite (seat and back) |
Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition: Design and aesthetics
- White look is very chic
- Signature Secretlab design and build quality
- An equally office-friendly aesthetic
At a glance, the NanoGen Edition looks identical to a Titan Evo chair. The chair has a simple, restrained, and chic look in the white finish sent to us for review, and I can imagine the black chair looking equally as slick and perhaps even more office-friendly than the white.
There are no wild flourishes adorning the all-white finish on our chair and it’s a symphony in clean white leatherette material. However, the slight chink in this is the inclusion of a grey armrest and headrest, which are soft and comfortable, but next to the white of the rest of the chair have an almost dirty look. It’s not a huge detractor by any means but something that’s noticeable given that ultra-clean finish elsewhere.
The overall design is straight from the Titan Evo line too, so with that in mind, the build quality and feature set are excellent. It is so well built and robust that you can have serious confidence in this, no matter your seating preference or how aggressively you might shoot about your space.
The fabulous castors are as smooth as ever, on the wide wheelbase that provides excellent stability given its (quite large) footprint. The armrests are also a delight. The NanoGen Edition chair features Secretlab’s PlushCell Memory Foam Armrest Tops on its all-new heavy-duty full metal 4D armests, both of which are superb.
There are so many customization options with the armrests themselves – which also offer a great range of adjustment, 50% more than previous iterations – that I’m still tinkering to get the perfect setup weeks into testing. They are sturdy as heck too, while the armrest tops are wonderfully comfortable, swallowing up your elbows in soft cushioned goodness.
The magnetic fixing of the armrest top means you can swap out to another material too should you wish at another time adding further customizability. The only other way it could get even more customizable would be to attach the new Secretlab Ergonomic Recliner.
Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition: Comfort and adjustability
- Wonderfully soft materials
- New foam is extremely comfortable
- Plenty of adjustability
In short, the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition is one of the comfiest chairs I’ve sat on. The new NanoFoam within the chair and the NanoGen Leatherette material that finishes it combined with the brilliant design, build, proportions, and frame of a Titan Evo make one seriously comfy chair.
Sinking into the seat or back and being embraced by the NanoFoam finished in that super-soft new leatherette is really something – and also offers something different to the Secretlab Titan Evo SoftWeave chairs. I’m looking forward to it remaining my go-to daily driver when I’m in the office, but it won’t quite displace the Herman Miller Embody I have at home.
The NanoGen Edition shares the majority of its adjustability options with the wider Titan Evo line so if you’re familiar with those chairs at all, then you’ll be right at home with this one too. Given that I’m used to a shorter chair in the Embody, I have found that if you’re a sloucher or someone who doesn’t totally sit right back into their chair, you’ll need to get used to that – there’s no use to the chair unless you actually lean and sit into it after all.
Working from the ground up, underneath are the usual levers for seat height adjustment and tilt adjustment. On the seat itself, you have a lever for the back recline (which can go all the way to…), on the side, there’s the wheel for the built-in lumbar support (a joy to have), and then there are the armrests.
I have found these to be a particular highlight; as someone who leans a lot on their elbows, the memory foam material was extremely comfy straight away, but the excellent range of adjustability means you won’t be short of different positions for support either. Finishing it off, the magnetic cushion for your head is a soft delight too, but you can remove it if you prefer.
As we know from the brand, it’s all supremely easy to adjust – though you may find yourself tinkering for weeks, like me, chasing that perfect setup.
Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition: Assembly
- Takes around 30-45 minutes solo
- All tools provided
- Magnetic parts make it easy
Unlike other premium chairs, such as those from Herman Miller which can roll straight out of the box ready to go, the Secretlab NanoGen Edition does require some construction. Coming neatly and securely flat packed, my XL version was a bit weighty in its box but I could easily slide it around our office carpet on my own to get it in position.
The actual construction of the chair doesn’t take long at all, even on one’s own with an XL size. There are essentially only three parts to it – the wheelbase, the seat, and the back – which makes it easy to process which parts slot into others. My time was about 30 minutes all in (maybe 45 if you count some checking of the instructions), though if you’ve built a Secretlab chair before, expect your time to be lower.
The large-scale instructions on the box are easy to follow and consist of only a few steps, with some minor ‘sub-steps’. You also get all the tools included in the box which is excellent. Magnetic armrests and covers to hide screws are then the icing on the cake and make finishing the chair’s build easy as pie.
The screws are easy to attach and tighten even for someone with small slightly-different hands like mine, and the only time I really found it awkward was when aligning the backrest to the seat. Otherwise, there’s no awkward alignment for bits or the need for a flashlight, and it’s eminently doable on your own – plus you get to squeeze and caress that exquisite material up close all the while.
Should you buy the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider…
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition | Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 | Row 0 – Cell 3 |
| Price | R size: $799 / £669 / AU$1,099; XL size: $849 / £719 / AU$1,199 | R size: $549 / £469 / AU$799; XL size: $599 / £539 / AU899 | $469 / £499.99 / AU$699 |
| Max user weight | 396lb / 180kg (XL) | 396lb / 180kg (XL) | 395lb / 180kg |
| Min seat height | 16.5in / 41.9cm (XL) | 16.5in / 41.9cm (XL) | 15.5in / 44.5cm |
| Seat width | 22.8in / 58cm (XL; inc. sides) | 22.8in / 58cm (XL; inc. sides) | 21in / 53.5cm |
| Recline angle | 165 degrees | 165 degrees | 165 degrees |
| Warranty | 5 years | 5 years | 2 years |
| Material | NanoGen Hybrid Leatherette (finish), NanoFoam Composite (seat and back) | NEO Hybrid Leatherette, SoftWeave Plus Fabric, MicroSuede (special editions) | PVC leather or linen fabric |
If you’re still not convinced by the NanoGen Edition, then these two other chairs could be worth considering.
How I tested the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition
- Tested over the course of multiple weeks
- Compared to other gaming chairs from the likes of Herman Miller
- Tested in all positions
I tested the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition by deploying it as my go-to, daily office chair, and used it over the course of four weeks.
I used it for long stretches of work and also some handheld gaming, and gave each feature and element of the chair a thorough testing in all seating positions, from leaning back, to cross-legged, and everything in between.
Fortunately, I was also able to directly compare it against other chairs we have in the office, notably a Herman Miller Aeron which is currently being reviewed too.
First reviewed October 2024
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MQjjC3nGFafMBD7fgYQYSQ-1200-80.jpg
Source link
rob.dwiar@futurenet.com (Rob Dwiar)
