Secret Lab is a company that began in 2014 with a mission to build the best gaming chair in the industry. Despite the already saturated market and fierce competition, Secret Lab decided to launch their first line of gaming chairs in 2015. They're now distributing in over 40 countries giving gamers everywhere the competitive advantage of being able to stay in the game longer more comfortably. Their current product line consist of the THRONE, OMEGA, TITAN and Neue series.We received the Secretlab Titan in Charcoal Blue Softwave Fabric for this review. The Titan is currently considered the largest chair available from Secret lab. It comes with a load of features you'd expect from a $400+ gaming chair in addition to being able to support up to 290lbs, which should be plenty for anyone between 6'0 - 6'4. The Titan comes with three different upholstery options, each at different prices. You can get the Pu leather at $399, Softwave fabric for $429, and premium Napa leather for $949. With the Pu leather option, you also get to choose between six different color options. With the Softweave fabric, you only get two color options. And the Napa leather only comes with one color scheme.

Assembly

 Branded packagingThe Titan comes in a large black box with their logos and branding on all sides. This was a surprise for me since a lot of other gaming chairs we have at the office typically comes in a cheap looking cardboard box deprived of any kind of branding or color. They could've easily gotten away with just a regular cheap cardboard box, but they chose not to go the frugal route, given you just paid $500 for it. Opening it for the first time, you definitely felt like you were opening something premium.Clear instructionsForget those generic thick manuals that contain 90 pages of instructions in every language known to man, and only one page of English instructions that you have to dig to find. Secret lab knew we hated that and decided to do things a little differently. As soon as you open the box, you're greeted with a large sheet with the assembly instructions and warranty information. The instructions are visually pleasing, easy to understand, and laid out in a way that you only need visual cues to put the whole thing together.Intelligently packaged and systematically orderedEverything was intelligently laid out layer by layer. You can tell a lot of thought went into organizing everything this way. The layers coincide with the instructions, so you don't need to lay everything out on the floor and then struggle to find any part. Secret lab definitely nails down the user experience right from the get-go. No one in our office has much experience putting chairs together, yet it only took one of our writer about 10 minutes to put the entire thing himself. The online video was a nice touch, however it wasn't needed in our build thanks to the clear instructions and intuitive layering system they have going on.Pre-assembled nuts. Why isn't everyone doing this?!All the tools are included in the box, so you don't need anything extra. They even went ahead and put all the rings and washers onto the nuts so you only need to screw them on. We wish more manufacturers would take the time to do these little things. Sometimes manufacturers forget no one wants to spent an hour struggling to put together a product they paid $500 for. They just want to assemble it as quickly as possible, and get back to gaming. Secret lab understands that.Complaints with assemblyAs easy as everything was, there are a few small complaints that we had. The one thing you need to be careful of is the mechanical lever for releasing the backrest. There is an obvious warning tag that lets you know NOT to touch it until it's fully assembled. We pressed it by accident because the label was stuck between the cushion and it fired like a gun.The second complaint is the side pieces. They're really just for aesthetic purposes, but they're ridiculously difficult to screw on because you have to "align" the holes while applying pressure.Fully assembled!After 10 - 15 minutes, everything was fully assembled.

Looks And Feel

Aesthetically, it's one of the most well designed gaming chair money can buy right now. We appreciated the simple and elegant styling instead of the over-the-top RGB that some chairs come with. It definitely carries a more mature look, making it suitable for home or office use. This is a chair was built for hard-core gamers and it can also be put in an office without looking out of place.The Cold Cure Foam is firm and supportive. It's not as cushiony or soft as you'd expect when you first sit on it. And that's because it's meant to provide the needed support and comfort without compromising your focus while gaming. The chair is big and hugs you as you sit in it. There's plenty of adjustments to play around here. The arm-rest can be adjusted up/down and forward/backward. There's a nice lumbar adjustment knob on the side. On the side, there's also a lever that enables you to recline the backrest as much as 165 degrees.

Build Quality & Adjustments

Sitting down in the Titan for the first time, you could easily tell it's a premium chair made of the highest quality parts. There's no squeaking or strange noises as you're adjusting and moving around. Everything just felt solid - the way it should be. The multi-functional tilt system works flawlessly as it should. The 4D arm-rest adjustments are easy to control. And the larger than normal XL wheels are silky smooth when attempting to roll around.

Real Life Performance Test

We put the Titan to the test by having our in-house writer, whom also happens to be a Fortnite/Apex gamer, test it out for a week. The typical gaming session is around 2-3 hours on a weekday. And on weekends, his gaming sessions on Apex hovers anywhere from 5 - 6 hours. After an entire week of shooting and looting on the Titan, our tester absolutely loved the chair. The firmness took a while to get used to, but it's only during the extended weekend sessions that you really notice the difference. The chair isn't noticeable. It provides support and keeps you in place. You don't slide around, it doesn't make a sound, it doesn't bother you, and there's nothing about it that would make you even think about it. And that's the hallmark of a great gaming chair. One that simply does it's job and keeps the gamer hyper focused and comfortable.

Verdict

It can be challenging to justify $500 on a gaming chair. It might just be one of the most, if not the most, expensive equipment besides your PC rig. But if you're a serious gamer who spends 20 - 30 hours a week gaming, having a chair that doesn't compromise your posture, health, and gaming experience can be invaluable. Overall, the Titan (any version) is one of the best gaming chair available today and at $500 ($429 if on sale) it's worth every penny.