Secret Labs vs Noble Chair

teckguru · 12 Jun 2019 at 18:18

I need to upgrade my 15+ yr old desk chair I got in High school.

I'm looking at the Secretlab Titan and the Noblechairs Hero. I wanted to get the opinions of anyone who has one of these chairs and figured PCMR would be the place to go. For the Hero I'm looking at the PU leather and for the Titan I'm considering either the PU leather or the fabric.

Zefan · 12 Jun 2019 at 18:42

I can't speak for the Hero, but my Icon has been very good over the last 18 months. As I understand it, they use quite a few of the same parts, but have a different philosophy on comfort. In my reading, secretlabs seem to err on the side of comfort, which means some users report being able to feel the chassis after a while as the comparatively soft padding gets softer, and there have been reports of the PU leather outer coating suffering from fatigue and coming away, I assume as it's being stretched more on account of the extra softness. Noblechairs - or, at least, the Icon - have a different perspective, erring on the side of firmness. This means it definitely isn't a relaxing sort of melting in to the chair experience, but more like a big, supportive slab. Not hard, just not "actively" comfortable, for want of a better phrase. After owning the Icon for 18 months I'm thinking of getting a Hero as an upgrade (I could do with an extra chair anyway), and am interested to see what it has to offer aside from just being larger. I prefer the aesthetic as well, I think I would have picked it if it was available when I got the Icon!

teckguru · 12 Jun 2019 at 18:50

Zefan said:
I can't speak for the Hero, but my Icon has been very good over the last 18 months. As I understand it, they use quite a few of the same parts, but have a different philosophy on comfort. In my reading, secretlabs seem to err on the side of comfort, which means some users report being able to feel the chassis after a while as the comparatively soft padding gets softer, and there have been reports of the PU leather outer coating suffering from fatigue and coming away, I assume as it's being stretched more on account of the extra softness. Noblechairs - or, at least, the Icon - have a different perspective, erring on the side of firmness. This means it definitely isn't a relaxing sort of melting in to the chair experience, but more like a big, supportive slab. Not hard, just not "actively" comfortable, for want of a better phrase. After owning the Icon for 18 months I'm thinking of getting a Hero as an upgrade (I could do with an extra chair anyway), and am interested to see what it has to offer aside from just being larger. I prefer the aesthetic as well, I think I would have picked it if it was available when I got the Icon!

WHAT you mean when you say that secretlabs seem to err on the side of comfort, which means some users report being able to feel the chassis after a while as the comparatively soft padding gets softer, and there have been reports of the PU leather outer coating suffering from fatigue and coming away, ??

secretlabs arent very comfotable and relaxing chairs? for the back and the rest of the body?

Davefran · 29 Jun 2019 at 20:07

Taken from an independent review site

Best gaming chair 2019: the best PC gaming chairs

1. Secretlab Titan
2. noblechairs Epic Real Leather
3. Autonomous ErgoChair 2
4. Secretlab Omega
5. Respawn-300
6. Corsair T2 Road Warrior
7. noblechairs Icon gaming chair
8. Edge GX1
9. Vertagear Gaming Series Triigger 350 Special Edition
10. Nitro Concepts C80 Pure Series

styuR · 16 Jul 2019 at 13:41

This has been a tough one for me, I really like the idea of the fabric Titan but I hate the look of it, the Hero just seems to be a bit more sturdily built as well, the price difference is negligible and it's a really difficult decision. Been wrestling with this one for a couple weeks now.

ChugNorris · 16 Jul 2019 at 14:48

styuR said:
This has been a tough one for me, I really like the idea of the fabric Titan but I hate the look of it, the Hero just seems to be a bit more sturdily built as well, the price difference is negligible and it's a really difficult decision. Been wrestling with this one for a couple weeks now.

If it makes a difference let me know which you are looking at on the HERO and I'll see if there is any wiggle room

styuR · 16 Jul 2019 at 15:10

ChugNorris said:
If it makes a difference let me know which you are looking at on the HERO and I'll see if there is any wiggle room

It's the PU leather black HERO that I'm looking at, split between that, the fabric Titan and a refurbed Herman Miller Aeron, though I use that at work so will probably give the Aeron a miss.

ChugNorris · 16 Jul 2019 at 17:05

We can do £30 off that if you call in and point the rep to this thread

styuR · 17 Jul 2019 at 10:38

ChugNorris said:
We can do £30 off that if you call in and point the rep to this thread

Thanks! I'll do that today.

styuR · 23 Jul 2019 at 14:43

ChugNorris said:
We can do £30 off that if you call in and point the rep to this thread

Really enjoying the Hero, absolutely no regrets, cheers for helping out with the purchase.

ChugNorris · 24 Jul 2019 at 10:51

styuR said:
Really enjoying the Hero, absolutely no regrets, cheers for helping out with the purchase.

No problem, excellent choice, my favourite of all the noblechairs!

bazzabear · 24 Jul 2019 at 11:07

Do Overclockers generally have many of the chairs they sell built and viewable at the shop?

ChugNorris · 24 Jul 2019 at 16:22

bazzabear said:
Do Overclockers generally have many of the chairs they sell built and viewable at the shop?

We generally have the full range of noblechairs and Nitro Concepts on display. Just make sure to check with the sales team beforehand as occasionally they are loaned out for events (such as this weekend).

bazzabear · 24 Jul 2019 at 20:39

Cheers. I have to persevere with my current chair until it's obviously done in (because it was a pressie from the missus). But once it is (and given it's started spontaneously lowering itself, that might not be long) I think I might take the plunge and get something with a bit of quality about it. Thinking of the Cognac real leather Noble - But droipping that much on it, I'd really like a sit in it first! Previous chairs I've got on with have been deep executive types, and I'm worried I'll struggle to adjust.

styuR · 25 Jul 2019 at 16:01

bazzabear said:
Cheers. I have to persevere with my current chair until it's obviously done in (because it was a pressie from the missus). But once it is (and given it's started spontaneously lowering itself, that might not be long) I think I might take the plunge and get something with a bit of quality about it. Thinking of the Cognac real leather Noble - But droipping that much on it, I'd really like a sit in it first! Previous chairs I've got on with have been deep executive types, and I'm worried I'll struggle to adjust.

One of the main reasons I ended up going with the Hero was because of the 30 day return, not really anywhere that I'd be able to try the seats up in Scotland so just took the gamble. Secretlabs have a restocking fee etc. which is a real pain.

bazzabear · 25 Jul 2019 at 16:52

I hadn't even spotted that. Is it true when bought through OC?

Read further myself and found out it is - for anyone else reading the thread.

Cita8 · 8 Aug 2019 at 11:40

Ignore please, new thread created

MarkA · 11 Sep 2019 at 16:40

Hi guys,

How's your Hero settling in? Does it feel softer after awhile?
I've had mine for a day so far, wondering how long it takes for it to feel a bit softer on the cheeks

parmaviolet · 17 Sep 2019 at 14:53

styuR said:
One of the main reasons I ended up going with the Hero was because of the 30 day return, not really anywhere that I'd be able to try the seats up in Scotland so just took the gamble. Secretlabs have a restocking fee etc. which is a real pain.

Just wanted to point out that this is not listed in their return policy (assuming it was previously). If it was however, it would be unlawful and unenforceable according to the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/34/made). For a remote sale like an online purchase you have 14 days to cancel the contract from the point it's received. The buyer is expected to pay all associated shipping costs which they will be entitled to reimbursement for (less any extra costs they paid for a more expensive form of postage) and should receive this along with their full refund.

I've ordered a Titan which I hope I will like. However, I really like the look of the Hero so I'm strongly considering returning the Titan if unsuitable and ordering the Hero instead. If I do, I'll post an update ITT later about how I got on with the return process.

Vidar · 17 Sep 2019 at 16:49

I love my Hero, being 6ft8 and on the top end of it's user weight, I can confirm its not the most comfortable of seats on the old bottom but that's the only thing that can be said against it and I'm sure will soften up from use over time. I have zero regrets.