Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen edition review: looks as good as it feels

Secretlab gaming chairs appeal to more than just back room gamers. Its Titan Evo range has topped our best gaming chairs guide since it was first announced in 2021. This new model is still a version of that award winning chair, but comes with new material and padding, plus an exclusive colour.

The Sectretlab Titan Evo NanoGen has been specially designed to offer both comfort and durability. This it claims to have achieved through the use of a new hybrid leatherette fabric and a special NanoFoam. While I loved the more affordable Secretlab Titan Evo Lite chair earlier this year, I did find it a little hard. The NanoGen has a solution for that to make sitting for long gaming sessions – or work Teams sessions – that much more comfortable.

T3 was given early access to the chair ahead of its launch and I have been putting it through its paces for the last few weeks. Not only is this a great looking chair, which most of the team are trying to steal, it also feels great to sit in. Could this be another winner?

How much is the Titan Evo NanoGen?

This new NanoGen edition is available from the Secretlab website and comes in two colours, a Pure Black and a Pure White. The regular sized model is priced at £669 / $799 and the extra large is £719 / $849. This is quite a jump from £469 / $549 (£539 / $549 for the XL) the standard Neo Leatherette finish that the Titan Evo comes in, though still considerably cheaper than the £819 / $999 Nappa leather option that this finish compares to.

If you are already looking at the special editions, such as the Game of Thrones, League of Legends or DC chairs, it’s less of a bump, but still a significant one. Secretlab chairs have never been about a budget option though – and this is designed to be a premium edition. There’s always the Titan Evo Lite if you’re looking for something more affordable, but rest-assured, you’re not just paying for a name here. This is an extremely well built chair.

What's new on the Titan Evo NanoGen?

So what makes the Titan Evo NanoGen so special? First let’s look at the hybrid leatherette finish. This is designed to be 14x more durable than regular polyurethane leather, or leatherette. It offers advanced UV resistance, to keep it’s colour, even in direct sunlight, improved stain resistance and greater strength and abrasion resistance, so it won’t easily tear or mark from loose zips on your clothing.

Despite all of this toughness, the fabric feels incredibly soft. It’s a lot more like a leather finish than other leatherette fabrics I’ve tried. Like the Nappa leather, it has a very tactile nature to it, both to touch and to sit on.

The NanoFoam gives the chair its comfort. This is a proprietary mix of medium-firm cold-cure foam with a soft and lightweight microfoam top. Much like a memory foam mattress, this dual layer approach is designed to give you the soft feeling as you move around but the harder foam for the support.

To add to the comfort, this NanoGen model uses PlushCell memory foam on the tops of the armrests. While this is now an added extra for all Titan Evo chairs (for £65), it comes as standard on this model. It also comes with the signature Secretlab memory foam head pillow, which attaches magnetically to the chair.

As with the other Titan Evo models, the wheel base is made from an aluminium alloy for extra durability and there’s a Class 4 hydraulic gas piston to adjust the height. There’s built-in four-way lumber support, four-directional armrests (forward/back, in/out), and 85 to 165-degree tilt to ensure the most comfortable sitting position.

The Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen is also compatible with the new Ergonomic Recliner Add-on accessory to create a fully supported reclining chair.

Installation

It can always seem a little daunting to have to build your gaming chair yourself, but Secretlab makes the process incredibly clear and easy. In the box you’ll find a giant instruction card with large images that describe how the chair fits together, and all the tools are in the box too.

It even comes with a protective mat to place on your floor, to protect your floor from scratches while you install. There are essentially four main parts to the chair, and putting them all together takes less than 15 minutes. The back slots into the seat of the chair, the tilt mechanism attaches to the bottom of the seat, the wheels and piston slot into the wheel base and then the rest of the chair sits easily on top.

The different elements are pretty heavy, so it can be handy to have someone help you to position the various parts. However, I put this one together myself and had no trouble securing the screws to hold it all in place and then standing the chair up.

The finished chair weights nearly 35kg (76lbs), so you’ll want to put it together somewhere close to where you plan to use it – or at least be able to wheel it into position. This is not a chair you’ll want to carry up and down the stairs.

Using the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen

Having sat in a Secretlab chair at home for the last few years, I knew what to expect in terms build and comfort. However, there are some key differences with this NanoGen edition.

Firstly, there’s how it looks. The Pure White edition is completely white – unlike the previous white Secretlab chairs that still feature a black base and arms. Every section of this chair is finished in white, even down to the tilt mechanism underneath, the adjustment handles and dials and even the wheels.

The head pillow and memory foam arms are actually a light grey, but these are areas that are more likely to show up any dirt, so it’s probably for the best. The overall effect of this pure white chair is quite stunning. It gives it a real premium edge that makes this chair feel more like a luxury piece of furniture than a gaming accessory.

It’s the kind of chair you could happily have in a modern office or an open plan living room. I suspect the Pure Black edition commands an equally classy effect, though this white model feels a bit more special.

Then there’s the comfort. I have found some of the newer leatherette finishes on Secretlab chairs (like the Evo Lite) to feel a little hard. Though once you’ve sat on them for sometime, they are comfortable and supportive, that first time you plonk yourself onto it felt a little jolting.

That’s not the case with the NanoGen edition. The dual layer foam and hybrid leatherette feels incredibly soft to sit on, from the second your rear hits the fabric. Does it feel as soft as leather? Maybe not quite, but it’s certainly a great alternative.

Personally, I still find the SoftWeave finishes to be the most comfortable on the Titan Evo chairs – they feel cosier to sit on, especially in the winter or against bare skin. However, as leatherettes go, the NanoGen is as good as they get.

Should I buy the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen?

Secretlab has found the perfect way to make a leatherette chair a premium option. The Titan Evo NanoGen not only looks stunning, it is incredibly comfortable and feels every bit the luxury gaming chair.

It almost feels reductive to call this a gaming chair, as it’s far more than that. So, if you’re looking for a great-looking, high quality and supportive chair for your home office or man cave, the Titan Evo NanoGen is a great choice.

It’s perfect for someone that wants their set up to look as good as feels. Think total colour coordination and matching accessories. Though even in a messy set up like my home office, it stands out as something special.

Also consider

If you’re not tied to the leatherette material, the Titan Evo SoftWeave Plus fabric chairs are well worth a look. Priced from just £499 / $569, it comes in eight colours including an all-black version and a white version.

The more affordable Titan Evo Lite chair also comes in Softweave Fabric for £419 / $469. Aside from the plastic base (glass-filed nylon) as opposed to aluminium and reduced lumbar support, it’s a very similar chair to the regular Evo models – if more solid to sit on.