A new squishy gaming chair option

The Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition is a new option in the company’s Titan Evo 2022 range, which gets you slightly softer padding for the seat and back, and includes the company’s softer PlushCell armrest tops. A new leatherette finish is also included, which is a touch tougher than before, allowing Secretlab to offer an all-white version of this chair that it claims won’t yellow with age. The result is a generally squishier, slightly more comfortable gaming chair, though it’s not a night and day difference.

With the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 already our pick for the best gaming chair overall, it’s no surprise the new NanoGen Edition is similarly impressive. For this review, we’ll concentrate on the differences this version of the chair makes compared to the standard chair, so if you’re looking for a fuller picture of its overall features, check out our Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 review.

Specs

Design and features

As mentioned above, we’ll leave the full rundown of the Titan Evo 2022’s features to our full review of that chair. To quickly summarise, though, it offers a tilt function, recline of up to 165 degrees, height adjustment, height and depth-adjustable lumbar support, “4D” armrests, and a magnetically attached headrest cushion.

It’s a combination that first and foremost offers great comfort and easy adjustability, as well as an effortless ability to tilt and recline into a really comfortable nap-time position – a capability bolstered by the fantastic Secretlab Recliner Add-On. Likewise, the magnetic head cushion is a revelation and a huge upgrade over the vast majority of other gaming chairs. With the chair also available in three different sizes, it fits a wide range of sitter sizes too.

The Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition, then, is all but identical to the standard chair, with just four core changes. These consist of it having new seat and back padding called NanoFoam, a change to the titular new NanoGen faux leather finish, the inclusion of the company’s softer PlushCell armrests, and extra armrest height adjustment.

Crucially, these new upgrades are only currently available in two versions of the chair: an all-white and an all-black finish. If you want any other colors, you’ll have to opt for the standard Titan Evo, though the armrest tops and headrest cushion can be swapped to other colors.

It’s good, then, that the all-white and all-black finishes look pretty slick. The Titan Evo 2022 isn’t the most elegant chair ever – it’s no Fractal Refine or Herman Miller Aeron – but the clean uniform-color look will fit in easily with the two most common overall gaming setup color schemes. However, note that the PlushCell armrests and head cushion actually have a slightly light gray color.

The new NanoGen leatherette finish is a touch softer in feel than the standard chair, but its main benefit is improved wear and discoloring resistance. The material consists of three layers, with a UV-resistant coating finish that’s bonded to the main leatherette layer, which is then set on top of a woven base layer.

The new top layer appears to be the main difference compared to the standard chair’s Neo Hybrid leatherette, with Secretlab claiming its new material is 14x tougher than “standard” PU leather, while the Neo Hybrid leatherette is 12x tougher than PU leather.

We’ve only had the chair for less than a month, so it’s too early to really tell how well or badly it will wear, but it has held up well so far. A couple of deliberate coffee and tea spills simply pooled on the surface of the leather and wiped away cleanly.

Comfort

Three of the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition’s four main upgrades are aimed at improving the overall comfort of this chair out of the box, and by and large they succeed, though the difference is subtler than you might expect.

Starting with the most important change, the NanoFoam padding on the seat and back provides a slightly softer top layer of foam, which gives you around half an inch (~1cm) of extra squish before the stiffer foam layer more firmly supports you. The extra squish is immediately noticeable, both when sitting on the chair and just when squeezing the surface with your fingers.

However, while the initial feel suggests the chair will be much more comfortable, I didn’t particularly find the long-term benefit to be all that significant, compared to the standard chair. In fact, these thick foam – rather than mesh – chairs inherently aren’t that breathable and the leatherette finish is even more prone to limit breathability. As such, the extra degree to which you sink into the foam made this chair feel even hotter than the standard model, requiring more regular moments of standing up for an airing. It’s a subtle difference, but it’s a small trade-off to the design.

Still, on balance I would still pick the slightly softer foam were it the same-price or slightly more expensive option. It’s just that I personally wouldn’t necessarily pay a large premium for it or recommend it as a massive long-term comfort upgrade. It’s more of a nice-to-have feature than an essential one.

As for the PlushCell armrests, these more often brought a meaningful day-to-day improvement. With elbows and forearm bones having quite such little natural padding, the extra squish of the softer PlushCell foam was really welcome. I’m a bit of a fidgeter, and will regularly adjust my sitting position or give my back a stretch while pushing against the armrests, and the extra padding is a genuine comfort upgrade.

That said, the plush fabric finish isn’t the most beneficial material in some ways. For a start, it’s not as spill and grot resistant, plus it grips your clothing and skin a lot more, so it can interrupt your mouse aim if your arm brushes against it regularly. A version of the standard smooth armrest finish, but with the softer foam, would be a real winner.

The final piece of the NanoGen Edition puzzle is the extra height adjustment for the armrests. They can drop lower and rise higher than before, increasing from an armrest top surface height (from the central top surface of the seat) of 8-13 inches (20-33cm). This compares to 9-11.5 inches (22-29cm) for the standard chair.

The height range change is an interesting one, as the really high maximum height isn’t really useful for any purpose, and the lower minimum height still isn’t enough to completely drop the armrests out the way below your desk. I prefer the latter setup on my Herman Miller Aeron chair when I’m gaming, so I can get as close as possible to my desk.

Price

Secretlab is charging quite a premium for this new NanoGen Edition chair. While the standard version of the chair costs $549 for the small and regular sizes, and $599 for the XL size, the NanoGen Edition price is $799 for small and regular chairs and $849 for the XL model. That makes them among the most expensive gaming chairs around. Some of that extra cost is taken up by the PlushCell armrests, which are a $79 upgrade anyway for the normal chair, though.

Alternatives

Secretlab Titan Evo 2022

Skip the premium NanoGen Edition and go for the standard version of the chair, and you still get a broadly very comfortable chair that has essentially all the same adjustability and upgrade options. It’s also available in a wider range of finishes, although the exotic patterns do cost more. For a $250 saving, though, the standard version is a fantastic choice.

Fractal Refine

If you’re looking for a gaming chair that has inherently slightly better core comfort and softer padding than the standard Titan Evo 2022, the Fractal Refine is a great choice. Its fabric or mesh seat options are very comfortable, with great lumbar support and seat contouring. It’s not as versatile as the Titan Evo, with a less capable recline function, but its raw sitting comfort is excellent, if you’re not too large or small a sitter – it’s only available in one size, although the seat base length is adjustable.

Verdict

The bones of the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition are fantastic, with it taking everything that’s great about the Titan Evo 2022 and adding just a little extra squishy comfort. The softer extra layer of seat padding could be just what some buyers have been desperately wanting, having found the standard chair’s padding a bit too firm. However, in my testing, I didn’t find the softer padding made a huge difference in all-day-sitting comfort.

Meanwhile, the tougher fabric is pleasant enough, but it only makes a subtle difference, and the extra armrest height adjustment is a niche add-on. The included, softer, PlushCell armrest tops, though, are very comfortable, although you can upgrade the standard Titan Evo with these armrests too.

All told, if the NanoGen Edition price added just an extra $100 for the softer padding, we could see some buyers being won over by the extra bit of softness. However, it’s a tough sell as a whole package that costs $250 more than the standard chair.

To complete your gaming room setup, read our Secretlab Magnus Pro review, which is currently also our pick for the best gaming desk you can buy.