Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 Review: What to Know

Better late than never: 2022 might slowly be coming to an end, but the time has come for us to review the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022. A gaming chair touted to be the chosen one for this year; and yet another round of groundbreaking innovation from Secretlab.

Is this true or are you being drenched in the waves of pure marketing hype?

Owing to our objectivity, the small but knowledgeable UGC team will guide you through so you can find out for yourself.

Personally, we really liked the Titan Evo 2022. It’s not the perfect chair (then again, which is?), but we believe it’s an improvement over the Titan 2020 in some fundamental aspects. If we were to give it a score, it’d be 4.5/5 compared to how the Titan could've been improved, or 4.7/5 in the context of the broader market.

Important preface: We received a test unit from Secretlab to conduct this review. Many thanks to the company for providing the opportunity; in no way does this undermine our objective take on the Titan Evo 2022.

The model we received is a Regular-sized SoftWeave® Plus in Black. We tested it for two weeks because we’ve found out this is the usual ‘break in’ period for a gaming chair.

The truth is, Secretlab is still the name of the game. The Titan Evo 2022 is yet another product where the brand transcends the limitations of 'pure' gaming chairs and goes for a curious hybrid: a gaming chair with office chair level ergonomics and modular adjustability.

Feel free to navigate our Table of Contents if you’re curious about specific segment of the review. The review will be written by Xander, our Editor-in-Chief.

Quick notes:
How Titan Evo 2022 differs from Titan & Omega

The UGC team has used Secretlab chairs before – both the 2018 versions of their lineup, and the 2020 updated models.

In terms of overall durability (aluminum base for no wobbling or questionable longevity); overall adjustability (4D armrests which you can move in any direction; 165-degree recline and fantastic height adjustment levels), the Evo exhibits your standard Secretlab perks. Much like its predecessors, in fact.

The new Titan Evo 2022 combines the smaller-sized Omega with the flagship Titan. As such, there are bound to be differences. One of them concerns the height and weight dimensions:

There are also five improvements we consider as ‘core’:

• Improved seat base
• More adjustable lumbar support
• Magnetic head pillow
• Magnetic armrests
• Improved chair fabric

More on them throughout the review, so let’s get to it.

Arrival and assembly

In all fairness, picking up the Secretlab box will be harder than the assembly itself. I needed my UGC colleague, Steven, to help me out when the Titan Evo 2022 arrived.

That’s one heavy box, I’m telling you. The box weighted around 80 pounds (36.5kg) and the rectangular shape makes it a bit hard to carry only by yourself. After we picked the Titan Evo, we started unpacking.

One of the things we’ve always loved with Secretlab chairs is the careful attention to every little detail. The parts of the chair come packaged separately, guaranteeing they stay intact.

To help you out with assembly, Secretlab once again has included accessories such as screwdriver and allen keys. They’re actually good quality; I kept the screwdriver for home DIY tasks.

The assembly should take you no more than 30 minutes, even if you’re a beginner. Two people can get the chair running as quick as 15-20 minutes.

You have a huge sheet with all the needed instruction, carefully explained step by step. In case you feel stuck, there are plenty of YouTube videos anyways.

What we liked about the Titan Evo 2022

As I noted previously, we tested the chair over a 2-week period. Some people complain about Secretlab chairs being too hard and uncomfortable.

I acknowledge that tastes differ, but I’ve also seen way too many people who expect chairs to feel ‘right’ from the get go. The Titan Evo 2022, much like the Titan 2020, takes some time to mold to your body. In a way, it’s similar to buying new shoes and breaking them in.

After the break in period passed, me and the UGC team evaluated what we liked about the Titan Evo 2022, compared with the older generation of 2020 Secretlab gaming chairs.

The improved seat base

In my opinion, this is an underrated perk of the new Titan Evo 2022. The new seat base, much like the chair, blends the Secretlab Omega and Titan approaches into one. Instead of a leveled seat base or a snug fit design, you get this:

As you can see, it’s like a Titan 2020 seat with slight ridges (the Omega factor). This design still allows me to sit cross-legged if I want, but also gives contours to my seating area. The ridges aren’t too prominent to dig into my hamstrings.

I'd go as far as to say that this is the best seat base design among all gaming chairs on the current market. The flat seat bases you usually see are suboptimal if you're playing games for longer periods of time.

The improved base here has me sitting for 10ish hours with no sore feeling whatsoever. Just remember to stand up, stretch, and let that blood flow circulate every hour or so.

The improved lumbar support

If there’s anything I hate using, it’s lumbar support cushions. They feel awkward way too often, they can slip away, it’s a gaming chair design I’m not too fond of.

In this sense, the fact that Secretlab’s Titan Evo 2022 has put the support inside the chair itself and made it a 4-way feature instantly makes it a winner to me.

The Titan 2020 had only a 2-way lumbar support (closer or further); with the Titan Evo 2022 you can adjust the lumbar support and move it along the chair’s back using an extra knob on the side.

Once again, this is peak gaming chair innovation which you won't see anywhere else. Kudos to the Secretlab team for devising this. I've enjoyed it a lot.

The magnetic pillow (kind of)

Much like the lumbar support, a no-strap pillow is a lifesaver. Contrary to (maybe) most people, I really like having a pillow to hold my head even when I’m not leaning back into the chair.

Secretlab pillows have proven to be a great balance between comfy and firm, with a surprising longevity thrown in too. There's a plush, supportive feeling to resting your head on them.

Why ‘kinda’? More on that in the next section.

The Softweave® Plus fabric

I think this one is highly personal. Steven didn’t notice much tangible improvement in terms of how the fabric feels compared to the older Titan fabric.

Secretlab might mention it’s stretchier, more textured, higher end etc: Steven said it doesn’t make much difference to him.

To me, though, the chair felt somewhat right with the improved Softweave® Plus. Not softer, or more comfortable, or anything – just a more secure, stronger feeling that you’re sitting on a durable, slightly bouncier fabric.

It’s hard to explain it, but I felt the difference – and I liked it.

In any case, this fabric is way tougher than your usual gaming chair meshes or perforated designs. Even on the older Titan, the UGC team hasn't seen deterioration over 2+ years. I expect this to be the case with the Titan Evo 2022 too. I can't comment on the upgraded PU leather design, as the test unit we received is Softweave® Plus.

What we felt the Titan Evo 2022 could improve on

Much like any product we use on a daily basis, the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 does have some shortcomings. Whether they’re a deal-breaker or not depends on the person; to us they were minor annoyances we could live with. They are, however, a reason why we subtracted some points off the otherwise high final score.

The magnetic armrests

I think this has been the main complaint for the Titan Evo 2022. Personally, it didn’t make too much of an impression on me, but the other members were driven crazy.

The armrests rattle a bit. It’s not fixable, so either you take it as it is, or you don't.

The reason for this rattling isn’t a manufacturing defect; it’s by design. On top of their usual adjustability, Secretlab moved on to an easy-to-change magnetic design on the tops.

So now you not only have incredibly flexible armrests, but they’re also very easy to swap out and maintain.

In such cases, it’s hard to also have a rigid, stable feel. You sacrifice this ease of use and maintenance for some rattling action.

I got used to that, but I can also see why some people have been disappointed with this updated approach to armrests.

The magnetic pillow (again, kind of)

As I pointed out, the magnetic approach to Secretlab’s wonderful memory foam pillow is legendary.

However, it can also be irritating to deal with at times. The built-in magnetic plate (or strip?) obviously has a limit. From our testing, we found this limit to be at the top half of the letter ‘T’ on the backrest:

Anything below that, and the pillow simply falls down. I’ve had the pillow drop numerous times if I weren’t careful with the adjusting position.

Obviously, I’m not the engineer behind this chair, but I can guess why this happens. Perhaps the position where the strip ends coincides with the end of the lumbar support adjustment levels?

And a small nitpick, but the memory foam pillow is marketed to be supplemented by a cooling gel agent inside. Even in a hotter environment, I didn’t feel much of it. The good news is that the pillow casing is breathable by itself, so I wasn’t uncomfortable in any way.

Complaints by others we feel are unjustified

There are exactly two things I’ve seen people complain about with the Titan Evo 2022. Come to think of it, similar complaints were targeted at the previous iterations of the Titan or Omega.

First, the backrest being too hard and uncomfortable.

Newsflash: a soft, squishy backrest is nothing less than awful for your posture. The Titan Evo 2022 has a firm backrest, because this is how it should be.

Your back receives proper support and I can assure you that if you come from a squishier chair, you’ll find yourself improving your sitting posture in a few weeks.

Second, the factor I discussed earlier in the article. Give it some time.

Secretlab chairs can feel uncomfortable in the beginning. Let’s be real, though.

Do you need time to adjust your body to your new mattress? Your feet to your new shoes?

I bet you do. I needed four weeks to start feeling my new mattress working properly for my body, for example. My new leather shoes wounded my feet for three weeks straight too.

There are break in periods for products like these, and Secretlab chairs are not the exception. This doesn't mean a lack of quality; on the contrary, the most quality products I've had in my life have all needed an adjustment period.

Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 or Titan 2020?

A logical question would be:

So, do I get the Titan Evo 2022 or can I do just fine with the older Titan 2020?

My answer would be:

It depends on what you value in a gaming chair.

For me, the seat base improvement and non-intrusiveness of lumbar pillows, straps etc. are worth it. I really like how the improved fabric feels too.

If you don’t value things like these? Probably stick to the older Titan.

In fact, with the Titan 2020 being much cheaper right now that the Titan Evo 2022 is out, it’s a total bargain to get one.

For existing Titan chair users, if your Titan isn't one of the older versions (like a 2018), it isn't really worth it to upgrade just for the sake it.