Should you buy a Secretlab gaming chair this Black Friday? It's a question you're bound to ask at some point if you know you'll be bargain-hunting for a new gaming seat this November. Secretlab chairs are very popular, and for good reason. It's got to be one of the most popular brands on the market, so much so that people forget there are plenty of alternatives.
With Black Friday Secretlab deals coming up, I thought it'd be a good idea to run you through my reasons for and against buying a chair from this brand. Do you want premium build quality? That's great, but how much are you willing to pay for it? Is it the licensed designs you're into, or are you looking for more comfort? It might surprise people to realize there's actually a lot to think about when it comes to buying one of the best gaming chairs - especially when you seldom get to try them out before buying.
Lucky for you, I've been parking myself in a number of gaming chairs in the past few years, and I've had a lot of recent experience with Secretlab's homegrown efforts too, most recently with the Secretlab ergonomic recliner add-on. For that reason, I can help you decide if this is the manufacturer for you or not.
Pro: Build quality
There's a lot to like about Secretlab's chairs, but from assembling and sitting in loads of them at this point, the thing that's always stood out to me is this brand's build quality. You may have owned an office chair or a gaming chair before, and within a month or two, you might have already started to hear squeaks and creaks emanate when you sit yourself down in it. That's totally natural for any chair like this, but somehow, the Secretlab Titan Evo seems immune to it.
No matter how hard you fall into it, no matter the adjustments you make, or how frequently you play around with height, recline, and armrest position, you won't hear the squeakies from general use, and that's a huge reason to buy because it means it's going to last you for a really long time.
Secretlab uses a steel frame for its Titan Evo with a reinforced aluminium wheelbase, which makes it very sturdy. On the downside, that can make it a tad heavy, but luckily the great caster wheels don't mean it's some bulky immovable object. Build quality comes into the various upholstery choices you have with Secretlab too, from leathers to softweave, you're getting premium materials in your chair.
Con: Price
Unfortunately, that build quality comes at a price. Secretlab's gaming chairs are costly, and there's no real way around that. Even if you grab one during Black Friday gaming chair deals, there's no real competition with the price other brands in this space charge, many of whom have caught up to Secretlab's level of quality with their own thrones.
No matter which size, style, or upholstery you shoot for, Secretlab's chairs are some of the most expensive on the market, and while you are paying for high quality, it's just plain wrong to think you need to pay that much for a good gaming chair these days. Take the Boulies Ninja Pro, Boulies Master Series, or even our new favorite, the Fractal Refine, for example. There are comfortable chairs out there that don't demand a small fortune, and unless you're going for something out there like the Mavix M7, or the Herman Miller Vantum, you're going to struggle to find a more expensive brand than Secreltab.
Price isn't an issue for some people, and if you're lucky enough to have the budget that Secretlab demands and you have your heart set on one of its chairs, go all in. It's my duty to tell you though, that the price this manufacturer demands is high, and there are similar (sometimes) better gaming chairs out there that cost less.
Pro: Designs and colorways
If there's another reason to splash out the cash for a Secretlab chair, it's the slew of officially licensed designs and colorways there are. As is clear from our recent interview feature with the folks at Secretlab, a lot of love and care goes into crafting each licensed chair design, like the Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 design.
The range on offer is very impressive indeed, and spans so many different colors. You've got the Cyberpunk 2077 option in bright yellow, you've got the Game of Thrones Stark skin in white, you've got a brand new Dragon Ball Z-inspired livery that sports Goku's patented blue and organge fighting gear.
You can find officially licensed designs for other gaming chairs like the AndaSeat Kaiser 3, and you can specifically hunt for the best pink gaming chairs, but no brand has the selection of colors and faithful franchise representation of Secretlab, and that's definitely a reason to buy.
Con: Comfort
This one will ultimately come down to personal preference because comfort levels and ergonomics can be great for one body and totally different for another. All I can talk about here is my personal experience, and from testing Secretlab chairs next to other manufacturers, there are definitely more comfortable gaming thrones available.
For context, gaming chairs aren't meant to be exactly like a couch. The goal is to blend some comfort for long hours at a desk for work or gaming sessions, with the ergonomics your body needs to support your posture and stay healthy. Each chair does that slightly differently though, and you'll find in practise that each one will lean more into one side or the other.
Secretlab does a lot of ergonomic studies before creating its products, and has its own reasons to justify its designs, but if you ask me, Secretlab's level of cushioning isn't the best on the market. I mentioned "falling into" one of its chairs when talking about build quality. The sturdiness is great, but falling into one can actually be a bit of a shock because you expect a plush landing and actually get a bit of a bump on your rear-end.
Even the extra products you can get to make things more plush don't really help, in my opinion. You can play around with extra lumbar cushions, magnetic head cushions, and different armrest tops, but none of them make the general sitting experience as comfortable as I think it should be when you pay this sort of cash. The cushioning in other chairs is definitely more plush, so if you'd rather ere on the side of comfort, another brand is probably for you.
Pro: Add-ons and wider product range
The good news is that those add-ons and accessories do exist, and allow you to make the Secretlab chair you buy a little more "yours". Each of the accessories and add-ons for the Titan Evo and the older Secretlab Omega are designed with precision and are easy to fit onto your product. Even the ergonomic recliner can be secured onto the underside of your chair in around five minutes or so. The headrest and armrest toppers snap directly onto your chair without the need for tools thanks to their magnetic designs, so that's a big plus if you feel you'd like to upgrade your chair - just be prepared to pay yet more money for them.
Of course, chairs aren't the only thing in Secretlab's wheelhouse. If you're shopping for one of the best gaming desks, this brand has got you covered with its impressive Secretlab Magnus and Magnus Pro. Alongside cable management trays and heavy-duty monitor arm, there are plenty of other products you can buy that will mean your chair plays beautifully with other parts of your gaming setup.
Con: Shopping experience
Perhaps my least favorite thing about Secretlab, and the experience of shopping for its products, is that you only have one retailer you can buy from, and that's its own digital store. It has been the case at times that you can buy this brand's chairs from Amazon, but those days are long gone. That means you'll need to brave Secretlab's website, which isn't the easiest to navigate.
A lot of the time, it will list "discounts", but through its customization menus, you can quickly lose sight of which product is on offer. If you can get to the end of the checkout process and you've still saved yourself money, I would applaud you. It's a bit like going to Subway and trying to order your entire meal without a server asking you a single question - simply impossible.
In summary:
Secretlab is one of the most popular gaming chair brands you'll find, so much so that even the legendary composer Hans Zimmer uses its chairs to write his incredible movie soundtracks. Still, there are reasons for and against buying from this brand, and there are plenty of alternatives if you find yourself swayed by what I've said in this article.
Luckily, gaming chairs get cheaper than ever during Black Friday, so you're definitely shopping around at the right time.
For more seasonal deal advice, check out Black Friday Meta Quest deals, Black Friday gaming PC deals, and Black Friday Xbox deals.
