How does a Secretlab chair look after 4 years of use in the same house as two cats?

Singapore-based company Secretlab has been one of the top go-to names in the industry of gaming furniture in the recent years.

Most famously known for their 'gaming' chairs, they have since branched out to selling their own desk and peripherals for the modern gamer, including monitor arms.

Founded in 2014 by ex-esports players Ian Ang and Alaric Choo, Secretlab grew from a small Singaporean startup to an internationally known company, sponsoring big events like Riot's VALORANT Champions Tour and Valve's The International tournaments.

But enough of their history. You are here to know if their products stand the test of time.

First experience not great

I have personally purchased two Secretlab chairs in my lifetime, a 2017 version of the Secretlab OMEGA, and a Secretlab TITAN 2020 that I purchased in 2019.

I will be upfront and tell you that my initial experience with Secretlab was quite negative.

The Secretlab OMEGA that I purchased in 2017 started to decay only after a year of usage.

The leather started to peel despite using Secretlab's recommended leather protector, and it got worse over time. All I did to it was to sit down and play games for two to three hours a day at the most for the year, but for some reason, the chair acted like I had acid flowing out of my sweat glands. The wheels also buckled quite frequently, even when I had not moved it around a lot.

When I moved to my own home in early 2019, I discarded the chair because it was a lost cause.

Although the OMEGA came with a warranty, it didn't cover wear and tear of the chair. I had to pay to refurbish the leather.

I swore to myself to never purchase another one of their products.

Why I got another Secretlab chair

Fast-forward to mid-2019, Secretlab had a collaboration with DC Comics and revealed a Batman-themed line of chairs.

Being a DC fan that I am, I thought long and hard if I should spend my hard-earned cash on something that I have had a very bad experience with, but also had that design that I will never get tired of looking at.

Since I still needed a chair for the office space in my room, I decided to bite the bullet. I purchased the Secretlab TITAN 2020 Dark Knight edition.

Yes, I bought it because of Batman. I am superficial like that.

Just a side note, the only differences between the OMEGA and TITAN are the chair size and a few minor aesthetic tweaks. As far as I know, there are no differences in the materials used for each version.

Fast forward to almost four years after my first experience. I can't believe that I am saying this, but the TITAN that I purchased is still pristine, alive and lasting.

As we all know, COVID happened, and most of us were stuck at home doing our work for at least two years. I was no exception, sitting on my chair for about six to eight hours a day during that period.

I constantly rotated between an ergonomic chair and the TITAN, just to keep myself from getting too comfortable in one.

But I kept going back to the TITAN simply because of how firm the seat is. My butt and back felt extremely supported, and has not changed to this day.

If anything, I think I have abused this chair more than the Omega that I purchased in 2017.

So, what changed?

Granted, Secretlab did do some general upgrades to the 2020 versions of their chairs from the 2017 versions. Most notable is definitely the better polyurethane leather (PU leather) used for the 2020 versions.

According to Secretlab, their PRIME 2.0 PU leather is certified to be four times more durable than the PU leather that was used for the pre-2020 units, and based on my experience, they weren't lying.

The leather still looks pretty good after four years of abuse, albeit having some wear and stretching, but this is normal for anything that uses high quality leather.

There are no visible signs of peeling, and the leather on all parts of the chair still looks great.

I did change my approach to maintaining the leather, though.

Instead of using Secretlab's very own leather protector, I used another leather cleaning and conditioner made for cleaning real leather on shoes and seats. I typically spray and wipe my chair once every three months.

The other parts of the chair still function and look great as well. Similar to the seat, I regularly wipe down every other part of the the chair once every three months.

The arm rests are still sturdy, the wheel-casters are still smooth, and overall, it does feel like a big upgrade to the OMEGA I had previously.

If you were like me — being worried about its longevity — you can rest assured that if you purchase any current versions of a Secretlab chair, you are investing in a long-lasting piece of furniture for yourself.

The new TITAN Evo 2022 sports an even tougher leather than the PRIME 2.0 PU leather used in these 2020 versions which Secretlab calls the NEO Hybrid leatherette. They are so confident with the durability that they're now offering free replacements for new chairs at any sign of peeling within the 5-year warranty period.

Even with cats in the house (and I am pretty sure they scratch it once in a while when I am not looking), current Secretlab chairs do not seem like it is as easily destructible as their previous versions.

Be it for general productivity or for gaming, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one now to anyone who likes their designs.

Dominic loves tech and games. When he is not busy watercooling his computer parts, he does some pro wrestling.

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