I never expected, when I started writing for Ausdroid nearly 10 years ago that I’d sit down one day and even think about reviewing a chair, but here I am. It’s a Sunday morning here in Adelaide, already 33c heading for a top of 37c so a lovely day to be inside. I sat down in my reasonably new Secretlab chair and thought I’d share that experience with the Ausdroid community.

Design, Comfort and Cost

Clearly, we’re not talking about a $99 OfficeWorks special. As a pre-order item, this beast cost me $629.00 and I had to think very long and hard about the purchase. What tipped me over the edge was the work from home factor and knowing that I could claim a portion of the cost on tax the following year. So I made the decision, hit the go button and then waited a few weeks for my order to arrive.

When it did one of the first things that struck me was the physical size of the box. I wondered if purchased a chair, or a throne briefly. Then after my wife and daughter kindly assembled it for me while I worked, I realised it was somewhere in the middle ground.

Visually, it’s a high back chair with headrest built in (and neck cushion included), with shoulder wings, that also wraps around your hips for comfort and stability in the chari. Make no mistake, this is a really big chair, the seating space is ample and the adjustability is outstanding offering:

  • Height adjustment
  • Seat incline
  • Recline for comfort during long online meetings
  • The arms adjust up/down, in/out and swivel for sessions with a game controller
  • Adjustable lumbar support

What all of these adjustments result in, is a chair that suits work and play. I’ve found — with time and plenty of testing — really comfortable positions for relaxing and gaming or working (including Ausdroid content of course) from home. It’s resulted in me being able to sit comfortably for longer periods.

For the longevity of the chair, buyers will be happy to know that the manufacturing is from polyurethane leather (PU) Leather, making it significantly more durable than natural leather. Further to this on the comfort front, the (patent pending) cold cure foam retains its shape, firm support and comfort really well.

To give buyers peace of mind, you get a three year warranty which is very easily extended to 5 years by simply sharing a picture of your chair on social media, then filling in a form.

Would I recommend Secret Lab chair?

Like so many things in the tech world, you — within reason — you get what you pay for. But is it worth paying $600 and up for a computer chair? The honest answer is probably not, but only with the caveat that there are very comfortable chairs at a significantly cheaper cost. It’s also important to really consider the fact that a chair is a very personal decision, everyone will have their preference in terms of the type of chair they use. For me though, I don’t regret the decision for a moment. The comfort factor alone (particularly compared to my 8-year-old, $100 Officeworks special) is huge, but the huge adjust-ability of the chair makes is extremely versatile and me happy.

Would I happily recommend one if you pick up a discount voucher?

Absolutely I would, I was lucky enough to have received a decent tax return, needing something of reasonable cost to claim in the following year and so the moons aligned. Plus, I’m something of a geek and the fact that they had a Batman: Dark Knight version won me over, but for those of you who want other designs: There’s plenty to choose from!

While I’m never going to be in a position to tell someone they should buy a $600+ chair, and being brutally honest I think they’re about $130 too much: ie. A $499.00 buy price would significantly improve the potential market. But I do hope that getting a quick insight into my experience may turn some potential buyers, into buyers.

I don’t regret my purchase and, if you’re fortunate enough to have the cash to buy one I doubt you’ll regret it either. The Secretlab TITAN Black Knight is by far, the best buy I’ve made for my home office in quite a while.

Disclosure Statement


The chair was self purchased and reviewed to share the experience with Ausdroid readers at no gain to the writer.

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Skyllian Blitz

There’s a dozen OEMs in China which make the exact same chair, customised with your logo and everything. Honestly even at $400 they are not good chairs compared to any similar priced ergonomic office chairs as they have far less adjustments.

You can get a $200 gaming chair with the exact same design but worse materials and it will have the same adjustments, making it better than the cheap officeworks ones. But the higher up you go, the better off you are with something like a 2nd hand Herman Miller or an Ergohuman.

BlueSkyMine

There’s a crapton of OEM suppliers churning these out, should have gotten one with Ausdroid logos.

They’re also not very good. For the same price there’s a bunch of ergonomic chair makers that are better (Ergohuman is a common one though the lumbar support is often hit or miss) and then there’s the used market for Herman Miller or Steelcase.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yhc6mmdJC4

But the best thing for your back is remembering to stretch every hour and get up.

Adam J

But Phil, does it come with an Android app?! 😉

JeniSkunk

Flamin’ well jealous of you, Phil.
Hope the chair lasts you for at least a decade so you can really get your money’s worth from it.
🙂