Reader, Secretlab sent me a free sample of the Warhammer 40k gaming chair. The Titan Evo Warhammer 40,000 Ultramarines Edition is rock solid, bright blue, and packed with high-tech features – the Primaris Space Marine of gaming chairs, if you will.
I’ve had the Warhammer 40k chair for just under two weeks, and it has seen daily service giving me back, butt, and arm support while I hammer words from the word mines. It’s seen at least 60 hours of testing – here’s my thoughts.
This is a very well manufactured product. I would say that it’s built to Space Marines‘ standards, but honestly it reminds me more of the engineering quality of an expensive pushchair. I mean that as a compliment – if you’ve ever had your hands on a high-end baby buggy, you’ll know that they’re made to survive a collision with most Warhammer 40k tanks.
Aesthetically, it’s one of the most strikingly nerdy objects I’ve ever set eyes on. It’s not quite a gold-plated Playstation, but it’s gauche as hell – Ultramarines blue leatherette, embroidered with a wreathed Ultima chapter icon on the rear seatback and a Macraggian Aquila on the front. There’s even a purity seal attached by push-button.
Frankly, I think this rules. Without suggesting that you should spend a lot of money slathering your living space with nerdy brand logos, if you’re going to do it, there can be no half measures. Unfeigned enthusiasm is king, and attempting to be subtle about it is a coward’s path.
Of course, you do really have to like the Ultramarines for that logic to hold on this specific chair. I hope Secretlab releases models for the other Warhammer 40k factions: every nerd deserves the chance to demonstrate their enthusiastic disdain for common notions of good taste.
Practically, the chair has extensive ergonomic features. You can adjust the seat height; fix the angle of the seat or leave it free so you can bob back and forth; adjust the angle of the seat back; move the arm rests up and down, in and out, and even rotate them left and right; and change how high and how pronounced the lower back support is.
Reader, I didn’t know that this kind of chair technology existed. Apparently this is just what you get when you spend half a grand on a seat. But does any of that make a difference to how it feels?
I have a weak back, occasional arthritis in my elbows, and work a day job that puts my body into a shape evolution never predicted for about eight hours a day. This is definitely a very comfortable chair. The firm foam seat is particularly nice, as – like a firm mattress – the resistance it offers actually feels better than sinking into something soft that your body has to work hard to maintain posture in.
While the ability to adjust the chair to suit my proportions is welcome, it’s actually the ability to easily fiddle with how it is set up on the fly that I’m most impressed by. It’s easy to move the lumbar support around to rest one part of the back and put the load on another, or release the seat angle so you can bob about a little.
None of this changes the fact that the human body evolved to walk, not to sit. Good as the ergonomic support is, OSHA best practise for office workers is to get up and walk around for ten minutes every hour. Set your expectations accordingly.
Nevertheless, testing this chair has brought home to me that, as I have both a job and a hobby that stick me into a chair all day, I really should have gotten a good one sooner. Would I buy the Titan Evo if I hadn’t been given one? I don’t have $624 for the Ultramarines edition to spare, and $519 for the non-branded version would still give me pause. You can get good chairs for cheaper.
But if you can afford it, and want it, then go for it – it feels like a throne. If you’re in the market for a new gaming chair, our sister site PCGamesN gives this model (with a different skin) in their Titan Evo 2022 series review, and it holds the number one spot on the site’s guide to the best gaming chair.
Though if you do have cash to burn, can we suggest you check out our guides to 3D printers, the most expensive Lego sets, and the rarest, most expensive Pokémon cards? Just saying.
Source: Wargamer
