Secretlab Atlas overview | PC Gamer

The Secretlab Atlas has so much going for it. It matches snugly into a house workplace and it’s totally comfy to be used all through the day (with common breaks, in fact). It’s even good for a spot of gaming within the night, should you’re so inclined, offering you perceive that this is not explicitly a gaming chair. It’s a job chair—no matter which means.

Google tells me a job chair is a chair designed for sitting at a desk. One web site described a job chair as a chair particularly designed for doing duties. Fascinating. Nevertheless, Secretlab is utilizing the designation to separate the Atlas from the ever-popular Titan Evo, and in doing so, alluding to its sleeker type and extra civilian look.

The Atlas appears to be like glorious in situ. It’s a smart-looking chair for the discerning gamer. It’s midway to a gaming throne and positively satisfactory in a contemporary workplace with out elevating eyebrows. Doubly so offering you pay for the premium mannequin. Though that is the place issues get difficult for the Atlas.

The Atlas is on the costly facet for the options it presents, particularly when in comparison with the Titan Evo. It’s not straightforward to beat the best gaming chair of the past four years, and while the Atlas does serve a slightly different audience, for us gamers, the Titan Evo is yet to meet its match. It’s not a whole lot more expensive than the Atlas—at times, I’ve even seen it going cheaper.

Features

There are a range of options available for the Secretlab Atlas, from basic and premium finishes to a range of colours and materials. I’m testing the Atlas Dune+ model, in a size L. That means it features two of Secretlab’s proprietary materials: NanoFoam Composite and SoftWeave Plus fabric. The NanoFoam being softer than cold-cure foam used on the basic model.

The premium version of the Atlas comes with colour-matched parts, from the magnetic head pillow down to the armrests, beneath the seat, wheelbase, and the castors. This is made possible through the use of a reinforced nylon construction, as opposed to the aluminium alloy found on the Titan Evo. My gut tells me that metal is best but I couldn’t point to any research to back that up. Just a hunch. The cheaper version is black except for the backrest.

The Secretlab Atlas is noticeably slimmer than the Titan Evo, Noblechairs Hero, and ThunderX3 Solo 360 that my colleagues are sat in close to my desk at PC Gamer Towers. It much more closely resembles the Fractal Design Refine used by our James, in terms of both the backrest and its more professional aesthetic, but the Atlas is a little more reserved. Unlike the Refine, however, the Secretlab has no adjustable lumbar support.

Secretlab claims the fixed backrest, called RE-CURVE, is “sculpted to support your entire back”. I find myself agreeing with that statement after a couple of months with the chair as my daily rollabout. That said, it does lack the flexibility that other chairs offer, including the Titan Evo, which offers an excellent 4-way lumbar system called L-ADAPT.

There are a number of possible adjustments on the Atlas. Besides the usual height adjustment—the seat is lower to the floor on the Atlas compared to the Titan Evo—the seat also slides forward and backward on a horizontal axis. I recently spoke with a physician about how to sit (and how I was doing it wrong) and they told me you should be able to get two or three fingers between the seat and the back of your knees for an ideal setup. Secretlab says that’s about 5 cm/2-inches in its promotional materials.

The Atlas will recline up to 120° once unlocked, using a lever with a handy visual indicator to show when the leaning mechanism is locked or unlocked. There are four levels to the tilt force, adjusted using a twisting selector on the chair height stalk. These levels range from leaning back with little to no resistance to having to actively push back on the chair to get it to recline even partway. I like to use a higher setting to bob in place a bit—hey, I’m just a bit wild like that. I’m one errant purchase away from a rocking chair, I swear to God.

The armrests offer height adjustment, angle adjustment, and front to back adjustment. That makes them 3D, to the Titan Evo’s 4D ones. They will move forwards and backwards when only a moderate amount of pressure is applied, which is a bit of a pain for someone that shifts my chair around a lot while switching between sitting and standing, but otherwise, they’re good enough.

The top of the armrest is comfortable for long-term use. Though it does not feature the same CloudSwap Replacement System as the Titan Evo, which means you can’t switch these out as easily once worn.

At least my favourite feature from the Titan Evo has made it over to the Atlas. The magnetic head pillow. This can be easily removed, replaced, and moved around without messing with straps. The Atlas actually improves on the design, too, with a more rounded shape that better fits my noggin.

Ergonomics

So far I’ve very much enjoyed my time with the Atlas. It’s a firmer seat than many I’ve tested, but that’s no bad thing. I’ve been putting it to the test in a range of seating positions: legs crossed, laying back, fully reclined, one leg under the other… you name it. It deals with the cornucopia of weird human sitting positions very well. After a frank meeting with that physician about how I sit, I’m trying to change things up more regularly throughout the day, and the Atlas allows for that variation.

My main points of comparison for the chair are the Herman Miller Embody (Logitech G), which I’ve used every day for roughly four years; the Razer Fujin Pro, which I’ve been using in PC Gamer Towers for a couple of years; and, of course, the Secretlab Titan Evo, which I used in the office for years and I still sit in every time I shoot a video for the YouTube channel. We must have eight or so of those around.

First off, the Atlas easily beats out the Razer Fujin Pro. I’m yet to find a mesh chair that I enjoy to rest on as much as any with foam. I used to sit in a Cooler Master mesh chair and felt about that much the same as I do the Fujin Pro: foam is just a little too stiff. Over the course of a day’s work, I’m aware of the pressure. That’s not true of the Atlas, nor is it the Herman Miller, to be fair.

The Herman Miller is lovely to sit in. Though the backrest is stiffer on the Atlas, which I currently prefer, and I’m finding myself making more use of the recline on the Atlas. That is likely down to breaking out of old habits with a new chair. Though perhaps because I find the recline a touch more supportive on the Atlas. I definitely prefer a stiffer backrest over the flexible one on the Embody.

Looking around, there are anecdotal reports of larger users finding this chair uncomfortable. At 6’1″ and 80 kg, I haven’t run into any issues, but my thighs and back do sit close to the edge of the part of the backrest and seat where they shoot off at an angle—the racing seat sorta bit. Spare a thought for the sizing as even Secretlab notes the Atlas as more “form-fitted” to the Titan Evo’s “spacious” fit.

I’m sitting very comfortably in the Atlas. It’s in the Goldilocks zone for me, with firm yet comfortable materials, a stiff backrest, bouncy recline, and squishy head cushion. I’m not in any rush to swap back to the Embody.

Aesthetics

I had feared for the feng shui of my house workplace by dropping a sand-coloured gaming chair smack-bang in the course of it. But, to my full shock, it makes my workplace look bigger. And it isn’t simply me. My companion walked into the room after I constructed it, and with out me mentioning a factor, mentioned the chair makes the room really feel greater. Weird.

Hey, I’ll take it. I feel it is some form of optical phantasm with the brilliant chair, my darkish gray partitions, and the slim backrest. The chair does look fairly candy in situ, too. There are different colors to select from, together with gray, black, and white/black leatherette. I’ve seen just about all of them in-person and I’d be proud of any, besides maybe the cheaper two-tone model with out colour-matched components.

Value

The Atlas is a less expensive different to the Titan Evo within the US, with costs beginning at $519. That’s for the fundamental mannequin in a daily measurement, the one one among which I’d really buy myself being the all-black mannequin. The non-colour matched components by the way match the backrest.

The premium fashions look a lot nicer and the one ones I can advocate on consolation, as they’re the one ones I’ve sat in long-term. These begin at $699. The massive mannequin I’m utilizing is $719. That’s not a low value gaming chair, by any means, and the Atlas has stiff competitors at this worth. Not in the least from Secretlab’s personal Titan Evo, which begins at $579. The premium NanoGen mannequin prices $799, and a big will set you again $849. That’s a $130 distinction—not a trivial value to improve from the Atlas to the Titan Evo, like-for-like. But perhaps you needn’t go like-for-like?

If I’m trustworthy with myself about what I’d personally purchase of the 2, it would be the Titan Evo. And not the NanoGen model. I’d fortunately take the non-NanoGen Titan Evo for $629, which is $90 cheaper than the Atlas. Having sat on the usual leatherette Titan Evo for years within the workplace with out subject, I’d be content material with that. It’s extra fully-featured than the Atlas with adjustable lumbar assist, replaceable armrest cushions, and an aluminium wheelbase.

The Atlas does beat the Titan Evo in two key respects: type and measurement. I will not low cost the influence these have on buying selections, as I’ve already had a buddy inform me they’re contemplating shopping for the Atlas attributable to its form alone.

Looking additional afield, the Fractal Design Refine is just not a chair we rated notably excessive however it’s a comparable sorta factor with an adjustable backrest. That’s $600/£475. I feel I’d follow the Titan Evo. Though there’s a funds different, and that is the ThunderX3 Solo 360. This presents asynchronous tilt, adjustable 3D armrests, respectable material, and it is half the value of the most cost effective Atlas. Except the Atlas would not really feel like a funds choice. The Solo 360 nonetheless does: it would not embody lumbar assist or a head pillow.

For bigger our bodies, we just like the AndaSeat Kaiser 4 XL. It’s extraordinarily cushioned and well-provisioned for lumbar assist. For $579, it presents so much in comparison with the big Atlas, although it loses out on that smooth look. It is large.

So, the Secretlab Atlas does supply a excessive degree of high quality and a spotlight to element that see it clearly rise above many funds choices. That mentioned, at $519 for the very primary mannequin, I’d favored to have seen it under $500. There’s been a variety of cuts right here in comparison with the Titan Evo, such because the wheelbase, armrests, recline, and lumbar assist. Presumably we’re solely going to see the Atlas under that worth as soon as it hits the sale.

The Titan Evo typically drops to round $529 throughout yearly gross sales occasions, prefer it did again in May. As I write this, in my homeland of Britain, the Titan Evo is cheaper (£419) than the Atlas (£429) within the company’s Summer Sale. The Atlas is understandably but to be discounted, however that is a tricky act to comply with.

The premium fashions, particularly within the massive measurement, are actually pushing the bounds of what I’d pay for the Atlas. That’s a disgrace as a result of that is what I’m sitting on and I actually prefer it. The Atlas Dune+ is comfy, trendy, and I’m completely happy sufficient to sit down and sport in it all-day. It’s simply the Titan Evo is hard to beat, even the cheaper customary mannequin.