For those who came in late, Secretlab is a Singapore-based company that specializes in gaming seats and chairs. Founded in 2014, they were among the very first to establish a foothold in the now-burgeoning gaming chair market, and arguably have led the way from day one. Our own Erasmia was left extremely impressed with their 2018-series Titan chair, to where it was selected among the best of 2017 in the product category as well. We were invited to a sneak peak launch event in New York City earlier this month, where Secretlab shed more light on their 2020 series updates to their popular Omega and Titan lineup.

These updates include over three years of rigorous research and testing, both internal at the company and in collaboration with independent research/testing institutes in Singapore. This level of testing has led to product certifications galore, something virtually unheard of in the gaming chair market. An immediate benefit is an increase in product warranty to 5 years, compared to the industry standard 1-2 years, and this is but one of several updates and improvements we will go over in more detail past the break.Secretlab PRIME 2.0 PU LeatherPU (polyurethane) is not really leather, so the terminology is more marketing than anything else. It has been used as a leather-replacement for decades now in different product segments, and allows the end user to get a leather-look, at least initially, at a much lower price point compared to full/top-grain leather. This has been one of the main reasons yours truly has found it hard to get into gaming chairs made of traditional PU leather, and so when Secretlab mentioned they had something much better, I was immediately intrigued. Indeed, they were confident enough about the updates to call it their version 2.0, and this has been the subject of most of their R&D to date. Collaboration with Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has helped developed a material that can withstand a minimum of 200,000 abrasion cycles on the Martindale Abrasion Test, which is ~10 times the industry standard and ~4-5 times that used in contemporary gaming chairs. In addition, the new material is more resistant to sweat and general humidity as tested in a hotbox set to 95% RH and 70 °C in addition to exposure to salts including sodium hydroxide, thus promising greater durability to wear and tear.

Secretlab Cold-Cure FoamSecretlab says their patent-pending cold-cure foam is cast fresh using aluminium molds for "ample support which retains its structure and integrity even after prolonged use." This is in contrast to multiple thinner pieces hewn from lower grade foam and stuck together. This cold-cure foam has been further improved with deliberate placement of air pockets to help absorb body pressure and contour better to an individual's body shape.

Full-metal 4D ArmrestsA lot of gaming chairs cut costs by going with plastic armrests and adding on multiple axes of motion to tick off the so-called 3D or 4D motion feature. So it was a pleasant surprise to note that Secretlab is going with a thick metal base for all their 2020 series chair armrest, with the upholstery on top as before. The new internal mechanism is going to definitely be better built thus, with the added durability going a long way in helping with the rated 5-year warranty. The armrest gets a coat of their new PRIME 2.0 PU leather (for the PU leather versions), which has a concave shape for comfort. The armrest as a whole retains the various degrees of freedom motion to allow for further customization to fit an individual's needs.

Secretlab Signature Memory Foam PillowsAll applicable Secretlab pillows (Omega lineup gets two, Titan gets one given the integrated lumbar support) in their 2020 series are now going to use a denser, more premium foam (presumably the cold-cure foam aforementioned). I was able to test this first hand and can vouch for the pillows conforming better to my body relative to the older pillows, while also being more comfortable as well. Part of this is a result of a layer of cooling gel now integrated in the pillow (head rest, to be more specific), which helps dissipate heat better. I think we can all see this being a literal godsend in long use sessions, especially if you stay in a country where air-conditioning is not common and the summer can be testing.The other features and updates are more subtle, or merely retainment of the same from before. The Omega and Titan lineup has a multi-tilt mechanism, and the Throne entry lineup will have a full-tilt mechanism (less customization, but only just). These are now certified to industry standards for retail seating, bringing these gaming chairs one step closer to being treated as proper furniture. Integrated lumbar-support was exclusive to the larger Titan lineup, which continues to be the case in the 2020 series as well. Secretlab told me this was because taller and larger people in general were more comfortable without a lumbar pillow, and this is by no means a negative to the Omega lineup which retains a lumbar support pillow, now made of the improved foam. Lastly, all 2020 series Secretlab chairs will have their their XL PU casters available as an option, for those wanting a sturdier set of casters which also should retain smooth gliding on most surfaces.

Game of Thrones Special EditionA testament to Secretlab's establishment in this market is surely their various special edition chairs, borne out of a collaboration with much larger brands including HBO/Game of Thrones, Warner Bros/DC, League of Legends, Disney, and so on. It would be fair to assume that all these companies were skeptical initially, but the existing products convinced them enough to license special editions which all proved to be extremely popular. Secretlabs had announced their latest special edition using the highly popular Game of Thrones IP earlier this month to make hay while the sun shines, and the pre-orders have been selling out like hot pies (get it?). Whether or not you are a fan of the series, or even if that has changed with the last season that ended recently, these chairs are extremely impressive in person. I went in thinking that the Stark chair was not as well conceived as the other two, for example, but seeing the highly detailed weaving showed the amount of thought that went into all three of these. As a bonus, all three of these chairs already conform to the 2020 series updates, so anyone who has pre-ordered one will be in for a pleasant surprise as well.

The Secretlab 2020 series Omega and Titan chairs are now available in the new PU Leather and the SoftWeave variants. The Omega lineup will cost US $359 and $379 respectively for those variants, and the Titan lineup will cost $399 and $429 respectively, all available from the Secretlab website. The special edition chairs, including the three Game of Thrones models, are up for pre-order in PU leather for $30 more at $389/$429 for the Omega/Titan versions respectively.