by theygamesOur Verdict
With its easy toolless retrofit design, solid build quality, and superb comfort, the Secretlab Ergonomic Recliner Add-On is the perfect way to upgrade your gaming chair into an office recliner. There’s no finer way to flip from sniping to snoozing, even if it doesn’t come cheap.
- Incredibly easy to fit
- Very comfortable leg cushion
- Easy to use
- Expensive
- Makes for a bulky chair
- Limited fabric choices to match your chair
Secretlab has been impressing us recently with its expansion into accessories for its gaming chairs and desks. The Secretlab Ergonomic Recliner Add-On is the latest addition to the roster, and it lets you attach a leg-supporting recliner function to your Titan Evo gaming chair. It’s not a cheap option but it’s mighty comfortable.
As a maker of one of the best gaming chair designs around, in the shape of the Titan Evo 2022, Secretlab is no stranger to finding ways to improve the comfort of its gaming chairs. However, this new recliner add-on converts your gaming chair into a whole new category of comfort. Like the Secretlab Heavy Duty Monitor Arm, it has a perfunctory name and a fairly high price, but it’s built to a high standard and delivers on its duty.
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Design
There’s little really to speak of when it comes to the design and features of this device. An unobtrusively designed, black leg cushion provides support for your legs, while a clever mechanism of hinged arms, a gas lift cylinder (a mini version of the one used to lift the chair), and a control lever/paddle combine to allow you to extend the cushion out to just shy of in-line with the chair seat (80 degrees from vertical), or tuck it back under the chair.
The control paddle ends up sprouting out the right side of the chair just behind the main gas lift lever. It’s a really impressive feat of engineering to retrofit a system like this onto a gaming chair and not have it look ridiculous (non-matching fabric types notwithstanding).
That is all there is to it, though. There are no extra functions or features. It lifts, it drops. It supports your legs or it doesn’t. Crucially, though, it has a totally reversible and tool-free installation process.
Installation
Installation is remarkably easy. You just need to pull off the two main adjustment levers from under the seat (for easier access), then attach four red plastic clips to the existing metal framework of the chair. The old-school, truck-like build of these chairs, with their rectangular metal tubing for a chassis, means you have an easy place to affix extra features. Some chair designs, such as on the Fractal Refine, have a molded plastic underside that isn’t so easy to work with in this way.
With these pieces fitted, you then just remove a couple of shipping lock pieces from the main recliner unit and essentially clip it into place, pushing down the long red plastic clips to lock it into position.
With the main recliner add-on clipped in, you can remove a hook and loop cable tie, which acts as a safety stop to prevent the unit from expanding and catching a finger, then you’re all but good to go. Just flip the chair back over, attach the two existing levers, push on the recliner’s lever, and you’re away.
Comfort
The recliner add-on couldn’t be easier to use in and of itself, but there’s a bit of a trick to making it work overall. The simple bit is that you just pull up the handle and the recliner add-on will push itself forward and up. Or, with the handle held down, you can push the cushion back into position under the seat with your legs.
Where it gets a little more involved is that, in order to get the recliner to come up fully flat, you have to either pull your legs up out the way, or spread out your legs to the sides, as any extra weight means the recliner can’t quite push itself up fully. By and large, it’s easy enough to do, but some users may find these maneuvers a touch awkward.
The other factor is that extending the recliner alters the balance of the chair, so if you have the tilt unlocked, and are just tipping backward in a relaxed position, but then raise the recliner, the point of balance will change, tipping you forward. To get back to a tilted position, you then have to recline the seat back a little. I found it took three or four notches on the seat recline adjustment control to re-balance the chair.
These factors aside, the recliner add-on is remarkably comfortable. The padding is wide, deep, and incredibly soft. In fact, it’s somewhat amusing just how stark the difference in padding is compared to the chair itself which comes more from the “firm support is good for your posture” approach to seat comfort.
With the recliner add-on fully extended and the seat back reclined most of the way, I found I could quite easily nap in this chair, getting very close to that full feet-up, lying down on a couch feeling – it’s surprising how much it instantly lulls you to sleep.
It’s also quite pleasant to just have the recliner add-on gently supporting the backs of your legs while sitting somewhat tilted back – a bit like the “unwind” position suggested in Secretlab’s promo material. I actually found I could work like this, with my head resting back on the Titan Evo’s super-comfortable head pillow. You just have to make sure you lock the tilt function at the angle you need before raising the recliner, to prevent that tilting forward issue.
The extra bulk under the seat is noticeable and does get in the way once in a while, but it’s surprisingly unobtrusive, assuming you fully tuck it back – it takes quite a bit of hamstring effort to push it back.
For all its impressive comfort, though, there is one broad argument one could make against this add-on, which is that in many situations where you’re considering lying fully back with your feet up, you might be better off getting up off your chair, momentarily stretching your legs and then lying down on a bed or couch for a few minutes.
Not only is this likely to provide an even bigger benefit (more comfortable and feet raised even higher), but it also gets you away from your computer and desk. Still, if you’re happily listening to or watching something on your computer, and just want to sit back and enjoy it, the recline add-on is a great way to make those moments even more relaxing.
Price
The Secretlab Ergonomic Recliner Add-On is launching in two initial versions, with differing prices. The limited Founder’s Edition price is $249, which includes a cooling gel top layer, triangle side pattern, and a metal tag, and this will be the first version that will be available to buy. Then the Standard Edition price is $199 (reviewed version), which drops the extras, and for which you can only register interest at this stage.
Verdict
The Secretlab Ergonomic Recliner Add-On really does transform your Titan Evo chair into an incredibly comfortable recliner. Being able to raise and support your feet is transformative for moments when you just want to sit back and relax.
The toolless retrofit design is also quite remarkable, considering how robust the add-on feels. Your gaming chair won’t win any elegance awards after this add-on is attached, but if you just want to add a recline feature, this unit absolutely delivers.
It is expensive, though, with an eyebrow-raising price of at least $199. However, that’s a price worth paying if you’ve already invested $500+ into a Secretlab gaming chair (or one of several other brands that use the same superstructure as this chair, with which we suspect this accessory would be compatible), and really want that recline feature.
For more ways to complete your gaming setup, check out our best gaming desks guide, which is led by Secretlab’s own Magnus Pro but includes a host of other options for a range of budgets.