It's not everyday that Secretlab drops a new chair but today is one of those days. It's called the Secretlab Atlas. It's a sleek, slim task chair that might appeal to those of us that spend our time equally between gaming and working from home. I've recently visited Secretlab HQ to chat about it, and I've been sitting in it over the past few days, so here's the rundown.
Compared to the ever-popular Titan Evo, the Atlas is simpler. It offers a high-back design. The backrest has a fixed S-shape position, in what's called a lordotic curvature, and offers synchronous tilt and seat depth adjustments.
A magnetic headrest is also provided with the chair, which I'm glad to report, as one of the best features of the Titan Evo. It's been slightly redesigned for the Atlas, however, with a curvier shape to support your neck.
The idea behind it is to support someone between both focus and rest modes, ie working, gaming, and chilling out. It's designed for the Pomodoro Technique, which a handful of Secretlab employees, including founder and CEO, Ian Ang, tell me they are practitioners of. That technique splits work up into 25-minute chunks with 5-minute breaks in between. I'm yet to try it, but I might give it a go.
It's also designed to support what is cited by Secretlab as 'dynamic sitting', which is the idea that a chair can aid in active movement and posture changes rather than holding a stiff, unmoving position for a long period.
(Image credit: Future)
I'm told by Secretlab Ergonomics Advisory Board Member and physician, Dr. Lindsey Migliore, that it's the lack of movement that's the real problem with sitting at your desk all day. The Atlas, I'm told, is Secretlab aiming to make a product to respond to this shift in understanding of ergonomics.
"The best posture is your next posture," says leading spine biomechanics professor Dr. Stuart McGill, who is cited by both Migliore and Ang during my time visiting the company and some influence on the Atlas design, as noted by head of product development at Secretlab, Vincent Sin.
"Static posture is the enemy of prolonged focus, yet most chairs still lock you in a single position," Sin said.
There are two versions of the Atlas available:
- Standard, in either leatherette or SoftWeave Plus fabric, using cold-cure foam and black hardware;
- Premium, with NanoFoam Composite and SoftWeave Plus fabric or NanoGen leatherette, and colour-matched hardware.
The Premium version comes in black (SoftWeave or NanoGen Leatherette), white, and beige (known as Dune). The standard version comes in more two-tone colourways, including black/grey (Cookies & Cream) and black/white (Moon).
(Image credit: Future)
We've given high praise to the NanoGen Edition of the Titan Evo previously, though it comes at a considerably higher price point, and the same is true for the Atlas.
- Secretlab Atlas will start at US$499 / €499 / £399 / SGD$599
- Secretlab Atlas (Premium Range) will start at US$699 / €699 / £599 / SGD$849
From my time with the chair, it's surprisingly comfortable for its thinner profile. It naturally supports my lower back and holds me in an upright position at the top tilt setting—that's a good thing for preventing slouching, which I'm exceedingly guilty of.
Future
Future
The Atlas will recline by up to 120 degrees, which can be controlled via the levers. These are pretty smart compared to some, including a couple of indicators, one that says whether the seating position is locked, and another that lets you know at a glance what tilt force is set to.
There are four levels to this tilt control, with the lighter resistance option letting you rock back and forth with ease. I gave this a whirl in Secretlab HQ and I'm glad to report I didn't go sneaker over sunglasses—it's pretty stable.
With a marginally lower price tag than the Secretlab Titan Evo, I feel this will prove a more popular option for its lack of bulk compared to the best gaming chair. That slim profile in combination with its grown-up colourways may find more appreciation among home offices than Twitch streams.
