Secretlab Omega 2020 Gaming Chair Review: All-Day Comfort

With premium faux leather, pillows that could make your bed envious and enough armrest control to make you rethink chairs, the Secretlab Omega 2020 gaming chair ($359) will give you (another) excuse to sit in front of the PC for hours.

With a fleshed out list of adjustments and luxurious feeling leather, it’s a treat that tops our list of best gaming chairs, but our elbows could go for a little more cushioning.

Design

My review version of the Omega 2020 chair has the “Stealth” design, black with machine-embroidered red stitching and gold-and-white logos on the front and back. I got a kick out of the 2020 logo on the backrest, since that’ll only be timely for a year. It’s a simple design, and the branding stands out the most. However, other design choices are available (see the Alternate Designs section below).

Secretlab really lived up to its namesake with its 2020 series line (named for the year it originally expected it to release). Both chairs in that line, the Titan and our Omega, feature a new type of PU, or faux, leather Secretlab designed to be what it says is four times stronger than regular PU.

PU stands for polyurethanes, a type of polymer said to be stronger and harder than rubber and more flexible than plastic while being resistant to abrasion. That said, anyone who's owned a peeling PU-leather piece of furniture knows the material isn't always that durable. So it's nice to hear the company has been working to improve that.

The Omega 2020’s leather is smooth but not slippery with very subtle texture being. The padding is thick, difficult to squish and quickly reverts to its original shape after you get up. I’ve been using the chair for a few weeks and haven’t found a scratch on it yet.

Secretlab backs its claims with Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) certification, which calls for an amount of flex and abrasion resistance. The company says the leather went through 200,000 cycles on the Martindale Abrasion Test before peeling, compared to the 50,000 cycles regular leather typically lasts, according to the vendor.

Secretlab also tested the leather for 95% humidity at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. More relevant to me, however, is how the upholstery fights spills. When I spilled water on the seat, it rolled right off and was virtually dry before I even picked up a tissue. However, Secretlab says you shouldn’t get right into the chair after a shower or, contrastingly, covered in sweat, which will degrade the PH values of the PU leather and erode the coating.

The leather is firm, but not hard, thanks to another Secretlab concoction: Cold-Cure Foam. Instead of layering pieces of foam together, Secretlab stuffed the Omega 2020  with “cold-cure foam” created in solid pieces with aluminium molds. It also has air pockets to absorb pressure and cushion the body. The end result is supportive, yet giving.

The wheelbase is reinforced with ribs and gussets, so it shouldn’t warp or break. It’s also shinier than average and has XL PU caster wheels for durability that won’t ruin your floors.

Dreamy Foam Pillows

Can a pillow really be that different? The introduction of memory foam has already answered that question. But the Omega 2020’s two pillows -- one for lumbar support and another for your head -- prove there can even be a superior memory foam pillow.

Again, Secretlab went to the lab for the pillows, creating what it calls the Secretlab Signature Memory Foam. This includes a cooling gel for dissipating heat and keeping you cool, even when you’re down to your last few hit points.

These pillows aren’t just fluff. They’re firmer yet more malleable than other pillows that come with gaming chairs. It takes a decent amount of pressure to squeeze them down, and when you let go, they slowly revert to their original shape. The pillows’ velvety soft fabric also helps keep things cool, while making me want to take a nap.

The lumbar pillow is my back’s new best friend. It has a clever arched design that’s thicker on the bottom and fills the entire curve of my back. The head pillow has an adjustable strap and a non-slip strap on the back, so you could slide it down to neck level if desired.

If these pillows didn’t make sitting at my work desk so comfortable, I’d want to take them home.

Secretlab Omega 2020 Gaming Chair Specs

Assembly

Assembling the Omega 2020 took me about 2.5 hours. I would’ve been able to build the entire thing on my own, but I had a frustrating amount of trouble aligning the holes in the backrest with the brackets coming out of the seat. A colleague was able to manhandle the pieces into aligning properly. This issue isn’t unique though and is usually the hardest part of building a gaming chair. Still, easier is always better.

The Omega 2020’s package includes a backrest, seat with armrests, wheelbase, 5 wheels, a tilt mechanism for the seat, a hydraulic piston for the height adjustment, side covers for the backrest, slide-on lever handles, plus 4 M8 screws, 8 spring washers, 3 Philips screws (there’s one extra, just in case, but you’ll need your own screwdriver) and 1 Allen wrench.

To guide your assembly journey, Secretlab includes a giant (about 30.5 x 26 inches) shiny poster board with instructions. With its jumbo size, clear English and color pictures, these are some of the most builder-friendly instructions we’ve seen. Those instructions are online, as is a video; although, the latter failed to offer more detail than the written version. And neither tells you how to deal with the alignment issues I had.

Comfort and Adjustments

Between the welcoming leather and padding and the amount of adjustments available, the Omega 2020 is a definite upgrade from the standard office chair.

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Its firm seat supports my weight without sinking down or feeling like a hard stack of wood. The outward angled flanks on the side provide the subtle benefit of giving the thighs a place to rest should you start ‘manspreading.’

There’s a lever for making the seat lower or higher (18-21.5 inches), but I wish it went about an inch lower.

A lever on the left side of the seat enables / disables tilt lock, which lets the seat tilt backwards if you lean back. However, at my weight, it took a lot of force to get the chair to tilt, so this is a feature I could easily live without.

The thick padding of the leather also makes for a supportive backrest without being stiff, like the Noblechairs Hero. The backrest goes really far back, to the point where you’re virtually lying down. Between this and the pillows, I’m seeing less need to ever leave this chair. The lever for controlling this is sturdy with thick plastic and finger grooves. Excitingly, the chair doesn’t make a loud clicking noise with every backrest adjustment. I can move forward and backward smoothly. But my handle occasionally gets jammed and needs to be forced into its locked position.

In the same way this chair makes me daydream of naptime, it can also help me feel more focused. With the backrest mostly up (all the way up leaves leaning very slightly forward) and the firm leather padding, I can sit perfectly upright and feel supported and alert, just like when driving (yes, I’m one of those).

Supporting the elbows are a pair of uniquely functional armrests. Via three pairs of buttons, you can slide them up and down, in and out, back and forth, or adjust them diagonally in and out (3 different settings, great for leaning to the side). This has brought me life-changing arm comfort while sitting. Other chairs’ armrests leave my elbows floating in space or prevent me from moving closer to the desk. With the Omega 2020, I can adjust for the way I’m typing, the height of my desk and how low or high I’m sitting, or how close I’m sitting to the desk’s edge. The downside is some of the adjustments lead to the armrests crashing into the backrest's winged side panels. I wish I could slide the armrests out even further to avoid this. Plus the armrests are pretty hard. Even though they’re padded, they’re very firm.

Warranty

Like previous Secretlab gaming chairs, the Omega 2020 comes with a three-year warranty. But you can extend that warranty to five years if you’re willing to publicly post about your chair within a year of purchase on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You can learn more here.

Alternative Designs

If black with red and gold doesn’t match your style, Secretlab offers the Omega 2020 in different color schemes for the same price. There are two with the same black, red stitching and gold writing but with white or royal blue accents, one that’s gray with black writing, or an all-black version.

If you’re willing to pay $30 more you can order an intricate Game of Thrones design to commemorate the Targaryen, Lannister or Stark house, a Batman-branded chair or represent MSI, Cloud9, LCS or DJ deadmau5.

People with stubborn pets may want to consider opting for the fabric version, which feels like soft, thick yarn and fabric. It’s $20 more than our review chair, but the cookies and cream and charcoal blue color schemes alone are tempting.

Bottom Line

The Secretlab Omega 2020 gaming chair offers almost every kind of adjustment you could want, including incredibly adjustable armrests.

Overall, the chair isn’t extremely stiff, but it is firm. You can soften the experience with the 2 included pillows, which are soft and squishy dreams come true. Plus, we’ve confirmed the leather’s spill-resistance and premium feel.

If you’re looking for a lot of rigidity, go for something like the Noblechairs Hero. Those who want something more spongy should look elsewhere. But the Secretlab Omega 2020 offers a great balance between those two feelings.

Photo Credits: Tom’s Hardware