HARDWARE REVIEW

Noblechairs Hero Series Gaming Chair Review

by Luke Walsh, April 28th, 2019

We’ve looked at a couple of gaming chairs over the last 12 months, one of the stands out new companies to market is noblechairs, a brand that has spent considerable time at making chairs that look professional – moving away from the usual “gamer look” that can be a little ghastly and focusing on two main things, quality and comfort.

Today’s review looks at their latest chair to the market which targets the gamer which is looking for a stronger chair and one designed to be wider than the previous ranges. The noblechair Hero gaming chair still takes the previous learnings from the ICON and EPIC with cold cured foam, PU leather for the base version and top-grain real leather for the premium style while adding some additional upgrades.

Construction wise, any of the noblechair range is pretty easy to put together. As long as you have space it should only take you around 20 minutes from start to finish with no additional tools required other than what is supplied within the box.

You can always tell when something has had more thought when looking at how well it is packaged and the tools being supplied. All these things combined show that extra level of detail you’d want from something you are potentially forking out a bigger sum of money than you are used to on a butt resting device.

As mentioned though, the box is massive and overall quite heavy so although I had no trouble building it alone, you’d not be wrong to ask for an extra pair of hands to speed up the process. The instructions do also suggest to use at least two people, which I’d suggest but completely achievable if you are not able to pull someone else in to help.

Looking at the design you can see the noblechairs branding in the usual places as the other chairs on the backrest, the pillows and the headrest as an embossed logo. With the various colour options, most gamers will get the colour they want to match their set up. We opted for the black/black colour choice which has black stitching as well as the black PU leather. This option is a good base for anyone who wants a nice looking chair without any over the top colours. Office work would be the most ideal for this type of chair, which also works because the Hero gaming chair has the European Standard DIN EN 1335 certification which ensures it meets dimension requirements, safety requirements and other testing approval.

Most of the build is very similar to the other chairs on sale at noblechairs but there are some big differences too. One of the biggest changes is the built-in lumbar support that will as the name suggests support your lower back while using the chair. This is great for extended gaming sessions or just time at your desk and means you don’t need to use any external pillows. Even without the need to use the lumbar cushion, noblechairs have included the pillow for free to those that do like to use it.

Velour is used for the lumbar and headrest pillow plus on the sides of the chair, while the headrest itself is made from memory foam adds a nice softness to the overall feel of the chair. Due to the added extras like the lumbar mechanism, it does make it more comfortable than the ICON and EPIC chair in a different way. The ICON and EPIC are very comfortable chairs, and we use them in the office alongside the HERO but the difference comes from structured support on your lower back and the softer headrest along with the additional pillows just adds that tiny bit more to it. Of course, this makes complete sense as the HERO is designed to be the “top line” of product the noblechair sells, and the additional cost goes into the materials making a good range of chairs even better.

Speaking more of the built-in lumbar support, there is a dial on the left side of the chair which you can use to increase or decrease the internal padding. The more you turn it the further forward it pushes up into a position of where your lower lumbar is adding direct support to those muscles while you sit into the chair. The amount of pressure into your lower back is really dependant on preference, some will like a little bit while others will want it as high up as possible. I found while using the chair I had it turned more “up” when I was using the chair for a long time (4+ hours) in one go. Even when having it on the lowest setting, i.e. the off position, there is still a decent level of padding from the main chair body itself.

The biggest differences in the size of the chair are more in the backrest than they are in the base. The lower seat is 1cm wider than the ICON and is a little smaller than the EPIC. The backrest of the HERO is 57cm at the widest point while the ICON and EPIC are smaller with the ICON 39cm at the top part of the backrest. Although the numbers are not massively different, these small increases in the right places do have an impact on how big the chair is.

The HERO not only is bigger in the area you’d rest your back on, it just feels bigger when sitting on it. On top of the wider base and backrest for the HERO noblechairs has also increased the size of the armrests which overall looks to support wider gamers and users of their chairs.

I’ve been using this chair now for over a month, every single day while writing this review and working on other things. Comfort wise, this is probably the best chair I have ever sat on to date with the added width of the chair, the lumbar support and the pillows it just screams you to come and sit down on it. While gaming I tend to have it leaning back a little more using the built-in recliner but when doing work it becomes more upright so I can sit more ergonomically at the desk to write emails, code or content.

For every scenario, the HERO is soft enough to be nice to sit on but firm enough that you don’t sink into the chair creating uneven seating positions that can cause aches on your muscles. This is down to the cold cured foam again being able to keep the shape for a long time rather than being cut from a large block of foam. To get a sense of the quality in cold cured foam, the oldest noblechair gaming chair we have even after a few years still has the exact same shape and look it did when we opened the box.

Not only does the cold cured foam stand up against constant use on the other chairs, so does the PU Leather which is easy to clean but also durable. It is also vegan-friendly as it is a completely synthetic substance but if you do want a leather alternative then you can also opt for their real leather version which is more expensive.

The only negative which would look to be a bit a stretch is that on the HERO the armrests seem to rock about. This is not a major thing but when looking at the ICON and EPIC the armrests rock a little bit but only when making an active effect to move them. The HERO seems to have a little more space between the metal work and the actual armrest part which causes it to move in its setting a bit more.

Overall, the HERO series gaming chair from noblechairs is a pretty much a perfect gaming chair where the only “bad” point was really, really hard to find and it a little bit of nit-picking than anything else. The chair is bigger, feels sturdier and has built-in lumbar that really helps when using the chair for an extended period of time. Build quality is still top notch and I’d expect it to last just as long as the ICON which we’ve had the longest.

If you’ve read my other reviews you know the importance I place on a decent gaming chair that you’ll spend a lot of your life sitting on. I’d recommend the HERO to anyone who is looking to up their seating game from streamers who spend all day gaming, office workers who are looking for something that looks professional but will last years (i.e a good investment) or the casual gamer or PC user who just wants a little treat when they sit down at their PC.