Our Verdict
For the streamer looking to keep up appearances and maintain lasting comfort over extended gaming sessions, the Noblechairs Hero offers both in swathes.
Today I’m writing from the comfort of a plush, gilded throne. Or as it’s more commonly known: the Noblechairs Hero gaming chair. There’s nothing quite like the smell of polyurethane vegan faux leather in the morning, and I’ve been attracting the ire and, what I believe to be, respect of my office peers with this impressive chair for the better part of a month to see what all the fuss is about.
I managed to keep hold of one of just a few gaming chairs in the PCGN office for the better part of the last two years, utilising my superior reach and Karate yellow-belt skills from when I was nine to bat away my enraged, jealous colleagues. But this particular chair was your basic racing-style bucket fare with rather minimal considerations for my poor, decrepit lumbar, and honestly not worthy of all the fuss – which I can now say with complete confidence from the comfort of a better chair.
While I’m sure those two years of terrible ergonomics won’t come back to haunt me later in life (probably), I was rather excited to rest this sweet tush onto something more suitably grandiose.
But when I showed up with two boxes of Noblechair, one for the Hero itself and one for the matching footrest, this new accessory swiftly made me public enemy numero uno among my peers once more. The Noblechairs Hero is no depiction of modesty, after all, not with its towering rear support embroidered with gold trim and velour accents, adjustable lumbar, and accented cushioning.
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But before you can rest easy on your new throne, you’ve got to piece it together. The chair comes dismantled in parts stuffed into a sizeable 29kg box. Luckily, the instructions are clear and concise, and all the tools required for the project are included in the box. Even with my beloved colleagues attempting to distract and perturb my attempts at every turn, I still managed to get the chair slotted together in a little over 20 minutes.
Two people are recommended for the chair’s construction. As they say: “teamwork makes the dream work”. Or as they say in the PCGN office: “many hands make more sarcasm”. You can certainly go it alone if need be, although be prepared for some tricky moments.
And for all that toil, you end up with a chair that’s of the utmost quality. The steel construction doesn’t make for a lightweight frame, coming in at a little under that 28kg total weight, box included, but at least it feels firmly planted on the floor when you whack it at a 45° recline and lounge to your heart’s content. It also adheres to the DIN EN 1335 certification, which is as boring as it sounds, but nevertheless allows for peace of mind that the chair is up to the job at hand – even if you’re gaming for eight hours a day.
The polyurethane vegan faux leather fabric completes a full inner foam construction, which is firm enough to allow for a little commodious give and flex without harbouring slouching. This material wraps around a wider than usual seating area and backrest, which is notably less restrictive than some bucket seat designs. You’ll definitely be thankful for that extra wiggle room over long stints.
While the Hero’s ‘4D customisable armrests’ are yet another affront to the laws of space and time – thanks marketing departments – they are capable of adroit movement in 3D space. Particularly height, width, depth, and angle. Each armrest is on an independently and adjustable support, with the ability to expand, contract, or even rotate to your preference.
But what truly sets the Hero apart is the integrated and micro-adjustable lumbar support. A convenient dial on the right side of the backrest allows you to crank the lumbar up to your tastes, delivering granular back support the likes of which most gamers have never even heard of.
It’s certainly a better system than the usual cushioned affair, though the Hero is also equipped with a rear back support cushion if needs must. However, this is lacking in any strap to attach it to the chair, and so can be a pain to place in the ideal location with every sizeable fidget.
The Noblechairs Hero will set you back $440 (£366) – a chunky price tag for a gilded throne. But that’s also a small price to pay for peace of mind, or at least to the serial worriers among you. Because the Hero is, for all its grandeur and pomp, an investment in long-lasting and responsible comfort.
The footrest is another £110 on top of that, although often an unnecessary investment for PC gamers anchored to a desk. While a smart and comfortable design, the sheer size of the unit renders it unable to sit underneath a desk. At least not without adopting some strange, obnoxiously and overly-confident open-legged position that Twitch’s higher-ups largely frown upon these days.
Gaming chairs often fall foul of looks over proven ergonomic design, yet the Hero manages to tread the fine line between gamer chic and office ergonomics. After all, why settle for a gaming chair that looks like the driving seat of a McLaren 720S GT3 when you’re realistically never going to scoot more than 1MPH across your room to reach the day-old guacamole you left on your bedside table because you’re a terrible person who can’t get their priorities straight. Instead get a chair that is bigger, comfier, and has been designed for you to rest your glutes in for eight hours. That’s the Noblechairs Hero.