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Pokimane ‘Upgrade’: Aeron To Secretlab Titan 2022 SoftWeave
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What gaming chair does Pokimane Use? In Nov. 2021, she swapped her iconic EPIC gaming chair for a Herman Miller Aeron. That tumultuous adventure didn’t even last a year. After returning from a break in Sept. 2022, she debuted her new ride. Now, Pokimane uses a Secretlab Titan 2022 Frost Blue SoftWeave chair.
All ergonomic chairs are designed to do the same thing: support neutral postures. All rely on the same trio of adjustable features to do so. Technically, the ‘best’ chair is the one that best enforces neutral postures.
But from a usability perspective, that alone may feel limiting. As a case in point, Pokimane has ‘upgraded’ from a $1700+ Aeron to a $469 Secretlab Titan. Upgrade???
Pokimane’s Ergonomic Chair History
In 2022, Pokimane is the only female streamer among Twitch’s top 20. She ranks 9th overall, with 9.2 million followers(1). On Youtube, she has over 6.6 million subscribers.
She’s also a founding member of Offline TV and a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient. In each stream, hundreds of thousands of eyes focus on her gaming setup.
Her main streaming partnership is with HyperX. She exclusively uses their headsets, keyboards, mice, and mouse pads during streams. She’s never had a chair partner. That means her chair experiences (as shared through her streams) are likely authentic.
During her streaming career, Pokimane has used 5 different ergonomic chairs. She started in 2018 atop a DXRacer. In early 2019, she streamed a gaming room tour that included a Herman Miller Embody(2).
Herman Miller rates that chair for sizes 5’4″ to 6’2″; Pokimane stands 5’4″. Smaller sizes will be dismayed to discover the Embody doesn’t have a height-adjustable lumbar or backrest. That ensures smaller sizes like her a less-than-perfect fit.
An ill-fitting chair means less back support where you need it. Without good support, the muscles must do the work instead. Then, lethargy and stiffness may arise. If so, it’s a sign that your neutral posture form is off.
That’s likely the reason why Pokimane replaced her $1700 Embody with a $350 Noblechairs Epic gaming chair. For the next two years, her white Epic chair became an iconic part of her streaming setup.
But in late 2021, she started to suffer from wrist pain. To address that issue, she invested over $2000 in a fully-loaded Herman Miller Aeron chair. But less than a year later, she ditched her Aeron for a Secretlab Titan!
Poki’s Aeron Chair Mistakes
Many of the world’s top streamers follow a similar trajectory. Most rose from obscurity to fame atop racing-style gaming chairs. Then, when they hit the big time, elites like Ninja, Shroud and Tfue ‘upgrade’ to ergo office chairs. Pokimane is a notable exception.
The Herman Miller Aeron is widely regarded as the best ergonomic chair in the world. Beyond its stunning good looks, it also provides flawless posture support. In fact, it’s harder to slouch in this chair than it is to sit straight!
So why on earth would someone downgrade from a $1500+ Aeron to a $469+ Titan gaming chair? Pokimane’s Aeron adventures reveal four potential reasons.
Prospective Aeron buyers should read these points before investing their hard-earned cash!
- Investing in a pricey chair for the wrong reason.
- Overestimating what ‘ergonomic’ actually means.
- Choosing an Aeron Posturefit (not height-adjustable) instead of the sliding lumbar pad.
- Using a headrest with a mid-back ergonomic chair.
Buying a Pricey Chair For the Wrong Reasons
Pokimane’s first mistake was buying a pricey Aeron chair for the wrong reason. She bought hers hoping it would fix a wrist pain flareup. But 3 esports doctors we spoke to agreed that’s the worst reason to replace one ergo chair for another.
Dr. William Duncan: “A chair alone cannot fix your issues. If you work on strength & endurance and use a good chair, this will most likely resolve the source of your symptoms…”
To address wrist pain, Dr. Jordan Tsai suggests “motion exercises, strengthening, and stretching”. For gaming pain relief, he suggests one’s chair as the least important priority. “Rest/nutrition/exercises > breaks > good posture > good chair.” Learn more:
Confusing ‘Ergonomics’ With Complex Magic
Over the years, many people have bashed gaming chairs for being ‘not ergonomic’. This is because many uninformed people confuse ‘ergonomics’ with vague, mysterious magic.
In seating terms, ‘ergonomic’ simply means ‘adjustable’. Any chair qualifies as ergonomic by having three adjustable features.
The point of this trio of features is to support neutral sitting postures. Adjustable lumbar support keeps the spine in alignment. Adjustable arms provide extra bracing for the spine. A reclining backrest enables seated movement.
As a result, when some people splash out on pricey Herman Miller chairs, they expect mysterious, magical ‘ergonomics’ to kick off. Instead, what they get is boring posture support. That can be disappointing.
For instance, the GamersNexus video bashing gaming chairs for being ‘not ergonomic’ has over three million views. In the above clip, the host suffers disappointment when he discovers that ‘ergonomic’ simply means ‘adjustable’.
Bottom line: to avoid disappointment, make sure you know what ‘ergonomic’ really means before spending large on a chair. In reality, a $200 chair with the requisite ergonomics provides the same neutral posture support as a $1500 chair!
Choosing Posturefit Instead of Lumbar Pad
When people misinterpret ‘ergonomics’ (simple chair adjustability) with vague magic, buying an Aeron chair can be complex. In fact, there are seven build options to consider when checking out on HermanMiller.com.
In the Herman Miller Store, the default build comes with a Posturefit lumbar system. That’s the only lumbar support system in the world that supports two parts of the lower spine. However, it’s depth but not height-adjustable!
With a perfect fit, users rave about the support. However, my 5’9″ frame found an imperfect fit in both the Size A and B options. With an imperfect fit, the dual Posturefit pads will hit the wrong spots of your spine and feel like bricks!
While crowdsourcing some help to figure out her Aeron’s settings, Pokimane discovered the Posturefit limit the hard way! As she tried to adjust the height of her support, she discovered it was frozen in place!
Bottom line: unless you can verify the Posturefit in person, stick with the adjustable lumbar pad for best results. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck with an ill-fitting lumbar support that hurts instead of helps! Learn more:
Adding A Headrest To A Mid-Back Chair
Pokimane also erred by adding a third-party headrest to her Aeron chair. Herman Miller is adamant that its mid-back chairs work best without headrests.
According to the company, adding a headrest to an Aeron will distort good posture. Studies on car seats with and without headrests confirm this. Without headrests, users naturally balance their heads above their shoulders.
In contrast, adding a headrest to a mid-back chair will induce an off-center neck tilt. With the neck off-center, two things happen. First, the lower back curve flattens. Second, the upper spine curls into a slouch. The net result is lower and upper back pain.
Bottom line: Pokimane made her ill-fitting lumbar support worse with a posture-distorting headrest. That combination likely made her Aeron experience insanely uncomfortable.
‘Upgrading’ From Aeron to Titan Chair?
While researching text neck syndrome earlier this year, I discovered myself a victim of it! With the help of three world-leading esports doctors, I fixed the problem using a Titan 2022 gaming chair.
To ensure a 0° neck tilt in a Titan chair, set the recline to a steep 100° angle. Then, plant your feet, set your lumbar support, and sit straight.
The net result provides the same level of biomechanically-precise support as a $1700 Herman Miller Embody!
But in fact, the $469+ Titan goes beyond good posture support with some notable extras. First, its lumbar system delivers better adjustability than the $1600+ Aeron chair!
Second, Herman Miller chairs force you to sit upright at all times. That’s ideal in theory. But in practice, while working from home, psychological perceptions of comfort also factor in.
Better Lumbar Support
Herman Miller gives you a choice of a Posturefit (depth-adjustable) or lumbar pad (height-adjustable). In contrast, the Titan’s lumbar support is height and depth adjustable. This is significant.
This ergonomic standards review declares that good lumbar support should hit around 4 cm deep.
Meanwhile, an average adult male’s spine is around 30″ long; a woman’s is around 24″ long. For best results, an average man should position his lumbar support around 7.5″ above the seat. An average woman should set hers around 5.5″ higher than the seat.
Given that every human spine is unique, a fixed-height system like the Posturefit is guaranteed to not fit everyone. In comparison, the height-adjustable lumbar pad will fit – simply slide up or down until it does.
However, it lacks the depth adjustment that the Titan has. That will deliver less precision than what the Titan offers. Learn more:
More Versatile Seat Style
The Aeron provides almost foolproof posture support. Set the seat height, plant your feet, and rest your spine against the mesh backrest. However, its main posture enforcement method isn’t as sophisticated as some may assume.
To force people to sit with planted feet, its mesh seat is lined with a hard plastic ridge. That prevents you from sitting with one or both feet up. Since users are forced to sit with planted feet, they’re more likely to maintain good posture.
In contrast, the Titan has a wide seat that encourages varied postures. Beyond sitting with planted feet, users can put one foot up or sit cross-legged with ease and comfort. So which style is better?
While good posture support is vital, movement while sitting is also important to ward off sedentary health risks.
Would you prefer rigid sitting that guarantees good posture? Or flexible seating that’s more comfortable – but less posturally accurate?
More Varied Aesthetics
The Aeron is without a doubt one of the sexiest ergonomic chairs on the market. It comes in a choice of light or dark styles with mix-and-match base colors.
In comparison, the Titan Evo 2022 comes in 45+ styles. Beyond sleek and sexy styles there are playful, vibrant, and soothing options. Pokimane went with a Frost Blue Softweave chair.
Color psychologists tout blue as a soothing color that sparks creativity. Studies show that red stimulates attention to detail. In comparison, blue facilitates creative, out-of-the-box thinking.
Pokimane’s new streaming room has plenty of sunlight. She’s decorated it with lots of soft pastels. The Frost Blue Softweave chair slots in seamlessly.
Studies show that blue colors lower blood pressure(3). That slows the heart rate and reduces stress. Meanwhile, associations with water and the sky stimulate openness and tranquility.
These factors create a ‘safe’ feeling that stimulates out-of-the-box thinking. For the world’s #1 female streamer, it seems like an excellent match! Learn more:
Up-Close Look: All 8 Titan 2022 Series SoftWeave Styles
The small and medium Frost Blue Softweave chairs (plus others) are now on sale for $469 from Secretlab ($140 off).
Titan Vs Aeron Specifications
Here’s a quick look at Titan and Aeron specs. For a deeper dive, see this Titan Vs Aeron Work-From-Home Comparison.
| Secretlab Titan | Herman Miller Aeron | |
| Lumbar support | Height and depth-adjustable | Height or depth-adjustable |
| Recline range | 85° to 165° | 93° to 104° |
| Armrests | 4D | 3D |
| Price | $469 (SALE) (small) | $1545 (all 3 sizes) |
| Warranty | 5 years | 12 years |
| Price per year | $93.80 | $103.00 |
Why The Titan Is A (Contextual) Upgrade
Swapping one premium ergonomic chair for another is usually an upgrade. But trading in a $1500 Aeron for a $469 Titan chair is a downgrade, right?
If you confuse ‘ergonomic’ adjustability with high magic, it’s easy to get mesmerized. For instance, the Aeron has a fancy sync-tilt feature. That lets you tilt the seat up or down in sync with the backrest.
Sync-tilt may seem super-necessary — if you don’t grasp what seated ‘ergonomics’ actually entails. Within that context, the Titan’s ergonomics are not a downgrade at all! In fact, its provides more functionality than the Aeron’s does!
Beyond supporting crisp neutral postures, it gives you full freedom to mix things up. Use it for gaming, relaxing, watching movies, or even napping.
Here’s the thing: Timthetatman, Ninja, Tfue, Shroud, XQC, and many others upgraded from gaming chairs to Herman Miller ones. All did so as thriving streamers gunning for greater glory.
In comparison, in Pokimane’s comeback video, she expresses a desire to stream less, and relax more. Instead of grinding harder, she’s gearing down.
With that in mind, her ‘upgrade’ to a more versatile and psychologically comforting Titan chair makes perfect sense!
For more on that angle, see Gaming Chairs Vs Ergonomic Office Chairs: Ergonomic Comfort Vs Focus. To learn more about the Titan experience, read my hands-on review:
Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 Review: Ultimate WFH Ergo Chair
Small and medium Frost Blue Softweave chairs (plus other styles) are now on sale for $469 from Secretlab ($140 off).
Footnotes
- Calum Patterson, ‘Top 20 Twitch Streamers (September 2022) – Most followed channels’, Entertainment, September 16 2022. https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/top-20-most-followed-twitch-streamers-750744/, (accessed 19 August 2022).
- Pokimane, ‘Pokimane’s Dark Secrets REVEALED! $10,000 Room Tour 2019!’. Youtube, Feb. 27, 2019 https://youtu.be/2AQrjLjtScY?t=389, (accessed 18 Feb. 2022).
- Science News. ‘Effect Of Colors: Blue Boosts Creativity, While Red Enhances Attention To Detail’, University of British Columbia. February 6, 2009. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090205142143.htm, (accessed 18 Jan. 2022).
