Here’s a bold executive/gamer design with some interesting qualities. Secretlab’s Ash Leatherette chair is a greyish off-white design with intelligent effects. The greyish tint subdues the brightness of the white. That helps it blend in easily to most workspaces. It’s also color-reflective, bouncing exact RGB lighting effects back at you! ChairsFX reviews the Secretlab Titan Ash Leatherette chair. It’s a graceful, elegant design for both gamers and executives.
On Secretlab’s website, its Ash Leatherette chairs look steely-grey. In fact, the Ash is a white gaming chair with a very slight hint of grey. That softens the brightness of the white, helping the Ash chair blend in rather than stand out.
That wasn’t what I expected when I ordered an Ash chair. Even so, using it has been a pleasant surprise. This design has definite appeal for both RGB gamers and power executives.
Available from Secretlab in North America, the EU and UK, Oceania, Singapore, and Malaysia.
2022 Series Titan Ash (medium) $549
Titan Ash (small) $549 | Titan Ash (XL) $599
Titan Ash Leatherette Chair Review
Secretlab’s latest 2022 Series models are a big step ahead of competing gaming chairs. The ergonomic functionality, durability, and aesthetics are on a completely different level.
This section assesses those aspects using a 2022 Series Ash Leatherette chair.
Neo Hybrid Leatherette Ash Upholstery
Every two years, Secretlab executes major upgrades of its upholsteries. The last faux leather version was called Prime 2.0 Pu Leather. The latest is called Neo Hybrid Leatherette.
The new material fuses a microfiber base layer onto a resin top laminate. The end result is more breathable, 4 x more durable, and a lot smoother than the old version.
You can see the difference under a macro lens. Neo Hybrid Leatherette has a smoother grain that looks more like NAPA than faux leather. To the touch, it feels rich, buttery-smooth, and very much like genuine leather topside.
First-hand Ash Leatherette Impressions
The Titan Ash is a graceful, elegant-looking chair. From all angles, it exudes sophistication and class. The leatherette material has a soft, smooth, pliable feel. It offers decent grip under clothing, without any sense of slipperiness.
After a few weeks of using mine, the clean white leather looks like new. However, it shows dust buildup quicker than dark chairs do. I see that as a positive – it gives more incentive to wipe down your chair at least once a day.
Before this model, I had used a dark Titan Stealth chair. Both are excellent, in different ways. The Stealth lives up to its name by blending seamlessly into a workspace. In comparison, the Ash chair brightens a workspace with a crisp, clean, yet muted look.
Ash Colorway Appeal For Executives and Gamers
The Ash chair has a pale white base accented with black suede side wings and black/ silver threading. Under normal lighting conditions, a very mild grey tinge dampens the intensity of the white.
Instead of a blinding white, it brightens a workspace discretely, without overwhelming the senses. As the centerpiece of a corporate workstation, expect elegant grace with a clean, fresh feel.
Black and white are staples in office interior designs. Black surfaces absorb all colors of the visible spectrum. As a result, when light reflects off black upholstery, none reflects back to the eyes.
In contrast, white contains all the colors of the spectrum. White objects reflect back all color wavelengths that shine on them.
Doctors wear white to convey clinical cleanliness and efficiency. The white in referee uniforms symbolizes purity and impartiality. In professional settings, white conveys cleanliness, reliability, and integrity.
White gaming chairs are also the most color reflective. If you have RGB in your setup, the Secretlab Ash will reflect back the exact colors that shine onto it!
Ergonomic Functionality
The Titan 2022 Series is the most ergonomically advanced gaming chair on the market. Chairs come in small, medium, and large sizes. Two standout features put the Titan well ahead of the competition.
First, a strapless magnetic headrest pillow allows for an extra-large adjustment range. Second, a 4-way integrated lumbar lets you adjust the depth and height of the support.
Combined, it’s easy to customize both to support the natural curves of your spine. Then, sitting in a clean neutral position becomes almost effortless.
Summary of Specifications
For a deep analysis of Titan specs, see this Titan 2022 Series gaming chair review. Here are the highlights:
If the built-in lumbar unit hits higher or lower than your lower back curve, turn the dial on the left. Toggle the unit up or down until you find your sweet spot. Then, turn the knob on the right to adjust the depth of support. If you need help with this part, check our Lumbar Support Biomechanics Tutorial.
A strapless magnetic system delivers two benefits. First, it gives the chair a clean, contemporary, professional look. There’s nothing else like this anywhere on the market.
Second, without straps, users enjoy a much larger adjustment range of adjustment. The magnet holds the pillow in place from the top of the backrest to the bottom of the embroidered “T”.
The seat’s side edges have also been toned down to a gentler slope. That contrasts with the hard ridged seat edges on typical gaming chairs. Ridged edges help support good posture, but can feel restrictive. The Titan seat addresses. Its flat edges provide enough room to sit cross-legged. Even so, soft edges provide support to gently guide users to the center of the seat.
Titan 2022 Series Sizing
Titan 2022 Series chairs come with wide, spacious seats in small, medium, and XL sizes. Secretlab’s recommended size ratings are spot-on.
In most cases, simply choose the size rating that you fit into and then select a design. For example, I stand 5’9″. According to Secretlab’s size ratings, that means I should choose a medium-sized Titan chair.
[table id=116 responsive=”scroll” /]Based on Secretlab’s size ratings, I ordered a medium-sized Titan Cookies and Cream. It fits like a glove! To test sizing limits, I also ordered an XL Ash chair. Based on Secretlab’s size ratings, I’m two inches too short to fit into XL models.
Even so, the Titan’s 4-way lumbar and magnetic headrest offer excellent, versatile adjustability. As a result, I also enjoy an excellent (but more spacious) fit in an XL chair.
That shows it’s possible to supersize your Titan against Secretlab’s recommendations if you wish. Based on my tests, the depth of the seat is the key spec to look out for. Learn more in this feature:
Other Standard Leatherette Colors
There are five standard designs in Secretlab’s Leatherette collection. Unlike Secretlab’s artistic specialty chairs, these have plain designs in subdued, corporate-style colors.
Neutral (aka achromatic) colors are white, grey, and black. White contains all colors in the spectrum, while black is the absence of light. Neutral blacks, greys, and whites are office design staples.
They complement other colors well, and pair well with wooden desks. In a corporate setting, they also stimulate a sense of formality and group harmony.
Available from Secretlab in North America, the EU and UK, Oceania, Singapore, and Malaysia.
2022 Series Titan Ash (medium) $549
Titan Ash (small) $549 | Titan Ash (XL) $599
Titan Stealth
If you can’t decide on a Titan design, this is the safest pick in the bunch. The Secretlab Titan’s original design is still one of its most popular. Its base black leatherette layer gives it the power look of an executive chair. Carbon fiber side wings and red accent stitching add subtle touches of pop.
The Stealth chair’s golden embroidery touches also add an interesting effect. Under bright light, they give the chair a brownish hue. As lighting darkens, the chair blends in with the shadows like a stealthy ninja.
Learn more about the aesthetic effects of this design in our hands-on Titan Stealth Review.
Available from Secretlab in North America, the EU and UK, Oceania, Singapore, and Malaysia.
2022 Series Stealth (small) $549 | 2022 Series Stealth (XL) $599
Titan Black
The all-black Titan is a slightly riskier pick than the Titan Stealth. It has the same dark leatherette as the Stealth, but no contrasting effects. The suede side wings are black, as is the threading.
The ‘risk’ is that some might find the lack of contrast boring. There are no special details to marvel over except darkness. Even so, that’s exactly what some people want in an executive chair.
If you prefer a look that connotes power, elegance, and formality, the Titan Black is a solid option.
2022 Series Black (small) $549 | 2022 Series Black (XL) $599
Titan Classic
The Titan Classic is a riff on the Titan Stealth. Both feature a black leatherette base with red accent stitching. The difference is in the side wings. Instead of black carbon fiber wings like the Stealth, the Classic has white suede wings.
Black absorbs light; white reflects it. As a result, the white accents give the Classic chair a bit more visual ‘pop’ than the Stealth.
Even so, its ubiquitous white and black color scheme is a true classic. For a corporate workspace, it offers crisp, predictable aesthetics. For a home office or game room, it’s a safe pick to blend into your decor rather than stand out.
Titan Royal
Black, grey, and white aren’t technically considered colors. Thus the Titan Royal the only colored chair in the standard leatherette collection. Even so, like the other models, it continues the executive design theme.
Blue is a staple in corporate design. It’s a cool, natural color that evokes tranquility and mental stimulation. Some studies have shown that people are more productive in blue rooms than white ones.
As such, many designers use blue in places where people need to focus and get work done.
Titan Ash Leatherette Chair Conclusion
Last year, I also tested out a bright yellow Titan Cyberpunk chair. That proved to be a dizzying, high-energy thrill ride. In comparison, the Titan Ash has a more subdued, executive style feel.
When I first ordered the Ash chair, I was expecting a light grey model. Had I known it’s actually off-white, I might have been too scared to order it. For one thing, I feared that a blinding white chair might be too distracting. For another, white stains easily.
My experience with the Ash chair has rendered those concerns irrelevant. It’s not a blinding white, but rather a soft, soothing greyish-white.
It’s also near-indestructible — guaranteed to support full-time use for 5 years or more. I don’t baby mine at all and have no worries. Once first-time buyers get a feel for the nuanced qualities of Neo Hybrid Leatherette, they won’t either.
Both gamers and executives will find the Ash chair lends a cleaner, brighter look to a workstation. Gamers will appreciate its reflective reactions against RGB lighting.
Executives will find a crisp, clean alternative to the other standard leatherette dark designs. It’s out-of-the-ordinary, yet still within corporate design parameters.
If you’re looking to stand apart from the crowd without pushing boundaries, the Ash chair is a perfect choice.
Get Started With Healthy Sitting
To get started with an Ash chair, make sure to choose the right Titan size. Then, spend the first few days breaking in your chair while adapting to neutral sitting techniques.
If not used to sitting that way, you might feel stiffness in your legs and lower back at first. Once your muscles adapt, effortless sitting and all potential benefits become yours to enjoy!
Available from Secretlab in North America, the EU and UK, Oceania, Singapore, and Malaysia.
