Secretlab Atlas Ergonomic Office Chair Review: Pros, Cons & Verdict

I’ve been geeking out over office chairs for about 5 years now. Dozens of them have graced my home office as I’ve searched for the best ergonomic chair you can buy.

On this quest, I’ve purchased everything from the cheap-and-cheerful Sihoo M90 to the eye-wateringly expensive (but not very comfortable) Herman Miller Aeron.

Secretlab chairs have never been my thing. The bulky gamer aesthetic has always been too garish for my liking – largely because I’m a 45-year-old married man with a kid.

As in, not a kid myself.

Above: The Pure colour options are 100% colour coded, so a Pure Black+ chair will be entirely black. A Pure White+ chair, meanwhile, will be – you guessed it – 100% white.

The Atlas, released in early 2026, attempts to solve this problem.

Secretlab decided to take a chunk out of the ‘adult’ ergonomic chair market by creating a chair with a more muted, slimmer aesthetic.

I got one in Pure Black+ leatherette option to maximise its sober minimalism, and take full advantage of the (allegedly superior) Nanogen option.

Above: Atlas retains some of that ‘sculpted bucket’ aesthetic, but the backrest is much slimmer than Titan’s, so it won’t take up as much space.

Reasons To Buy The Secretlab Atlas Ergonomic Office Chair.

Despite Secretlab’s attempts to give the Atlas a less outlandish look, it’s still a big chair – largely because the one-piece backrest is so tall.

Secretlab did a great job balancing the (impossibly) competing needs of nodding to its gamer heritage while distancing itself from it sufficiently enough to attract people like me.

It won’t overpower your home office in the way the Titan will, but it will not blend in, either.

Secretlab’s designers achieved the sleek look by miniaturising controls to an almost unreasonable level.

You won’t find ugly levers or buttons anywhere – all controls are tucked away into two dual-use mechanisms on either side of the chair.

Above: Right-hand-side control. The outer ring controls the height. The inner red tab controls the recline lock-off.

The knobs wobble a little more than I’d like, but this is a minor detail.

But before I delve too deeply into the chair’s build quality, let me talk about assembly.

It’s probably the best experience I’ve ever had assembling a chair.

The entire process is a carefully managed event in itself. It genuinely makes you feel excited about what’s inside.

A mysterious-looking box starts the show.

Above: Secretlab has clearly thought about the theatre of assembly.

You pop it open to discover assembly instructions – clear, beautifully designed, easy to follow.

Inside is a black envelope that looks like something Tom Cruise would receive just before embarking on yet another Mission: Impossible.

You can assemble your Atlas by referring to a giant poster or an A4-sized booklet. Up to you.

Above: The Atlas isn’t a difficult chair to assemble, and the gorgeous instructions make it even easier.

Most office chair brands just shrinkwrap components and throw them inside the box.

Secretlab’s packaging feels more like an action-movie reveal, where the hero opens a hard case and reveals every component of a sniper rifle, laid out with military precision.

I’ve never seen a chair brand do this – and it might seem like an inconsequential detail, but it reinforces the already positive experience.

Above: The packaging doesn’t feel like a bunch of chair parts.

Alright, I’ve raved about Atlas’ assembly process for long enough. What’s the actual chair like, Steven?

Did Secretlab succeed at building a legitimate ergonomic chair? Or did they create a gimmicky spinoff of the Titan?

Neither.

Because the Atlas would have been an almost-unbeatable ergonomic chair – if it wasn’t for two critical details (see my Reasons To Avoid, below).

It’s a shame, because it has so much going for it.

The build quality is rock-solid. I wouldn’t call it high-end, but it’s exactly on par for its $700-$1100 price point.

I hate when office chairs wobble or rattle, and, notwithstanding the somewhat loose control handles I mentioned earlier, I’m happy to report that none of these quirks exists on the Atlas.

The chair feels bulletproof.

Above: Stencilled logos are cool AF.

Seating position, meanwhile, is … nuanced.

I suspect Atlas will get a fair bit of hate online for being “too firm.”

Mostly from people who have spent the last decade in squishy gaming chairs – and expect Secretlab’s first ergonomic chair to feel like their grandma’s sofa.

To be clear – an ergonomic chair isn’t supposed to feel soft and spongy. By definition. Don’t listen to those people.

In my view, Atlas has the right amount of firmness.

The backrest and seat pan do not physically flex. 

You sit wedged inside a bucket-style shell, much like you would in a traditional gaming chair.

But Atlas does allow you to move a little by pressing your various body parts into the foam.

It feels like a simulated flex of sorts – and makes the seating position less rigid than you might expect.

Above: The aggressive-looking side bolsters are actually soft to the touch – they’ll allow you to sit cross-legged (but you shouldn’t do it if ergonomic seating is a priority).

The recline, by the way, is outstanding. Secretlab opted for a classic synchro-tilt which, unlike gaming chair mechanisms, raises your seat pan by only 1 degree for every 2 degrees of tilt.

This means your feet don’t come off the ground when you recline.

The only minor downside is that it’s always a little reclined. The most upright position is 100 degrees at the sharpest angle, so you never quite get that perfect tasking feeling.

Reasons To Avoid The Atlas Ergonomic Office Chair.

Atlas offers you a choice of two sizes: regular and large. But don’t be fooled into thinking that the latter raises your sitting position. It doesn’t.

While seat and backrest widths increase by about 5%, the seat height stays the same on both sizes. 41cm at the lowest setting, and 48.5cm at the highest.

It also means the larger size caters to heavier people – but not taller people.

This is a bizarre blunder by Secretlab – for several reasons.

It also makes ergonomic forearm placement tricky, as desktops of many regular desks will be on a higher horizontal plane than you need (unless you have a height-adjustable desk).

Finally, Atlas’ seat depth adjustment is one of the deepest I’ve ever seen.

Its 46cm – 52cm maximum depth is huge and perfect for tall people like me with long legs. And yet, this opportunity to provide under-leg support is squandered by the low seat height.

So in a weird way, Secretlab created a chair with a seat pan that is too low for tall people, but a seat depth that is too big for short people.

Above: The exposed stitching is a beautiful detail that reminds me of expensive Audis.

The second downside of the Atlas chair is its tendency to trap heat. Thick, solid backrest and fake leather are the perfect recipe for poor breathability.

And poor breathability = sweat.

If you have a high metabolism and/or are overweight, I strongly recommend choosing one of the three fabric materials instead – that will help keep you cool.

Especially if you live in one of Australia’s hotter cities.

Above: The armcaps have a strong front edge that can dig into your forearms when reclining.

I like – but don’t love – the Atlas’ armcaps.

Their density is perfect – hard enough to provide support to your forearms, but soft enough not to irritate your elbows when you lean into them.

But their front edges are quite, um, sudden. If you like working in a semi-reclined position, you’ll notice them pressing against your forearms – and not in a soothing way.

The armcaps do pivot, and Secretlab wants you to believe that this replaces the need for a dedicated width control.

It can – but only if the front edges of the armcaps have a smooth taper. Which they don’t.

Or, more precisely, its lack thereof.

Secretlab made the controversial decision to remove all lumbar adjustments on the Atlas, arguing that the vast majority of users never adjust it, anyway.

On the surface, that’s an intelligent argument. It certainly matches my anecdotal experience – I dial in the lumbar once, and never touch it again.

Secretlab erred on the weaker side. The built-in lumbar support is flaccid. Almost nonexistent.

But this is the smarter decision – because you can always add more lumbar support using lumbar pillows.

Secretlab is more than happy to sell you a (very cool-looking) lumbar pillow for $99. I recommend you get one – your lower back will thank you.

The downside I’m worried about is that all these additions are pushing the chair’s price up.

If you’re tall, you’ll need a large chair, modified with about $100 worth of rollers and a piston, plus a $99 lumbar pillow.

Your total price for a Nanofoam model will be hovering dangerously close to $1,400. This is still competitive, but I fear it may be steep for many folks this chair is aimed at.

How The Secretlab Atlas Ergonomic Chair Stacks Up.

The Atlas scores below average for adjustments and warranty. But it compensates for those with superb aesthetics and good comfort.

My Final Verdict On The Secretlab Atlas Ergonomic Chair.

Uff, this is a hard one.

The Atlas is not a chair for short people. If you’re shorter than ~155 cm, the 46 cm minimum seat depth will likely press into the back of your knees and affect circulation. Stay away.

The Atlas can be an ergonomic chair for tall people – but only if you modify its lumbar and height using about $200 of aftermarket parts I described above.

The problem is, Atlas’ 3-year warranty (that can be extended to 5 years by posting about the chair on socials) jars against this figure.

$1400 is firmly in the premium chair category, where most brands offer 8-12 years of coverage.

If your $ 1,400 chair fell apart after 3-5 years of use, would you be upset about it? I would.

Because Atlas is not a boring office chair – it’s a beautifully sculpted statement piece that will elevate your home workspace while keeping you in a reasonably ergonomic sitting position.

That’s worth something.

Steven