INTRODUCTION

   Much like many hardware components and peripherals in the PC market using a proper chair while working and/or gaming is something many people often tend to overlook. Now i had the "good" (or bad, depends how you see it) fortune of growing up in the 80's and 90's when PC gaming was taking its very first steps and back then there was nothing like a good chair we could use. Yes, there were many very basic office chairs one could choose from which however as expected were nowhere near to be called ergonomic and so as I've pointed out in other reviews many from my generation have back and neck problems, primarily because of that. Fast forward to today and even though gaming chairs may not be the most ergonomic out there they are still light years apart compared to what we had back then, not in just terms of comfort but also quality and looks. The HERO TX premium gaming chair by noblechairs has been on the receiving end of many awards and that’s what I’ve been using in the lab for the past month.

   noblechairs is a multi-award-winning brand, headquartered in Berlin, with offices situated across the globe. noblechairs are renowned for manufacturing gaming chairs with the focus on comfort, ergonomics, and high-quality materials, for both the office and gaming space. A synonym for world-class, noblechairs is one of the most recognized products for consistent comfort and quality, even after prolonged use.

   The HERO TX is the breathable fabric version of the HERO series (available with synthetic faux leather, high-tech faux leather and real leather) and is available just in anthracite color. The fabric used is not only breathable but it also features fleece material on the interior (for improved comfort levels) and stain protection. Needless to say since the HERO TX is a premium model noblechairs has also equipped it with a steel frame (supports up to 150Kg), deform resistant cold foam padding, class-4 gaslift, built-in lumbar support (high-end bucket seat feature), 4D adjustable armrests (height, position and orientation), removable head and back support pillows (dressed with high quality velour fabric), 60mm caster wheels, backrest adjustment (up to 125 degrees), z-support tilt/rocking (up to 11 degrees) and height adjustment mechanism and a powder coated 5-star aluminum base. Noblechairs is another manufacturer i haven’t had anything from in a while so let’s see how their HERO TX model measures up to its competition.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Noblechairs is using a plain cardboard box to ship the HERO TX inside so just a drawing of the backrest, the model name and company logo are printed at the front.

The serial numbers and barcodes and the company logo are located on the left side.

As expected, the bundle is placed inside plastic bags and between pieces of foam.

The 89cm tall backrest was placed at the very top.

Under the backrest noblechairs has placed the 5-star aluminum base.

Next were the two support pillows and the Z-support mechanism.

Inside a long cardboard box, you’ll find the two plastic handles for the Z-support mechanism, five 60mm caster wheels, class-4 gaslift, gaslift cover, two plastic side covers and a plastic package with screws and an Allen/Philips screwdriver.

The base was the final piece which as you can see has one 4D armrest pre-mounted (the other is not cause otherwise the base would not fit inside the box).

ASSEMBLY

Instead of starting with the backrest as most installation instructions advice I always start by attaching the wheels onto the base as seen above.

60mm caster wheels hit a good balance between looks and durability.

Attaching the class-4 gaslift with its plastic cover onto the 5-star steel base is always the next step.

The steel base of the HERO TX is more reinforced than most I’ve seen to date so it should outlast everything else you have at home.

The 4D armrests require 3 Allen screws each whereas the Z-support mechanism requires 4.

Don’t forget to also attach the plastic handles on the mechanism.

Since some of you have asked from me to showcase the built-in lumbar support some gaming chairs office I’ll be doing so from this review (however it’s not very easy to see).

Two Allen screws are mounted on each side of the backrest (on the left side you can also see the built-in lumbar support control).

As with every other gaming chair out there you will need to use those two Allen screws, place the plastic cover on and secure it with one of the Philips screws (noblechairs however doesn’t provide plastic caps to cover the screws).

With the main body of HERO TX assembled it's time to place it on the class-4 gaslift.

FINISHED LOOKS

Ever since i got pets’ anthracite (and grey) has become one of my favourite colors so no complaints from me.

This is how the HERO TX looks from the rear (i was expecting the noblechairs logo to be honest).

At the front we find two noblechairs logos.

In terms of build quality even for a fabric chair you can easily see the amount of detail noblechairs has thrown at the HERO TX.

The height for the 4D armrests can be adjusted by roughly 10cm whereas the top can move forward, backwards, left, right and diagonally to suit your body type.

Both support pillows are dressed with soft velour and look great.

For reasons unknown to me noblechairs has limited the backrest adjustment to a maximum of 125 degrees (20 degrees less than most models). Still thanks to also its tilt function of up to 11 degrees you should be able to relax after long periods of use.

SCORE

Many of you recommended (including some manufacturers) that I place a chart pointing to the pros and cons of each gaming chair that finds its way to the lab. Now of course since there's really no way for me to "benchmark" gaming chairs i decided to rate them based on their size, comfort and quality after using each chair for at least one full week. Size and comfort usually go hand to hand (the larger the chair the more comfortable it usually is - that however also depends on the amount of padding and also the type and quality of the cover) while in terms of quality having tested dozens of models over the past years, i think i have a good idea about that as well. Of course, these scores are based on my personal opinion (always based on the samples i get – isolated/early sample issues are always possible) so do take them with a grain of salt.

CONCLUSION

   Two things you’ll immediately notice about the HERO TX, it’s high build quality and its stiffness. The latter is actually a result of the former so since noblechairs obviously wanted a long lasting gaming chair they had to use durable fabric and just as durable cold foam. This pretty much means that in order for the chair to reach good comfort levels you need to use it quite a bit. For example, in my case it took just over a full week (perhaps even more) for the chair to reach comfort levels I had right from the beginning with other models. The good news is that at 1 full month comfort levels are pretty much the same (and better in some cases) compared to some of the best models to ever arrive here. The built-in lumbar support is also a nice touch which does help if you have a back issue like many I know. As mentioned earlier the 1 thing that had me puzzled was the backrest adjustment of the HERO TX which is set at 125 degrees. Personally, I don’t really mind about that specific feature but since many of you do seem to care I had to deduct 1 point from the score of the HERO TX (still, if you don’t care about its recline function then you should consider the comfort score of the HERO TX to be an 8).

   At the time of my review of the HERO TX Premium Gaming Chair you can get your very own for 419.90Euros inside the EU (Caseking) and for 364.99 pounds inside the UK (Overclockers), a price tag which is exactly what anyone would expect from a brand like noblechairs. Of course, if you don’t want the fabric variant there are many synthetic faux leather, high-tech faux leather and real leather models under the same series, most of which come in different colors and designs. Still as a gaming chair the noblechairs HERO TX pretty much ticks all boxes games and professionals alike look when out in the market for one and that’s why it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality (Breathable Fabric / Steel Frame)
- Design
- Comfort Levels
- Large Size
- Features (Built In Lumbar Support / Adjustable Height / 4D Adjustable Armrests / 11 Degrees Tilt Function / 125 Degrees Backrest Adjustment)
- Removable Head & Back Support Pillows (Velour Dressed)
- Also Available With Synthetic, High Tech & Real Leather

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Reclining Function (125 Degrees Max)
- USA Availability