INTRODUCTION

   We all know that standard office chairs are neither very comfortable nor large enough to accommodate every person out there and if these two facts weren't enough build quality is also questionable with the majority of such models. For good or bad not everyone out there has sufficient funds to get a relatively good office chair but for the ones that can gaming chairs have brought one more thing onto the table, looks. It goes without saying really that gamers and even enthusiasts of all ages are not looking to get their hands on a regular office chair but something that stands out and for them gaming chairs have been a one way ever since the first model made their debut in the market a few years back. Noblechairs is among a handful of gaming chair manufacturers that put quality and comfort above everything else and their latest ICON model adds something more, size.

   noblechairs is your prime purveyor of the finest and most elegant seating furniture available in the world. Born out of a passion project of seasoned industry veterans who were unsatisfied with what the gaming chair market had to offer at the time, we have given free reign to our expert designers from Germany to develop a new range of upmarket gamer seats featuring a slightly more subtle style and consisting of only the most valuable of materials. We relentlessly strive to provide our customers with precision-manufactured chairs that go beyond being simple seating furniture and rather become veritable lifestyle instruments.

   The ICON is the 2nd gaming chair by noblechairs right after the award winning EPIC model and just like that it's available in two versions one with 100% vegan PU faux leather which is also the one we have here today and one with real leather (review soon). For the ICON noblechairs used a different and more classic approach since it's more like a regular office chair unlike the EPIC and its bucket car seat design thus making it far more suitable for office use. At the same time although both chairs share roughly the same measurements the ICON should be more comfortable for larger people (not necessarily however taller). The ICON also features a steel frame for increased durability, cold foam padding (55Kg/m3 density), 4D adjustable armrests (height, rotation and position), 60mm caster wheels, class-4 gaslift (supports up to 150kg total including the top body of the chair), Z-support height adjusting mechanism, 5 star aluminum base, removable neck and back support pillows, backrest adjustment (strangely enough it's only up to 135 degrees) and up to 11 degrees tilt function. So time to find out whether or not the brand new ICON is a worthy brother of the already award winning EPIC gaming chair.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Noblechairs ships the ICON inside a plain cardboard box that has some product drawings on the front and rear along with the product serial and part numbers.

As expected the entire bundle is placed in plastic bags and between several pieces of foam and cardboard.

The backrest was placed at the top so it was the first to come out followed by the two support pillows (suede covers).

Next was the 5-star aluminum base, mounting instructions and a box inside of which noblechairs has placed the 5 caster wheels, class-4 gaslift with its plastic cover, two backrest side covers, two handles, clear plastic package with several screws (Alen and regular) and an Alen/Philips combo key.

The Z-support mechanism and the seat which as usual has both armrests pre-attached were the last two pieces of the puzzle.

ASSEMBLY

Starting to assemble any gaming chair begins from the base so the first thing to do is to mount the 60mm caster wheels.

We would had preferred 70mm caster wheels instead of 60mm ones but i guess these are more convenient.

Next we mounted the class-4 gaslift with its plastic cover (remember that some gas lifts come with plastic caps at the top which need to be removed).

The seat features two metal flat bars and a single green elastic band.

Each of the two 4D armrests is secured onto the seat with a total of 3 Allen screws (6 in total).

4 extra Allen screws are required to secure the Z-Support height mechanism onto the seat (mounting the plastic levers is quite easy and they don't seem to come off like they did with the EPIC model).

There are two Allen screws mounted on each side of the backrest but unlike most gaming chairs there are no cuts on the faux leather.

This is because the plastic covers are secure in place with regular screws which pierce the faux leather.

With the top end of the chair now assembled all that’s left is for us to place it onto the class-4 gaslift.

FINISHED LOOKS

The ICON may not stand out like the EPIC but thanks to its elegant and "simplistic" design it's a better choice overall for office use.

Noblechairs has once again placed their logo at the head of the chair and their name and logo at the center of the backrest.

Stitching quality is very good and among the best we've seen to date.

The 4D armrests can extend in height from 30.5cm all the way up to 37.5cm.

Both armrests can also move forward, backwards, left and right and face diagonally as showcased above.

The suede support pillows look great and they are very soft.

We can't figure out the why that is but the backrest of the ICON can only drop up to 135 degrees.

This is what the rear of the ICON looks like.

SCORE

Many of you recommended (including some manufacturers) that we place a chart pointing to the pros and cons of each gaming chair we test. Now of course since there's really no way for us to "benchmark" gaming chairs we decided to rate them based on their size, comfort and quality. Size and comfort usually go hand to hand (the larger the chair the more comfortable it usually is - also depends on the amount of padding) while in terms of quality having tested 18 models currently we think we have a good idea about that as well. Of course these scores are based on our personal opinions so do take them with a grain of salt.

CONCLUSION

   The first gaming chair by noblechairs called the EPIC had both looks and quality but due to its bucket design (which was great by the way) it wasn’t ideal for large people so it's not surprising that the ICON is not based on that same design. Sure the ICON doesn't "hug" your body the same way the EPIC does but if you happen to be a large person then in all likelihood it will be able to provide proper support and increased comfort. Once again the 1.5mm thick faux PU leather used (real leather review soon) is not as thick as the carbon PVC faux leather used in the X-Comfort and X-Fit models by Tt eSPORTS it's still one of the 4 top ones we've seen used to date. We still can’t figure out why the ICON (just like the EPIC) has a backrest adjustment of just 135 degrees but to be completely honest with all of you we’ve never actually taken a nap in one of the chairs we’ve tested to date (still some people just might).

  Just like most similar high-end gaming chairs the ICON Series Faux Leather model doesn’t come cheap and so it currently retails for USD369.90 inside the USA (Newegg.com) and for 369.90Euros inside the EU (Caseking.de). Still both because there are many similar models at around the same price and because noblechairs knows how to make a quality gaming chair we wouldn’t call it extremely expensive. Bottom line if you’re out in the market for a high-quality gaming chair for your office or if you’re just a large person (I’d say up to 6.3 feet/192cm in height with a weight of 250 pounds/115Kg) then the ICON could be the right one for you. Personally I have to admit that I like the design of the EPIC a bit more but the ICON comes up ontop in overall score and that’s why it also gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality (100% Vegan PU Leather / Steel Frame / Suede Parts)
- Elegant Design (Ideal For Office Use) 
- Very Comfortable
- Features (Adjustable Height / 4D Adjustable Armrests / 11 Degrees Tilt Function / 135 Degrees Backrest Adjustment)
- Head & Lower Back Removable Pillows (Suede Covers)
- 6 Available Color Combinations

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Limited Backrest Adjustment (135 Degrees Only)
- Medium Size Gaming Chair (For Some)