In a back-to-front fashion, we look at noblechairs first gaming chair, the EPIC. We loved the ICON, so how good was their first effort?
Product on Review: noblechairs EPIC
Manufacturer: noblechairs
Street Price: £299.99 / $339.90
As we all know, humans haven’t evolved to sit down for long periods of time, due to which, we end up with injuries and issues because of poor posture and insufficient support. This makes purchasing a reliable, comfortable PC chair all that more important. Unfortunately, despite its importance, many people don’t consider getting a supportive chair until it’s too late.
noblechairs have recognised this issue and claim to offer a supportive, ergonomic chair made from superior materials.
The EPIC from noblechairs arrives with fully adjustable arm-rests, a solid steel construction, PU leather (with real leather also available), thick gauge stitching, cold-formed foam, a pair of support cushions, up to 149° of adjustment at the back, and of course, a racey yet classy appearance.
At the time of writing, there is currently 15 different colour variations available; we’ve been supplied the PU leather black and red for review.
All of those aspects certainly sound good and the ICON impressed us hugely back in August, but how does the EPIC stack up? We’ve spent a month with the chair, so read on to see what we thought.
noblechairs on the EPIC:
Achieving excellence is not a single act, but a habit – and our ambitious EPIC Series represents the culmination of the ambition to create the very best gaming chair possible. Endeavouring to create the ultimate no-compromises EPIC Series, we developed it utilising the precision and durability of German design and paired it with none other than 100% vegan PU imitation leather for maximum comfort and breathability.
Technical Specifications
Appearance
Main colour: Black
Side strip colour: Black (suede feel)
Stitchings colour: Red
Logo segment colour: Red
Logo embroidery colour: Gold
Pillow colour: Black with red embroidery
Measurements
Total height (with base): ca. 1310 – 1410 cm
Height adjustability: ca. 495 – 595 mm
Width backrest (shoulder level): ca. 545 mm
Width backrest (pelvis level): ca. 520 mm
Width backrest (point of contact): ca. 295 mm
Length backrest: ca. 870 mm
Backrest adjustability (static): 90° – 135°
Width seat (total): ca. 560 mm
Width seat (point of contact): ca. 350 mm
Depth seat (total): ca. 565 mm
Depth seat (point of contact): ca. 495 mm
Width armrests: ca. 105 mm
Depth armrests: ca. 270 mm
Rocking mechanism: max. 14°
Armrests adjustable: Yes (four-dimensional)
Maximum weight (user): 180 kg
Net weight (chair): ca. 27 kg
Gross weight (chair): ca. 29 kg
Package dimensions: ca. 84 * 38 * 70 cm
UK Fire safety compliance: BS 5852
Manufacturer warranty: 2 years
Main colour: Black
Side strip colour: Black (suede feel)
Stitchings colour: Red
Logo segment colour: Red
Logo embroidery colour: Gold
Pillow colour: Black with red embroidery
Measurements
Total height (with base): ca. 1310 – 1410 cm
Height adjustability: ca. 495 – 595 mm
Width backrest (shoulder level): ca. 545 mm
Width backrest (pelvis level): ca. 520 mm
Width backrest (point of contact): ca. 295 mm
Length backrest: ca. 870 mm
Backrest adjustability (static): 90° – 135°
Width seat (total): ca. 560 mm
Width seat (point of contact): ca. 350 mm
Depth seat (total): ca. 565 mm
Depth seat (point of contact): ca. 495 mm
Width armrests: ca. 105 mm
Depth armrests: ca. 270 mm
Rocking mechanism: max. 14°
Armrests adjustable: Yes (four-dimensional)
Maximum weight (user): 180 kg
Net weight (chair): ca. 27 kg
Gross weight (chair): ca. 29 kg
Package dimensions: ca. 84 * 38 * 70 cm
UK Fire safety compliance: BS 5852
Manufacturer warranty: 2 years
Packaging & Included Parts
The EPIC arrives in a massive box, filled with foam, plastic and all sorts of protective materials. It certainly shouldn’t struggle with even the clumsiest of couriers.The packaging measures roughly 840mm x 700mm x 380mm.
The five-prong base is made up from a single piece of aluminium, offering incredible strength while also remaining reasonably lightweight. It’s slightly convex shape, paired with the curvy appearance gives it a classy and understated look.
The substantial rocking mechanism connects the piston to the base of the chair. The stiffness of the leaning mechanism can be adjusted via the handle on top (actually underneath), or be locked off completely using one of the handles. This mechanism offers up to 14° of lean.
Also included is the piston to give the user a choice of height with up to 100mm of variance (noblechairs also sell a smaller piston for shorter people), a plastic cover for the piston, five nylon castors, a pair of handles to adjust the rocking mechanism and height of the chair, a couple of hinge covers for construction process and a multi tool with a Phillips screw and 6mm hex-key tool.
Tucked away in the box, in their own separate bags, are a pair of noblechairs cushions, colour coded to your chair of choice. The neck cushion is soft and squishy while the lumbar support, with included elastic straps, is much thicker and much more substantial.
Included Parts (Continued)
Moving onto the action end, the base arrives with the arm rests pre-attached, as well as the hinges to the rear. One hinge operates via a handle on the right-hand-side, locking the back into the required position, while the left side is a slave hinge, offering no stiffness at all.The black and red stitching is thick and noticeable, increasing the premium feel of the chair and is finished to an excellent standard with no loose stitches at all. The faux suede along each edge looks like Alcantara, often found in expensive racing cars, helping to add to the expensive appearance of the chair.
Flipping the base over, you can see the steel construction, as well as the heavy duty clips holding the faux leather in place. There’s 3 hex-key bolts holding the arm rests into place, which allow a small amount of adjustment (you will have to loosen these bolts to remove all of the plastic packaging anyway, so at this point we suggest you make sure these are aligned correctly to ensure symmetry on the chair.)
The backrest carries over the same diamond shape stitching and faux suede up the sides. The racing car appearance also carries on, with the harness slots completely open, either side of the head position, this gives the lumbar support cushion an entry point to be mounted correctly. There’s also a small silver noble logo with a much larger, embossed noble logo further above.
The two sides are angled inwards, helping to keep you positioned in the centre of the chair and ensure correct posture, however, the entirely flat back doesn’t strictly give any actual support.
Finished Look
After putting the chair together, we unfortunately noticed a fairly large issue. The back wasn’t properly aligned with the base, causing it to be twisted and uncomfortable, to a point where it pushed one shoulder further forwards than the other. We measured the difference as being around 27mm further forwards on one side – quite substantial considering the claims of “precision and durability of German design”.
To remedy the issue, the back was removed from the chair and found to be straight and true by measuring certain points, which then pointed the finger at the hinges or the base. We then removed the plastic protective covers by undoing the attaching screw. This exposed a pair of 6mm hex-key bolts which could be loosened, giving the hinge some room for movement – by moving both sides into position and with some careful measurement and even more careful tightening of the bolts, the hinges were aligned correctly. This process only took around 90 minutes to complete and did result in a perfectly useable chair, but we feel that the “German precision” could’ve been employed at this point in the factory assembly – perhaps noblechairs can look at their manufacturing techniques and adjust accordingly. If you compare the above image with the one below, the difference should be immediately visible.
Once adjusted and completely put together, we were very impressed with the aesthetics. The race car appearance paired with the classy, professional look of the PU leather definitely suited the office.
Performance & Comfort Testing
noblechairs claim that the EPIC is capable of supporting a person weighing up to 180KG (roughly 28 stone), which certainly backs up their talk about solid build quality and superior materials used.Moving onto comfort, the EPIC provides a surprising amount of comfort, despite the relatively thin cushion on the bottom section. The open-cell foam provides more support and better longevity than traditional foam, helping to retain its shape after prolonged use. The cushioning on the back is also thinner than expected, but surprisingly comfortable.
The provided cushions, one for around the neck/head area, and one for lumbar support, are handy when using the chair for its intended office purpose, improving posture and keeping the spine straight. When using the chair for lounging and playing games, removing the lumbar cushion helps you to relax into the chair, with it reclined somewhat.
The PU leather feels cool to the touch, which isn’t so pleasant in the winter months, but when the warm weather arrives, and with the thermal properties of the cold-formed foam, I’m sure we’ll all be glad of it. PU leather, noblechairs claims, is also easier to clean than genuine leather.
The tilting mechanism’s resistance can be adjusted using a large handle under the chair, towards the front. This enables users of different weights and sizes to use the chair without issue. Speaking of sizes, the height of the chair is adjustable from around 500mm to 600mm, using the handle under the chair, to the right. However, for shorter users, noblechairs also sell a pair of shorter pistons, one measuring -15mm and the other -30mm. The back of the chair can be adjusted from 90° (vertical) to 135°, which when combined with the 14° from the rocking mechanism, essentially results in a horizontal chair. Who doesn’t dream of a lie down in the office?
Finally, the 4D armrests are excellent. They click into place and stay there with that “German precision” that we’ve been looking for. They’re solid and offer incredible flexibility. The height can be adjusted from 285mm to 370mm, width can be adjusted 10mm either way, forward and backwards to up 50mm and angled 13° in either direction.
Conclusion
We spend huge amounts of time sat in front of a computer, so a well-designed and comfortable chair is always appreciated, but many people neglect the chair when setting up their workspace or gaming rig, instead opting to pour extra cash into a GPU or CPU for those extra frames. We believe that purchasing a decent, ergonomic chair should be high up on your list of priorities, especially if you spend any more than an hour or two at your PC.The noblechairs EPIC is arguably expensive at £299, but the appearance and comfort cannot be overlooked. We enjoyed sitting in this chair, even for sessions exceeding 10 hours on occasion. Looking at other, similarly priced options on the market, the EPIC stands out as, for us at least, the best looking option – the thick stitching and embossed PU leather looks crisp and clean, while the faux suede helps to bolster that racing car feel.
While construction the chair, everything felt solid and well put together, despite our issue with lining up the back piece, which we explained on the “Finished Look” page. The base is a single cast piece of aluminium, the wheels are of good quality, as well as every other aspect. Due to this, it doesn’t seem at all ridiculous to claim the chair could comfortably handle 180KG.
Overall, the noblechairs EPIC is exactly what we expected – a gaming chair using premium materials and offering decent comfort. If you’ve got £300 to spend on a chair, we can’t see anything else that offers better support.
You can lie down in the office, and who doesn’t want that? For £300, it’s a good chair!
Pros
+ Looks fantastic!
+ Feels solid and well built
+ Premium materials used
+ Available in a range of colours
+ Vegan friendly options
+ Can lie down
+ 180KG weight limit
Neutral
+- Pricey but arguably worth it
Cons
– Had to spend time lining the chair up
– Lumbar support cushion is too thick/stiff
+ Looks fantastic!
+ Feels solid and well built
+ Premium materials used
+ Available in a range of colours
+ Vegan friendly options
+ Can lie down
+ 180KG weight limit
Neutral
+- Pricey but arguably worth it
Cons
– Had to spend time lining the chair up
– Lumbar support cushion is too thick/stiff
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