Noblechairs HERO Black Edition Review
Conclusion
It would be easy to have got complacent if you were noblechairs. Their first product was so good it changed the whole chair market, and whilst they might have expanded their range you could understand them taking a “if it isn’t broken” attitude. However, they’ve absolutely looked at every aspect of their product and tweaked all the things. If you read our review of the OG noblechairs chair then there are a number of refinements to elements which, over many years usage, slightly irritated us.
Firstly the 4D arms are a massive step forwards when compared to the originals. The original arms were fantastic compared to other arms on the market at the time, but the buttons that allowed for the full range of movement were functional rather than outstanding. Certainly when you compared them to the high quality of the rest of the chair they felt somewhat lacking. However, the new HERO Black Edition 4D arms fix all the issues. On the inside at the front are two buttons which deal with moving the arms forwards and backwards. Whereas these stuck out on the original chair, they’re now flush so they no long catch your pockets/belt loops/etc. The new design might not have the full range of forwards and backwards motion of the earlier design, but it’s significantly more robust and the arms feel as rock solid even at the extremities of their movement. The height adjustment is similarly both easier to use and feels more solid.
The importance of getting the arms in the right place, and thus your forearms and wrists, as well as your shoulders and whole posture, cannot be overstated. With the noblechairs 4D arms you get such a range of movement you’ll be guaranteed to find somewhere that fits you, even if you’re somewhat outside of the ‘average’ body shape, and I speak as someone with what NBA scouts would classify as a huge wing-span. Similarly the new lumbar adjustment dial really helps ensure that the small of your back gets support it needs. We can’t begin to tell you the number of chairs we’ve had that ended up making our back ache long before any other part of us did, and after a month in the HERO it’s not been an issue at all.
Our old chair had the real leather and, despite 12 hour days for years, looks as good as new. Whilst we obviously can’t speak to the longevity of the “High-Tech Faux Leather” on the HERO Black Edition, it certainly could be mistaken for the genuine article. It’s surprisingly soft for fake leather, with none of the cheap-feel you get from vinyl solutions. It feels like an extremely premium material, looks the part, and is comfortable. The chair design itself is more of a chair than the racing seat styles we’ve seen and is all the better for it. Without pointless bolsters in the thigh and shoulder regions – useful when pulling G in a race car but less so in your office or bedroom – it’s more comfortable regardless of how you prefer to sit. This wider seat and back gives you some flexibility in leg placement instead of demanding you squish your thighs together like someone trying to crack walnuts.
Lastly if we had to describe the noblechairs HERO Black Edition we’d say it was on the firm side of medium-firm. Not hard, that’s a different thing and you mustn’t get them confused, but supportive and certainly indicative of a long life span. We don’t want a PC chair that feels like a sofa because we’d slouch and you need the best ergonomics for years of comfortable gaming and creation pleasure.
The noblechairs HERO Black Edition fixes the very minor issues that their launch chair had, and is built to a standard that you’d expect from anything from a German company. It’s both comfortable and yet robust, soft but hard-wearing, and at only £399.95 for the Faux-Leather variant, as affordable as their cloth model but with the luxury of a real leather one. The 150KG make load, and wide seat and back ensure that even those of you on the larger side will have no issues in either comfort or fears of exploding gas lifts. You owe it to yourself and your body to stop making do with cheap seating and the noblechairs HERO Black Edition wins our OC3D Enthusiast Award.
The noblechairs HERO Black Edition is available at £399.95.
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