I wrestled this 30kg gaming chair up 4 flights of stairs in the hopes of fixing my posture, and even though it's far too big for me, the heavy-lifting paid off

I've never dreamed of owning a sports car, but sitting in my Noblechairs Legend, I suddenly get the appeal of those plush leather interiors. Comfy enough to keep midday numbness at bay yet still firm and ergonomic to correct my admittedly poor posture, this matte black beast is surely the envy of the best gaming chairs as far as aesthetics and functionality are concerned – as long as you don't want something pillowy soft enough to sink into like a giant cloud. Which would be bad for your spine, anyway, so it's just as well that the Legend occupies the snazzy sweet spot between ergonomic efficiency and cozy comfort.

Noblechairs Legend is the brand's latest model, combining the sleek tapered-back design of the Icon TX with the latest premium chair tech. I'm talking breathable faux leather upholstery, treated cold foam cushioning, adjustable armrests, lumbar support, and strong yet silent casters, no matter what's beneath them. I just wish it had a little more consideration for the vertically challenged among us. I really don't need a seat back that's tall enough to go on big rides at the theme park all by itself.

The high-tech faux leather variant I tested is priced at $629 US / £399.95 a pop (the Starfield variant is on sale for UK shoppers at £100 off right now), with the fabric Legend TX coming in at a more pocket-friendly $569 US / £349. That makes it easier to recommend to our UK and EU readers than our friends in the United States, but considering that the Secretlab Titan Evo is even more expensive, it's actually one of the more moderately-priced options out there for an excellent gaming throne.

Assembly

I'll be honest: I balked at the 30kg box when my deliveryman deposited it at my front door. But thankfully, after carefully flipping and pivoting the beast up four flights of stairs (note: please get someone to help you with this part) and finally opening it, I was relieved to see a short four-page pamphlet of assembly instructions.

Noblechairs recommends two people to build the Legend, but as is custom for us at GamesRadar+, I took the task on by myself. Thankfully, the instructions are incredibly clear and simple to follow, comprising only 12 steps, so the whole process took me just under an hour to set it up solo with the help of the allen key included.

The Noblechairs Legend seatbase comes attached to one of the armrests, making it by far the heaviest and most unwieldy piece in the whole kit. Attaching the loose arm was easy enough, as was slotting everything onto the hydraulic mechanism once I'd fitted it into the base and attached the wheels to the casters. By this point, I was feeling pretty proud of myself – but then I was faced with attaching the seat back itself.

I saw two short, flat metal plates attached to the back of the seat, one loose and one locked at a diagonal. There was a handle just below the locked one with a huge warning sticker slapped on it, alerting me to the fact that this is the recliner mechanism and would snap forward sharply once pulled. This made me nervous, as I am rather fond of my extremities.

It took me a few minutes of puzzled instructions-studying to work out that I had to completely remove a safety screw from the handle mechanism once I'd attached the seat back to the metal plates. This released the recliner to allow for adjusting the position of the seat back – and yes, it snaps forward something ferocious. Again, it's not that this overall process was hard or confusing, but it's a good thing I am a fan of reading the fine print because I could envision a version of events wherein I lose an eyeball or two for my crimes.

Design & Features

As far as design fundamentals, the Noblechairs Legend is hard to beat on aesthetics. It comes in three fabric variants: high-tech faux leather, regular faux leather, or a grayish fabric. I chose the first, and I don't regret the decision at all.

My chair is very easy on the eyes, sleek yet strong despite taking up a fair bit of room in my home office. Think of it as a souped-up take on the Noblechairs Icon, but with extra luxuries. I'm especially fond of how the armrest tops are made of a firm yet soft, textured rubbery plastic that doesn't catch on shirt sleeves. They can be raised, lowered, and pushed out horizontally too, so fans of a 4D adjustable armrest setup will have a lot to love here.

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I mentioned in my verdict that I'm a little on the smaller side at 5"5 (on a good day), so being confronted with the beautiful yet much too tall Noblechairs Legend backrest confirmed my suspicions: I'm a whole head too short to rest my noggin on the tapered headrest. I can't even use my complementary neck pillow, since my head sits so far down the seat that the elastic straps do not fit around this wider part of the seat to clip together at the back. It's a bummer, but at least the memory foam lumbar pillow fits perfectly and complements the internal ergonomic back supports, adjustable using a dial on the right side of the seat back.

The seat itself goes up very, very high. High enough that I can't touch the floor, in fact, so I keep it at its lowest setting for optimal comfort. The heavy-duty casters and frame can take up to 150kg, but the high-density cold foam helps distribute weight evenly and avoid the fabric stretching or sagging over time.

Performance

I've been using the Noblechairs Legend now for just under two months, and it looks and feels good as new. As someone who spends a lot of time sitting and typing (or sitting and playing games) all day, I'd consider this fairly heavy usage.

The only adjustment I've had to make was when my partner's dad tightened up one of the screws connecting the left armrest to the seat about a month after I built it. It was loose enough to rattle side to side, he pointed out, though I hadn't really noticed it at all up until that moment. This tells me it was probably something I neglected to do at the time of building rather than it having loosened over time, so that's a strike against me, not the chair.

In the comfort department, I really can't rate Noblechairs Legend high enough. No numb bum even after extended periods of sitting, no breakages, squeaks, or cracked fabric, and no nasty accidents with the incredibly snappy recliner mechanism either. I do still brace myself for impact when moving it up and down, but now that the chair is attached to those scary metal plates, it's very easy to lock myself into precisely the right spot.

While the seatback itself is catered to those of a longer, taller spine, I'm pleased to report that the adjustable lumbar support (and the included memory foam pillow) makes it easy to achieve good posture. After two months of use I can already feel myself more inclined to actually sit back into my seat instead of twisting my legs up into weird little pretzel knots. It even means that my head can just reach the headrest when I'm sitting up straight, which is further incentive to give into the Noblechair Legend's vertebrate-first design.

Should you buy the Noblechairs Legend?

If you're over 5"9 and want to play the best PC games like you're driving a Ferrari, I say the Noblechairs Legend is one to consider. This brand is certainly not lying about the premium factor, and next to similarly luxurious chairs like Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen, the price tag is far kinder on the average UK wallet at £399.

That said, fellow short kings and queens might want to look elsewhere. It's unfortunate that Noblechairs discontinued the smaller Epic Compact model before I could test it out, and despite how much I'm loving my new Legend, I do sometimes feel a little silly in my big, giant throne. But I mean, what's that saying about crying in a sports car instead of crying in the shower?

How I tested the Noblechairs Legend

I assembled the Noblechairs Legend by myself, following the instruction booklet closely to evaluate my experience building it. I compared my time closely with other gaming chairs GamesRadar+ has put together. I then used the chair every day for work, gaming, and lounging for over two months before this review was written. In that time, I’ve fiddled with the adjustment features of the seat and adopted many sitting positions, and can safely say this chunky beast can handle all my restless ADHD fidgeting without fuss.

For more on how we test gaming chairs, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

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