How well do noblechairs hold up?

Seeing as I’ve just got my hands on a brand new version of the chair I’ve been daily driving for, give or take, two years, I thought now would be a good time to talk about how these chairs actually hold up with prolonged daily use. I’ve had my butt planted firmly in one of many noblechairs for going on six years at this point, so I’ve got a decent amount of experience with the various models. In fact, one of the currently FIVE NOBLECHAIRS I HAVE IN THIS HOUSE – THANKS STEVE – have been my daily drivers for that whole time. Now it’s worth noting that my experience with them is a little different than most – while I’ve had various noblechairs for over half a decade, no one chair has remained my daily for that whole time. New chairs come and I often swap to them, so I’ve generally got about two years of constant, daily, work-from-home use in any given chair. It’s also worth noting that, hopefully obviously, I didn’t pay for these chairs. My feelings on how that affects my opinion are mixed, but it’s something you should know before we get too deep into this lot. 

I think I should start with explaining why I have a brand new version of the same Hero TX chair I’ve been using every day for almost two years. The last one broke. Well, that makes it sound a lot worse than it is. The metal support that keeps the right side bolster from moving when you lean on it has detached internally so it’s a little less rigid than I’d like, and makes a less than appealing sound when you do lean on it. Naturally I’ll play the sound here.

This issue doesn’t make the chair unusable and I’m 98% sure that if I unzip the back cover and move some foam, a bit of JB Weld on that sucker and it’s back to 100% again. I might, in fact I probably will do that anyway, but still – when I reported the issue to Mr free chairs himself, he immediately sent me a replacement. I must admit I was expecting just a new seat back, but I won’t say no to a whole new chair. Also, when I say immediately, I mean I reported the issue and 24 hours later (on a Saturday) I had this delivered. While I know that’s a content creator talking to their marketing staff, he did order it via their RMA system which shows that they are set up to solve those issues quickly. It doesn’t seem like it’s that difficult to arrange that sort of RMA, which is great to see.

While we are talking about the failed parts on my Hero TX, I thought it’d be worth mentioning what other problems I’ve had with these chairs over the years. Well, all two anyway. The most recent – beyond the Hero TX – was with the Legend TX I reviewed somewhat recently. I think I mentioned in that review that the first seat back’s adjustable lumbar support had a bit of a clunk and a bump. Again I reported the issue and they replaced the seat back next day – that time while they did send me a whole new chair, I just took the new back out and stuck the old one back in the box and they collected it. If you can’t tell I’m severely limited on space here so ANOTHER noblechair was just a step too far. Again, the issue I had with that wasn’t a complete deal breaker or made the chair unusable, but it’s nice that they were incredibly quick to solve it for me.

The other was a little larger of a failure. These chairs have a tilt mechanism that lets the whole chair body swing backwards – and importantly it has a little foot inside it that lets you latch the base to a number of positions. That foot is held in by two long bolts – maybe M6 if memory serves? Maybe M8? Either way, relatively small, but it’s a compression and tension load, not a shear load so it’s fine. Anyway basically one of the bolts snapped, and when one snapped with my hefty weight on it, the other snapped too. Again, the chair did still function, but it would tilt freely which wasn’t great. Again I was shipped a new tilt mech, and I think gas strut, base and wheels since those get stuck together rather well once you sit on the thing. I think that was the Icon, and I’ve not had the same issue again so it looks like a one-off defect in the one bolt, and they were quick to solve the problem for me. Considering I’ve had something like seven different models in from them over the years, three fairly minor failures aren’t all that bad. 

So, onto the more subjective thoughts on the physical build quality and wear characteristics. The faux leather Hero has probably had the most seat time, and honestly despite some discolouration to the while stitching down by my belt and bottom area, everything else feels fine with it. It’s still just as supportive, the faux leather isn’t peeling or disintegrating, and there isn’t much in the way of visible damage. The Hero TX is next on the seat time list, and that’s the one that broke. Forgetting its injury, the rest of the chair feels perfectly fine. It obviously feels more worn in than the brand new one, but it still offers plenty of support from the foam, the material doesn’t look like it’s wearing thin, and the frame feels as solid as ever (mostly). I tend to sit with my left leg up on the chair, tucked under my right thigh. That means a lot of pressure gets put on the front right side of the seat base, and if I inspect it really closely, the foam on the older chair is a touch lower on that side. It’s not worn more, it’s just a little droopy. 

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realise I sit in a lot of weird positions, including resting a considerable amount of weight on the right side bolster. That might explain the failure here. I think it’s worth noting that I’m not exactly super easy on these chairs either. I wear my indoor shoes all the time, including with them on the chair with my feet folded up. Despite all that, the chairs haven’t shown any obvious signs of wear. There’s no torn bits of fabric, no wear marks, no puncture wounds. 

If it’s not abundantly clear, I’m very happy with these chairs. They still feel great, support me well, and I’d still happily recommend them. This new Hero TX has even had a bit of an upgrade – instead of a loud clicky adjustable lumbar support, they’ve switched to a Cherry Red style smooth, linear dial. It’s rather nice!