Standing Desks - Cheap Ones worth it?

[Martynt74]

I had a standing desk at my old job and always found i couldn't focus as intently when stood as when i was sat down, when working on certain tasks. However since working from home and changing jobs i seem to find myself in more calls now or just reviewing information. Therefore i'd like to give a standing desk a go again.

I've already got a worktop i made as my current desk. It's around 60cm x 110cm so ideal size for a lot of the Electric Standing Desk Legs i've seen.

I came across this one from Flexispot which seems to have a decent range of options suiting most budgets which bodes well in my head as the possibility of trickle down quality (unless it's all just bought in and rebranded)

Electric Height Adjustable Standing Desk E1| FlexiSpot

Flexispot standing desk E1,70kg frame weight capacity,and is under 50 dB when lifting and lowering the desk. up to 10 year warranty,Hassle-free 60-day returns!

flexispot.co.uk

Just curious if anyone has used one. My only concern is that i probably have a liklihood of leaning on it and how much that's going to batter the motor. Weight capacity is 70kg for the legs and i reckon my worktop and monitors/stuff is probably only ~15kg which hopefully has decent capacity for a little bit of a lean!

It's finding that balance where ~£160 is cheap enough to be worth the risk of not using the standing side of things, whereas looking at the £300 ones i'm a little more hesitant.

 

[Martynt74]

I bought a Humanscale QuickStand Evo to put on top of my existing desk which enables me to move between sitting and standing relatively easily, and was much cheaper than a standing desk. I think I got it from an office wholesaler on eBay.

That looks really good actually. However just spotted the price of them on the main website. More expensive than even the most expensive desk i've seen. £650 for the dual monitor version

 

[Martynt74]

I was in a similar predicament to you earlier this year. Couldn't justify spending the £££ for an electric one that seemed well built/had good reviews, so went with an Ikea Trotten Sit/Stand desk. Weight capacity is 50kg, with a monitor, laptop, speakers and small peripherals haven't had any issues with leaning on it.

You could buy the underframe and still use your worktop, although the trotten is 70cm deep, so may not fit the frame attachments.

Doesn't look like the Trotten is available as a frame only. The Rodulf is what i had at a prior job which was decent although think it's too big for my desk.

 

[Martynt74]

I've used a relatively cheap (~£250) standing desk converter from Flexispot, and I currently use an expensive desk from Fully.

There are a few downsides for the converter - It looks pretty clunky and cumbersome if that bothers you, and you need a stable desk to put it on because it's very heavy in itself (over 20kg from memory). Also, depending on which one you get, you could end up with not much keyboard/mouse space, which is particularly bad if you're one of those people who have a huge mousepad and need lots of room for your mouse when gaming, but I gamed on mine a lot (nothing crazy or competitive) and it was just about fine. I had 2x 24" monitors on mine (on their default stands, no arms) and it handled it just fine and wasn't particularly wobbly.

My current one I like and it's nice to have a clean desk without a huge thing sitting on top. I don't know if it's worth £700+, but a good desk should last years or even decades outside of mechanical failure, which touch wood shouldn't happen, so it is an investment.

You'll want to look into an anti-fatigue mat also. It sounds stupid, but even when working from home and you're walking about and dancing around and all the rest of it, it gets pretty tiring standing on bare ground all day, even on carpet.

Yeah, i'm not looking at a converter, as you say, seems to limit things too much. I'm after the legs/frame which is height adjustable. I've just moved into scope creep to the Flexispot E5 which is the dual motor offering which has a higher weight limit. That's £240 on Amazon using a voucher. There's also a EQ5 for £225 on Flexispot which seems very similar too.

 

[Martynt74]

Same, took a punt on this a month ago:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HFZP1Q3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Impressed for the money.

Great to know. Think i'll take the plunge. Can always return to Amazon easy enough. Likely go with the Dual Motor one just because of the extra weight capacity as a "just in case"

 

[Martynt74]

I bought the EQ5, mostly for the extra weight capacity. Very happy with it.

Any idea what the difference is between the E5 and the EQ5? The specs looks very similar, but pricing is slightly off with the EQ5 being cheaper.

Unsure if i'm missing something obvious. Tried phoning them but it just rings out.



EDIT - Actually the E5 looks to have an extra horizontal support beam for rigidity. For an extra £15 i'll go with that.

 

[Martynt74]

Only thing is the desktop comes as 2 halves that you put together, so you get a line through the desk where it joins together.

you could just purchase the frame and then slap whatever table top you like.

I already have a wooden worktop i made myself for my current desk from old scaffolding boards so that's not an issue, although it's a shame as when i looked online one of those bad pidgin english pictures, suggested the Flexispot one was a single piece.

Have ordered one anyway now. Should be here Saturday.

I actually use a Yoga ball as my chair, have done for around 6 weeks as my old chair fell apart and i thought i'd try it. I actually really enjoy it, but was reading about the potential issues of using one for the full day. Being able to switch between yoga ball and standing should work well.

When i eventually get my home office back i might add a chair for some more comfort based stuff, but i'm currently dumped on the landing with little space.

 

[Martynt74]

Plus if you're getting a standing desk I don't see why you'd go the extra step to not have to wind a lever.

I'm pretty lazy, the thought of winding it would probably make me stay seated

 

[Martynt74]

Pushing this post back up to see if anyone has other recommendations for standing desks. I would need to buy two so ideally want to keep each one around £250 - £300 max.

I'm still very happy with my Flexispot - Mines the E5 i think

Standing Desk ＆ Ergonomic Office Chair | FlexiSpot

FlexiSpot has always been the go-to for the best height-adjustable standing desks, offering ergonomic solutions that help people upgrade their home office to lead healthier and more productive lives.

flexispot.co.uk

Seems there's some big discounts tomorrow if you get in quick!

 

[Martynt74]

Looking to buy a sitting/standing desk, found this on amazon. Any one have this ?

Flexispot

Link was broken for me, but i've had my Flexispot for around 12 months now and wouldn't want to go back to a regular desk.

 

[Martynt74]

I cant stand people who stand at their desks

It's like they want to be above everyone else

We love looking down on people

 

[Martynt74]

which option did you go for a separate frame and worktop ?

Should it be a 3 stage dual motor option? I have a particular size requirement of 120 x 80 and many of those sizes are unavailable on Amazon directly for for flexispot

Oh i just bought the legs as i made my own desk top.

I'd definitely go with the Dual Motor. Not sure what the 3 stage part is though.


EDIT - The Flexispot website direct usually has a few discount codes around to bring it down less than Amazon (plus TCB)

 

[Martynt74]

My back is better, when I mix standing and sitting up. I do this by standing up when my watch tells me to.

I also prefer standing for big/under pressure meetings and for remotely presenting. It could be placebo but I feel I benefit from standing and moving around. It also shifts my focus/is part of my getting ready to present mode.

I generally work like this, stand for pretty much all meetings, sit down when really trying to focus.

I'm not sure i've really noticed a difference though after ~18 months of having a standing desk.

 

[Martynt74]

You’d be surprised in weight. I think my Flexispot is rated to around 70kg

 

[Martynt74]

I've got both a Fully Jarvis and a Flexispot and both will go way more than 70kg to be honest, I may or may not have been childish enough to get on top and raise it with me on it, and I might weigh a tiny bit more (read quite a lot) more than 70kg.

You're right. Just looked and the Flexispot is rated to 125kg.

Annoyingly as i looked i now really like the look of the new 4 legged version they do!

 

[Martynt74]

I've had the Flexispot E5 for ~2 years now and would definitely buy another if it came to it.

My only downside is using a crappy MDF top that i've been talking about replacing for around 12 months now!

 

[Martynt74]

pfft n00b. I went for outrageous 1.8m by 0.8m.

I am starting to think I went overkill tho

To be fair, my current one is 1.2*0.6 and it's definitely too small. It's an MDF offcut from a local carpeneter and horrific to use. I've got some junk wood under the car port which should make a 1.5*0.6 desk which i'll be happier with. Just need to pull my finger out to actually sand/joint it. Not tempting with no workbench though and just a circular saw!

The idea of the extra depth is tempting though. 60cm just doesn't seem enough.

 

[Martynt74]

Sitting/standing on the other hand - good for OC

Brain and Body Study: eSports boost cognition more than sports | Science and Industry Museum

The professor behind a pioneering online ‘brain and body’ study unveils its findings this week at the Manchester Science Festival. Science Director, and study coauthor, Roger Highfield, reports.

blog.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk

e: what I have for back/posture

I actually thought the sitting/standing was what was recommended all along anyway?