Tuesday 8 September 2015

VariDesk Pro Plus 36

VariDesk Pro Plus 36

Stand up, and improve your health

The health benefits of standing while working, instead of sitting, are well documented. Not everyone can afford to fork out the £600-plus some height adjustable desks cost, though.. Thankfully, VariDesk may have a solution at hand.

The VariDesk Pro Plus 36 is quite an ingenious idea, as it’s actually a riser unit that stands on an existing desk, and allows the user to move from a sitting position to standing in a matter of seconds. The unit is made up of a solid plastic desktop that measures 914mm in length and 685mm deep, with a slide out keyboard and mouse section that is 330mm deep. The top is enough to fit a couple of decent 24" monitors side-by-side in a dual-screen setup, and the keyboard section will house a standard, office-centric keyboard and mouse combination well enough; though some of the more elaborate gaming sets may be a bit of a tight fit.

The genius part of this setup is revealed when you grasp the two handles either side of the desktop. This activates a springloaded pneumatic mechanism that gently raises the desktop section to a point 447mm off the desk, and slightly forward too for improved ergonomics. So, when placed on an average height work desk (around 700mm), the height of the monitor desktop shelf can be raised to 1110mm. The keyboard and mouse section rises to 355mm above it's mounting surface, but when flat, the entire unit adds just 107mm to the height of the monitor placement.

The movement is extremely smooth, with a spring-assisted lift mechanism that makes extending and retracting the VariDesk to and from its positions very easy. There’s plenty of room available for the average PC keyboard, mouse, monitor setup, weighing up to 15kg, and since this is sat on a desk already, there’s still ample room for paperwork.

The weight of the VariDesk may seem a little unwieldy at first. Getting the 23Kg of the Pro Plus 36 onto an existing desktop can be achieved by a single person, but we’d recommend employing an extra pair of hands if you can for safety’s sake.

The only gripe we have with the VariDesk Pro Plus 36 is that the keyboard and mouse section has too small an area for the mouse to move sufficiently for our taste. It’s may be workable enough if you're moving across a single screen, but if you use a dual monitor setup or you’re planning on doing a spot of stand up gaming, then the lack of mouse space soon becomes a noticeable problem.

However, the Pro Plus 36 is an exceptionally well-constructed riser unit made from superior quality components and built to last. For £350 it’s certainly a lot cheaper than a brand new, dedicate height-adjustable desk. Indeed, in some ways it feels a lot more ergonomic than a simple, flat desktop.

If you’re looking for a healthy alternative to sitting, and you don’t want to get rid of your current desk setup, then the VariDesk Pro Plus 36 could be an ideal solution. David Hayward

An excellent solution for standing while working.

Specifications And Features
• Work surface size: 914mm x 685mm (keyboard tray and desk)
• Holds up to 15kg of weight
• Product Weight – 23kg
• Product dimensions (flat): 107 x 914 x 679mm
• Product dimensions (extended): 447 x 914 x 99mm
• Desktop max extension height: 457mm
• Keyboard max extension height: 355mm
• Free companion app gives you sit and stand alerts
• Switches from sitting to standing position in just three seconds
• Ergonomic design adjusts to any user's height
• Fits most desks in any office or cube
• Spring-assisted lift
• Fully assembled; easy set-up