Varidesk Pro Plus 48 Standing Desk
22 Nov 2015
In my recent post on the Bac Posture Stand I mentioned that I had purchased the Varidesk Pro Plus 48. I promised to review this “in due course” and that time has now come!
The Varidesk Pro Plus 48 is “desk riser” that enables you to choose your working height. You can start the day standing up and then, after your executive lunch, you can spend your afternoon sitting down.
N.B. This post includes Amazon Associates links, I have never actually received anything from them, but I live in hope!!
Pricing
At £437 (including delivery) this is a very expensive piece of equipment indeed. The alternative is to buy an actual standing desk and in many cases this will be a better option. The beauty of the Varidesk is that you are able to retain your existing furniture.
You do also need the Varidesk Standing Mat, which is another £67.50 (including delivery).
There are cheaper solutions, such as the LIFT Standing Desk mentioned on Bad Voltage, but at the time I was unable to locate this in the UK. You can even build your own.
Amazon
In the end I purchased the Varidesk Pro Plus 48 from Amazon*. Not only was it almost the only option that I could find, it was a professional looking unit and the reviews were also very positive.
*Please note that the photo on the Amazon item is actually incorrect and the Pro Plus 48 actually looks like the photo above, visit the Varidesk website for details. I did contact Varidesk about this anomaly and they explained that they had informed Amazon on multiple occasions and were unable to get the photo corrected.
To enhance my new standing desk I also purchased a number of other items:
- Varidesk Pro Plus 48
- Varidesk Standing Mat - essential for standing all day
- Anker USB3 Hub - to provide USB ports on the standing desk
- Amazon 3m USB Extension Cable - to connect up the Anker hubs
- Amazon 3m HDMI Cable - required to reach from the PCs under the desk up to the standing desk
- Fellowes Cable Zip - to tidy up all the cables
Installation
Typically the Varidesk arrived when I was on a day off. It turned up on a pallet, resulting in much consternation at work. In fact, once the packaging was removed, the item was the desired size and all was well.
There is no assembly required, simply unpackage and lift onto your desk. Be warned though, the Varidesk does weigh a lot and will require two fairly strong people to manoeuvre it into place.
I was a little concerned as to how this Pro Plus 48 would fit on my corner desk. I did originally order the Varidesk Cube Corner 48, but I received an email from Varidesk explaining that this unit had been discontinued and cancelling and refunding my order.
In the event the Pro Plus 48 fitted my corner desk beautifully.
First Impressions
The Varidesk Pro Plus 48 appears to be extremely well constructed and solidly made. It has what I assume are bolt holes for those scared of the desk falling over, but in practice the weight of the metal base is sufficient.
The desk can be raised and lowered without physical effort, although sometimes cables will get under the desk requiring their removal before it will lower fully. I cannot blame Varidesk for that, but you need to give some thought about cable routing to minimise the likelihood of this happening.
The First Month
After a month of using my Varidesk I am very happy with it. I would love to be able to report a stunning transformation of my painful back, but sadly my back is still very sore. That said, I certainly feel healthier from standing up and being more active.
Standing up all day is not without its issues, my feet and legs get tired, so I tend to sit down at lunchtime and late afternoon. But I have also found that sitting down for too long has started feeling very uncomfortable. Perhaps it always did? But now I can do something about it, raising up my desk and enjoying standing up again, if only for a while.
In short, for me at least, being able to choose to sit or stand feels very natural and it would feel very strange now to be forced to spend the entire day sitting down.
I believe I now have the closest thing possible to the perfect desk.