From Reddit’s classic battle stations subreddit to the modern room tour YouTube videos, I’ve been around the PC space long enough now to have seen it all: IKEA desk mods, L-shaped desks, DIY desks, and what my parents once dubbed the Channel 4 news desk. Beyond a good looking tower, there’s one part of a PC gaming setup that stands above all; where it all comes together: the desk. I’ve had my fair share of them, but the Flexispot E7 is the one I wish I’d bought many years ago.
Like any of Flexispot’s lineup like the E8, Q8, Comhar, or E5, the Flexispot E7 is a standing desk. But that doesn’t mean it invalidates your expensive office chair. Skewed by the name, a standing desk can quickly convert to the height of a standard seated office desk or, if you prefer, low enough for a chunky beanbag chair. I haven’t tried that configuration, but it sprung to mind as a comfortable option when I curiously tested how low it could go.
Believe it or not, the hardest part about setting up the Flexispot E7 was getting it to my house. A delivery attempt was made a few doors down from my house - which was understandably refused by a presumably confused neighbour at a loss as to why four ginormous packages turned up on the back of a burly DHL driver - and it wasn’t until two weeks later that they tried again: at the wrong house. Again.
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Piecing together productivity
Succeeding in their attempt to leave it anywhere but my house, I wouldn’t have had much chance carrying the entire package down the street had my lovely neighbour not graciously popped up a little cart to help. Once the powered legs and heavy oak desktop were through my door, it didn’t take long to unbox the eight or so total pieces of the project and take them up the stairs into my office. Don’t try to lug the two whole packages. The finished product will save your back, but not splitting up the pieces will finish it off.
I opted for a desk to match the size of my outgoing IKEA countertop setup and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was entirely possible to build the Flexispot in place of my old one: and it didn’t take long at all. Other than some unclear orientations early on, the manual was relatively straightforward and basically consisted of screwing the supports together, slotting the motorised legs in, and then finding a way to slide the heavy maple desktop under the whole package to fix it all together. A second person will always help, but it’s not essential that you ask someone to spare you some of their precious time for your benefit, either.
The vast majority of the construction uses nothing but a supplied hex key and around a dozen conveniently-separated screws. There’s virtually no way to mess it up, so it shouldn’t be a problem if you’ve put together virtually any piece of flat-pack furniture in the past. It’s only when it comes time to screw the desktop in place and deciding which side to mount the control panel that you need a screwdriver to twist in the self-tapping screws.
D-I-Why
Though the default Flexspot setup was smooth-sailing, things got a little dicey when it came to optional extras. I opted for a computer bracket as part of my review unit. Running with the idea of mounting my machine to the bottom of the assembly to save desk space, making it easier to tidy the wires that would then move with the PC as the desk goes up and down.
A few weeks in and I still haven’t managed to muster up the courage to install it. Not only does the cage use an over-engineered system of screws, bolts, and a sturdy handle that feels a little like an iron maiden, but you also need to drill your own holes into the desk to install it, moving the whole project from a beginner-friendly assembly to one that requires a self-made strategy, power tools, and the risk of damaging the desk itself.
And it’s not like I didn’t try. Once I’d imagined the perfect spot (it doesn’t give any suggestions), my initial attempt resulted in my drill bit shattering before my eyes. Next to Secretlab’s magnetic approach on its newest standing desk, the effort just wasn’t worth the risk. But that doesn’t mean it’s worth skipping out on if you’re not looking for anything more complicated than a workspace that goes up and down. If you trust yourself in the DIY department, Flexispot’s array of accessories can turn a simple standing desk into a perfectly-personalised workstation.
The Flexispot E7 is one of the more bare-bones desks the company offers. Against even the Q8, there are no real amenities to speak of: no wireless charger or neat little drawer for your papers, pens, and spare cables, and the 1amp USB-A port on the control panel isn’t going to be much use for anything beyond charging your wireless mouse or keyboard. It graciously succeeds in its main purpose, though: adjusting to your perfect height.
Whether you’re sitting down or standing up, you can dial in the perfect height for your posture and save the positions to four different buttons for quick and easy switching. The motors are fast enough to not have you waiting around, yet slow enough that trapping or crushing anything in the process is never much of a concern.
There’s even an object detection system. This works for the most part, but I did find my monitor pushing up against a shelf without the desk responding. It doesn’t replace due diligence. Oh, and you’ll want to apply the child lock. The buttons are sensitive enough to trigger if you brush by them and, as I’ve found out, prone to nosey animals booping them.
A stand-up (or sit-down) effort
Beyond the minor concern of almost going through the solid tabletop with a drill or ripping a shelf off the wall, the Flexispot is a welcome addition to my day-to-day life. It hasn’t fully convinced me to get up off my chair just yet, but that’s more on me than it is on the desk itself. Once I decide to get something like a step machine or balance ball (which I absolutely do not have room for), I imagine I’ll be more inclined to reap the spine-supporting benefits of the whole apparatus.
I’m not sold on the collection of available add-ons given the trouble I had with the computer holder, especially when competitors are starting to find consumer-friendly solutions to the same problems, but if you’re up to the task of installing them, you’ll struggle to find anything better. And if you ever decide to shrink or expand your office space, or just want a change of style, it’s easy enough to swap the tabletop without having to replace the whole leg setup.
If you’re already set on the idea of standing up for your 9-5, there’s little reason to doubt the Flexispot as a cheap and relatively cheerful entry point. You can always add the extra bells and whistles over time and, with plenty of assignable heights, you’ll be able to quickly adjust to keep you focused. Standing for nine hours a day isn’t great for you, either. Balance is key here, and the Flexispot is an easy way to add some to your home office life.
The Flexispot E7 is available from the Flexispot website.