I believe it’s safe to say that lately we all have been spending considerably more hours in front of our PC’s or laptops than ever before. Here we have a brand new product that could possibly make these long workdays a tad more enjoyable - it’s the EverDesk Max - a highly customizable standing desk that looks and feels premium. Let’s see what it can do!
Before we get into the desk itself, let's quickly go over the options. On the Everdesk website there are a bunch of desks to choose from, but the main ones are Everdesk Plus Lite and Max. Lite is the cheaper version with a single motor and Max is using dual motor which supports more weight.
Their website guides you through all the different choices starting with the frame, then table top and the rest. This is where you can choose between classic compressed fiber desk, natural wood, like we have here or go all the way and choose the wild-folks style which is currently very trendy. Do be warned - standing desks are expensive even at their cheapest and once you start customizing, it adds up to quite a sum. With that being said - some of the accessories, in our opinion, can make a big difference.
In our example we went for a bit of everything to show some use-cases and provide our feedback, but ultimately it’s up to you to choose what you would like based on your individual requirements. One thing we noticed straight away - this desk set-up is very flexible.
Let’s cover a few special features on our particular model. As mentioned earlier - we chose the larger natural wood top and black frame. For accessories we picked up a monitor arm with a laptop combo holder, peg board organizer, both wooden shelves as well as all the cable management accessories to create a very clean looking set-up. We also picked up the leather desk and mouse pads, an anti glare lighting accessory that goes on top of the monitor as well as the anti-fatigue mat for the floor.
All of these items were delivered in nice cardboard boxes with very simple instructions. We did have our table set up by a technician, but I can confirm that it was quite straight-forward as the desk already has pre-drilled holes for absolutely everything, including left and right positions for the controller.
I was very excited about the special feature called UniGroove. It’s quite a unique cable management solution. In some of the promotional pictures it was suggested to be used as a phone or tablet holder and it looked like the ultimate efficiency booster, but in reality it is not as ideal, at least with my phone. However it does work really well with mounting devices to the desk such as monitor arm and shelves. Due to its design, the devices can always be moved around without the need of drilling extra holes.
Another cool feature is the indent at the back for those larger cables, so you can easily push the desk flat against the wall. This is a very neat little detail which we really appreciate. I do wish UniGrove would support the ability to slide out some sections to put in larger cables like for example power cable for the monitor.
The accessory that proved to be more useful than I expected was the pegboard organizer panel. I really thought it’s going to be quite gimmicky, but it is nice to have extra vertical space for random stuff and it also serves as a nice divider for your desk, creating some privacy and separation from the rest of the room.
Last, but in my mind probably the most important accessory is the anti-fatigue mat. While using a standing desk in a, well.. standing mode, I personally can only last about 20-30 minutes, until I feel the need to sit down. I can do this a few times a day. And as we have hard floors, this isn't exactly comfortable on the feet. With the anti-fatigue mat I can probably triple the amount of time I spend standing every day. For those who intend to stand for long periods of time, I would recommend getting a larger mat as you will likely want to change your stance and it is not exactly possible on this smaller mat.
Moving back to the desk itself. I really like the table top finish, we chose Aged Darkened Walnut and it looks absolutely beautiful. Desk itself has a pretty large range for height adjustments, from 60 cm at its lowest to 124 cm at its highest which is essentially a leaning height for me. I feel it is fast and quiet enough for me to use on a daily basis.
The one thing that I have mixed feelings about is the round style controller. It has some cool features and looks pretty slick. You can set-up minimum and maximum height, configure reminders to stand up and change the vibration type for the notification. You have your standard 3 height presets and by turning it left or right you can move the desk up or down. My gripe with it is the capacitive buttons - they are too sensitive and get pressed by accident several times a day, initiating the table to suddenly go up or down. It gets me every time. Also to stop it from moving you have to press the capacitive button again rather than using a round adjustment knob which is not intuitive, especially when you’re already freaked out and scrambling to stop it.
There is an option within the settings to enable auto lock function, but I personally prefer the older style controller with buttons. After checking out the latest offering on EverDesk website it seems that they don’t offer it anymore so you will likely have a few freak-outs and hopefully learn how to avoid accidentally touching it or enable the auto lock function.
Other than that, there are no real issues with this desk. If you’re looking for a sturdy, highly customizable and overall good looking desk, then this Everdesk Max might be it. It has a wide range of ergonomic features, plus if you’re willing to splurge out a bit more, consider getting some of the accessories that they offer. It will make the experience so much more pleasant. However if you are on a tight budget, they also offer the cheaper Lite version.