Flexispot E7 Plus Standing Desk Review – I would definitely stand for this

PC gaming might be escaping from its button-downed keyboard and mouse setup with the rise of handheld consoles like the ROG Ally and the still pending arrival of Valve’s Steam Machine, but you can’t beat sticking a box on a great plank of wood for the true PC gaming experience. Flexispot are amongst the key desk manufacturers out there, crafting some of the best desks on the market, with their range of standing desks in particular bringing a batch of features to bear that make them very easy to live with.

The Flexispot E7 Plus is one of their latest four-legged options, with the extra stability afforded by having a pair of supports on each side instead of a single upright making it feel absolutely bombproof. Arriving in three separate boxes – two of them contain all of the parts you’ll need for the base, with the tabletop in the other – it might seem like a daunting project, but it’s not only pretty straightforward, the finished result is well worth the effort.

The E7 Plus is a mechanised standing desk unit, with Flexispot then giving you a range of customisation options in terms of tabletops or, indeed, the ability to simply purchase the frame. There’s a batch of different options, from the curved black of the gaming series through to the sleek, premium feel of black walnut or mahogany, with each coming in at its own price point.

Our review unit came in Light Bamboo, which felt incredibly solid and looked excellent, despite being one of the more cost-effective options in their range. The legs themselves are a not-insignificant $499.99, with the cheapest bamboo top adding a further $170 to the price, but if you’re in the market for the best of the best, they do a solid wood top option at a wallet-upsetting $2650. For my money? I think the bamboo is a great choice, and if I had $2650, I’d rather leave myself enough to build a new PC at the same time. I’ll need all that just to afford some RAM these days.

There are a lot of parts. Laying them out across our kitchen diner, I worried that I wouldn’t be able to find everything I needed amongst the other bits and bobs, and they’re so well packed with bits of cardboard that missing something wouldn’t be a surprise. I shouldn’t have been too concerned, though, and thanks to the clear and mostly straightforward instructions, I was able to put it together in around 90 minutes.

The legs are first. Each of the telescopic legs can expand, and you have to make sure they’re all level before you start to put the various parts together. Your first step is connecting each pair, and I marvelled at the sheer weight of the motors that sit at either end of the desk’s chassis. These are certified with a 10 year warranty, which is a lot of ups and downs. I wouldn’t be surprised to find they last a lot longer.

The drive mechanism runs between each leg, and it did take a little twisting and turning to line both legs up evenly before then attaching the footplate that connects between them. There’s then a metal guard piece that protects your fingers from getting stuck in the mechanism, though I did find placing this one particular attachment was left to your own imagination, rather than giving you pre-drilled holes. I’m happy enough that I’ve put it in a safe position, but it seems odd to leave the choice up to you.

The length of the frame is customisable, which is great whether you’re buying one of Flexispot’s pre-made tabletops, or you’re crafting/providing your own. Even if you want to add a 100lb+ tabletop to this base, it feels solid enough that you can legitimately do that, and it’ll accommodate tabletops from 47” in length up to 80”. The E7 Plus is actually rated for 430lbs – that’s 195kg in new money – so it’ll probably take a family member or two for a ride if you want. Obviously, we didn’t test that for health and safety reasons. Obviously.

The final additions are the power supply and the control unit, both of which are screwed to the underside of the table. Flexispot include a batch of attachable cable ties with sticky pads and screw points, and these worked well for routing most of my cables. For all that, I do still think some kind of trunking or metal routing would feel more secure.

The control unit is the hub for the E7 Plus, and it has simple, straightforward buttons which give you the ability to move the table up and down quite effortlessly, as well as storing your most used heights as presets – handy for switching between sitting and standing, of course, but also for multiple users. There is also a digital readout for the height in centimetres, but this doesn’t feel like much of an addition unless you have a very clear idea or memory about the table’s various heights.

In terms of further safety features, the control panel has a child lock function which should at least discourage smaller members of your family, but it is well worth thinking about small hands getting near the drive mechanisms underneath the table, especially when this guard is the bit that you choose where it goes. I’d say that I’ve placed them safely, but I could see some people not managing to get it right.

One thing that’s stood out during our testing was simply never tiring of the E7s ability to move up and down. Yes, I know that’s what it’s supposed to do, but its is so fast, smooth and fundamentally impressive that you’ll probably have a little go just to see how good the motion is.

When working through a long stint writing, it’s been really refreshing to be able to stand at the E7 Plus, giving me the opportunity to be up and out of my chair, while staying focused and feeling more active. Equally, it’s been great to lower the height down for our youngest son, making the computer setup easier for him to access. I didn’t think that I’d find so much to enjoy with a standing desk, but the E7 Plus has seriously improved both my, and my family’s, work and gaming time.