Why You Can Trust CNET Save $50 on a VersaDesk powered standing desk
It goes up or down with the push of a button and doesn't force you to replace your existing desk.
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Desk goes up, desk goes down. Desk goes up, desk goes down.
Cheeps! I'm on leave till Friday, but I wrangled this deal for you last week. Enjoy! (Bonus deals are up to you this week, so share whatever cool stuff you find.)
Recently I wrote about how my laptop was ruining my posture, and how I solved the problem for $16.
Of course, there's another scourge of the desk-bound worker: long stretches of sitting. There's plenty of data indicating it's just not good for a body.
Can a stand-up desk help? The jury's still out, because at least one recent study (albeit a very small one) suggested that long stretches of standing can cause problems as well.
Here's what I know from personal experience: I'm happiest when I alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day. To do that, however, you need an adjustable-height desk, one that can quickly and easily move from sitting to standing position and back again.
Last year I bought just such an animal from Ikea -- but, honestly, I don't like it. It's wobbly, slow to raise and lower, bereft of much-needed drawers and lacking a second tier to bring my monitor up to eye level.
That's why my next stop was one of VersaDesk's sit-to-stand desk risers, a more practical solution for many folks because it works on your existing desk.
I won't lie: They're not cheap. But I managed to make them a little cheaper, at least for Cheapskate readers. For a limited time, you can save $50 on any VersaDesk sit-to-stand desk riser by using promo code VSD50CNET.
I'm using the Power Pro, which is available in widths ranging from 30 to 48 inches and your choice of four colors -- including an erasable whiteboard gloss-white! I've got the 36-inch model in black; it's sitting atop my old 60-inch desk (which has drawers, cabinets and so on), leaving room on either side for a printer, lamp and whatnot. In other words, it's pretty much a perfect fit.
That configuration currently sells for $390, so the code gets you down to $340. But shipping is free, and that's good because this is a heavy, substantial piece of furniture. (A popular one, too: some 150 Amazon customers rated it 4.6 stars out of 5.)
Using the simple up and down push-button controls, it takes all of about 10 seconds to move the riser between sitting and standing positions. Because it's a two-tiered desk, I'm able to keep my keyboard at a comfortable typing level and my screen at a comfortable eye level (though I do still use the aforementioned riser with my laptop).
Meanwhile, it has three 2-inch grommet holes for cord-management and/or a monitor mount. Suddenly I'm very tempted to install a desktop monitor and scoot my laptop off to the side.
You can find other adjustable desk risers for a bit less money, but most of those rely on pneumatic tubes for height changes and aren't nearly as easy or efficient as VersaDesk's motorized system. And I don't know about you, but every time I push that button, I think of this. (Except in my head it's "Desk goes up, desk goes down...")
I feel like investing in this is investing in your health (but that's my opinion and mine alone). There's a 30-day money-back guarantee if you don't like it for some reason. That said, do your research to determine whether a standing desk can be beneficial to you. It's not for everyone. Personally, this is my favorite workstation to date, and I've tried a lot of them.