Whether you’re a home worker or a keen gamer, if you’re spending hours at a desk the benefits of a sit-stander are well documented, giving you the opportunity to get out of your seat when you want, to ease the pressure on your spine and promote better overall health, while continuing with your current task.

If you want the benefits, you’re going to need a motor to effortlessly raise the desk when required. Single motor models are usually cheaper, but this means the motor is almost always visible.

Doubling down on the motor power output with a desk like the E8 () means it can be designed with the motor concealed within it, which is preferable if your desk is destined for your home workspace and you want it to look as good as possible.

The E8 was our best buy when we reviewed the best standing desks available, because it offered us a dual motor at a very reasonable price point, and that hasn’t changed since we first published.

What we wanted to know was whether it could really help us to keep moving throughout the working day, so the sit-stand system became second nature.

How we tested

We assembled and then worked at the E8 for months, to see how practical the design was not only for keyboard work, but also for those days when we needed notebooks open or paperwork to reference. We paid particular attention to the motorised transition from sitting to standing and back again, looking for smooth and quiet raising and lowering without any mechanical problems.

There’s plenty of debate about dosage and the right ratio of standing to sitting, but most health professionals advise you to approach the subject holistically, figuring out what feels right for your physicality and health goals. For us, that meant transitioning every half an hour, while we also stood up to make and receive calls.

To demonstrate just how smooth the table lifted and lowered, we also stood coins on their ends to see how many would fall over – the more that remained vertical at the end of the cycle, the smoother the ride. So, did the E8 measure up to our already high standards, or did it fall short? Read on to find out...

Flexispot E8 standing desk

Best: Standing desk overall

Motorised: Yes

Height range: 62.5cm - 128cm

Dimensions: 120cm - 200cm x 60cm - 80cm

Buy now £419.99, Flexispot.co.uk

We’ll start with a cautionary tale, the E8’s steel frame is very heavy. And although you might be cursing the weight to begin with, you’ll soon be glad of it while using the table at maximum height as it won’t sway like a palm tree in hurricane season – as some inferior quality tables are prone to do.

As for assembly it couldn’t be simpler. Attaching the side brackets to the supporting beam and installing the lift columns is extremely straightforward – you finish off with the handset, control box, cables and management tray, with everything tightened and adjustable with an Allen key. In fact, we managed a solo assembly, but some help might be required when lifting the table into position.

Looks

There are plenty of customisations available, which is something we really liked. There are 12 colours available for the rectangular desktop, which was our choice, ranging from maple and marble to bamboo and rubber wood.

Your decision will probably be based on whether you order the black or white frame, depending on your existing home décor. But whatever your combination, the table will look clean and modern and become a welcome addition to your workspace.

In operation

The rectangular E8’s dimensions are generous at 120cm x 60cm, which means we had plenty of laptop space as well as room for all the other desktop essentials, from open diary planners and notebooks to smartphone, stationery holder and Anglepoise lamp.

Similarly, if you work with a desktop computer and monitor, you won’t struggle – there’s even room for some greenery or a framed photo of friends and family. Gamers will have no problem positioning even the most expansive set-up on the table top.

As we suggested earlier, the mark of a quality standing desk is the efficiency and quality of the motors. Of the ten coins we used to test how smooth a ride the E8 gave its desktop passengers, only two tumbled on the way up and then back down.

Crucially, the E8 has a lifting speed of 3.8cm per second, so your transition never has to interrupt your workflow. As well as being efficient, the motor is wonderfully quiet. Plus, considering it was constantly in use, the fact we never had a mechanical issue was impressive – it even survived a highly concentrated bout of usage when it was repurposed by a gang of 11-year-olds who made a den under the desk and were constantly using the mechanism.

There are three stages to the leg lifting phase, which means it tops out at 125cm. Thanks to the sturdy steel frame, it’s very stable even at its upper limit.

We also really liked the softer edges that develop at the three different sections of the legs as you raise the table, which offers no room for little fingers to get trapped. There’s also a child lock, for anyone concerned about injury, so you can leave your desk without having to worry about what inquisitive children might get up to when left unattended.

We never really had any need to test the table’s straining powers to the absolute limit but if we ever feel like getting on the table and lifting ourselves and one other family member, we’d be perfectly confident in the claimed 125kg loading capacity.

Everything is controlled via the control panel, which includes activation for the child lock, four memory functions to pre-set sitting and standing heights for you, as well as one other user. There’s also a USB charger for your phone, which is a very useful addition, considering the desk is always powered when you’re working at it.

The verdict: Flexispot E8 standing desk

We have no reason to doubt the E8 will deliver a complete sit-stand experience to all kinds of users. Whether your days are full of Zoom meetings and deadlines, Call of Duty killers or just the household spreadsheet, it will ensure a sit-stand routine is an effortless ask while you’re perched at the desk.

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