Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-04-04)

52 4 April 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

Testbench ACCESSORIES

Ataglance

●Two-tierdesign

● 11 adjustableheights

● Delivered fully assembled

IFYOURworkflowinvolvesa lotof editingon

thecomputer,orif you’reoneof thosefor

whomthedigitaldarkroomis whereallthe

magictakesplace,thenthechancesareyou

spenda lotof timesittingdown.Probablyona

non-orthopaedicofficechair.Toomuchsitting,

wearenowconstantlybeingtold,is a BadThing,

andcancauselowerbackpain,asI havediscovered

fromexperience.Sowhentheopportunitycameto

tryoneof thenewgenerationof standingdesks,I

decidedtodomyhealtha favourandgiveit a go.

TheVariDeskProPlus 36 sitsontopof your

regulardeskandcomprisesa two-tier

design,witha lowfrontshelffor

yourkeyboardandmouse,and

a raisedonebehindit foryour

monitor.If youprefer,youcan

fix upto twomonitorsto anoptional

vari-anglearmthatattachesto thebackof

therearshelf,keepingthesurfaceclear.In itslowered

positionthefrontshelfsitsonlya coupleof inches

aboveyourdesk,soyourworkingheightisn’t

drasticallydifferent.Butpulltheleversoneitheredge

of therearshelfanda spring-assistedmechanism

allowsit tobeeasilyraisedandlockedintooneof 11

differentheightsettings,withlittlephysicaleffort.

TheVariDeskis veryheavy,sowhateveryouputit

onneedstobefairlysturdyandyoumayneedhelp

gettingit upthere.Butthisdoesmeanit won’tmove

aroundonitsbasewhenyouadjusttheheight.

Thedesignis excellent.Theuppershelfcurves

aroundin a C shape,providinga naturalplacetoresta

mugononesideanda phoneontheother.Thelower

shelffollowsthecontoursof thetopone.Thekeyboard

sitsin themiddle,witha spaceoneachsidefora

mousemat,anda curvedindentationat thefrontfor

thatbellythatyouhopetoloseif youusethisdeskfor

longenough.Availablein blackorwhite,theProPlus

36 is themostpopularmodelfroma varietyof sizes

andconfigurations.It’s 36 incheswideandI wasjust

aboutabletoplacetwo25inmonitorssidebysideon

thetopshelfwith my Mac Mini nestled between them.

Ve r d i c t
Theysayyouburn100-200caloriesperhourjustby
standing, andtherearethebenefits toyourback,
hamstringsandgeneralposture.Thegreatthingabout
theVariDeskis thatyoudon’thavetocommittostand
allthetime.Youcanmixit up:sitfora bit,thenstand
fora bit.It takessecondstoadjustandwhereveryou
positionit, it’sassolidasa rock.It isn’tcheapbutthe
ALL PRICES ARE APPROXIMATE STREET PRICEShealth benefi ts may be worth more to you than £365.

If you’rea laptopuseryoumay

wanttoconsiderthemuchsmaller

andmoreaffordableVariDesk

Laptop30.It maytakeitsdesign

cuesfromanironingboardbut

featuressimilarfunctionalityto

itsbigbrother’sandfitsin a much

smallerspace.Sidehandles

enableeasyheightadjustmentand

itslighterweightmakeit easierto

movearoundfromonelocation to

another. It costs £150.

ALSO CONSIDER

Va r i D e s k

Pro Plus 36

NigelAthertontriesout

adeskaccessorythat’s

goodforyourhealth

● £365● vari.com

Choiceof

sizesand

colours

VariDeskscomefully

assembledin a choiceof

sizes,stylesand

colours.

Curvedfront

Thecurvedfrontshelf

enablesyoutofinda

comfortableworkingposition,

withspaceoneitherside

fora mousemat.

Easyheight

adjustment

Leversoneithersideofthe

rearshelfenablethe

VariDesktobefixedata

choiceof 11 heights.

Two-tier

design

Theraisedrearshelfis 36in

wide– amplefortwo24in

monitorssidebyside.Butyou

canalsofixthemonitorstoa

vari-anglearmthat

attachestotheback.

Recommended

The VariDesk Pro Plus 36 viewed from above