There have been studies that prove standing desks don’t necessarily provide the health benefits they promised, but that’s mostly if you spend more time standing rather than using them as a reminder to move a little. Standing desks still have a place in our office setup, but many of the options available in Australia can be quite expensive.
Australian company Desky, though, has sit-stand desks that offer excellent value for money.
I’ve already tried two of the brand’s office chairs – the Desky Swivel 3D Tilt and the Desky Pro Plus Ergonomic chair – one of which even found its way into my best office chairs in Australia buying guide. While I wasn’t necessarily sold on the quality of materials used in both chairs, I’m very impressed with what Desky has done for its sit-stand desks – after all, the company was founded on its standing desks.
There are quite a few types of standing desks offered by Desky, including single and dual motor desks, as well as several types of desktop finishes. While you can opt for melamine to keep the price down, I personally prefer a wood finish and, for the purposes of this review, opted for the Desky Dual Bamboo sit-stand desk.
My review desk came with two accessories – a tabletop shelf with a matching finish and a single-monitor arm. It replaced ErgoTune’s EverDesk Max that I reviewed for sister site Tom’s Guide, but which has been discontinued in Australia. The main difference here is that the Desky options don’t have as many accessories as what the EverDesk Max could be set up with, but that’s probably a good thing – you can buy third-party accessories that you truly need without going overboard financially, thus setting up your home office just the way you like it.
Desky Dual Bamboo sit-stand desk review: Price & availability
As with several other standing desk, the Desky sit-stand options also come in various sizes and finishes. For the purposes of this review, I’ll stick to the dual-motor options with just two legs (there are three-legged L-shaped models too), which set you back anywhere between AU$825 (for the melamine desktops) to upwards of AU$2,100 (for the hardwood finish in the largest size).
The Bamboo option reviewed here comes in four sizes, three desktop finishes and four frame choices. It will cost you between AU$899 for the smallest size (1200x750mm) and AU$1,149 for the biggest (2000x750mm).
You can add on a handful of accessories, like a monitor arm, a matching wooden monitor stand, caster wheels and more, but these can quickly add up. In my opinion, the AU$139 monitor stand is a worthwhile investment as it can double as a shelf, but I also opted to get the wheels that make the desk easier to move. I even got myself a single monitor arm. That brings the price up to AU$1,246, which isn’t too bad, considering bigger brands like Steelcase and Secretlab have starting prices of AU$1,769 and AU$1,099 respectively, although the Steelcase Migration SE Pro and Secretlab Magnus Pro are touted as being much more premium offerings.
However, Desky doesn’t offer free shipping within Australia (even to metro addresses), which is a shame. A standard frame with two legs has a flat shipping fee of AU$39.99 (L-shaped ones incur a higher AU$59.95 shipping fee), but it might still be worthwhile because the quality of the build is good and you get a 10-year warranty on all parts.
You can head to the Desky website to browse all standing desk options and accessories.
Desky Dual Bamboo sit-stand desk review: Unboxing & first impressions
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the Desky Dual Bamboo sit-stand desks require assembly at home and will arrive in two boxes. One is solely for the desktop of your choice, while the frame comes in another. And it’s the latter box that you open first and the assembly instructions are clear. If in any doubt, Desky also has video tutorials on its website for setting up your new desk.
Given my first impressions of the two Desky office chairs I’ve previously reviewed weren’t very good, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the standing desk. However, I was glad to see that the materials used and the finishing of the individual parts for the Dual Bamboo desk was far better than the chairs.
For this review, I opted for the 1200 x 750 size Dual Bamboo desk with the white frame and light-bamboo desktop. I also had caster wheels as an add-on, as well as a monitor arm and a matching monitor stand to use as tabletop shelf. The wheels have lockable brakes and while I found it really hard to unlock them, I think that’s for the best.
I assembled the desk on my own and had no trouble following the instructions, although I think if you opt for a bigger size, it might be best to have some help. The fully assembled desk looks clean, smart and well made, and the wheels make the whole unit move very smoothly indeed.
I found the lights of the smart controller to be quite bright initially, but pairing it with its companion app on a phone gave me better control over the brightness and the colour of the light. That done, I spent a little time saving some height presets, which is remarkably easy as well, and that makes it just as easy to recommend the Desky Dual sit-stand desks.
Desky Dual Bamboo sit-stand desk review: Design & build quality
There’s no design element that makes the Desky standing desk stand out from its competitors, but I like that it’s really sturdy. The dual-motor desks have a maximum load capacity of 140kg, so I don’t have to worry about having two monitors (although, at the time of writing, it was just one 27-inch 4K monitor) and my laptop – not to mention the peripherals and other clutter usually on my desk – weighing it down.
Specifications
Height range: 60-125cm
Sizes: 120-200cm (length)
Maximum load: 140kg
Lift speed: 36mm/second
Noise level: 40dB
Materials: Melamine and wood desktops
While you can get a plethora of options for the desktop, I like simple finishes, so I went with the standard Bamboo panel which, when paired with the white frame, has very clean lines and a minimalist aesthetic that I personally find pleasing. There’s no branding marring the wood either. You can opt for more expensive options, including soft- and hardwood, but you can also get cheaper melamine.
The frame has heavy legs and horizontal bars, the latter housing the power supply for the dual motors right under the desktop. These motors – one in each leg – aren’t visible but they make the legs rise and fall smoothly, and with minimal noise. Overall, the frame is well built to take on the 140kg max load and I don’t think anyone will have any issues with the standard desk setup, even if you use two monitors and a laptop.
There is no built-in cable management here, but Desky will sell you an accessory for under-table cable management to keep things neat and tidy. Alternatively, you can buy your own third-party option – which is what I did.
The only ‘embellishment’ on the desk will be the Bluetooth smart controller that can be attached to the desk either to the right or left – the latter is where I placed mine. In terms of design, the controller isn’t particularly fancy, but this is where all the smarts truly lie. It allows for four height presets to be saved, but you can save up to six on the connected Desky app. The controller also has an 18W USB-C port available if you need to charge one of your handheld devices or headphones.
Making the controller stand out are the LED lights for the buttons and the middle strip, the colour of which can be changed via the Desky app from a choice of five, but you can also choose to leave them off or cycle through all five if you can’t decide on any of them. A small display on the controller will show you the height at which your desk is currently positioned.
There really isn’t much else going on here in terms of design elements – the Desky Dual Bamboo sit-stand desk is a simple piece of furniture, although it could make a difference in how you work each day.
Desky Dual Bamboo sit-stand desk review: In use
I’ve been using the Desky Dual Bamboo sit-stand desk for eight months at the time of publication, meaning it’s been put through the rigours of daily use in my home office. And it’s held up really well.
So far, I’ve not had a single scratch on the polished bamboo surface and neither has there been any damage from tightening clamps for the under-desk cable management tray and the monitor arm. That should tell you all you need to know about its long-term reliability but, of course, you also get the 10-year limited warranty for a little peace of mind.
Adjusting height is seamless, either via the smart controller or the app. And I’ve had to adjust it often to match the chair I might have been testing at the time. This has included having to change sitting height by just millimeters. I’ve even tweaked the standing height a few times over the last few months, and while the controller can over-adjust, it’s possible to get finer control via the app.
The controller can also be voice activated thanks to Siri and Google Assistant support. The exact voice commands to use are listed in the app, and it’s a matter of you remembering what you’ve chosen to raise or lower the Desky.
The voice commands – via Siri in my case, as I’m an iPhone user – are a lot of fun. I’ve had colleagues say it’s a “very cool” feature. There’s is one major caveat to keep in mind with voice commands: if the desk is not connected to the app – which is most of the time due to app inactivity – you cannot use a voice command.
Initially I assumed this had something to do with background app refreshes, but I saw no problems in my iOS setup to indicate I needed to change a setting, so Desky needs to improve its app performance to make it more useful. That more so because I can see how the voice control feature would be useful for people with disabilities – hands-free control would most definitely be a plus for many users, again, provided Desky can improve its app.
The app itself, in its current form, isn’t much to write home about but gives you all the necessary control you need. You can choose a variety of voice commands, and setting heights is easy. But, as I’ve already mentioned, it disconnects from the controller often and keeps needing to reconnect. While reconnection doesn’t take long, it can be an annoyance. That said, you can still use the Desky desks without the app, although for millimetre adjustments, it’s really useful to have on your phone (or tablet).
The Desky Dual Bamboo standing desk also has an anti-collision feature, which is a good thing in case you have something (or someone) in the way while it’s rising or falling. You can change the sensitivity of the anti-collision sensor to Low, Medium or High.
Also available is a child-lock function to ensure you toddler doesn’t mess around with the controller. While the anti-collision feature should ensure their head doesn’t get bumped, it’s still better to keep the controller locked from accidental – or curious – presses.
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Design |
Standard design with smooth, quiet motors |
⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
|
Material quality |
Good-quality materials with sturdy build |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
|
Ease of use |
Easy to use via both the app and the smart controller |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
|
Practicality |
Will suit any kind of user |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
|
Price |
Competitively priced, offering good value |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Desky Dual Bamboo sit-stand desk: Final verdict
The Desky Dual Bamboo sit-stand desk might not be an eye-catching piece of office furniture, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s simplicity at its best for a standing desk, which is both easy to assemble and very easy to use. Sure, its app isn’t its best part, but I think it still represents good value considering you get some smart control here.
With quality materials and a good starting price, it’s really quite easy to recommend the Desky desk to anyone keen on changing their home or office setup. And I’m not saying this on a whim: at the time of publication, I’d been using the Desky Dual Bamboo desk for about eight months, so it’s definitely been through some work. And through it all, I’ve had no complaints, although improved app performance to ensure voice control works at all times would be handy to have.
For more workplace essentials, we’ve also reviewed some of the best office chairs in Australia.
