Like many people who are tethered to a desk for most of the day, I have come to crave a standing desk. Something that would allow me to change my posture during the day and at least pretend as if my lifestyle was healthier The Vari electric standing desk is one of the most popular and reasonably priced of the electric standing desks, at $695 (A$950) a unit. At this price, the features are fairly modest and a bit smaller than some PC desks. I was concerned both about how it would fare as a gamer's battle station and as a workbench at home.

However, after using it quite a bit, I can say that my concerns were unnecessary.

The desk is very easy to set up. It comes in two packages: the legs and the top panel. Both are very heavy, but easy to assemble. The legs slide into the desk and snap into place. Then all you have to do is fit everything in and stand it up vertically. I was able to do this by myself, but some people may find these parts unwieldy or difficult just because of their size and weight. Once assembled, the unit feels very solid, so at least the initial awkwardness feels worth it.

The desk's control panel slides into place, as do the legs, and then everything can be plugged in. The instructions are clear, and the controls have two modes: one allows you to set your preferred height and get back to your sweet spot. The other allows you to manually make minor or major changes on the fly. Both work as expected, but I found that if I wanted to make small changes throughout the day, I preferred to remain in manual mode.

The Vari electric standing desk has a maximum weight capacity of 99.8 kg; however, I was more concerned about its overall size than its weight.

The desktop measures 122 x 76 cm, which is smaller than what I am using. My current setup includes two monitors of modest size, a PC tower, keyboard, mouse and charging pad, Elgato Stream Deck, webcam, microphone, speakers, headphones, phone charger, controller, and whatever else I left behind that day PC tower With the exception of the PC tower, the PC tower under the desk has not been a problem as long as the cables move freely as the desk is moved. The desk also comes with a few cable accessories for life, such as hooks and Velcro.

A mounting clamp for a monitor or other device would make the setup process even less problematic.

In actual use, the Vari electric standing desk raises and lowers effortlessly. There was no shaking as it moved up and down, and the only problems we had were with the cable routing. Even the noise it makes while moving is quite small. The desk is very easy to use on a daily basis, although it may require some adjustment to set up.

It also looks quite nice. The butcher block top is an attractive veneer, and the sturdy metal legs would look good in a study. However, the top panel is a bit prone to dents, and the monitor's legs have been scratched. This was also easier than I thought, and I became much more careful after that. Still, I have a word of advice for those who slide things on their desks.

As for sitting, of course you can sit in a chair and then stand. However, Vari was kind enough to provide us with an active seat, a stool that accompanies the Vari Electric Standing Desk, for review. The price is $255 (A$400 / £325), which is about half the price of the desk, depending on your location. It arrived in one piece with no assembly required, but it was also a large, somewhat heavy package.

The active seat is ergonomically designed to stand, tilt, and rotate, so it is not fixed in one place. The wide range of height options allows it to be used with all the height options of the desk, but it is also a bit odd. The nature of the seat is such that it is never completely stable and is designed to keep moving. This is very well done, and I almost fell off more than once. Nevertheless, the seat allowed me to maintain a standing position for much longer than I would have without it. If you do a lot of standing or leaning at your desk, an active seat will definitely help, but it takes some getting used to, and it's not cheap.

However, the Vari electric standing desk itself is quite nice. It is sturdy, easy to assemble, well made, high quality, and supports more weight than expected. The mechanism for changing height is reasonably quiet and looks professional in my office. Combined with the active seat, I have been able to spend more time standing at my desk.