Choosing a sit-stand desk: what should you look for?
Choosing a sit-stand desk: what should you look for?
Ciao duo desk: each top adjusts separately, so one person stands while the other sits.
Adjustment range: the lowest and highest position
You no longer need convincing that a sit-stand desk is good for variation; the benefits of a sit-stand desk are set out in a separate article. This is about the choice itself. And the first question is not which brand, but which adjustment range.
Look at two figures. The lowest position determines whether a short user can work seated with relaxed shoulders. If the top is too high, people raise the chair and their feet dangle. The highest position determines whether a tall colleague can work standing without bending forward.
The differences within our own range are bigger than you might think. The SF 370 goes from 69 to 118 cm; the SF 670 from 61.5 to 127.5 cm. The Flex 3+ goes from 64 to 130 cm, the S-Line and the Ciao from 65 to 130 cm. Anyone buying the desk for themselves alone can manage with a smaller range. At a hot desk, where different heights sit at the same top in one day, every centimetre on both sides counts.
This is also what NPR 1813 is about. The guideline translates the European standards for work tables and office chairs to the Dutch working population. A label on a desk says little in this respect; the actual range in centimetres does. One of the misconceptions from that article: not every sit-stand desk reaches the standing height of a tall user.
Watch out when comparing: ask whether the stated height includes the top. On the Flex 3+ and the S-Line it is stated explicitly: 64 or 65 to 130 cm, including a 25 mm top.
Flex 3+ at standing height: the three-part telescopic frame extends to 130 cm.
Motors and load capacity
Two motors means that each column has its own drive. The Flex 3+ and S-Line both have two, in a quiet version, in three-part columns. The heaviest frame we carry, the S-Line Heavy Duty frame, has four: it lifts up to 320 kg at 14 mm per second, from 60 to 125 cm. That is a frame without a top, intended for workstations with a lot of equipment on the top.
For an ordinary office workstation that is rarely necessary. The SF 370 and SF 670 carry 120 kg (dynamic), the Ciao 120 kg. According to the product description of the SF 370, 120 kg is ample for two screens on a monitor arm and a docking station.
Frame: T-leg, panel leg or bench
Most electric desks in our collection stand on a T-leg: the Ciao, the SF 370 and SF 670, the Flex 3+ and the S-Line. The Flex 3+ is also available on a panel leg, two solid metal panels 10 cm thick in which the mechanics disappear, with a range of 65 to 130 cm.
If the top is wider than 200 cm, the frame changes. The SF 670 XL goes up to 320 cm and has an extra leg in the middle. On the S-Line you choose a 200 cm top between the standard frame, which extends to 190 cm, and the frame with extension kit.
Tabletop size, top thickness and colour
The Flex 3+ and the S-Line come in seven sizes, from 120 x 80 to 200 x 100 cm. The Ciao and the SF 670 have six sizes in the same range, the SF 370 four sizes up to 180 x 80 cm. When working out the tabletop size, allow for the screens, a monitor arm and possibly a cable duct as well.
With the Flexaro series the top is 25 mm melamine, in 28 colours. The eight colours of tabletop group 1 we supply in 1-2 weeks; tabletop groups 2 and 3 are made to order, with a delivery time of 4-6 weeks. The Ciao and the SF series have eight standard colours that are quickly available, from white and light grey to American walnut and concrete look. If the finish has to match furniture that is already in place, send a photo with your quotation request.
Controls and memory presets
A desk that you have to set by eye every time will be left at one height after a week. Memory presets solve that. The Ciao has a memory module with three presets; the Flex 3+ and the S-Line a memory unit with four. The S-Line has a USB-A charger in the controls, the Heavy Duty frame a USB-C connection.
The Flex 3+ has two extras: the control panel can go on the left or the right under the top, and a safety sensor stops the top as soon as it touches something. No socket nearby? The S-Light adjusts with a crank from 71 to 119 cm, the Flex Easy+ with a click system without power.
Cable management
A desk that travels more than 60 cm up and down tugs at every cable that is too short. The Flex 3+ has integrated cable management; the folding cable duct and the cable spiral are ordered separately. The S-Line bench has an upholstered magnetic cable tray under the top. For the other desks there are cable ducts and cable trays that move with the top.
Duo and bench configurations
Two workstations facing each other on one frame save space. The most important point: does each top move separately? That is the case with the four benches below, so that one person can stand while the other sits.
Ciao duo desk: each top separately adjustable from 62 to 130 cm, 120 kg load capacity.
SF 670 duo desk: H-leg, 61.5 to 127.5 cm, 120 kg. The legs stand at the ends, so that there is room left for a pedestal.
Flex 3+ bench: cross-beam-free frame, so no crossbar under the tops and full legroom on both sides. 64 to 130 cm, memory unit per workstation.
S-Line bench: telescopic bench frame, adjustable from 110 to 190 cm wide and up to 230 cm with the Extension Kit. If you choose a different tabletop size later, the frame goes along with it.
Unsure between two series, or does a whole department have to be changed over? In our 1,000 m² showroom in Moordrecht the desks are set up, so that you can try the adjustment range for yourself. We draw a 2D or 3D floor plan of your space free of charge, and our own people deliver and install. There are separate pages for the regions: height-adjustable desk Rotterdam and height-adjustable desk The Hague.
As wide as possible on both sides, because you do not know who will be sitting there. Of the five series in the table above, the SF 670 goes lowest (61.5 cm) and the Flex 3+, the S-Line and the Ciao reach 130 cm.
Does a sit-stand desk automatically comply with NPR 1813?
No. NPR 1813 is a guideline and not a quality mark; there is no certificate for it. Judge a desk on its actual adjustment range and on whether it suits the people who will be working at it.
Can I put a different top on the same frame later?
With the S-Line bench, yes: the frame is adjustable from 110 to 190 cm wide, and up to 230 cm with the Extension Kit. With other series it depends on the frame; ask us.
