Flexispot E7 review – a standing desk for both work and play

I’ve never been much of an office worker – I hate sitting for long periods of time staring at two screens that never seem to change. But over the years, I’ve become accustomed to this life, plonking myself down each and every morning and cracking on with my work. It wasn’t until a pain started shooting down my lower back and into my legs though that I realised I needed a change. I began looking at desk chairs with added lumbar support to soothe my aches and pains – but in reality, I should have been looking for a new gaming desk.

Standing desks are expensive products and it’s this fact alone that puts so many people off – myself included. I bought one of the best gaming chairs to compensate for my pain all those years ago, and while it certainly solved the problem in the short term, I ended up with buyer’s remorse. As someone who’s put their body through the ringer over the years chasing an egg-shaped ball around a field, I realised I actually needed a break from sitting all the time – and the Flexispot E7 standing desk is the perfect antidote.

For the last month and a half, I’ve been using Flexispot’s Pro Series desk and I can honestly say that I wish I’d picked one up earlier. I no longer feel lethargic at the end of a working day, my posture has improved, and the pressure on my back has been eased.

Getting it upstairs and in my office though, is another story. When the E7 arrived, it came in three separate boxes – one for the white legs, one for the dual motor, and one for the curved maple desktop. These boxes aren’t too heavy, but if you’re already suffering from a bad back like me, you’re probably going to need some help getting them in place.

By the time I’d lugged them upstairs and opened them up, I was exhausted. Fortunately, the assembly process for my desk didn’t take too long – and with a handy YouTube link supplied by Flexispot – I was able to get the desk up and running in about an hour. The process was fairly simple, but I did need to dig out a drill to make a few holes for the legs, so be warned if you’re thinking of picking one up.

As for the setup, well there isn’t really one. Once the desk is on its feet, you can get to work – literally. The keypad that comes with the desk not only has a USB port, but is effortless to use, and allows you to set four different levels as presets between the minimum of 58cm and the maximum of 123cm. I’ve got one for sitting, one for standing, and one for gaming. With a press of a button, the desk moves into position in a matter of seconds. The E7’s dual-motor lifting system makes this process super efficient and it’s so quiet that I can adjust my desk mid-meeting and no one will hear it.

If you want to make minor adjustments, you can press one of the two arrow buttons, which will bring your desk up or down depending on how long you hold it. You do have to be careful though – the E7’s child lock button, which stops the desk from moving at all, is right next to these arrows, and easy to press without realising.

This, combined with the anti-collision tech that comes baked into the E7, are great features too, especially if you do have small humans or animals cutting about the house. While I don’t, I tested it extensively by waving various materials under the desk while it’s moving up or down and if it does detect something, it’ll bounce back in the other direction in a split second, so you can rest assured you won’t crush anything by mistake.

When you combine the desk with an anti fatigue mat, the Flexispot E7 corrects posture and boosts energy

It’s easy to say that you’ll feel better days after buying one of the best standing desks, but it takes a couple of weeks to adjust to the change. Since setting my desk up, I’ve chopped and changed my setup more times than I care to remember. I bought a dual display mount to lift my gaming monitors and reduce the clutter on my desk (the desk can hold up to 125kg), and I also grabbed a Flexispot Anti Fatigue mat to improve my comfort and better my posture while standing.

Without this mat, I struggled to stand for more than half an hour at a time, which seemed a bit counter-intuitive. But after slipping this under my feet, I’m able to stand for much longer. It might not seem like much, but in this work from home cycle of endless fatigue we all find ourselves in, it’s been revolutionary.

I do have one small gripe though, and that’s the lack of cable management options the E7 comes with. At the base level, the E7 comes with a tray that helps cover the two motors and their cables – but it’s not a cable management system, regardless of how Flexispot tries to spin it. By the time I’d plugged in my desktop, my monitors, and my Xbox Series X|S, it looked as if a bird had flown in through my window and made itself a nest underneath my desk.

Lack of cable trays tarnishes the otherwise flawless Flexispot E7 standing desk

At first, I left that big black mass of cables alone, but I quickly realised I couldn’t live with it – especially as it looked ten times worse when the desk height was elevated. I tried, for a long time, to use the tray supplied to manage cables and hide them, but it simply isn’t deep enough to accommodate all of them. I also realised that some of my cables wouldn’t stretch to my standing preset.

As a compromise, I ordered two cabling trays online and drilled them to the underside of the desk. It’s not perfect – and my cabling certainly needs some work – but it looks less ghastly than it did before. Sure, Flexispot offers cable management accessories for an extra cost, but given these desks retail from $499 / £399, I’d look at alternatives here before biting the bullet.

But in the grand scheme of things, that’s only a small negative and the pros far outweigh the cons here. If you’re looking to spend more time on your feet and less time on your keister during your standard nine till five job, the Flexispot E7 is well worth the investment. My back has never felt better and it’s given me more flexibility to do what I love pain free.