Jarvis Bamboo Standing Desk Review

In the most recent episode of Bad Voltage, I reviewed the Jarvis Bamboo Adjustable Height Standing Desk . Tune in to listen to the ensuing discussion and the rest of the show.

Between LinuxQuestions, Datadog, consulting, Bad Voltage, Opensource.com, Linux Fund, and the other online activities I partake in, I’m in my office _a lot_. And while I try to be active when I’m not in my office, there’s substantial research coming out that indicates long period of sitting are bad for your body irrespective of how much exercise you otherwise get. Enter a standing desk.

Before moving on to the review, I should note: While most studies agree that sitting for long periods of time is bad for you, there is still ongoing research on whether standing undoes that damage. That’s not to say a standing desk isn’t beneficial, but keep in mind there is not enough evidence yet from quality studies to prove exactly how beneficial.

On to the desk. While a variety of adjustable standing desks are available, after considerable research I ended selecting the Jarvis Bamboo from Fully. The desk comes in seven sizes with either rectangle and contour tops. I went with the 60″x30″ contour combination. From there you you choose from an assortment of accessories including programmable memory adjustment, wire management , and CPU holders. Once you make your selection, the desk is sent out the next day via ground shipping and will arrive in two boxes.

The first box I opened had nothing but the desktop. You immediately notice how high quality the harvested bamboo is. It’s sturdy but not too heavy and has a look I really like. The other box had the frame and all other components. Assembly was straight forward and took roughly thirty minutes, including attaching the optional CPU holder and my existing monitor arms. The wire management option is nice, but not custom built for the desk. I went with the programmable memory and as a $35 upgrade I’d consider it a must if you’re going go with an adjustable height desk. It has 4 programmable options, which make the perfect height for standing or sitting a single click every time.

Once assembled I quickly put the desk to use. It’s reasonably quiet considering it supports lifting 350 pounds and it extremely stable at all heights I tested. I’ve found myself standing roughly 20-25% of the time and it’s been an improvement for not only my health, but for my workflow. At around $600 as I spec’d it out, it’s not cheap, but when you couple how often I’m at my desk with the fact that this desk should easily last over a decade it seems like a small price to pay.

So, what’s the Bad Voltage verdict? If you’re looking for an adjustable height standing desk, I highly recommend the Jarvis Bamboo. I’ve been using it for over a month now and I would not want to go back to a traditional desk. If you’re committed to a standing routine, but you already own a standard-height desk you like, or the price of a fully adjustable desk is just too much, options such as the Ergo Desktop Kangaroo Pro Junior or Varidesk may be worth a look. Either way, I can also recommend the Topo mini mat, which I’ve found extremely comfortable.

You may have noticed this review is a bit lighter on details than most of mine are. This was very much by design. There are a ton of high quality in-depth reviews available for the Jarvis, and other variable height options, so there isn’t a lot I can add. What I’d like to know is, what the rest of the Bad Voltage team thinks about the concept and work-flow of a standing desk, their opinion on buying a new fully adjustable desk vs using something like a Varidesk, and whether making either purchase is something they’d consider.

–jeremy