So Hear Me Out is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. More info here.
Standing desks are important for those of us who spend a lot of time on our computers. I’m going to share my review of the V120EW Vivo Dual Motor Stand Up Desk for anyone considering it. If you spend most of your time at a desk or computer, it’s crucial to have decent ergonomic equipment that prevents back, neck, hip, or wrist pain – just to name a few. Standing desks are a major tool that can be used to help maintain health and prevent pain. As increasing numbers of people work from home due to the current climate, you may be thinking about investing in one for yourself.
Background
I realized a year ago that, due to my escalating back, neck, and wrist pain, I needed to make some ergonomic changes at my own home workstation. Desks are not one-size-fits-all, and mine was too tall for me. My job set me up with a manual sit-to-stand converter (this one, specifically – the Varidesk Dual Monitor sit-to-stand desk converter) at my on-site location that helped neutralize this pain a great deal, so I knew that a standing desk would be an ideal solution for my home, as well.
My Varidesk sit-to-stand desk converter worked very well, and I liked it for work (I recommend it if you don’t want a full standing desk), but all I have at work is a laptop. I have a full tower PC rig for gaming, data science, and video editing at home, along with two gigantic monitors and filming equipment. I wanted a large, fully electric standing desk that could hold the weight of everything. And I knew I didn’t want a hand crank, but something that was powered. I know myself, and I know that if I had to crank up a desk every time I wanted to use it standing up…I would never use it standing up.
Fully electric standing desks with 6-8 feet desktops (which I wanted) cost typically upwards of $600 – and that’s on the cheap end. That was not something I could afford. What I did notice was that the actual standing desk frames with the motors (and without the desktop attached) were far less expensive – typically under $300. Now that was doable!
I researched a variety of standing desk frames and motors and settled on the Vivo V120EW.
Why this frame is amazing
- Dual motors so that a single motor won’t burn out before its time lifting the desk up and down every day
- Supports a high amount of weight (220 lbs / 99.8 kg)
- Incredibly quiet motors
- Expandable to support an almost 8 foot (2.5 meters) desktop
- Wide, stable feet that would prevent rocking dd
- Memory programmable height positions so that I wouldn’t have to re-adjust every time I used it
- Free shipping – for something that size, that’s a huge cost savings
I’ve used this standing desk for over a year now (bought in May 2019) – and in the years that I’ve owned it and raised it up/down/up/down every day, it has not once developed a wobble, the motors have not gained any volume, and I have zero regrets about buying this desk frame. As I’ve been writing this review, I’ve tried hard to think about if I have anything I dislike about this desk, and I honestly don’t.
Desk Top Options
None of the desk tops in the larger size I wanted, 6 feet, were affordable for the budget I had. Fortunately for me, King Bacon is a woodworker and was able to build me a desk top. If you have the budget, or don’t mind spending a little more to save yourself having to build one on your own, there are some great options for desk tops that you can snag along with the frame.
- 5 feet long Vivo desktop (black, light wood, and white): Here
- 3.5 feet long Vivo desktop (black and white): Here
(There’s another version that with a black frame that is only a single motor and doesn’t support as much weight – up to 176 lbs – but that also comes with a 5 feet desk top that is a decent option if you don’t want or need a larger desk – the Vivo Desk-Kit-2E1B.)
I definitely recommend using a mat when you’re standing – you wouldn’t think it would make as big of a difference as it does, but it really does. My favorite is the Sky Mat, and I also used the Ergodriven Topo Mini. The Topo Mini was good for stretching out my feet, but I prefer the Sky Mat overall because I can spread my feet out fairly wide, and it just feels squishier to me.
Final Thoughts
With the affordability of the frame (compared to entire sets), and what I saved by making my 6 foot real wood desk top with King Bacon, I spent just over $350 total on a dual motor electric standing desk ($352.99, to be absolutely precise.) Here’s what it looked like after we finished putting everything together (don’t judge the cable management, I fixed that after this photo was taken – and if you want to know how to do affordable cable management on stand up desks, check out our article here!)
For a video review that has a noise sample of the desk moving up and down, here’s the video I did for YouTube as a V120EW Vivo Dual Motor Stand Up Desk Review. A quick tutorial on how to make an affordable 6 foot desktop will be coming soon, as well as how to fully streamline my standing desk for cable management and organization, with King Bacon’s set up as an example. Feel free to ask any questions that I didn’t cover!