Flexispot E7 Pro Review: Standing Desk with Tidy Cables

A height-adjustable desk is meant to bring more movement into the working day, but it usually costs a fair amount — and there is often an extra charge for a cable channel, since few people enjoy leads dangling from the desk. On the Flexispot E7 Pro, cable management is already part of the standard configuration, and in testing it proves to have more going for it than that, from a stable stance to intuitive operation. This review is based on that published test, not on a hands-on trial of our own.

Many of us spend our days hunched over a screen and keyboard, with back pain and tension the quiet companions of modern office life; a height-adjustable desk sets a little movement against that daily grind. Standing for part of the day, rather than sitting through all of it, is the whole point, and a desk that rises and falls at the press of a button makes switching between the two effortless.

The version tested had a black frame and the basic keypad with a 140 x 80-centimetre black tabletop, a specification priced on a par with its European rivals, and, unusually, it includes a cable tray as standard. Assembly took around 30 minutes: the illustrated instructions are clear, the necessary tools and screws are supplied, and most of the holes are pre-drilled — though a cordless screwdriver is worth having for some of them, such as the keypad, because the tabletop is very hard.

There is nothing to fault in the finish: frame, top and keypad all feel well made, with no sharp edges or rattling parts, and the power cable is over three metres long, so the desk can stand a little away from the socket. Across a full working day, and in the hands of several team members using it for different tasks, the E7 Pro acquitted itself very well. A monitor, notebook, mouse, keyboard and phone all find room on the top, although a second screen or a lot of paperwork can quickly make things cramped.

The height adjustment travels smoothly and briskly up or down, and the memory function stores up to four positions that the desk moves to automatically at a touch of the keypad. Even raised to its maximum of around 132 centimetres, the E7 Pro neither tips nor wobbles. The drives are quiet in operation, but produce a deeper hum than comparable adjustable desks, which noise-sensitive users may find distracting.

What sets the E7 Pro apart from many rivals is that cable management is built in from the start. Behind a magnetic cover on the crossbar, the leads for the lifting columns, the keypad and the mains disappear, and behind that sits a cable tray with room for a power strip lying flat. Around two metres of cable ties and a cable manager for up to four cables are included as well.

The keypad, mounted on the front, uses touch-sensitive keys; a small display shows the current height, a press sends the desk to one of the four stored positions, and holding a key drives it to any height you like. The keypad can also be locked to prevent accidental operation — by curious children's fingers, for instance. Collision protection can be switched off or set to one of three levels (high, medium, low); it spots obstacles quickly and reliably, stops the movement and reverses a few centimetres. With it disabled and the desk moving automatically, the E7 Pro will topple, so it is best left switched on at all times. On the right-hand side there is a USB-C socket for charging a tablet or phone — Flexispot fits the newer standard, where other makers offer, at most, a USB-A port.

The cable holder is a practical touch, but it is fitted awkwardly close to the crossbar, so a power strip must either be threaded in fiddly fashion from the side or the tray removed, the strip laid on and the tray refitted — a recipe for the odd moment of frustration. The tabletop could also stand to be a little larger, so that two monitors would have room, and anyone who opts for the black top should either enjoy wiping or be unbothered by marks, as fingerprints and water spots are hard to avoid.

In testing the Flexispot E7 Pro convinced with its stable stance, its excellent collision protection and its straightforward operation. The cable management included even in the standard version keeps the tangle at bay with no surcharge and no improvised workarounds. All in all it is a solid overall package for anyone who values a tidy workspace and can do without a second monitor or a deskful of paperwork.