The Edge Desk review

Although many already have a desk in their home office, dorm room or workspace, a large portion of laptop users rarely make use of them as they prefer to work from their beds or couches instead. While this may appear more comfortable at first, it can have detrimental effects on your posture and overall health over long periods of working from home or studying.

During a visit to his daughter’s college dorm room, The Edge Desk System founder Marc Rosenberg noticed just how much space was taken up by her desk despite the fact that she did most of her coursework from her bed or on the floor. It was then that he realized that his daughter and her roommate didn’t need desks and would be much better off having more room to move about instead.

Back in 2016, Rosenberg launched The Edge Desk as part of a successful Kickstarter campaign that was able to raise $500k. Unlike the best office chair and traditional desk combo, his kneeling desk can be quickly folded away while also providing improved ergonomics. In the years since, The Edge Desk System has improved on Rosenberg’s original design and developed new accessories to further extend the features of his desk.

In this review, we’ll be taking a closer look at the packaging, setup process, ease of use and the features offered in The Edge Desk to help you decide if this portable desk is the right fit for your use cases and living space.

Pricing and availability

The Edge Desk can be purchased directly on the company’s website for $399 though you can also use Sezzle’s buy now, pay later service to break up the cost of the desk into four interest-free payments of $100. The Edge Desk is available in two colors: platinum white and satin black.

Design

First and foremost, The Edge Desk is designed to be portable and easy to store which allows you to take it with you anywhere as well as easily tuck in under a bed or sofa when not in use. When folded up, the desk is 40 inches (101cm) long, 20 inches wide (50cm) and 7 inches (17cm) in height.

The Edge Desk can also be adjusted in a number of ways to accommodate a wide variety of body types and use cases. There are five adjustments for the height of the desktop so you can position between 26 inches (66cm) and 31 inches (78cm) from the floor, six for its angle to move it closer or farther away and a total of 16 different tilt adjustments. Meanwhile there are four adjustments available for the seat that can hold up to 250lbs (113kg) while the desktop itself has a max weight limit of 15lbs (6.8kg). 

A height adjustment knob allows you to raise the height of the desktop, levers lock in your preferred angles and the seat is lifted and locks into cutouts on the desk’s frame in a similar way to how you configure an adjustable weight bench in the gym.

The Edge Desk’s kneeling chair has padded cushions on the seat as well as one on either side of the frame for your knees. One big advantage this desk has over a traditional office chair is that its unique kneeling design encourages you to sit up properly which can be great for those with back pain or even for those that just want to improve their posture.

The desktop itself is made from plastic and has a white top with a black border that goes all the way around. Regardless of whether you opt for the desk in platinum white or satin black, the desktop still has this same color scheme.

The Edge Desk System also offers a number of accessories on its site such as flexible phone holder, a pivotable water bottle holder, desk transport wheels and more on its site. While these accessories can be purchased separately, the company does offer a 3-piece accessory bundle and a creative bundle with additional accessories for those that want to primarily use the Edge Desk as an easel. All of these clip on to the outer edge of the desk to help keep your workspace clutter free.

Setup

The Edge Desk arrived in one box with the 3-piece accessory bundle, which contains a smartphone holder, water bottle holder and wheels, in a separate box. The box was well-packed and secured with packing straps to prevent damage during shipping.

The Edge Desk arrives fully assembled but you still need to unfold it to get started. While setting it up for the first time can be a bit confusing, thankfully the company includes a large poster attached to the desktop to walk you through the process. 

To get started, you first need to pull the T-Knob under the left side of the desktop to rotate it from portrait to landscape orientation. From here, you need to pull out the lower release lever which allows you to tilt the desktop up. After adjusting the seat to your preferred position, pulling out the upper release lever allows you to put the desktop down and start using the desk.

Even after setting up The Edge Desk you’ll likely want to experiment with all of the adjustments available to find a desktop angle and height as well as a seat height that works for you. Once you have though, the lower and upper release levers keep the desk in place and prevent any accidental adjustments.

Artists will also want to try out the easel feature by pulling the T-Knob to switch to a portrait orientation and adjusting the angle of the desktop. Just as The Edge Desk aims to replace a traditional desk and chair setup, it can also be used to replace a stool and easel setup for artistically inclined individuals.

In use

As The Edge Desk has a maximum weight of 15lbs (6.8kg), you’re limited to using it with either a laptop or a tablet. However, since the desk itself is designed to be portable, this isn’t a deal breaker by any means.

We tested out The Edge Desk using one of the best Chromebooks from Samsung. While it did take us a few adjustments to find a desktop angle and height that worked, once we did, using the desk was very comfortable due to the padded seat and knee cushions.

The only real annoyance we had with The Edge Desk is that its plastic desktop creaked a bit when we rested our forearms on it while typing. However, since the desk aims to help improve your posture and ergonomics, we really shouldn’t have been placing any weight on the desk when typing. 

Still though, we would like to see The Edge System use a harder plastic or perhaps even wood in their next revision to the desk even if this makes it slightly less portable. This would also likely benefit artists using it as an easel as they often have to put a bit of pressure on their work surface when shading or holding a canvas in place.

The competition

The Edge Desk is really in a class of its own and we struggled to find any alternatives worth considering. However, if you’re primarily a laptop user that wants to improve how you work without having even the best standing desk take up a large portion of your home office or workspace, you might want to take a look at a mobile desk instead.

Ergotron makes two mobile desks that look different but offer similar features. The Ergotron Mobile Desk and the Ergotron Learnfit Sit-Stand Desk both cost $454 but are currently on sale for $421 at the time of writing. These desks can be rolled around from room to room while a lever on the right side of the desktop allows them to be used when either sitting or standing. Unlike The Edge Desk, Ergotron’s Mobile Desk and Learnfit Desk already have a cutout in the desktop for your smartphone or tablet as well as a place to hold a water bottle.

If you’re looking for something a bit on the cheaper side, the Flexispot Height Adjustable Mobile Desk MT3 is available for just $159. This desk has wheels to roll it around your office or home and can also be raised from a seating position to a standing position using a lever on the left side. Unlike Ergotron’s mobile desks, Flexispot’s can be tilted and a ledge stopper prevents your laptop from sliding off. While it doesn’t have a cup holder or a tablet stand, there is a hook on its frame where you can hang a backpack or a laptop bag.

Final verdict

If you live in a small apartment or frequently find yourself working away from home, The Edge Desk may be the perfect desk/chair combo for you. It’s easy to store, transport and can be set up in under 30 seconds once you’ve become comfortable using it. The fact that it can be used as an easel is another big plus along with its health benefits for those with chronic back pain from spending too long hunched over a desk.

Whether or not The Edge Desk is for you though depends on if you rely on a laptop as your primary computing device. Still, even if you’re a desktop user with a multiple monitor setup, this desk can be used intermittently throughout the day to help break up your routine. The Edge Desk System does offer a 15-day return policy which will give you plenty of time to see if The Edge Desk is compatible with how you like to work.