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Uplift sent me a V3 desk, a drafting chair and desk accessories to review. My opinion is my own.

When I suddenly had to start working from home, I badly needed a standing desk. So I put one together out of a piece of plywood and a folding stand with casters. My laptop sat on a stack of books.

It was a pain, and I was kind of laughing at myself looking at the whole setup. I worked like that for a few weeks.

Then in October, I finally built an Uplift V3 in my home office, and I’ve been using it there since.

I set the desk up in a corner by the window, because it seemed like a cozy spot where I could focus on work. Plus, the V3 looks like it was made for that corner, and it fits in perfectly.

So my desk ended up in an actual corner nook. For a review on a site called Corner Nook, how great is that?

But it might not stay there. I’m just trying the spot out for now. I love that the desk is on casters, which are an add-on, so I can easily move it around when I want to.

What a difference! After the plywood and the stack of books, it’s so nice to work at a real desk.

Delivery

Your boxes can ship from different warehouses and show up on different days, so open each one when it arrives and check it against your order.

My first shipment came up short. The leg brackets got lost in transit, and I couldn’t build the desk without them.

In the meantime, I worked at the dining table. It wasn’t bad, since I was sitting on the drafting chair, which was in those first boxes.

Uplift was very good and understanding about the missing brackets. They sent us a whole second desk, and it showed up pretty quickly. They kept following up, too, to make sure we had everything we needed.

We got this desk from Uplift to review, though, so you might not get the same treatment. When pieces go missing or show up damaged on a regular order, owners say Uplift usually fixes it fast.

Putting it together

Once I had all the parts, building the desk took me about an hour and a half, and a lot of that was just unboxing.

The frame goes together with one Allen wrench. There’s a printed manual, plus a QR code that takes you to a video. If you’d rather skip the build, you can pay for Uplift’s assembly service after you order.

The hardest step was turning the built desk upright. It’s super heavy, and that was the only time I needed my wife’s help. Otherwise, everything went together fairly easily.

The walnut top

The first desk had a bamboo top, and the second one just happened to come with walnut. I’m glad it did. I liked the walnut better because it looks more modern, so that’s the one we decided to use.

Uplift’s website photo played up the walnut’s grain, but in person it’s more subtle.

Is it real wood? Not solid wood, no. It’s a laminate surface over a core that’s mostly recycled wood, and it’s water-resistant.

If you’d like a different look, the other laminates, like Heritage Oak, cost about the same as the walnut, and the solid wood tops cost a lot more.

Working at it

I stand at the desk most of the time. When I do sit, it’s on Uplift’s Clarksville drafting chair, for 10 minutes at most.

My V3 doesn’t wobble at standing height, whether I’m leaning on it or typing hard.

Uplift braced the legs with crossbar rails under the top, so there’s no bar down by your knees.

On a 24-inch-deep top, the frame is 23.6 inches deep, so there isn’t much room left underneath for a drawer or a keyboard tray.

The motor’s noticeable when the desk moves, but it isn’t loud. Business Insider measured it at 46 to 56 decibels and compared it to a fridge humming. A full trip from lowest to highest takes 13 seconds, so the sound doesn’t last long.

The add-ons

The gray felt pouch under the back comes with every V3, along with cable wraps, and it keeps all my wires organized. It holds up to 10 pounds of cords and adapters, and you can put a surge protector in it, too.

I was surprised by how easy the pouch is to unhook when I need to grab a charger. On the flip side, it gets cramped fast if you try to stuff in too many bulky power bricks.

The add-ons I’d keep are the hook, the tablet stand, the desk shelf and the cable channel. The hook clips under the edge, and the desk shelf clamps on without any drilling.

There are two I’d skip. The extension tray adds 12 inches to one end, and it was too big for this desk and my space.

The Pop Up Power Grommet gives you outlets and USB charging, but I needed a slot to run more wires through. If you need that too, go with the grommet covers, which rotate open for cords.

I’m still on the fence about the Motion-X board, which sits on a rounded base so you keep moving while you stand. I tried it, but I haven’t gotten much out of it yet. Maybe I’ll get the hang of it eventually.

Should you buy it?

The Uplift V3 is exactly the standing desk I needed when I started working from home. I just wish I’d had it from day one. Now when I sit, I drop the desk low enough that my shoulders aren’t hunched up.

What else to look at

If you need a bigger desk, the V3 comes up to 80 inches wide and 30 inches deep. A 30-inch-deep top also has room underneath for a drawer or a keyboard tray.

For a small desk that costs less, look at the Uplift V3 Essential Standing Desk. Its warranty is 5 years instead of 15, but it ships in one box, so there’s less to carry in and unpack.

Still deciding between Uplift and FlexiSpot? Our FlexiSpot E7 Pro vs Uplift V3 comparison puts the two side by side.

The fine print

You can stretch the V3’s warranty to 25 years. Uplift’s extended warranty adds 10 years if you get it within 90 days of buying the desk, and it isn’t refundable. The 15-year warranty won’t carry over to anyone you sell the desk to.

Report damage or a missing box within 7 days. If something arrives damaged, the 7 days start the day you get it, and Uplift needs photos of the product and the packaging. If a package never shows up, the 7 days start from the delivery date the tracking shows.

Free returns depend on how it shipped. If your order came by FedEx parcel, Uplift pays for the return from the lower 48, but if it came by freight, the return shipping is on you. Either way, anything you send back has to be like new and in its original packaging, so hang on to the boxes until the 30-day trial is up.

These are Uplift’s claims. The V3 frame meets ANSI/BIFMA G1-2013, the height guideline behind its 5’0″ to 6’3″ fit range. And the desk stops and reverses if it runs into something on the way, with a sensitivity you can set.

Questions

By Corner Nook Staff