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Does your WFH setup need a laptop stand?

We don’t need to talk about how chaotic the past two years has been as a result, the evidence is etched on everyone’s face, What we can discuss though, is how the pandemic has influenced working from home (WFH).

Where it was a necessity two years ago, now it has become the norm, with people adopting a remote or hybrid working model depending on what their employer permits. It therefore means the WFH setup or home office is becoming a crucial element of productivity and doing your job.

It also means, for many people who did not have a WFH setup perviously, a time to consider hardware and accessories to best optimise the space. This brings us to the humble laptop stand and whether such an accessory is necessary for those working from home.

The more screens the better

To that end, we recently received two laptop stands from technology accessories brand WINX, so instead of doing a regular review, we’re doing a quasi one where we compare the two to determine which is best and whether your WFH setup would benefit from a laptop stand.

Before we dive into this, we need to point out that laptop is not in our usual nomenclature, choosing instead to refer to such devices as notebooks, but for the purposes of this roundup, we’ll stick with laptop stand for now.

So what laptop stands are we looking at? The two in question are the WINX DO Ergo and DO Ergo Multi adjustable laptop stands.

The latter is larger of the two and offers a few more points of articulation while also lifting the notebook higher up, compared to the former which is closer to the surface but still affords six different angles for setup.

Why use a laptop stand in this day and age? Well as anyone who has used a dual screen setup while working will tell you, the increased real estate of a dedicated monitor in conjunction with the multitasking capabilities afforded by a complementary notebook, is simply a more productive way of doing things.

Added to this is the ergonomics, as placing your notebook on a table and working from nine to five each day is less than ideal.

This as the top of whatever screen you’re looking at should be level with your eye line, as well as the resting position of hands on your notebook being potentially stressful for prolonged periods. As such, elevating your notebook, regardless if it’s tethered to an external monitor is essential while working from home.

Now that we have espoused the merits of a laptop stand, let’s look at these two WINX options to see which is better.

WINX DO Ergo (left) and DO Ergo Multi (right) laptop stands.

More is more in this case

Taking the aforementioned idea of ergonomics in mind, the DO Ergo Multi seems the better choice, namely as it affords a higher viewing position, which if you are using a notebook both sans accompanying monitor or in dual screen setup, is more advantageous.

You could prop up the DO Ergo on some books to raise the eye line, but those interested in aesthetics, it is not an ideal look for the WFH setup, not to mention any knock potentially leading to the laptop stand being toppled over. The DO Ergo Multi does not suffer with this problem and feels reliably sturdy and secure when placed in a raised position.

That said, the DO Ergo is not terrible, with both offerings sporting aluminium alloy designs that are foldable should you need to work elsewhere, along with some non-slip pads that add a degree of stability and capable of handling notebooks as large as 15.6″ in size. That said, some of the beefier gaming notebooks out there might prove a challenge given their chunkier designs.

For work though, either of these options feels premium, provide several viewing angles and are well priced. To that end, the DO Ergo and DO Ergo Multi retail online (depending on the site) for R479 and R679 respectively.

To put that figure into context, my previous laptop stand was a Griffin Elevator which I used to prop up my 13″ MacBook Pro. It may have gone with the clean aesthetic I was aiming for, but also cost a pretty penny (currently R899) and did not offer any of the articulation that these WINX options do.

Sure, if cost is a consideration for you, perhaps a generic plastic option within budget can get the job done, but in the long run these aluminium ones from WINX will certainly last longer.

If we are choosing between the two, it is the DO Ergo Multi that we’d lean towards, which may be R200 more, but the advantages it has in terms of height while still being foldable and portable make it the winner between these two.

Any way you look at it, if you are serious about upgrading your WFH setup and don’t have a dedicated desktop, a laptop stand should be one of the first things you look at.

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