We all know by now that even if you have a great chair, sitting for too long brings a myriad of musculoskeletal and metabolic risks. That’s why standing desks, which can move to almost anywhere within their range to accommodate the most ergonomic positioning, are such game changers. The problem with a good standing desk, however, is usually its price. Enter Blacklyte and its Atlas Lite Standing Desk. As the “Lite” in the name suggests, it has fewer frills than other standing desks, including the company’s own Atlas, but at half the price, you’re giving up surprisingly little from a practical standpoint.
Blacklyte Atlas Lite – Options, Assembly, and Setup
The Atlas Lite Standing Desk is available in Obsidian Black, Moonstone White, and Natural Oak colorways. The Obsidian Black is the same color throughout, while the Moonstone White retains the black control panel. The Natural Oak is identical to the Moonstone White, except it features a Natural Oak-colored desktop.
The Obsidian Black is available in Small (47.2 inch width), Medium (55.1 inch width), and Large (63 inch width) sizes. The Moonstone White and Natural Oak are available in Medium, Large, and Extra Large (70.9 inch width) sizes. Small and Medium desktops can handle up to 220 lbs of distributed weight, while Large and Extra Large can handle up to 265 lbs.
All four desktop sizes feature a depth of 31.5 inches, which is on the generous side in comparison to other desks, standing or otherwise. This extra room can easily accommodate large or multiple monitors, allowing you to stand or sit back at a more comfortable distance.
I received the Obsidian Black in Medium, which came in two boxes. The desktop box weighed a beefy 73.6 lbs, with the desktop itself coming in at around 60.2 lbs. The box with the two legs came in at 50 lbs, with the legs themselves roughly 46.3 lbs, thanks to each one having its own motor.
It’s not a difficult build, but it definitely requires two people because of all that weight. For the step that involved attaching the feet to the legs, I found that having a third person helped with alignment. In any case, you mostly use the included Allen key to secure the screws, building the legs first, then attaching them to the desktop.
There’s a wire cover for the center underside crossbar, which is used to run the cables from the legs to the control panel. The control panel, which can be placed on the far right or far left of the desktop, is attached with different screws using the included Phillips screwdriver. The same screwdriver is then used to attach a cable management box to the rear of the desktop. Finally, the AC adapter is plugged into the control panel and then into the wall.
Blacklyte Atlas Lite – Form and Functionality
The recycled woodfibre desktop material has a nice glossy melamine laminate finish and rounded corners. Save for the flashy Blacklyte logo on the lower left corner of the desktop, it’s an elegant design. As expected for a glossy surface, however, it does pick up a lot of fingerprints, so be sure to have a good microfiber cloth on call.
A metal frame runs along the perimeter of the underside of the desktop. This is great for stability, but does create a 2.3 inch thick surface, which can limit what you attach. I found clamp-style accessories work best, but even then, you have to make sure they can open up enough to fit. There’s also a centered indent at the back of the desktop that’s great for routing cables behind, particularly in conjunction with the cable tray that’s directly underneath.
The plastic control panel is a bit flimsy and basic, but it has all of the functionality you need. Besides the up and down buttons, there are four memory presets, which are set at the current position by holding the number down until it beeps. Thanks to the dual motors, you don’t have to wait long for the desk to quietly rise or lower. It only takes about 16 seconds to go from its lowest possible height of 27.5 inches to its highest of 46 inches. While more expensive standing desks may go a bit faster and better accommodate individuals taller than 6 feet 2 inches, for most needs, this should be plenty. However, if you’re 6 feet 4 inches or taller, definitely look for a standing desk that can go to 48 inches or higher for better ergonomics.
The desk is reasonably solid thanks to the weight and metal frame, although there’s some shake when not at a lower, seated height. A stability crossbar between the two legs would have probably helped provide that last bit of extra shake resistance, but its omission does keep the under-desk area far more usable.
Speaking of stability, I have a love/hate relationship with monitor arms. I love the concept, but have rarely found a monitor arm that remains reasonably stable, yet versatile. Fortunately, the optional Atlas Monitor Arm ($149, but like the desk, often on sale) is more in the love category. It’s well-built overall and extremely adjustable.
The Atlas Monitor Arm simply clamp mounts in the area behind the desk that has a slight indent. I had no issue attaching it to a 34 inch LG Ultrawide Monitor. One disappointment was that one of the plastic cable clips arrived broken, so that’s one thing the company can definitely improve. Otherwise, it’s a great first party accessory.
While the Atlas Lite Standing Desk lacks the lighting, magnetic surface, and some of the other features found in the standard Atlas, it’s hard to say that most of those are really necessary. Blacklyte made pretty good calls in regards to the essentials when getting the price down to where it is.
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