Jarvis Bamboo Adjustable Standing Desk; Best Desk I’ve Ever Used!

The Jarvis Bamboo adjustable standing desk is the perfect solution to your extended-sitting woes. With an elegant surface, and a simple but functional design, the Jarvis Bamboo will allow you to shift from sitting to standing with ease.

My Jarvis corner has become my new favorite place in the house– I can easily just walk up to my desk in standing position and do a quick check in, or some extended work, and changing up my position from standing to sitting is a snap!

Is a Standing Desk for Me?

While the new rave of “sitting is the new smoking” isn’t entirely true, less time sitting is a good thing. Overall, when you combine all causes of death and compare any group of sitters with those who are more active, sitters have a 50 percent greater likelihood of dying. (Scientific American, 2014.) In any case, there are clearly some things you shouldn’t do, and that’s stay still, standing or sitting, for long periods of time. It’s more important to keep moving, changing position, and working in the position, sitting or standing, that best suits the task. This is what Fully helps facilitate, movement. The blurb on their web site says it all, “Desks, chairs, and things, to keep you moving.”

The Jarvis (as well as the Cooper, reviewed earlier) allow you to select sitting or standing positions with ease. Both allow you to quickly and easily vary the height of the desk so you can stand, or use chairs of different heights. Fully offers many options from stools like the Tic-Toc, to chairs, and contoured standing mats and balance boards which allow you to constantly find new positions for your feet while standing– something I found to be a must.

So, if you spend a significant amount of time at a desk each day, or as I found myself, slouched on my couch with a laptop, then yes, a standing desk that transforms from sitting to standing with ease, is a must. The Jarvis, got me off my couch, standing, and moving more during my computing and surfing.

Jarvis Features

You can customize your Jarvis Bamboo order in many ways. There are seven rectangular surface options ranging from 30″ x 27″ to 78″ by 30″, or the contoured surface with three sizes ranging from 48″ x 30″ to 72″ x 30″. You can add locking casters, a pencil tray, or wire pass-through grommets, and choose from five color options for the metal frame including, black, silver, white, alloy, and red. The alloy I received looked great and had a nice heavy-duty feel to it. If you do choose to get the grommets they offer a power upgrade that includes an AC and two USB plugs in the grommet!

In addition to the choices above when you select your Jarvis, Fully also carries monitor and laptop articulated arms, desk lamps, privacy panels, cpu holders, wire management solutions, as mentioned earlier, beautiful chairs, topo mats, side tables, and more.

For those with more space, and larger desktop needs, the Jarvis also comes in multiple L-shape options.

I received the 48″ x 30″ with the alloy frame. I did not get the wire grommet to pass wires through the desk as I was not certain where I would want that to be located, and if I really wanted I can add one myself later. This is a nice size desk, it handles my 15″ MacBook Pro on a stand and a 24″ monitor with ease, and I could do a second external monitor if I allow my equipment to hang off each edge. Again, larger desk surfaces are available.

The Jarvis came in two boxes, the frame and the top were separate. It took me about 45 minutes to set up the desk starting with the closed boxes, and this was with me taking pictures as I went. The instructions were simple to follow, and other than reversing what I was supposed to be doing at one step (right vs left) due to woking on an upside down desk, it was a breeze. At one point I needed help from my kids to flip the desk right-side-up, but otherwise I did it all myself– warning be damned.

Fully provided the Wire Management System which I used to contain all my wires. With this, my exposed wires are minimal with just the desk power cord coming down to an outlet, and necessary computer/monitor wires exposed above the desk (the grommet would better conceal these). The Wire Management System comes with two Wire Tamer trays, as well as self-adhesive clips, zip ties, and a power strip with a  more than adequate 12′ cord.

As with any desk, the external and laptop screens are too low when resting right on the desk at keyboard level. The Fully Cooper standing desk converter I reviewed earlier is designed such that the monitors start a few inches above the keyboard in both the sitting and standing positions, which I found to be just about perfect for my use. You could get an under desk keyboard tray and raise the desk for optimal viewing, but then the desk would be too high for other uses. With the Jarvis I’d highly recommend stands, or one of their computer and monitor arms. Currently I have both my Rain Design laptop stand and the monitor raised on 4-5 RPG hardbacks (Pathfinder Bestiaries 2-5 are perfect for the monitor!) A monitor arm would also have the benefit of freeing up desk space.

The elevation mechanism to control desk height is electronic on the Jarvis. You have a choice of controllers, one with just up and down controls and for another $35 you can get a controller with up/down as well as four easy-to-set presets. This control also has a digital display to show current desk height. Two height ranges are available for the Jarvis motorized frame, the Mid Range with desk heights from 27.25″ to 46.5″ (at $25.00 off base price) and the Extended Range with desk heights from 24.5″ to 50″. The lower height might be necessary if younglings are using the desk, or when the frame starts higher due to having the locking caster option. I don’t know what giant even needs 46.5″– but depending on what you stand on, a tall person might need the taller range. If you’re lucky enough to have a treadmill (talk about a healthy desk setup!), that’ll add a few inches to the required height of your desktop as well, so the extended range could be necessary.

In addition to the powered controller there is a cheaper manual, crank powered Jarvis option as well.

My Jarvis surface was the elegant bamboo that’s a nice light color, and is also great on the environment. According to the site, the sustainably harvested bamboo used matures within 4-5 years. The Jarvis also comes in other environmentally friendly options including reclaimed wood in four shades, as well as water-resistant powdercoated MDF. The Jarvis Bamboo and regular MDF both start at $395 and have more options for size than the Reclaimed Wood Jarvis starting at $990 with it’s smallest size being 48″ by 30″. The Jarvis Bamboo is a great value while providing the look of wood.

Fully is a certified B Corp which means they use no, or the lowest possible, volatile organic compounds in their sealants and laminates for example. They commit to a healthy workplace, and in addition to their desktops, “Sustainability is part of everything we do,” for instance, the plastic on their HAG Capisco chair is made from old car bumpers!

You can even buy the desk frame/lifting mechanism on its own without a desk top. If you already have a desk you want to modify, or you want to create your own surface, you can use the Fully Jarvis frame to make it a standing desk!

Fully Kids Line!

As a parent in a family that pretty heavily uses tech, getting the kids outside and doing other things is always the preference, but Fully’s products, that encourage my kids to move, with the option of sitting and standing makes me feel a little better about their time on the computer. But even more exciting, Fully just introduced, on November 15th, the Fully Kids line!

Fully Kids has options for younger tikes, as well as older kids such as mine in their early teens. There are kid versions of the Jarvis Standing Desk as well as the Tic Toc stool. There’s also be new items such as the Swoppster (similar to the Swopper chair), and the My First Stand Up, an all-wood height adjustable standing desk.

There is even be a height-adjustable, standing white board kids desk.

With Fully Kids, we want to provide the tools that inspire movement and allow kids to play and work their best. Our kid-centric desks and chairs aim beyond simply accommodating the growing child to encouraging kids to just be kids. Kiddos can continue to fidget and move while they are making art, building legos, doing homework, watching TV or playing video games. Not only do they have a very real physical need to move about, but there is growing evidence that kids focus longer, process faster, and learn better when they are given the freedom to move. – Fully

Recommendation

The Jarvis is a pleasure to use. The desk itself is just an open expanse of space, which it what I want in a desk, and the ability to raise and lower it with ease makes my time at the desk so much more pleasurable. I typically leave it in standing position, so while I’m working around the house I can just walk up and check in without settling into a more permanent position. When I’m doing extended work I switch between standing and sitting. It’s nice changing my position, and getting in more movement, especially with the Tic Toc chair and Tic Toc Stand Balance Board which both allow you to move and rock. I’d love to try out the treadmill option. This would be the ultimate in healthy desk work!

The Jarvis is a great price (starting at $395), especially when I compare it to other desks I’ve owned and the motorized Jarvis, allowing me to sit or stand, offers so much more than any desk I’ve ever used. In one of my other lives I spend time in a classroom. When I’m in class I’m always on my feet, either walking amongst my students, or stopping by my computer to review a student’s submission, occasionally lecturing with the aid of my projected computer, so I’ve been looking for a good podium that would hold my laptop, keyboard, mouse, and an extra monitor. The Jarvis, with the locking caster option would give me a mobile podium as well as the option to sit for the occasional much needed rest. From what I have been finding, the Jarvis Bamboo is actually cheaper than many of the podium-style options available– and the Jarvis is better since it converts from sitting to standing.

One concern with any motorized equipment is how long it will last, but with a 30 day return policy and an amazing seven year warranty on the frame and motor, we have nothing to worry about!

Given how much of a pleasure this desk is to use, both standing and sitting, it’s many options as well as a reasonable price and more than generous warranty, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Jarvis Bamboo. Consider their care for the environment a little bonus as you’re standing at your sustainably created desk!

Check out all the options, accessories, chairs, standing mats and more at Fully.com and be sure to give the new Fully Kids line a look see. As a parent I’m eager to see how I can keep my kids moving!

If you already have a desk you don’t want to give up, don’t forget about the Jarvis Cooper Standing Desk Converter which GeekDad reviewed previously.

Disclosure: Fully provided a Jarvis Bamboo for this review.

Update: Changed starting price to $395 for some configurations as of June 11, 2018

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