A desk for elevated taste
20/4/2026
Translation: Elicia Payne
It’s here to stay: my new height-adjustable desk from Ofinto. I’m impressed with this piece of office equipment because it’s sturdy and looks great.
You can find the detailed review of Ofinto’s Elevate in the conclusion below. I don’t want to – and don’t need to – create any artificial drama – this desk gets five stars from me. Over the course of several weeks, I took a close look at it, raised and lowered it far more often than necessary, shook it, and sat on it. The Elevate stayed rock-solid.
As solid as Paolo Maldini once did in the Italian defence. The Elevate doesn’t wobble – neither when lowered nor, more impressively, when elevated. For me, stability is the most important factor when it comes to a height-adjustable desk. There’s nothing I hate more than when the desk starts wobbling while I’m passionately typing away, as is often the case with budget models.
How did Ofinto make the Elevate so stable? There are three factors:
1. Strong legs
Just like in football players, it all comes down to the legs on the desk. The Elevate’s are rectangular, measuring nine by six centimetres. They’re telescopic, with the width tapering twice, down to seven by four centimetres at the top. That’s still strong enough to support the massive desktop, which weighs about 25 kilogrammes, along with the base and motors.
2. Long, wide glides
Both table legs rest on metal feet. At 70 centimetres, they’re almost as long as the desktop is deep (80 centimetres). This ensures stability and stops even a heavy monitor placed at the edge from creating instability. The feet are 85 millimetres wide. Underneath are sturdy, round plastic discs with a diameter of 65 mm. They’re secured with a screw and can be adjusted to compensate for uneven ground.
3. Heavy-duty steel
It’s clear costs haven’t been cut when it came to the materials. The steel used for the legs is two millimetres thick. The base and structure supporting the desktop are even thicker at 3.5 millimetres.
Setup: it’s easier with a helping hand
Assembling the Elevate is easy, even without a degree in mechanical engineering. You get clear instructions with illustrations. What’s not included is a Phillips-head screwdriver – you’ll need your own. It does come with an Allen wrench, though. I decided to use my electric screwdriver anyway – with a total of 30 screws, it was worth it.
It’s recommended that two people install the desk. I speak from experience, because I tried it on my own first. During assembly, you have to turn the desk upside down once to attach the tabletop, and then put it back on its feet. The frame with the motors alone weighs 34 kilogrammes, and the desktop adds another 25 odd kilogrammes. If you do that on your own, you’re bound to injure your back. Or the desk will slip out of your hands. And then it’s broken – and so is your hardwood floor.
Keeping things neat with cable ties
The Elevate is electrically height-adjustable. It has two motors, a control unit, and a display that all require power. And that travels through cables. Ofinto doesn’t tell you how to organise the tangle of cables under the desk, but adhesive pads and cable ties are included in the package. Fortunately, I only needed half the materials and was able to hide everything so that it wouldn’t get in my way. It could certainly be neater, but this is good enough for me.
Keep in mind that the power cord for the desk needs some extra length. As you elevate the desk, the distance to the outlet increases.
A cable tray for extra tidiness
My Elevate has an extra feature I recommend splurging on: a cable tray. It can be assembled in five minutes, thanks in part to the pre-drilled holes. It’s one metre long. And the best part? It’s deep and wide enough to accommodate even long power strips and bulky power adapters. I finally have fewer cables hanging off the edge of the table, which is one less thing to worry about in terms of aesthetics. If necessary, the tray can be folded down. You can route cables outside via the edge of the flap or through side openings. There are also some facing forward, that is, toward the side where you’re sitting, giving you plenty of options for organising the cables however you like.
Since the cable tray’s made of steel, you can also use magnetic power strips with it.
Up and down
The Elevate is sturdy and practical. But there’s one thing that’s just as important with a height-adjustable desk: the height adjustment itself. And I’m glad to say Ofinto knows what it’s doing here too.
1. Fast motors
The two motors raise the desktop to the desired height very quickly at 40 millimetres per second, hardly making a sound. I recently tested a budget-friendly desk that(/page/dieser-schreibtisch-ist-okay-nicht-mehr-aber-auch-nicht-weniger-42038) wasn’t even a third as fast – and it was really annoying.
So, here’s a tip for you: the faster the height adjustment, the more powerful the motors need to be, and the higher the quality of the components inside. Ofinto seems very confident in its product and offers a ten-year warranty on the motor.
2. Convenient memory function
With the Elevate, I can save four elevation settings. Then all I have to do is press the display once, and the table moves to where I want it. For most desk workers, two positions would probably suffice – one for working while seated and one for working while standing. However, if you’re using the table with a second person or need a height that allows you to rest your feet on the table, the two additional height settings come in handy.
The Elevate can be adjusted to heights between 66 and 131 centimetres. That’s quite a range. This means that both shorter people (1.60 meters) and very tall people (2.10 meters) can work at it with ease – sitting or standing.
One small detail I noticed about the display is that it only lights up when needed, i.e. when it’s moving. Otherwise, it stays dark.
3. Collision protection
It happens more often than I’d like – while using the desk standing up, the backrest of my chair will rotate so that it’s underneath the desktop. When I then lower the Elevate, its collision protection is what saves my chair. The motor detects resistance, stops, moves back up a few centimetres, and releases the chair.
Design that makes me happy
I’ve now objectively described some technical details to you. But I can also confirm that I really like the desk. The desktop is bevelled along both long sides, just like the ends of the legs. I like these kinds of details. It gives the desk a lighter, almost elegant look from the front.
The surface of the desktop is very pleasant to touch – smooth, but with a very fine texture. If you’re not a fan of mouse pads, you can also work directly on the desk surface.
In a nutshell
Ergonomics that brings joy
The Elevate is my new favourite desk. In fact, it brings me more joy than the one’s we’ve got in the office. (Sorry, Facility Management.) The Ofinto model is extremely stable even when raised, and it can be adjusted quickly. The materials used are exceptionally sturdy – from the 25-millimetre-thick desktop to the steel frame. The cable tray is an optional extra, but worth the money in my opinion.
Pro
- Suitable for people of almost any size
- Four memory spaces for working heights
- Matching steel cable tray that folds out
- Clear instructions and easy assembly
- Fast and quiet motors
- Sturdy construction, withstands up to 125 kilogrammes
Contra
- A bit of fiddly work when routing the motor cables
Martin Jungfer
Head of Content
Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.chJournalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.
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