Review: The Winston-E

One of the perks of my job is getting to review all of the latest and greatest office gadgets. I’m pretty well versed in everything Winston-E. If you’re looking for a sit-stand solution that doesn’t require you to trade out your desk, this read may be worth your time.

So to begin, the Winston-E is a sit-stand, height adjustable workstation. Conveniently enough, it just sits on top of your desk. No need for any special install equipment or hole drilling. In fact the whole assembly process can be done in about 45 minutes or so with just a screw driver. Well, maybe the hex keys that come with the unit as well but really they’re just to adjust tension on the tilter, which is the part that connects your monitor to the device and allows you to rotate or slightly angle your screen. That being said, the degree to which you will actually need to use the hex keys is going to vary.

Assembly starts off easy. You open the box and take out all the pieces. Be warned, the base is kind of heavy, which makes sense considering it has to stabilize a whole column full of electronics. The actual act of putting everything together is pretty straightforward as well. Just insert slot A into slot B and tighten up the screws with your screwdriver. I managed the whole thing in about 45 minutes or so. Granted a pretty substantial part of the process was just me hunting for a screwdriver, which you would think would be much easier to find in a furniture store but ours tend to find themselves in odd places. Once the main device is assembled, mount your monitor to the VESA plate. As long as the total monitor weight is 40 lbs. or less you’ll be good to go.

At any rate, once the Winston-E is assembled and your monitor is mounted, you’re ready to rock! Adjusting your shiny new Winston-E is done at just the touch of a button. “Up” for up and “Down” for down. Press the button once and the Winston-E will continue to rise to its maximum or minimum height. Press either “Up” or “Down” while it is in motion to stop it at the desired height. You can even program your personal standing height. All you have to do is raise the work surface to the height that suits you and wait a few seconds for the light to blink. Once it’s blinking away, just press the “Up” and “Down” buttons at the same time and release. After this, pressing up on the Winston-E will take the platform to your preferred height setting rather than the device’s maximum.

Having worked with quite a few standing desk converters, I can say the Winston-E has a lot to offer. It’s electronic so there’s minimal counterbalancing which is always a plus. The electric adjustment also makes getting a precise position quite a bit easier than a pneumatic converter. The button preset feature also takes a low effort action and transforms it into a mere button click. Given its ease of use and simple installation, I would definitely consider it when looking into an electric converter option.