Fluidstance Raise review: Ergonomic monitor stand for your desk

When you sit at a desk for most of your day, ergonomics are important. While you may have a fancy ergonomic office chair (which, no question, is essential), one often overlooked item is your monitor placement. Fortunately, there are plenty of monitor stands and risers to help you out.

Our Fluidstance Raise review looks at a monitor stand that is well constructed with sustainability in mind and works well with one of the company’s other products. Read on for our full review!

Specifications

The Fluidstance Raise has the following features and specifications:

• Elegant and minimalistic design
• Sustainability built with eco-friendly materials
• Constructed from 13-ply Birch veneer plywood and 100% stainless steel
• No assembly required
• Manufactured in the USA
• Supported weight: About 350lbs
• Dimensions: 23.5” long x 9.25” deep x 4.75” tall
• Weight: 6 lbs 2oz

What’s in the box

• Fluidstance Raise
• Product information sheet

Design

The Fluidstance Raise has a straightforward design, and that’s not a bad thing. The platform is crafted from 3-ply Birch veneer plywood with a low-emitting finish. It has a nice light finish to it with slightly rounded corners and edges. The top is 23 1/2″ wide, 9 1/4″ deep, and just under 3/4″ thick. It is very solid, which is required for placing monitors on top of it.

The powder-coated 100% steel legs are recessed into the platform flush with the surface with a single screw on either short edge of the platform. The legs angle out and are about 1/16″ thick and an inch wide. The legs have rounded corners and round towards the bottom. The legs’ bottom has two rubber-like feet each, adding extra grip and preventing scratching of your desk. With the legs, the stand sits about 4 3/4″ higher above your desk.

The Raise was also designed so that the Slope personal desktop whiteboard slides neatly underneath it for a tidier desk. As Fluidstance puts it, “designed to go together like PB&J” — and they do with the Slope sliding nicely away under the Raise when not in use.

My only complaint about the Raise is that it would be nice if it were an inch or so deeper, allowing you to use it with larger monitors. Who knows, maybe Fluidstance will come out with a Raise XL for that purpose one day!

Assembly

There is none! Open the box, take the Fluidstance Raise out of it, place it on your desk, and put your monitor on top.

Performance

The Fluidstance Raise is pretty solid — and so it should be given the fact your monitor is going to sit on it. In my case, I’ve got the BenQ EX3501R 35-inch Ultrawidescreen Monitor on the stand. It fits just perfectly (and barely). Even though it is almost 5″ off the desk, it feels perfectly stable. The EX3501R weighs just under 23lbs, which is well under the “about 350lbs” Fluidstance’s online support indicated the Raise would hold. That number did shock me, and to test it out, I did stand on it, and it didn’t flex or bend at all. Granted I’m not 350 lbs, but I’m well above the weight of any monitor you’ll be putting on it.

With its lift, my monitor was nicely placed from an ergonomic standpoint. I had to adjust my chair just a tad higher to get the top of the monitor level with my eyes.

Price/Value

At US$129, the Fluidstance Raise isn’t exactly cheap. What it is though, is well constructed, stable, and elegant looking. For an extra $36, you can add the Slope with it, saving over $20. Given the Slope is another solid product and slides neatly under the Raise, it’s definitely something to consider.

Wrap-up

If you’re looking for a high-quality monitor stand for your desk, the Fluidstance Raise is pricey but worth it, especially when coupled with the Slope.

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Last Updated on May 18, 2023.