If you’re happy with your current work setup, but want to take full advantage of the health benefits that come with active working e.g. sitting and standing at a desk, then risers are an excellent place to start.

Quite simply, they’re a mechanised mini-desk and keyboard tray that sits a-top of an established desk, which means you can rise above your usual working level whenever you want to.

Yo-Yo are a British company through and through, with many of its desks being made here, and it has always featured in our round-ups. We previously tested the 90 in our standing desk round-up because it was aimed at workers who don’t need to pack the desk away in between shifts, but still need quite a lot of desktop space.

So, we thought it was time to sit down with it (and get up again too) to see whether it could be a unique solution for a number of different workstation setups. After all, not everyone’s hardware requirements when working from home are limited to a laptop – some workers use a laptop, external keyboard and mouse; and many have single and double monitor set-ups – so it has its work cut out.

The 90 is the medium-sized table in Yo-Yo’s classic range and we were keen to find out how it could accommodate all those different work permutations, as well as deliver a good sit-stand working experience.

How we tested

The 90 was tested with each different setup, over weeks of work. First, we used the desk with a 24in stand-mounted monitor and keyboard. Then we tested with two monitors, before switching to a laptop and external keyboard and then, finally, just a laptop.

The riser will never be able to match a full-size standing desk for space, so you want it to be optimal in terms of allowing you room for all your desktop hardware - as well as all the sundries that come with a day at work, like diaries, notebooks, pens, lamps and any personalisations you’re used to.

Yo-Yo desk 90

Best: For converting an existing desk

Motorised: No

Height range: 15cm - 50cm

Dimensions: 89cm x 59cm

Buy now £329.95, Sit-stand.com

If you think you’re doing your delivery person a favour by going for a riser over a full-size desk, you can think again because they’re still going to be groaning under the weight of the box it comes in.

The component parts are heavy but their size means that this is a solo operation, that can be completed in two steps and 10 minutes – simply find a sturdy working area to attach the keyboard brackets to the tray, and then the tray to the main desk frame and you’re done.

In use

The Yo-Yo makes it very easy to alter the desk incrementally so you can find the best working position. This is thanks to a very efficient gas spring which smoothly adjusts to one of the 15 available heights using the ergonomic levers on either side of the desk.

Firstly, we tried the 90 with monitors and keyboard and found that there was ample room over the two tiers for both screens without any clashing. The keyboard tier could also accommodate an A5 day planner or a mouse, without things feeling cramped.

Instead of any built-in cable routing, the 90 provides cable ties, which will be enough to satisfy any neat freaks out there.

When you have a top-heavy setup with two monitors it’s crucial that when you raise and lower the table they stay stable when you’re switching between different height positions and the 90’s mechanism was so efficient that we barely noticed any movement, even from the larger monitor with a higher stand. On some inferior risers, you do get a lurching effect as you raise the table, but the gas spring ensured that this wasn’t an issue at all.

One slight issue is that we felt the ergonomics of the keyboard tray could be slightly improved. There are a few two-tier models out there now whose trays tilt to a wrist-friendly negative angle, so if you have some work-related wrist issues this may have to be taken into consideration.

Most risers work optimally when they’re in standing mode, but what about when you want to sit back down at your desk again? They need to ensure that they seamlessly return to a position that’s no different to working at your original desk. The keyboard tray returned to desk level without any problems and it still gave us a good, ergonomic wrist position at the keyboard itself.

Now, if your work setup usually involves just a laptop, you won’t even need the keyboard tray and you can use just the main desktop, but when you sit down and lower the desk you will find it stops several inches above the desktop, so you will have to accommodate that with a chair that has good adjustability. It’s just a niggle, but it might be one that’s relevant to some workers.

The verdict: Yo-yo desk 90

We think the Yo-Yo riser 90 is a very well-engineered product that could really suit workers who simply don’t have room for an expansive standing desk in their home, but want the benefits of active working.

The desk itself looks good (you can choose between black and white veneer), but it’s never going to look as clean as an actual desk as you’re ultimately going to be looking at lots of wires, exposed metal and hydraulics in the raised position. For this reason, we think the black table has better aesthetics as all the components are one colour.

We think Yo-Yo has got the price just right too at £329.95; any more than that and you’re starting to get into the kind of money you would be shelling out for an actual standing desk.

If you are purely a laptop worker though, you’re also paying for a keyboard shelf that you won’t actually need, and there are other, more suitable options available. However, if your workstation setup involves a monitor and keyboard, the 90 definitely rises above the competition.

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