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Oct 20, 2023

Flexispot Comhar Q8 Standing Desk review

There’s no candy coating it, so I’m going to level with all of you – I have

There's no candy coating it, so I’m going to level with all of you – I have Stage 4 arthritis with a labrum tear in my left hip, and my right hip isn't much better. I picked up the beginnings of this injury while I was in the military after an explosive lifted me off my feet and threw me backwards through a solid wall. I landed on the tip of my foot which tore the tendons, sending me into the concrete on my knee, and ultimately my hip. I essentially ragdolled, and I’ve suffered varied degrees of pain ever since. Unfortunately, the last two years have been excruciating as the arthritis settled into the joint and the labrum tear got worse. I tell all of you this for a reason. Among active adults, between 30 and 40% of adults suffer from significant hip pain, and often with little relief in sight. Desperate for help, I looked to my doctor, forums, and support groups to try to find any relief beyond a constant escalation of narcotic pain killers.

I’ve reviewed standing desks from a few vendors, and I make use of a Flexispot desk for all of my filming. It is invaluable to be able to adjust up and down, and to stand for long periods of filming time. My writing, streaming, and game time, however takes place at an absolutely MAGNIFICENT desk. My wife managed to nab a solid oak desk that once belonged to a judge over 100 years ago, and I was very, very reluctant to swap it out.

My pain had other ideas.

I’ve known for a while that a sit-stand desk would help me alleviate at least some of my pain as I can periodically switch positions. With a heavy sigh (and a heavy duty dolly to move this massive beast!) I pulled my wonderful desk out of my office, cleaned the carpet, and set up the Flexispot Comhar Pro Q8. I specifically wanted something that could hold my three monitors, had some storage and plenty of room to work, and would look good with the proper cable management. As an added bonus, I wanted a desk with built in wireless charging for all of my Qi-capable devices, and of course, I wanted it to look clean and modern.

The other area I wanted to address at the same time was a change of seating arrangements. I’ve read a lot of anecdotal evidence that "gaming chairs" aren't as ergonomically sound, even at the high end, as a good "office chair". I wanted to test that theory as every little bit helps, right? To that end, I snapped up a BS2 – a mid-range ergonomic chair, also from Flexispot. With a mesh back and headrest, as well as integrated lumbar support, it should breathe in the summer, and adjust to my spinal position. I’m far more familiar with gaming chairs than I am with office chairs, so I figured this would present a good baseline.

I’ve done assembly videos on the Flexispot tables and chairs before, and if you’ve seen them then you know that they are incredibly simple to put together. Their instructions are consistently clear, and the Comhar Pro Q8 was no exception. For those who haven't seen me put together one of their desks, check out this assembly on the T7, with me putting that weight limit to the test:

For this particular model, there's only one choice for a desk surface – the all-natural bamboo surface. That works out well as it was the one I was going to choose anyway as it's environmentally friendly, twice as strong as regular wood, and it looks gorgeous. It also has beveled edges, meaning no sharp edges to press on your wrists and forearms. The 2H lacquer coating means it's also water resistant and scratch proof – great because I’m a klutz. The frame comes in two colors — white or black, and one size – 55"X28". There are larger desk models available on other Flexispot products, but given that this one has more features beyond being a simple desk, it makes sense that they’ve limited the number of options. It’ll also move up and down from 23.6″ to 48.8″ which means this desk will work for people standing 4’3″ all the way up to 6’5″.

Since this space is often where I’m doing my most sensitive work, I needed it to be able to stand sturdy at any height. I also needed it to ascend and descend smoothly. I’ve used other standing desks that use hydraulics and a release wire and let me promise you – you don't want that. Single motors work well, but they don't support the amount of weight that two motors can, obviously. I’m a "better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it" type, so I opted for the two motor version. The results are clear – smooth up, smooth down, and pure reinforced steel to give you peace of mind.

One of my requirements was that I needed to be able to store a few things in my desk for ease of use. My passport, important documents, and the like. The Comhar Pro Q8 has an embedded drawer measuring 28.3" x 12.8" x 1.97" – a fairly large space, and far larger than I anticipated. In fact, I can put my 15" laptop inside and close the door. It doesn't have any compartments for items like paperclips and such, just a divot to hold a pen from rolling around, so you may want to invest in an organizer if you need those sorts of knickknacks.

I’ve used the bamboo material before, so I knew it was going to brighten up the room, and now with the metal trim, it's built to last and look the part. The integrated controls keep the smooth and sleek rounded exterior, as does the integrated charging pad. There is a small wireless symbol burned into the wood to let you know where you can place your inductive charging device. Looking underneath you can see the charging device. It's merely a USB connection and a handful of screws to replace, making it very user-serviceable. Dropping my Google Pixel 6 Pro, complete with case, onto the surface, it immediately picked up the charge without any fiddling.

The next challenge I had was to get my monitors mounted. Included in the package is a Flexispot chunk of wood and a 3M glue pad. This opens up the opportunity to place your monitor clamp just about anywhere, with one exception – dead center. In the middle of the desk and to the front is the tray for cable management, meaning there isn't enough room for the block. I located mine just a few inches away from the center, as you can see here:

As you can see, I’m using three monitors – something I’ve not seen done in any of the promo pics. Given that this desk can handle 220 lbs of weight easily enough, my triple setup wasn't a challenge.

The integrated controls have four presets, an up and down arrow button, as well as a USB-A and USB-C charging port. Pressing the up and down buttons, as you might imagine, makes the desk go up and down. Holding one of the buttons down for a few seconds results in a beep to let you know that you’ve locked in a preset. From now on, pressing this will make the desk raise or lower to that height. One of the things I really appreciated was that it does so in a very soft manner. It starts slowly, moves into position, and then softly settles into position. I’ve used other desks that were a bit more jerky about it, shaking my monitor stands or spilling drinks in the process – none of that here. I was also surprised at how sensitive the anti-collision systems are, stopping the desk when it detected an errant cable in the way. It didn't have to hit something to stop and reverse, as I’ve seen in other implementations.

After a bit of work, I had my cables re-ran and organized, so it was time to drop in the optional spine. As an optional accessory you can pick up a cable spine to contain your cables. This will bend and flex to allow the cables to move with the table while staying organized. Judge for yourself:

I did run into one issue with the spine – the included screws are actually too long for the Comhar Q8. I discovered this when the screw punched a hole through the top of my nice new workspace. Thankfully it's towards the back and it's tiny, but know that you’ll want to make sure you have shorter screws on hand for this or likely any spine you pick up elsewhere.

While I appreciated having a massive slab of oak for a desk, this clean and modern implementation looks slick. The bamboo brightens the space, and there's plenty of space on the desk for anything I might need. The only hitch is that I gave up six drawers for this desk. Naturally, Flexispot offers up additional under-desk drawers, though they seem to have done away with their rolling filing cabinets. Still, Amazon has plenty from cheap to opulent, if you need the additional storage.

One of my biggest pet peeves with electronics and equipment these days is a paltry warranty. 30 days, 90 days, a year — it speaks to a lack of faith in their own product. FlexiSpot stands behind their desk with a whopping five year warranty for the bamboo desktop, and a staggering 15 years for all of the mechanical parts! That gives you peace of mind that the dual-motors are going to hold up for years to come without a worry. The chair sports a 3 year warranty, which is more in line with similar office chairs.

You might not be aware that your insurance can actually cover the cost of this desk. If you suffer from back problems, and you can get a note from your doctor, you might find yourself able to order one of these having only to pay for whatever your co-pay portion doesn't cover. I’m not an FSA insurance expert, so you’ll have to look into it with your insurance carrier, but it is an option — who knew?

I’ve used the BS2 office chair in near equal measure as the Comhar Pro. After all, this is a sit-stand setup, right? The chair itself has a fair classic look and feel. The frame is molded with hard plastic where things need to be sturdy, and PU soft plastic where it needs to flex. This allows the chair to flex and conform to my back. Further adjustments lie in the levers. You can adjust sitting height and tilt angle, of course, but this is one of the only chairs I’ve seen that allows you to move the cushion forward and backward. This can play with how much of the chair makes contact with the back of your legs — a large part of the overall comfort afforded by a chair.

Game chairs typically have a solid back with wing sides along the back, seat, or both. This chair has a fully meshed back to it, affording more flexibility. It ditches the flares on both sides for a more contoured back and a small adjustable head rest that can be placed behind the neck or against the base of your head. I was skeptical at first, but the chair is winning me over. I don't have anything concrete to share yet, but I find that it's alleviating pressure on spots in my back that I wasn't getting from my gaming chair. Time will tell, but so far so good.

The Comhar Pro Q8, including that awesome 15 year warranty, is going to set you back $649, with the accessories I’ve mentioned bumping that price a small amount. In my case, I was very, very reluctant to swap out the gorgeous piece of antique furniture I was using, but I also couldn't deny that my need outstripped my wants in this case. I’m spending longer hours at my desk than ever before, as remote work becomes the norm. Now, as I face a hip surgery that’ll require constant sitting and standing to rehab, I knew this was more of a must-have than ever. Frankly, I wonder if I had made the switch sooner if I could have salvaged some of my hip mobility and fended off this surgery. After nearly a month of standing at it I know one thing for certain – hip health is important, and the Flexispot Comhar Pro is your key.

With conveniences like wireless charging, smooth and quiet motion, and a clean aesthetic, the Flexispot Comhar Pro is a gorgeous sit/stand desk that is sure to brighten any work space. The 15 year warranty, and a track record of excellent customer service from Flexispot will make sure it stays that way.

—Ron Burke

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