I tested the Marinamantra Flow - a standing desk that goes so low you can work while sitting cross-legged on the floor
SOURCE:TechRadar|BY: Collin Probst
The Marinamantra Flow is a premium minimalist standing desk for those who want a calm and simple workspace. It may be a first generation model, but it’s got a lot of things going right.
The Marinamantra Flow is a scissor-leg standing desk with exceptional height adjustability, a calming, simple design, a few minor quirks, and overall strong features, especially for a first-generation desk. I'm not sure I can think of another standing desk that lets you work sitting in an chair, standing up, or while sitting cross-legged on the floor.
Pros
Great range from floor to standing height
Power through the leg
Simple controller
Power up front
Built-in cable management
Cons
-
Lack of leg room
-
The touchpad can be too sensitive
-
Clicks on height change
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I’ve reviewed over 50 desks in the last few years, and I have a pretty good feel for what not only makes for the best standing desks, but also what the standards are, what is consistent across brands, and what makes some stand out compared to others.
What I'm saying is, it’s not often that a desk’s differences stand out as easily as the Marinamantra Flow. Most noticeable is that the Flow allows you to use it while sitting on the floor, at standard sitting height, and while standing up. I can't think of many, if any, other desks that offer that right now (most I test are sitting or standing-only).
The Flow has been getting nearly daily use in my workspace for three months. In that time, I’ve used it for late-night working sessions, testing monitors, testing laptops, writing, coding, responding to emails, handling virtual meetings, building forts for my kids underneath, giving my children rides up and down the world's tamest rollercoaster, and more.
Again, I’ve done a good number of these now, but this desk was unique. The assembly wasn’t overly hard, but due to the unique design, the scissor legs, and the felt-covered undercarriage, this desk had a way of stamping itself on my memory.
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The closest thing I can compare it to is the Lilipad standing desk. But where the Lillipad retracts so low is because it's designed to be stowed away after use, the primary reason the Flow reaches those low heights is to enable floor-sitting.
Unboxing and setting up was different than all the other desks I have set up, but not difficult. I just felt like, for the first time in a long time, like I was having to pay attention to the instructions rather than relying on past desk building experience.
Marinamantra sent all the proper tools, though I still used my Hoto electric screwdriver when I could just to help speed up the screwdriver process a little bit. The legs came connected together, so I simply had to get them connected in the proper location on the underside of the desk and then latch them in place.
Once I got everything attached, I added in the felt undercarriage and cabling, and then we were ready to flip over and get to work.
Marinamantra Flow: Design & Build Quality
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
The felt cable tray is shockingly good. At first, I thought it was clunky and perhaps a gimmick. But once I got everything put together, I realized it was very helpful for keeping the built-in desk cables tucked away, leaving only what I add visible. If desired, and if I wanted to build out a more complex desk here, I could tuck more cables in that felt liner, though I’d want to take it off to make sure that I am not getting cables stuck in the tracks.
Speaking of cables, one thing this does right is that it has power through the leg. I’ve started to see desks do this now. The first one I noticed doing it was the Secretlab Magnus Pro. Since then, I’ve seen a few more taking that approach, helping with cable management, not having a cable dangling down from the top of the desk at whatever height it may be, all the way down to either outlet height or the floor. This seemingly small element really helps declutter the workspace.
I also like that there are two outlets on the desktop that run through the same power line that goes out of the base, plus the power for actually raising and lowering the desk, of course. Marinamantra chose to have one of those available outlets in the back of the desk, in the built-in cable tray, which is excellent, and another in the front, making it super easy for the user to power whatever they need.
At first, I wanted another outlet on the back of the desk, but after getting everything set up, I realized I wouldn’t even use it for my setup, and if I did need it, it's easy enough to add an additional power strip.
Marinamantra Flow: In use
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Specs
Desktop size: 28 x 56in Lifting capacity: 176lb / 80kg Height range: 14.9 to 47in
I’ve had this desk on the second floor of my home for the last three months. I’ve used it for at least 5 days a week during that time, sometimes for many hours at a time.
Since assembling it, I’ve raised and lowered the desk an obnoxious number of times, I’ve used both power ports, I’ve run my forearm on the control panel and accidentally changed the height, and I’ve even caught my kids playing under the desk, treating it as a fort. So far, stability is solid, height adjustments are smooth, though there are some clicking sounds from the legs when adjusting, and the desk itself has held up well.
I’m 6’2”, so for me, having a desk that can reach my preferred standing height is not always possible. But the Marinamantra Flow can get my preferred height and drop all the way down to a great seated or floor-sitting height without any problem. It’s probably due to the scissor-leg style instead of the standard leg, but that comes with trade-offs as well.
I love how smooth it moves up and down, and the incredible range, dropping so low and also so high, but as a taller individual, having the legs cross right where my knees means I have to contort my legs around the scissor legs if I’m pulled all the way into the desk. The only spot I can kick my legs out is in the dead center, so using anything to rest my legs on would not work with this desk, nor would kicking my legs out with a chair that has a leg rest.
Speaking of the legs, another thing that I noticed, perhaps because I previously used the Lilipad desk, is that the caps on the legs are mediocre. I can tell that this is a first-generation desk from Marinamantra. However, with that being said, it’s a spectacular attempt at a new desk style in almost every way,
Back to the legs, the power inlay through the legs makes a bigger difference than I originally thought. I expected it to be helpful, but not a game-changer. But for this style desk, which, for me, has stayed relatively minimal and straightforward, I haven’t needed anything more than what has been given.
I have a simple, yet powerful setup. I have an Anker Prime Docking Station plugged into the power port on the back of the desk, with the dock sitting on the top left, plugged into that I have the power line that runs to my laptop, a USB-C desk lamp. I ran one to the right side where I plug in my iPad, hard drive, or iPhone, and that’s about it. I can plug in some other drives or accessories on the dock itself, but beyond that, I have intentionally kept it pretty clean and straightforward.
There's something about this desk that makes me want to keep it simple in the best way. The front power port has come in super handy for charging my chair (review coming soon), yes, you read that right, or for other miscellaneous things I need to charge or plug into power in this room.
Last but not least, I’ll talk a little bit about the control panel. It’s simple, it reminds me of Ergonofis, and it works pretty well. In fact, it may be a bit too sensitive. My wife bumped it a few times with her forearm while we wrapped presents on this desk, and it sprang into height-adjusting action.
Marinamantra Flow: Final verdict
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
The Flow is a fantastic first-generation standing desk from Marinamantra, and it gets the fundamentals right. It’s designed to be minimalist, though it could be built out for more if you wanted, and it’s got a few great features up its sleeve that other desk companies could learn from.
If you are looking for a desk that can drop down to the ground, and then back up to meet the height of even some of the tallest people around, it's worth checking out.
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(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )
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Former TechRadar Pro B2B Hardware Editor, Collin has been in journalism for years, with experience in small and large markets, including Gearadical, DailyBeast, FutureNet, and more.
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