Simple Yet Hard, at the Same Time

As L-shaped standing desks go the Multitable Mod-E Pro Electric L-Desk is as simple as they get. Not a lot of thought seems to have gone into this product, which often happens when a standing desk manufacturer decides to add a corner desk option to its line to satisfy its existing customers’ requests but doesn’t want to make the investment in engineering and inventory to make it truly competitive with others’ offerings.

For its simplicity and minimal performance it’s not even the least expensive L-desk we’ve reviewed in our round-up of all the L-shaped standing desks you can find online, and certainly more expensive than most any corner standing desk. (Learn about the differences between corner and L-desks.)

And yet, it’s a hard desk to buy and to assemble. For whatever reason the Multitable website only lets you configure it with the smallest of its four size offerings ($1,369), so after many months of trying we have given up trying to verify the prices of the larger sizes in order to complete our review. If you want to order a larger size you’ll need to order by phone. Decor options are also quite limited, with only five colors of TFL (same as HPL laminate) in desktops and a single color, silver, for the base.

Assembly of the Asian-manufactured base is quite involved as you can see in the Mod-E Pro’s installation manual. Two people and a good toolbox are recommended. Multitable is the only brand making L-desks with thin, 3/4″ tops so they’re relatively light to handle. Most competitors use tops that are at least 1″ thick, up to 1.5″ thick for increased desk stability and durability, but they are obviously heavier, too.

Minimal Performance

Quality standing desks will usually have a weight lift rating of 260 to 490 lbs. If you build a 3-legged desk then add another 50% lift power from the third leg. So that means most L-desks will range in the 390 to 785 lbs. In contrast, the Mod-E Pro’s low-cost motors only muster up a 330 lb lift rating, and that’s at a relatively slow 1.4 inches-per-second transit speed.

Giving us further pause is that Multitable specifically notes that this base does not have the structural integrity to handle caster wheels. When it comes to standing desks stability is a function first and foremost of the amount of steel used in the frame, feet and linear actuators.

The good news is an L-desk is inherently more stable than a two-legged desk so the light duty build of the Mod-E Pro so unless you have an inordinate amount of gear on top of your desk you shouldn’t worry too much about the load capacity.

Like its other Asian-made competitors (Fully, UpLift) Multitable offers a 7 year warranty on mechanical parts and no warranty on the desktops.  To learn more about how imported versus domestically manufactured desks compare check out our primer on the difference between American-made and Asian-made standing desks.

The Takeaway

We’ve reviewed several other models of Multitable’s standing desks (e.g. ModTable Crank-Type Stand Up Desk and ModTable Powered Stand Up Desk) in our lab over the years and even have a few around the office that still work well. But we have to say that the company hasn’t been at the leading edge of the industry for a few years now, and unfortunately this L-desk entrant is a bit disappointing.

To learn about other options that might suit your needs better, offer a lot more choice in size and color combinations, and be easier to assemble check out our comprehensive round-up of standing l-desk reviews and corner standing desk reviews.