Contour Professional Monitor Stand with Drawer

OK this thing is pretty bulky and hideous tbh. After it arrived and we assembled the legs we looked at each other in dismay and said oh no, what are we going to do with this beast? Then we put it back in the box. First of all, if you use it with the legs at the full height it looks awful and not something that you want in your room or on your desk, whether it is giving you an "ergonomic viewing angle" or not. It's ugly. So in the end we put the shortest legs on it - it needs at least these short legs in position or the drawer won't slide in and out - and we put the printer on it, so most of the bulk is hidden and we effectively have a useful drawer under the printer to store paper. But if you want to use it to raise your monitor, laptop, notebook etc to eye level then be prepared for the ugly. 4/5 for usefulness under the printer but 1/5 if it could only be used as a monitor stand at full height.

Designed to elevate a computer monitor for both ergonomic purposes and also to create space underneath it, the 'Contour Professional Monitor Stand With Drawer' is a fairly basic but effective design. It is made from black plastic, which doesn't look wonderful, to be honest, but it is lightweight yet strong and seems like it will be durable. Assembly is simple, and the height underneath the drawer is adjustable depending on how many of the leg segments you fit in. There is a slot at the front of the stand to fit a tablet or phone in (I'm not 100% positive why you'd want to do that in front of a monitor, but it's not for me to question...), and a small drawer under the platform. There is also a cable tidy feature (basically a notch at the back of the platform, but it works). The platform is stable and does the job perfectly.

Be prepared to gasp when the box arrives. It is a big beast.Some definite plusses: it's strong - you could sit a substantial dog on it and it wouldn't bend. It can be made higher than most stands. It's wide so your monitor is unlikely to overhang. I have an all-in-one computer so there's more weight but this stand copes perfectly well. There's a handy drawer for things like USB memory sticks, unused leads and so on and a notch at the back to grip a cable. Small downside - it could be prettier. It looks very utilitarian. My computer is black, so it doesn't look out of place, and I have a big desk so the large footprint is not a problem for me.

This stand is a bit bulkier than I expected (notably in terms of width) but in terms of a setup as a single screen stand I have nothing to criticise. The extra shelves are useful, and the drawer can be sub-divided. The legs are made up of several parts so you can change the overall height and there is a cable tidy at the back.If you want multiple monitors on stands this may not be so great due to the extra sides, although conversely if the monitors are quite large widescreen then it's good.

It depends on what you use it for. Having done innumerable chair vdu set ups at work, it is best to have the top of the screen aligned to eye level. My pet geek was enthusiastic as he has a work bench set up for one of his rigs, and he’s normally standing up. I wouldn’t use it for my desk...it takes up as much room as a cathode ray tube. Bit ugly too.