In the last year, many things changed for me. My life changed, the way I work changed. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I replaced my workstation with just one laptop, a capable MacBook 14. But handy as they are, laptops present new problems when you start using them all day, every day. And after a while, my neck started hurting.
I tried another chair, but nothing changed. I went to Amazon and bought a compact stand. Nothing changed. After some reading, I came to the conclusion that my stand wasn’t high enough, making me hunch over the screen. So I went looking and found another stand, but a bit more capable — and, admittedly, expensive — than the one I had.
The stand is called The Roost, and it promised everything I needed: a sturdy but lightweight frame and multiple height levels. But was it worth it in the end? I think so.
The design and materials
I’ll admit, The Roost doesn’t look like the stands you usually see on YouTube videos. It’s not made from aluminum and doesn’t look high-tech. It sticks out like a sore thumb on my table: everything I own is more or less minimalistic, and the black plastic stand refused to vibe with my setup. It does everything it can to be different, and I am not sure it needed that. Black plastic, I can understand, but orange elements? I don’t know about that.
Okay, let’s be fair, it’s not your run-of-the-mill plastic: the manufacturer boasts of using glass-fiber reinforced Nylon, a structural metal-replacement polymer, and Delrin high-performance resin. In other words, even the heaviest laptops shouldn’t break it.
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Oh, and by the way, the stand comes with a ripstop nylon carrying bag. Neat!
Due to materials, the Roost V3 weighs only 170 g, and in the closed state, it’s only 1.30 x 1.17 x 13 inches (3.3 x 3.0 x 33.0 cm), making it extremely portable for the number of height levels it has.
Another noticeable feature that distinguishes The Roost from a number of cheaper alternatives are the patented rubberized “Pivoting Grips” that automatically adjust to fit any laptop. And they do work; in fact, they work a bit too well for my liking: I kept forgetting about them every time I tried to take my laptop with me, which led to me inadvertently lifting the laptop along with the stand. It’s very grippy, to a fault, I would say. But it’s a nice feature to have, especially if you’re a clumsy person. You can tilt the stand on either side, the laptop will keep sitting securely in its place. Impressive, really!
All of that tech makes Roost V3 a very eye-catching accessory. If you prefer working in coffee shops, this stand will get you noticed. It’s huge compared to alternatives, and even the lowest setting forces you to use a keyboard and a mouse. That kind of setup feels more at home in your apartment or coworking place.
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The Roost in action
A stand is a stand; the only thing left to do after all that staring is test it. I needed a stand that goes higher than the one I had, and the Roost V3 does the job beautifully. The lowest setting is the one I needed, and the highest one is insanely high (6 — 11 inches above the table). You can adjust the stand with two sliding locks (there are seven levels).
Despite it being portable, the Roost V3 feels sturdy. It doesn’t shake when I am typing (a problem I had before) and doesn’t slide around. As far as I can tell, it fits all kinds of laptops, but one can never be 100% sure.
Verdict
Is the Roost V3 the end of every other laptop stand? Probably not. It’s a bit too gaudy, and many people I know will never go for a non-metal solution. But it does exactly what it promises: it elevates your laptop, offering insanely high height levels without becoming unwieldy. It’s highly portable, sturdy, and it cured my neck pains. The only issue you might have with it is the price: $89.95 might seem like too much for such an accessory. But it’s up to you to decide.