With the demand for lap desks soaring, there are thousands of products available on the market now. Products come in different sizes, features, and variations. You need to make sure that you’re buying a product that is equipped with all of the features that you need, not just something that will check a few of the boxes on your list. Consequently, we have evaluated and reviewed the best lap desks and prepared a complete guide that will help you purchase the right lap desk according to your needs.
Why do you need a lap desk?
A lap desk comes in handy and it has a wide variety of uses and benefits:
Comfort
Comfort is perhaps one of the biggest advantages that lap desks offer. We spend a large portion of our days sitting in front of laptops for education, work, and entertainment reasons. While laptops certainly have made it very easy to carry around an entire personal computer wherever you want, it’s not always comfortable to use laptops on the couch, in bed, or even on the floor. Keeping a laptop stable and at the required height often becomes difficult, and a lap desk is the best and the most feasible solution. A lap desk allows you to comfortably position your laptop at the proper viewing height while sitting anywhere. Be it your bed or your couch, you can use a lap desk to place your laptop and work with maximum comfort.
Mobility and Productivity
Using a laptop from the comfort of your couch or bed has some downsides. You have less working space to take notes on paper or use an external mouse. Fortunately, a lap desk does increase your productivity overall by giving you the flexibility to take your laptop anywhere while also giving you a hard surface to add additional items, albeit not as much space as a desk. With some extra room to spread your items out and the added stability of a flat surface, you are bound to be more productive.
Ventilation
This is another important, yet underrated, benefit that lap desks offer. A lot of laptops have their fan vents placed on the bottom surface of the machines. Placing laptops on uneven surfaces such as a couch, a bed, or your leg, can block the external air vents, which might cause your laptop to overheat. Using a lap desk can minimize that issue, as the hard and stable surface will allow the air to escape from the vents, keeping your laptop cooler.
Which is the best material for a lap desk?
Lap desks can be made of various materials, some being mediocre and some being the best to look for: each has its pros and cons. The most popular materials that are used to make lap desks are wood and plastic. While plastic is a more commonly utilized material because it’s easy to manufacture, easily accessible, and relatively inexpensive, it can be less durable.
On the other hand, wood is often more expensive, depending on the type of wood of course, and it is usually heavier and bulkier; however, wood is usually stronger and more durable.
Leather is another material that you can consider as far as lap desk surfaces are considered. Some lap desks come with a PVC leather surface and you might want to consider it as it looks more upscale. Plus, it isn’t as smooth as plastic or wood, which allows for more friction, therefore preventing your items from sliding on the desk.
What is the ideal size for the best lap desk?
You need to identify and evaluate the core purpose for which you’ll be using your lap desk. You can also check the size of your laptop to analyze if a smaller table would be more suitable or a larger one. Usually, a table that can comfortably fit your laptop along with an external mouse, if you use one, would be the most appropriate size for you. However, if you’re looking to use other additional accessories such as external speakers or keyboards or if you prefer to have other items nearby while you work, you should go for a bigger table that can accommodate all of those things. Just keep in mind that you’ll have to store it somewhere.
Which additional features should you look out for while buying a lap desk?
Lap desks can be equipped with additional features that you can keep an eye out for. The most common features include a storage drawer, a phone/tablet/book slot, and a wedge or lip on the border of the desk that prevents items from sliding off. While these features are relatively common, less common features that you can opt for include built-in lights or a cooling fan.
Depending on your needs, built-in lights can actually prove to be really useful if you usually work in the dark. Moreover, a cooling fan can come in handy if your laptop has an overheating problem. However, you don’t have to shell out the extra cash for these features if they aren’t crucial to how you prefer to use your laptop.
Lap Desk FAQ
Q: Are the best lap desks expensive?
A: You can find lap desks for just about any reasonable price that you can think of. Of course, a high-quality lap desk would certainly cost more. You can find a simple, smaller lap desk for around $20, but that usually means it’ll be one flat surface— it probably won’t have any tilting abilities or height adjustment. Many lap desks can cost between $50 and $100. Within this range, you will find a variety of features and desks in assorted sizes.
Q: Are lap desks comfortable?
A: Yes, they are. Many lap desks can be customized to give you the best ergonomic viewing angle for your laptop. They are also very portable and can be adjusted easily so you can find the best working or viewing position.