iMovR Vigor Heavy Duty Standing Desk Base Review

Editors’ Note: After many years on the market, the iMovR Vigor has been discontinued. We leave the original product review published here for posterity. The good news is iMovR offers a greater variety of standalone electric lifting base kits for DIY standing desks than any other company; at the time of this update, there were five other models to choose from, including the top-of-the-line Lander (2-leg and 3-leg), the Lander Lite, the Freedom and the Studio 470, all of which we’ve lab tested and reviewed. 

The aptly named iMovR Vigor is the strongest-lifting standing desk frame made for DIY custom applications, and also one of the quietest, most stable, and fastest-moving standing desk bases overall. As such it is the frame of choice for the DIY builder who wants to be able to use a heavy top, like a thick hardwood or even stone, on their own customized sit-stand desk or conference table.

The iMovR Vigor is, rather uniquely, partially factory pre-assembled, saving you significant time and effort in putting together a totally custom standing desk. It’s one of the only bases for DIY that offers both two-leg and three-leg versions, the latter being ideal for making L desks. And it’s one of the few that’s available with either 24″ or 30″ feet.

Fastest in assembly, not just in transit speed

We can attest to the fact that building a DIY standing desk using the iMovR Vigor is a much faster and less frustrating process than you’ll find with any other option in the market (and we’ve lab-tested most all of them in our comprehensive round-up of the Best DIY Standing Desk Frames).

All you need do is set your desktop upside-down on the floor, rest the Vigor base on top of it, stretch the legs apart and position them exactly where you want them, and then tighten the crossbar set screws. Then, flip each leg up and insert the top support arms which also lock the legs in place once you insert two just two bolts into each motor housing.

With your pilot holes drilled using the screw holes in the frame as your template, you’re ready to screw the base down to the top using the wood screws provided, attach the feet to the legs using the machine bolts provided, attach the digital hand controller using the smaller wood screws provided, and connect up the cables. Even the power supply/controller unit is already attached to the frame. You can check out the detailed instructions here for the 2-leg desk and 3-leg L-table Vigor assembly process.

With this ease-of-assembly the Vigor has also become a popular option for corporate buyers that are looking to match a truly customized desktop (sometimes even branded with their own company logo, or laminated in company colors) with a base that is sure to be trouble-free.

The heavyweight champion

The iMovR Vigor changes height at a blazing 1.7 inches per second travel speed (the demon in the pack on lifting speed) with weights of up to 360 lbs. On our lab tests we were actually able to lift up to 490 lbs—and that’s just with two legs—when most competing standing desk bases can’t even make it to 360 lbs without shutting down for circuit overload or overheating motors. At higher weights, it will slow down a bit from its 1.7 ips top speed, and get ever so slightly noisier than its whisper-quiet 42 dB noise signature, though it’ll still be quieter than a Jiecang base lifting much lighter weights.

While these bases are cantilevered in their most common configuration—with the “C-leg” structure that you’d want for a standing desk—the T-leg version of the Vigor is what iMovR uses in its line of Synapse sit-stand conference tables, accommodating up to 14 people without needing to double the cost for a four-legged base, as you would with Jiecang-made bases such as those sold by Jarvis, UpLift and others.

A heritage in lifting heavy medical equipment

With its precision manufacturing quality and smooth performance the Vigor rivals American-made bases like iMovR’s own Reliant. While made in Asia, its Taiwanese linear actuator technology heritage shows—this is no commodity Chinese base. The lifting columns and electronics are made by Taiwan’s TiMotion, and borrows from their deep experience in making linear actuators for heavy medical equipment.

To be sure, TiMotion also makes low-cost actuators for things like recliner chairs, and lower-end bases like the Autonomous SmartDesk First Class standing desk with its commodity-quality desktop. While the pre-assembled frame structure is similar between the Vigor and the base used in the SmartDesk First Class, that’s where the similarity ends. The first thing you’ll notice is the rectangular tubes of the lifting columns, given much greater longitudinal stability to the desk than the round tubes used on the SmartDesk. Heavier feet and other stability-enhancing features set these two bases apart. (Check out our primer on What Makes Some Standing Desks Shakier Than Others to learn more about this.)

Among the Vigor’s high-tech features is anti-collision protection, which makes the desk stop rising or descending if the desk strikes an object like a chair arm or door knob. Like most electric standup desk bases these days the Vigor features a fully-digital hand controller with four programmable height favorites. The four height presets make it ideal for a shared workstation so two people can program their individual sitting and standing heights.

Check out the spread!

The height of the Vigor frame adjusts from 24″ all the way up 50″ (not including tabletop) and also features extraordinary range of width adjustment. While other adjustable-width bases can typically have their legs set up to only 55″ apart, the Vigor base can expand out to an astounding 75″ spread. This makes it ideal for really large desks and tables, and especially well suite for sit-stand-walk treadmill desk configurations where you can have a full-sizes office chair sit aside an office treadmill with plenty of room to spare. Height can be further boosted by another 2.5″ by adding iMovR’s optional caster wheel set.

The Takeaway

The Vigor is a heavy-duty electric base that comes with an industry-leading lifetime warranty on the frame and ten-year warranty on all other components, and is supported by iMovR right here in the USA. This is the go-to base for heavy lifting applications, and with its long 26″ lifting stroke, 50″ top-end height range, and an adjustable width up to 75″, it also makes a superb choice for any treadmill desk application. Besides being the strongest base available to DIY desk builders it’s also much easier to put together than any other kitted base we’ve ever tested.

For more details including technical specifications and options see the Vigor on the iMovR website. To compare to other DIY bases check out our comprehensive round-up of the Best Electric Standing Desk Frames for DIY. To stay abreast of all the latest developments in office fitness please sign up for a free newsletter.