Best-of guide
Two recorded stands: the MOFT Z, which folds flat to 1.3 cm and tilts three ways, and the mStand, a fixed 150 mm aluminium block.
There are two laptop stands in this catalogue, and they are not two versions of the same thing. The Rain Design mStand is a fixed-height aluminium riser that requires an external keyboard. The MOFT Z 5-in-1 Sit-Stand Desk is a folding sit-stand that tilts through three angles, raises a laptop to ten inches and folds flat to half an inch.
This is a shortlist of two, and it is presented as two rather than as a ranking, because the recorded data separates these stands by job rather than by quality. One is for a desk with a separate keyboard. The other is for a laptop that moves between sitting and standing, or between desks.
Four recorded values decide the order. Whether you still type on the laptop keyboard, taken from the recorded keyboard access. Whether the height changes, taken from the recorded adjustable value and the recorded heights. What happens when you leave the desk, taken from the recorded folded thickness and the recorded weight. And what the stand is made of, taken from the recorded material and the recorded load capacity.
Each stand below is placed against the criterion it satisfies. No rank here claims that one stand is better for everyone.
The MOFT Z records a folded thickness of 1.3 cm, half an inch, and folds flat appears in its recorded feature list. It records a height of 25 cm, 10 inches, standing, with 12 cm at 25 degrees, 19.4 cm at 45 and 25 cm at 60, and adjustable as yes, three tilt angles and a standing height. The recorded weight is 960 g, 33.7 oz, and the recorded material is vegan leather, fibreglass, magnets and metal sheets, with a recorded load capacity of up to 22 lb and recorded laptop support for laptops up to 16 inches, and it also works with tablets.
Its recorded keyboard access is that it works as a riser with an external keyboard, which describes the raised position, the one where the screen is high and the laptop keyboard is out of reach. The recorded description also says the desk works as a lap desk and a riser, and the product is named as a five in one desk, so the lower arrangements are ones where the machine's own keyboard stays in use. That is the difference that matters here: a fixed riser asks for a separate keyboard, and this folding sit-stand does not.
The mStand records a height of 150 mm, 5.9 inches, and records adjustable as no. The recorded material is aluminium, with aluminium body in its recorded feature list. The recorded width and depth are 253 by 190 mm, 10 by 7.5 inches, and the recorded weight is 1.46 kg, 3 pounds. Its recorded laptop support is that it fits all MacBooks and most notebooks, and its recorded audience is users who use an external keyboard and want a stable fixed-height stand.
There is little missing from that record. One height, one material, one position on the desk, and no folded thickness because it does not fold. A 1.46 kg block of aluminium that stays put is a different proposition from a 960 g folding stand that goes into a bag, and for a desk that never changes, the fixed riser is the simpler arrangement.
The mStand is a fixed riser that needs an external keyboard, and it never changes height. The MOFT Z is a folding sit-stand that works with the laptop keyboard in the lower of its positions, tilts through three recorded angles from 12 cm to 25 cm, and folds flat to 1.3 cm.
The mStand is 500 g heavier and never leaves the desk. The MOFT Z is 960 g, and it is the only stand here that can be packed. Neither is cheaper on the record, because no price is recorded for either of them.
The recorded data does not settle how either stand feels or how stable either is. There is no recorded stability figure, no recorded wobble measurement, no recorded friction value and no recorded sense of how a keyboard feels on top of either one. The load capacity of up to 22 lb is recorded for the MOFT Z, and no load capacity is recorded for the mStand, but a load figure is not a measurement of steadiness. Buy the one that matches your keyboard arrangement, and check the manufacturer's own detail for the part this page cannot read for you.
This category holds only these two stands. It is the smallest category in the catalogue, and this shortlist is the complete set of it rather than a selection from a larger pool. If a third stand is added to the catalogue, this page should be rewritten rather than extended, and the selection criteria above should be applied to it rather than bolted on.
Methodology
How the products below were evaluated and chosen.
The criteria this shortlist uses
Four recorded values decide the order. Whether you still type on the laptop keyboard, taken from the recorded keyboard access. Whether the height changes, taken from the recorded adjustable value and the recorded heights. What happens when you leave the desk, taken from the recorded folded thickness and the recorded weight. And what the stand is made of, taken from the recorded material and the recorded load capacity.
Shortlist
Each entry states why it was selected. Top picks are scoped to a use case.
Why it is here: It folds flat to 1.3 cm, raises a laptop to 25 cm through three tilt angles and weighs 960 g, where the mStand is a fixed 150 mm block that never changes height.
Height: 25 cm, 10 inches, standing. 12 cm at 25 degrees, 19.4 cm at 45 and 25 cm at 60
Why it is here: It is a fixed 150 mm block of aluminium at 1.46 kg that requires an external keyboard, where the MOFT Z folds flat to 1.3 cm and tilts through three angles.
Height: 150 mm, 5.9 inches
Notes
This category holds only these two stands
The laptop stand category is the smallest in the catalogue, and these two products are the complete set of it rather than a selection from a larger pool. The Rain Design mStand is the fixed riser that requires an external keyboard, and the MOFT Z is the folding sit-stand that raises to 25 cm through three angles and folds flat to 1.3 cm.FAQ
The MOFT Z. It records a folded thickness of 1.3 cm, half an inch, and folds flat appears in its recorded feature list. The mStand records no folded thickness, because it is a fixed block of aluminium.
Source:Rain Design mStand page
With the Rain Design mStand, yes. Its recorded keyboard access is that it requires an external keyboard. The MOFT Z records keyboard access as working as a riser with an external keyboard, and its lower arrangements keep the machine's own keyboard in reach.
Source:Rain Design mStand page
The MOFT Z folds flat to 1.3 cm, raises a laptop to 25 cm through three tilt angles and weighs 960 g. The mStand is a fixed 150 mm block of aluminium at 1.46 kg that never changes height.
Source:Rain Design mStand page
The MOFT Z. Its recorded adjustable value is yes, three tilt angles and a standing height, with recorded heights of 12 cm, 19.4 cm and 25 cm. The mStand records adjustable as no, and one fixed height of 150 mm.
Source:Rain Design mStand page
The recorded height is 150 mm, 5.9 inches, and it is fixed. The recorded width and depth are 253 by 190 mm, 10 by 7.5 inches, and the recorded weight is 1.46 kg, 3 pounds.
Source:Rain Design mStand page
Two, and they are the whole category as the catalogue currently records it. The Rain Design mStand is a fixed riser that needs an external keyboard, and the MOFT Z is a folding sit-stand with three tilt angles.
Source:Rain Design official site
Keep researching
Choosing a laptop stand comes down to three things: whether you still type on the machine, whether the height has to change, and what it is made of.
The MOFT Z folds flat to 1.3 cm, raises a laptop to 25 cm through three tilt angles and weighs 960 g. What the record covers, and what it does not.
The Rain Design mStand is the only recorded alternative to the MOFT Z: a fixed 150 mm aluminium block against a folding 1.3 cm sit-stand.
On the record, the MOFT Z is the more portable of the two stands: it folds flat to 1.3 cm and weighs 960 g, where the mStand is 1.46 kg.
Yes. The recorded keyboard access for the Rain Design mStand states that it requires an external keyboard.
The Rain Design mStand is a fixed-height aluminium laptop stand that raises the screen and improves airflow under the chassis, and it requires an.
