The Herman Miller Coyl Standing Desk Is Built Just for Gamers
“Sensorially, how it feels and the feedback you get is an elevated experience relative to a button or a toggle,” Harton says. “When you use a dial, there’s a resistance to it that’s delightful.” We’ll have to wait for Knob Feel’s verdict on exactly how delightful it is.
There are other niceties. The Coyl desk has integrated hooks on either side, which gamers can use to hang their headphones or a backpack. An optional back panel upgrade adds a classic pegboard to the desk, allowing gamers to add small shelves and hooks to hold their gaming controllers, small plants, lamps, or their favorite Funko Pop. There’s also the option to add other Herman Miller accessories like monitor mounts.
The base version of the Coyl desk starts at $1,095. Add the cable management trough, and it’ll cost $1,495, and with the back panel, it tops out at $1,635. The rounded laminate desktop comes in four colors: black, white, walnut, and ash. You can program up to four height presets for the desk.
It may be advertised as a gaming desk, but Harton thinks the modern gaming environment is multifunctional—not just for gaming, but for consuming, working, and relaxing. That, and the fact that the desk is drummed up by a furniture company and not a gaming brand is likely why the design may not feel very gamer-specific compared to other options on the market.
But the Coyl doesn’t break new ground. In fact, it doesn’t really offer all that much more than many of the gaming standing desks of today. It doesn’t have a classy four-leg design, instead sticking with the T-shaped legs synonymous with most standing desks. The all-metal Secretlab Magnus Pro has a system of magnets that lets you neatly route cables, attach headphone holders, and even add a strip of magnetic LEDs for the full RGB look gamers are known for. When it first debuted, Corsair’s Platform:6 gaming desk—now discontinued, likely due to some structural issues with the desk’s design—came with a rail system that let gamers attach streaming gear like cameras, lights, and microphones and slide them around for the best Twitch setup.
Herman Miller’s solution is slightly more functional than your average standing desk, but it prioritizes a friendly aesthetic more than anything while commanding a higher price. At least the desktop comes with a 12-year warranty. (The base and mechanical parts are covered for seven years, and electrical components are covered for five years.) It goes on sale today.
