So far, so good. Minor improvements would make 5 stars
By Richard
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2021-01-21
This is being used right now in 'grommet' mode (with the optional long bolt to the bottom clamp part and square nut), supporting a Dell Alienware 3821W ultrawide curved monitor at nearly full extension (the 2 arm segments in-line) from the base. So far, so good. My desk is self-made, the desktop slab 3/4inch pecan with another 3/4in reinforcing block on the underside at the grommet hole (also 3/4in dia drill).
Minor issues upon receipt:
* The top part of the clamping or grommet base (the part that sits atop the desk) did not have the vertical T-slotted cylinder tightly screwed to it. I had to tighten 4 screws that are tapped into the pole I presume, with the supplied Allen until the vertical did not 'wobble' relative to the base, which would have meant under extension load it was being tugged on all the time.
* The bottom face of the upper clamping base casting has receiving spots for a total of 5 rubber or silicone round pads, to help keep it from marring your desktop. Only 3 were present. (I carefully looked in the plastic bag the unit was packed in to make sure they weren't stuck elsewhere, since actually 2 were in place and stuck to the bag is where I found the third.) I don't realistically think those are enough to prevent a metal rim dent into a wood desktop under adequate clamping pressure to hold an 18# monitor at a full nearly 25inch extension even with them all in place, but having all 5 would have been at least nice.
* This is a nice white finished monitor arm and base, but the cord cover part is strangely a dark gray. Nothing a little Rustoleum paint and primer couldn't fix.... ;-) The cord cover plastic does seem a little flimsy, the 'hinge' is just a thin crease in the injection mold, and the tabs are pretty hard to deform into place with just the power cord and a well insulated DP cable inside. Still, one shouldn't be mucking about with these often, only on initial installation and monitor upgrade/change.
*Be sure you know what you're getting - the pictures here at B&H are all kind of 'merged' for the Reduced-Height mount and the normal height. The normal height has the first 'arm' that slots into the T-track in the vertical post at a pretty strong upward angle, and has the cord cover/channel on the bottom to match the 2nd arm with the gas shock. The Reduced-Height column mount (what I ordered) has a more nearly horizontal arm segment, and only plastic 'loops' for cord control, not quite as nice looking as the 2nd elbow. But with my desk design and chair distance and height, I wanted to be able to keep the monitor a bit lower/extend more horizontally.
The gas shock adjusted easily for more strength to prevent the monitor from sagging under its own weight. The documentation says don't overtighten! but doesn't give you any idea of the available adjustment range (how many turns). But you can see that you're adjusting a threaded bolt that sets the 'angle' of the gas shock between the two arm halves, so as long as you're still well in the range of the available thread length I hope you're fine. Time will tell if the gas shock looses its oomph (--technical term), but I'm well within the 25# load rating so hopefully not too fast.
I added the Dell Quick-release plate adapter which helped make mounting even easier: I snapped the arm's plate into its QR receiver after screwing the Dell adapter to it, then was able to lift the monitor all alone, manouver it to where the exposed Dell QR aperture was lined up, 'hang' it on the upper hooks and click it into place with a little backward pressure at the lower edge. I presume going the other way, with the Dell adapter (and the mating part from the monitor arm) snapped into the monitor first, then slid down onto the receiver of the arm's head until it snapped in, would also have worked.
I have a 3D printer on the desk next to this, and while the 3D printer does kind of 'wobble' the desk enough I can feel it in my fingertips on the keyboard or mouse, the monitor doesn't seem to 'bob' - the gas shock appears to provide enough dampening. Ditto with my rapid-fire typing on my keyboard tray, not enough to make the mouse bobble. I have to put my hand on the desk and attempt to kind of 'shake it' pretty good before I see the monitor move. In this regard it's doing better than a spring-based arm I had from a non-B&H sold brand for years with my slightly smaller 34 inch prior monitor. (Upgraded arms because the new 38 was just outside of that arm's weight rating...and I wanted white.)
Overall pretty pleased. Nice looking design, far less Chonky Monkey looking than the (no doubt bombproof) Ergotechs, at a reasonably competitive price point.
Best mount on the market...
By August
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2017-01-09
I bought this mount for a 32 4K LG monitor that is about 18lbs, and it handles the big monitor with no problem. The monitor can located in any position, and it does not sag at all. Made in USA; build quality is top shelf.
