LapDawg Laptop Stand

04/19/07 Update: It appears that the LawDawg was copied from existing product called the Laptop Laidback desk. The LapDawg as shown in the review below is no longer available.

Over the years, we have reviewed quite a few laptop stands and laptop desks. Most of these products have been constructed of metal, plastic or a combination of both. I think today’s review of the LapDawg will be the first wooden laptop stand / desk that I’ve reviewed.

The LapDawg is made of solid wood and is comprised of 5 main parts. There is a 15.75 x 10 inch tray and 4 support bars that are fastened together with 6 wing nut type bolts to create the legs of this product.

I’m unsure what type of wood this desk is made of, but it is stained or painted (not sure which) Black. The LapDawg site says that it’s finished in a deep Mahogany color. Strange, I thought Mahogany was a deep wine color. Hmmmmm…

Construction is simple and relatively painless. An included instruction sheet guides you through the process of attaching two of the wooden supports directly to the back of the tray, using 4 of the wing nuts.

The outer side of each of the 2 support bars has a geared surface lock joint fastened to one end.

When you line up the matching joint on the other support bar, you end up with an adjustable leg.

Here you see the LapDawg fully assembled and laying on its face.

Flip it right side up and you’re ready to start using this stand.

From the side, you can see the angle of the stand. The angle is adjustable in 5 degree increments from 0 to 90 degrees.

Here it is with my Macbook Pro. The screen on my laptop is open as far as possible and as you can see, the angle of LapDawg is a bit too high for optimal viewing on a desk or lap. As such, you’ll have to play around with the support legs to find the right angle for you. It’s a little bit of trial and error to match the angle of each support leg. It would be great if the joints were somehow colored coded so that you could tell when they were at equal angles.

Another view of the LapDawg, this time the view is from the front. The LapDawg can make a very nice desktop stand for your laptop that will allow you to prop it up at a more comfortable viewing angle. Just attach a regular keyboard and you’re ready to go. The only issue might be the location of your laptop’s CD / DVD drive and its accessibility while on this stand. The Macbook’s optical drive is at the bottom right front edge. The rim of the Lapdawg covers the opening of the drive.

Besides using the LapDawg on your desktop, I think the better use for this product is as a lapdesk while seated in a chair. In the image above, I’m using it while sitting in a pouffy Lazy-Boy recliner. The LapDawg keeps my Macbook Pro off my lap and at a comfortable angle. I’ve always found that even the best lapdesk can make me feel hot after using it for awhile. The LapDawg doesn’t have this problem at all. The only problem it does have is that it might not work well with all chairs like the one I’m sitting in. I had to use moderate force to wedge the legs of the stand in between the arms of the Lazy-boy. Once they are in place, it’s not a problem…

Another great use of this product is as a bed desk. Sick in bed but need to surf or work on your laptop? No problem, just use the LapDawg. It works well and keeps the laptop off the covers, which can restrict airflow and cause overheating. You can also use the LapDawg to hold magazines and books.

I like the LapDawg, but the main issue that I have with it is that it’s not all that convenient to store when it’s not being used as a lapdesk. My main lapdesk of choice is the Lapinator Plus because it’s easy to just throw it in the drawer when I’m not using it. With the LapDawg, you have to disassemble it first if you want to stow it in a drawer (unless you have very roomy drawers). That wouldn’t be a problem if you only use it once a week or so, but if you have to disassemble it every day and re-assemble again to use it, that would become pretty monotonous. At least to me…

If you have space for the LapDawg or don’t mind disassembling and reassembling, this lapdesk might be just the one for you. Especially if you prefer natural products.