If you’re like me, your office desk is likely littered with sticky notes. In my case, it’s so much so that some days my monitor looks like a lion’s mane. While I look at the attached notes every day, it can get a bit disorganized and looks unruly after a while — not to mention being a colossal waste of paper. It was a few years ago that we looked at The Level balance board by FluidStance. Now the company has a solution for your desktop notetaking needs.
The FluidStance Slope is made in the US of 100% steel and powder-coated using a low emissions process. Did you know that every year, 50 Billion paper sticky notes are made? That’s millions of trees cut down from our amazing forests. The Slope is here to help reduce your eco-footprint by eliminating disposable paper notes.
Our FluidStance Slope review takes a look at a metal whiteboard riser which doubles as a phone holder and pen tray and allows you to keep track of your outstanding tasks easily.
Specifications
The FluidStance Slope has the following features and specifications:
- Premium dry-erase surface
- Felt bumpers to protect your work space
- Cell phone holder with charge cord channel
- Dimensions: 20” wide x 8” deep x 3.5” tall
- Weight: 3 lbs.
What’s in the box
- FluidStance Slope
- Dry erase pen with eraser cap
- Cleaning cloth
- Product description sheet
Design
I’m going to start off by saying that FluidStance has a pretty elaborate way of describing the FluidStance Slope:
Inspired by an open, groomed ski run, FluidStance’s Slope lets you lay down your thoughts while you help protect our forests. Worthy of the modern office, the Slope was designed to fit perfectly in the space between your keyboard and monitor. It offers a gentle angle for writing and a premium dry-erase surface.
On that note, the FluidStance Slope is a single piece of 100% steel and is powder-coated in white using a low emissions process. It is also made in the U.S. which alleviates the need for transportation from overseas, further reducing emissions.
The Slope curves down into a left and right edge for placement on your desk. The bottom of the edges is covered with a light grey fabric piece to prevent scratching. Overall, the Slope is about 20-inches wide and 8-inches deep. While the back is about 3 1/2-inches in height, it slopes down (get it?) to about 1 1/4-inches near the front.
The back edge of the Slope has a tray that can be used for pens and the like. It’s about 1 1/2-inches by 16-inches and just under an inch deep. On the left side is the FluidStance wordmark printed in grey and on the right is a notch for a phone cable. The idea is that you can plug your phone in and rest it in the tray part. Unfortunately, not many phones rest easy in the stand when placed in portrait mode. Landscape mode works fine, but most devices don’t support that for your main home screens and apps. it’s a great idea but the back of the tray needs to be higher up in order to properly support phones, especially the larger form factor most seem to follow these days.
In addition to the Slope, it also comes with a dry erase marker with a magnet and eraser on the lid. A grey cleaning cloth/pen pouch is also included. Roughly 5 1/2-inches by 2 1/2-inches, the cloth can be thrown in the wash for cleaning once it gets dirty from wiping the board.
At any rate, the FluidStance Slope has a simple design that works for the most part.
Performance
First off, and it should go without saying, but the FluidStance Slope is only meant to be used with dry erase markers. If you use permanent markers, well… you’re likely not removing whatever you wrote on the Slope. At any rate, and I don’t say this lightly, the Slope has changed my work life substantially when it comes to taking quick notes and keeping track of to do’s. I no longer have stacks of sticky notes, nor am I constantly trying to find the note I made last week that needed following up on.
As for the included pen, the eraser works o.k. but sometimes leaves smudges or ghosting. However, the included cloth pouch works better for wiping clean the Slope.
Price/Value
At US$59.99, the FluidStance Slope isn’t exactly cheap. However, it is solid, rather large, and has really made a difference in my day to day work. Not to mention, it is much more environmentally friendly than using and throwing out sticky notes all the time. In addition, for each Slope FluidStance sells, they also plant a tree to help reduce the impact on the environment.
That being said, given FluidStance’s environmental stance, the product description sheet you see when you open the box could be much smaller. Even though it is a mix from responsible sources, it is rather large.
Photo Gallery
Wrap-up
If you sit at a desk for most of your workday and use a lot of sticky notes, the FluidStance Slope is an awesome alternative. Not only does it make it much easier to keep track of your tasks, but it is also much more environmentally friendly.
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Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
