I’ll be straight with you right from the off: I didn’t think I needed a laptop tray in my life until the good folks at Nerdytec loaned me a super fancy one. And you know what? I’m sure glad they did, because using the Couchmaster Cyworx over the last month has finally stopped me from interacting with my 15-inch MacBook Air M2, Steam Deck OLED and Nintendo Switch OLED like some sort of perpetually prone sloth.
I won’t lie, when it comes to playing games I tend to adopt the most slovenly positions imaginable. I’ll adopt a pancake-flat position on my sofa (usually with my legs in some sort of weird position), then I’ll barely move for hours at a time. The Couchmaster Cyworx (currently priced at $144), has changed all that, though. Now I’m actually sitting upright and enjoying some of the best Steam games or typing away on my MacBook like a semi-respectable member of society.
If you’d have asked me for my opinion on laptop trays or “lapboards” not so long ago, I would have said they were a bit gimmicky but could benefit some folks in certain usage case scenarios. Now I’m fully on board with the concept thanks to Nerdytec’s premium accessory.
If you’d have asked me for my opinion on laptop trays not so long ago, I would have said they were gimmicky"
One of the main benefits of using the Couchmaster Cyworx is that it makes doing my job from my living room viable for the first time since I joined Tom’s Guide.
Unless I wanted to work from the floor like a savage, the only way I could use my coffee table to write articles on my laptop before would have involved acts of contortion that would not have been kind on my spine. But with the Cyworx, I simply plonk the soft and comfy cushions that prop up the lush bamboo tray down on my couch and can get down to writing. It means I no longer need to crack my back bending forward like a certain famous fictional character you’d associate with Notre-Dame cathedral.
Couchmaster potato
The Couchmaster Cyworx sports plenty of other handy features, too. The main tray boasts a large ventilation grille that supports laptops up to 17-inches to allow your portable PC to run just that little bit cooler. The bundled in mouse pad is also generously sized, while the wrist pads help look after my brittle joints while I’m typing.
I’ve also found myself using the tablet holder more than I was expecting, though I tend to just chuck my iPhone 14 Pro into it so I can keep up to date with WhatsApp messages. The presence of a mouse pocket and a side bag to stuff away cables also helps declutter my setup.
The presence of a mouse pocket and a side bag to stuff away cables also helps declutter my setup"
I’ve also found myself using the Couchmaster Cyworx on my coffee table, too. Despite my previous statements, I do still like laying back on my sofa to play the best Nintendo Switch games like a total slob. And the elevated height the Cyworx’s cushions provide let me enjoy playing The Big N’s handheld hybrid at a more comfortable eyeline, especially when I have it hooked up to my 13-inch Asus ZenScreen portable OLED monitor.
While I wouldn’t class Nerdytec’s well-designed laptop accessory as a must-own product, it has made a big difference in how I’ve interacted with some of my favorite gadgets over the past month. And if nothing else, my former highschool teachers would be thrilled that it’s finally gotten me to sit up straight… well, at least some of the time.
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