Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Before getting this, I'd tried three different flat standing mats, all of them admittedly cheaper than the Topo Mini and provided by my work. They were all hard to move, hard to store, and too soft to offer actual support. My new company doesn't provide standing mats, so I decided to buy my own and landed on this one on the recommendation of the Wirecutter, a colleague, and a tape measure—the full-size Topo wouldn't fit under my tiny desk, to say nothing of a standard flat mat. At first glance, the Topo's varied surface seems gimmicky, but your feet quickly discover that the mat's variations in shape and height really do encourage you to vary your stance and thereby move your legs. There are, however, two things I don't understand about this mat. One, why does the Mini have a different surface design (see red highlights on the attached image) from the full-size Topo? Two, why is the teardrop in the center of the flat area so soft? It compresses so quickly that I'm not fully convinced of its value. If it were firmer, you could use it like a massager for your feet. As it is, it just flattens out when you step on it. I should mention at this point that I'm 6', 180 lbs, so I'm obviously not the recommended size for the Mini mat. Even so, it beats standing on the floor and I like it much more than any flat mat I've tried. My favorite thing about the Mini is how easy it is to move and store. For comparison, the full-size Topo weighs twice as much (8 lbs vs 4). That may not sound like much, and if you're planning to stand more than sit it doesn't matter. But if like me you try to alternate sitting and standing, the Mini's ease of repositioning is a fantastic feature. It fits PERFECTLY under my desk, which always brings a smile to my face; it's just nice when things fit. :) Finally, I'd like to address the "Sitting bad! Standing good!" movement: it's not sitting or standing per se that's the real issue. The issue is a lack of MOVEMENT. The human form was made/evolved (not looking to wade into that debate with anyone on a standing mat review) to move, and the modern human's abject lack of movement, combined with a rich diet (i.e. a surplus of fuel for bodies that barely go anywhere) is responsible for the growing disparity between lifespan and healthspan. So don't treat the Topo (or any piece of office ergonomics) as a cure-all. Treat it as a nudge to vary your physical work routine and move around more. To that end, it's a success and I can easily recommend it. If the Mini were redesigned to include the top and bottom rails of the full-size mat, and given a firmer teardrop, it would be an easy five-star product for me. As it stands (pardon the pun), I give it four stars and that's still really good!