Written by Sam Soule
I hunted for weeks trying to find a solid all-purpose desk lamp that didn’t take up too much table area in my workshop yet still provided the kind of focused illumination I need for detailed hand work. Finding such a modestly priced, durable, yet easily adaptable work lamp turned out to be a real challenge. Thankfully, my hunt was over when I discovered the Ikea Flex Desk Lamp.
I find this lamp is ideal for illuminating tight quarters. Its relatively small size fits right in to a cluttered work space yet still provides a high intensity field of light perfect for detailed handwork. The lamp’s weighted base is heavy enough so the lamp cannot be easily knocked over yet can still be easily picked up with one arm, a great feature if you’re like me and often need to adjust the position of your light source.
Of course, you’re not going to need to move the grounded position of the Flex Lamp all that often. Thanks to the tightly constructed coils of its flexible neck, you easily re-adjust the direction of the lamp’s field of illumination. A huge plus is how well the flexible 26-inch long neck preserves the angles of very fine adjustments. There’s even a small handle off the lamp’s shade perfect for fine tuning the positioning. It’s like “leading” the lamp in the direction you want it to shed light.
I also like the sleek, no frills design. The Flex Lamp doesn’t draw attention to itself with fancy cosmetic features. In fact, the minimalist design by Kvart Hagberg has a very modern appeal that even my girlfriend loves — I have a hard time keeping it in my workshop; though I believe my girlfriend would want to opt for a different color than steely silver (other options are yellow, red and black).
Which is to say, portability is another mark in this lamp’s plus column. Like my girlfriend, I’ve found many occasions when it’s been useful to move this lamp off my desk. It’s not a perfect reading lamp with it’s focused field of light, but weighing just under four pounds means that it easily relocates to small living room or bedroom tables. I’ve found it quite useful in a pinch.
The only real drawback I can find with this lamp is that the bulbs it requires can be sometimes hard to find. Other than that, Ikea Desk Flex Lamp is a real work-horse and a great buy.