I debated between several different units when in the market for a sit/stand desk. This had good reviews and was much less expensive than the popular other brand. I decided to take a chance on it, and I'm glad that I did. Not really sure what it's made out of, maybe just a molded plastic of some kind, but it's a good quality, brackets are a nice heavy steel.It's easy to lift up, it does take a little bit of muscle at first to get the initial leverage to lift it up, but it's not bad at all. This one does lift straight upwards, whereas the competitor's is more of a gliding motion towards you. A co-worker, who is about 5'1" tried lifting it and she had no trouble. I'm 5'6 and it's easy for me. I have two 27" monitors on it along with my keyboard and it's not too heavy. I like that it goes straight up and I stand close to my desk and not backed away from it.This is a definite good buy, good quality item to save yourself a lot of money over the competitor!