Looking for recommendations on a standing desk

avenali312

Hey all,

Wow, I haven't posted here in a looooong time.

I searched a bit and found some old threads, but I feel like this is something that is happening more frequently now. How many of you are working at a standing desk (or a standing desk converter that sits on your desk and moves up and down)? I've been intrigued lately due to some posture issues and a new found focus on fitness. If you have one you like, please share a link!

I know most of us probably have pretty large desktop setups, so fitting everything seems like it could be tricky. My current keyboard, mouse, and tablet arrangement take up about 45" (the cabinet above my monitors will have to go, but I'm not using it anyway).



Thanks,
Adam

Brian "Panda" Choi

In terms of just purchasing, I got mine used for $500 ish and it has not real obvious make.

Still works.  Has 4 memory modes.  

I like it.   I supect the used market for stuff like this tends to be pretty quality consistent.

For usual safety, be prepared to test on site and REALLY test for how low it goes since I know people's office chairs can be finnicky.

avenali312

Brian "Panda" Choi said:

In terms of just purchasing, I got mine used for $500 ish and it has not real obvious make.

Still works.  Has 4 memory modes.  

I like it.   I supect the used market for stuff like this tends to be pretty quality consistent.

For usual safety, be prepared to test on site and REALLY test for how low it goes since I know people's office chairs can be finnicky.

Thanks!

RN

I don't remember where I read this, I think it was from a comic book author: using a standing desk means transfering the stress from your back to your knees \ legs, so make sure you're not worse with your legs than you are with your back.

avenali312

RN said:

I don't remember where I read this, I think it was from a comic book author: using a standing desk means transfering the stress from your back to your knees \ legs, so make sure you're not worse with your legs than you are with your back.

Thanks for the input. I could see that transfer of stress. I'm confident my legs and knees are in better shape than my back haha.

Fingus

I've been using a standing desk for like 4-5 years now and it's honestly been great. My back problems are no longer existent, and the 4pm drowsiness is all but gone. I built mine really cheap out of a IKEA coffee table and a wall-mounted shelf for like 25$.


(not mine but it's the same design)  

Of course it's not adjustible but i think that is honestly one of the advantages because it forces me to commit. I had one of those adjustible ones at a previous job but I used it for like a week and then went back to sitting mode. These days i barely feel any fatigue as my leg strength has improved. Perhaps worth noting is that i bike everywhere and do weightlifting, but even before i did all of that I felt fine after using it for a while.

Instructions for building it are here: http://iamnotaprogrammer.com/Ikea-Standing-desk-for-22-dollars.html

Now one thing you need to do, regardless of if you go the diy or commercial route, is to get some kind of mat to stand on. If you stand for 8-10 hours on a hard surface your feet will kill you. Even if you wear good shoes. If you look at factory floors or at bars they usually have rubber mats that the workers walk on for that exact reason. You could get some of those, but they are usually sold at bulk, and the specialized standing desk floor mats are expensive as hell because it's trendy. I found that just a good ol' yoga mat worked fine for like 1/10'th the price. They might be a bit thin so you may have to stack two of them on top of each other.
What I am using currently are weightlifting foam mats. You can find those fairly cheap at sports supply stores and they're just the right size and thickness for me. 

Alex_J

Not a standing desk user, but a kneeling chair has effectively solved posture related pain issues for me. I honestly don't think I could stand up and do art. 

I can't sit in the kneeling chair for more than about 4 hours before my knees get stiff, but its not a big deal to just get up now and then, or even sit in a regular chair for an hour or so. 

The chair was about 60$ on amazon. Makes a great foot rest too if you want to sit in regular chair for a bit.

pior

Well, before even questioning the desk I would recommend to first look into getting a very simple, non-swivel, non adjustable sturdy chair. Once you fight the right height and padding for your body it feels really, really great.

This is of course only anecdotal evidence, but I personally ditched all so-called "ergonomic" chairs years ago and would never look back.

Good luck !

Zack Maxwell

I'm with @pior
Unless you have a medical back problem, I think you're better off improving the ergonomics of your chair than getting a standing desk.
Like @RN said, all it does is shift the stress from your back to your legs. I know from my day job that standing in place for hours on end is brutal.
Standing desks are also stupidly expensive.
I've pretty much eliminated back stress just by getting a seat cushion that keeps my tail-bone off the seat, and stopping to briefly stretch every half hour or so.
It took some getting used to, because it put a lot of extra stress on my butt muscles without the spine to rest on. 

avenali312

Thanks for the insight everyone!

I'm going to give it a try for a little while. There are a lot of people at the company that I'm at looking for one, so if it's not for me, I'm sure I can pass it along to someone else.

I by no means expect to stand all day. Three days a week I run in the morning and my legs are shot, so standing for 8 hours after that seems like a bad idea haha. I'm leaning towards the convertible ones that will let me go between sitting and standing.

I also need to just get better about walking away from the PC sometimes, but depending on the season, deadlines don't always allow that.

Ashervisalis

If you pop into Ikea they have loads of standing desks. If you can, I'd suggest it. I just got one at work 2 weeks ago and the ability to switch from sitting to standing is amazing.

sacboi

I veer on the side of finding a supa dupa chair coincidently I've been thinking about for the past year. My bill paying job dictates heaps of walking so it's mainly for after hours relaxation pushing verts around on my home office system and FYI not one those jammy off the shelf 'ergonomic' units pior mentioned that only relieves one of a week's wages without IMO significantly doing anything to alleviate ones lower lumbar issues to any noticeable extent.

Then the other day had an eureka moment watching a Top Gear repeat, because their studio sofa's always seem to be so comfy...*forehead slap* that's it! transform a car seat into a viable "office chair" which actually stands to reason considering the raft of factors most private vehicles nowadays must comply in order to be road worthy. Anyway I'm not alone on this either, so looks as though I've got my DIY pressie too self running up to Christmas (...hopefully complete) : D

BTW here's a close match to my current ride:

   

JEmerson

I just got a Varidesk at work. I am very happy with it so far. I don't have any trouble setting it to a height I like, and when I want to sit down I just adjust it downwards in 2 seconds.

avenali312

sacboi said:

I veer on the side of finding a supa dupa chair coincidently I've been thinking about for the past year. My bill paying job dictates heaps of walking so it's mainly for after hours relaxation pushing verts around on my home office system and FYI not one those jammy off the shelf 'ergonomic' units pior mentioned that only relieves one of a week's wages without IMO significantly doing anything to alleviate ones lower lumbar issues to any noticeable extent.

Then the other day had an eureka moment watching a Top Gear repeat, because their studio sofa's always seem to be so comfy...*forehead slap* that's it! transform a car seat into a viable "office chair" which actually stands to reason considering the raft of factors most private vehicles nowadays must comply in order to be road worthy. Anyway I'm not alone on this either, so looks as though I've got my DIY pressie too self running up to Christmas (...hopefully complete) : D

BTW here's a close match to my current ride: 

Sigmafie said:

I just got a Varidesk at work. I am very happy with it so far. I don't have any trouble setting it to a height I like, and when I want to sit down I just adjust it downwards in 2 seconds.

The car seats seem like a great idea! My plaid GTI seats would make an awesome desk chair, I think. Maybe in the future... haha

The VariDesk seems to be the default in this category after some research. We have a couple others using them in the office currently. I found a competitor of theirs that has a large option that will accommodate my large mechanical keyboard better. I'm basically going to be the guinea pig for the company to test out its durability. Also, it's a bit cheaper than the VariDesk. They also have a standard size as well.

https://livdesk.com/products/livdesk-ultra

Flight

Haha well, I actually went out and bought an Ikea "hand crank" desk 2 ish years ago for my home office. Works fine if you're a cheapskate like me I´ve seen used electrical ones on company sales, but I´m satisfied enough not to switch.

I stand, or sit on a high bar stool when working. If I game or do other non work activities I might lower it to normal desk height.

It is however, slightly woobly at max height (I´m tall) with monitors and all my usual crap on it.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49084965/

Personally, I prefer simpler "non ergonomic chairs" that force me to sit with good posture. If I get tired I switch position, which leads to some needed micro breaks.

If I´d get another desk, I would get a pure standing desk, possibly with something to stand the monitors on. 

Neox

get one with presets. the ones we ha e in the office have been pretty damn expensive but they do not have any presets and i really miss this feature. by now you should be able to get solid ones with presets, this should make the process a lot more enjoyable

avenali312

Thanks for the help everyone. The company has one on order for me, so I'll update once it arrives and I can try it out for some time.