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Comment by toisanji | Hacker News Reader

I'd like to get one, but at $750, it is way too expensive!

I had spent thousands of dollars on treatment, and spent the greater part of 12 years in pain before I spent $1300 on a sit-stand desk. I have had virtually no back trouble in the last few years, which correlates to the time I have had a sit-stand solution.

If you think the cost of prevention is expensive, wait for the cost of the cure.

I highly recommend workrite desks...

  http://www.workriteergo.com/products/sierra.asp

Have you tried both the hand-crank and electric motor models? Is it worth paying extra for electric, in your opinion?

Update; Nevermind, I see that only the electric desk goes up to 48" in heigh. All the others seem to be limited to 34".

Preventing a bad back (and numerous other health benefits) seem to be worth at least that amount.

The desk only kind of addresses the main problem though: being too stationary. That problem can be solved entirely, and for free.

It would be pretty simple (and much cheaper) to build one.

(This is hacker news, no?)

My reaction too. What's the cheapest, non-sucky option anybody has used?

I used an ikea adjustable desk. However, I really needed to keep your desk clean, because it was a manual adjustment. It became too much of a bother, but I am considering readjusting it as a standup desk again now that I'm working at home again.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60111123

I think this IKEA desk is more news worthy since it's only $150. I still miss the JERKER model though (it's almost identical to the FREDRIK, but it had more desk depth)

Why do you write Ikea product names in all-caps?

copied & pasted from the website

But if the JERKER desk doesn't exist anymore, how did you copy+paste it from the website? ;)

How can you not capitalize a name like JERKER?

my thoughts exactly... it's probably why they killed the JERKER and replaced it with a Federic. Whenever I tell my friends about my favorite desk, I always get weird looks until I show them the instruction booklet for it.

Just use the Swedish pronunciation.

Which is?

They pronounce it somewhat similar to like an English person would pronounce `Yerker'.

I can vouch for this desk, and it's nothing short of wonderful. I've been using it for a year as a standing desk, supporting the load of a 24" iMac, a second monitor, and a stereo receiver. The trick to avoiding back pain is to make sure the desk is at elbow height. It feels like it should be lower, but anything short of elbow height will cause serious pain. Picture of it in use: http://cl.ly/beQ

I presume you put your monitors on a separate shelf to keep them at eye level. That is how I set it up, anyway.

How does the adjusting work on this desk? Can you do it while your keyboard/monitor is on the desk surface or do you need to take everything off? Are their tools required or just something like latches?

You need to take everything off and use an allen key; it also requires two people unless you come up with a clever way to go about it.

Could the allen head screw could be replaced with a simple pin for locking the height? If so, then a bit of clever counterweight arrangement would take care of neutralizing the weight of whatever is on the desk, so you just have to push and pull it up and down to adjust the height. Does this seem unfeasible?

Work from home using a laptop. Work at a desk when you want to sit, and at a bar counter when you want to stand.

I find laptops to have inherently bad ergonomics. If the keyboard is low enough for my arms, the screen is too low, and vice versa.

Also, unless you have extremely narrow shoulders (read: you are a woman < 5'4"), laptop keyboards force you to bend your wrists unnaturally.

I work standing with my laptop on top of a chrome wire shelf:

http://www.theshelvingstore.com/Chrome_Wire_Shelving_s/34.ht...

They are available in a bunch of depths and heights and are easy to adjust. You probably won't be moving them up and down multiple times during the day, but can configure it to a comfortable height. They run about $100.

Kneel at a low desk on something soft? Just an idea.

I tried this for a while. No matter how soft whatever you are kneeling on is the pressure is only bearable for 30 minute periods. It would work as part of a system in combination with standing and sitting though. Another thing that might work would be a kneeling chair that lets you support part of your bodyweight somewhere besides your knees.

How about two desks, monitors, and a wireless keyboard/mouse? Just today I was thinking of setting this up for my office.

That's what I was thinking - a second thin system on the shelf with VNC.

Ikea makes one (or at least did a few years back). I bought 3 of them along with tall Ikea chairs. Total cost for chair and desk ~$100. Fantastic desk at the right price.

My solution: IKEA desk with adjustable legs. I think it's the GALANT. Extend legs all the way out, and put it up on concrete blocks. Add stool.

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