Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

27 pointsherodoturtle80 comments

Hi folks,

Those of you that own a height adjustable desk - I’m thinking of buying one, but they’re a tad pricier than fixed height desks, so I would value your insights.

Thanks!

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For me, yes.

I've had a Jarvis desk for some years now (at least 7? not sure). The overall build quality feels quite good for the price.

I originally bought it because I'd heard that alternating between standing and sitting was good for you, and I imagined myself switching its height multiple times per day.

I ended up mostly just sitting at it. But it's nice to have the ability to get the height just right for each person using it.

FWIW, I haven't had any of the wobbliness problems that others are mentioning.

I also have a Jarvis. The largest model (180x80cm), I don't even think they make them this large anymore.

No wobbliness. My monitor is on an adjustable arm, so if I forcibly jolt the desk I can see the monitor wobbling a little but otherwise it's just fine.

I agree with others that this is pretty personal to your own values.

For me: it was definitely worth it, and if you buy a decent quality frame/desktop it'll be durable and a pretty minimal premium over time. I usually switch sitting standing 1-10 times/day depending on how restless I'm feeling.

That said:

- it's hard to know how much you'll like standing (or switching) until you try it

- it is pretty hard to vet quality unless you find a Costco/Ikea type vendor that has one in person. I personally have bought two Uplift models (me, spouse) and have been happy with how they've held up (7+ and 3+ years, respectively).

For me the adjustability has been worth even though I don’t stand all that often, because it allows me to dial in the height of the desk in addition to chair height to make the setup perfectly suited to me. Addition of high quality desk clamp VESA monitor arms (used HumanScale arms from office liquidators on eBay) takes this adjustability even further, making my desk very comfortable to work at for long periods.

And yes, the frames on the nicer standing desks are very robust. The frame on my Fully desk is several mm thick enameled steel that will be good for the foreseeable future… even when/if the top gives out, I can just get some butcher block countertop or something similar cut at Home Depot and bolt it on and it’ll be as good as new.

+1 for uplift. I’ve had mine for two years and love it.

No. They break (even the good ones) and they everyone I know who has bought one sits down all day anyway after about 3 months of fad and blogging about it.

Get up and go and have and amble around once an hour. And have a good walk at lunch or after work. Cheaper and better.

I love the idea but can't deal with how much they wiggle. They all seem to only have 2 legs, which results in them being very wobbly, particularly at standing height.

Interested to hear if anyone knows of any actually stable sit-stand desks..

Using mid-tear Ikea sit-stand desk for 5+ years. So far so good. Not wobbly even with a 24" display with some plants next to it.

The important thing to bear in mind here is that wobble is relative, i.e. One persons `wobbly` is another persons' `stable`.

Yes. But with this desk one should be really really sensitive to wobble to call it wobbly. For the record, I do consider some desks wobbly. E.g. cheapest Ikea desks.

I have this desk from a Michigan-based company called Deskhaus (https://desk.haus/collections/sale/products/apex-pro-max-but...). It’s very stable. They also have a YouTube channel, and they test the wobbliness of desks in a few videos (e.g., https://youtu.be/dv-vjJqukn0).

I've had a negative experience with Deskhaus's customer service. Their product is good, but if anything goes wrong during its life you may have trouble getting a response.

In my case I wanted to ask about replacement parts because it seemed like a power surge might've knocked out the box controlling the desk - didn't get a single response despite reaching out via email and their contact form, not even a "We don't sell replacement parts and you're on your own" reply.

I gave in and found a reddit post that contains four-legged variants: https://www.reddit.com/r/StandingDesk/comments/z1wt4n/list_o...

I have not personally used it, but Flexispot has a 4-leg adjustable base: https://www.flexispot.com/flexispot-4-leg-standing-desk-e7pl...

This is an XY problem in my experience. The problem is not desk wiggle, it's monitor and webcam wiggle.

I mounted my monitor to my wall with an ergotron arm, and now I haven't noticed a single desktop wiggle.

There are ones with more legs, but they are in a different price category altogether.

I got an L shaped one from wayfair and it’s extremely solid at all heights

that sounds like really cheap desk. i've got adjustable desk mostly because the one that i've seen in ikea etc were the most stable desks that there were available.

It depends. I have a couple but I hardly ever actually adjust the height. Occasionally, it is practically useful, but after all is said and done, if I want to stand up I'd rather get up, walk around and take a break.

Dealing with cable management definitely requires a bit more effort. Your best bet is to try to keep all of the cables you can tethered to the desk. To that end, I recommend just mounting a nice large powerstrip to the bottom of the desk and drilling a couple of holes for cable routing. If you get it decently even and put some grommets in the holes it should wind up looking pretty good, and you'll just wind up with a couple of cables to deal with mostly depending on what kind of setup you have.

It's not a huge investment so it might be worth it, though realistically I think I will wind up ditching a standing desk in favor of integrating large countertops on my walls.

It is kind of useful for adjusting the height for best comfort, but honestly I think any investment in that would probably be better placed into an actually good ergonomic chair.

I love them, I have one at work and three at home. I end up standing about 80% of the time and I feel that I'm more productive when I'm standing. When I sit at my desk, I tend to try to get comfortable and slouch a little in my chair, which makes me want to be lazy.

A big plus I found is that at work, it is much easier to show someone a coding problem or something I'm working on if the desk is at the standing height. It's kind of like working on a whiteboard.

Both my wife and I have adjustable desks for our home offices, and my wife doesn't even have a chair with hers, she's always standing.

I was able to get a used one from my last job after they remodeled our offices. I'm going to use that one for my garage workbench. I weigh 230 pounds, and just for fun, I wanted to see if the desk could lift me, so I sat on it and my desk had no problem going up and down multiple times. That made me have the idea it would be a perfect workbench for working on my motorcycle or car parts.

My motorcycle, a pretty small one, weighs twice as much as you do, with fluids.

I have a motorcycle lift and a car lift, but the desk is great for motorcycle engine rebuilds or working on a steering rack, just like a normal workbench but you can raise what you're working on to chest high instead of bending over all the time.

I really like having one. I just wish it didn't wobble and squeak as much as it does.

Next time though, I will select by researching stability / non-wobbly reviews, such as these:

https://www.btod.com/blog/most-stable-standing-desks/

https://www.reddit.com/r/StandingDesk/comments/gyopqq/sugges...

About 3 years ago, I bought a relatively cheap one from Amazon-- for the price, it's quite decent.

Note on Depth: I like that it's 30" deep-- My preference would be 36", just so I can sprawl out more. So, I would keep depth in mind. I think 24", which is a common depth, is too narrow.

- $210 for base: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FT9JVW7/

- $250 for tabletop: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083LLGX14/

= $460 total

I bought it thanks to an employer's WFH covid stipend. If I get such a home office stipend again, I will likely go with this sort of brand which is at least on the top 5 list of non-wobbly desks linked above.

- Price: $850 https://www.amazon.com/Vari-Electric-Standing-Desk-Adjustabl... note: it does not have a cross beam, so it might not be the best choice. I will likely keep searching

I would focus on Reddit, from my research a couple of years ago BTOD sold their own desks and so had a reputation for being biased.

Having a standing desk is worth it. I used to have back pain and with the standing desk it is all gone.

But even when you just sit at the desk, a few centimeters of table height can make all the difference for back pain.

I have an electric one from Ikea for around 500 EUR, but there are also even cheaper similar desks for ~ half the price.

A few years ago, our company purchased a hundred or so used height adjustable desks. I passed on the opportunity to get one, because I didn't see myself using it much and would have had to give up a lot of real estate.

Anecdotally, I barely see anyone using them either, it's maybe 10% of the people 20% of the time. The exception is the occasional coworker with back pain.

There's really no comparison to the sturdiness of a fixed desk. Even tough these were pretty expensive models, they are all very wobbly when used at standing height, which is something I just can't stand (pun intended). So no, even though in the brochure there's a certain appeal to the idea, I still wouldn't want one myself.

But YMMV. Maybe you have the opportunity to try one, to see if it's for you?

It's nice to have the option of standing up for a while instead of always sitting.

Depending on your technology setup, cable routing might be made more difficult as you may need to ensure sufficient slack for the full range of movement to be available.

Depending on the size and construction of the desk, you may need to care more about how much weight you put on the desk surface. Some designs at max height can get a little wobbly and this gets worse with more weight.

When I bought one for my home office, I decided to go with one with a mechanical crank instead of an electric motor. I've seen too many offices full of adjustable desks with dead motors and decided I didn't want to be staring at a non-moving adjustable desk 2 years later.

It's good option to have an option to stand, regardless how good your chair is, sometimes you have enough of it.

I used to stand a lot 4-6h / work day. I used the "LIDKULLEN" stool most of the time instead of a proper chair. Nowadays, I picked up a cycling and train regularly and I find my legs are often tired and I rarely stand.

What's important to have comfortable shoes. I'm a "neutral" shoes person (vibram five fingers, barefoot running, etc.), but I hate them for standing desk, they are not comfortable when standing.

I guess it depends on the person, and their lifestyle in the end.

I'm 190cm (almost 6'3") and the 6 months with a motorized height adjustable IKEA desk have been the happiest in my life at a desk.

It's not about standing for me. It's about having room to keep my chair high enough that my knees don't hurt (I'm also 46) and also having room for keeping it under the desk for optimal posture.

Then, when I felt like switching posture, I could easily make it taller or shorter.

Heaven.

Yes. Being able to stand at least part of the day is great. Some people mention wobble - I for one don't like typing while standing so I stand for meetings and sit for keyboard time.

One additional benefit is that you can adjust the height while sitting to really get the right ergonomics. I am fairly tall and most desks jam up my shoulders. Being able to match desk and chair height is key.

Everybody in this thread is insanely positive on height adjustable desks, but I have had height adjustable desks at different employers since 2013, and I have never used them as standing desks. They are great to get the height exactly right in the beginning and then I never move them again. I'd rather have a larger table than an height adjustable desk.

Most people only adjust them once, so buying a manually adjustable desk tends to best if you want a reliable desk. I wouldn't buy a desk with a fixed height.

This reminds me of the ultimate desk deal: the classic IKEA Jerker from the 2000s, no longer manufactured. Now THAT is a desk (I've had one for 20 years).

I think the desk top matters, the accessories and how much you remember to use it.

I have two fully Jarvis sit / stand desks. One at home and one at my coworking space.

There are mats and balance boards you can stand on to keep your balance moving around which makes standing less…boring?

I have to remind myself to stand up and set a timer to take a seat again. It can help vary things up a bit.

It’s somewhat pricey, esp w the accessories I mentioned. Supposedly this can be a big contributor to health though, so hard to put a price on that.

I also put some time and a little money into the under desk power and cable management basket and a high watt power strip so only one cord would hang.

It all takes time and money and then you gotta use the stuff but it’s nice.

I’d suggest investing in a nice office chair first.

Mine is very much worth it. I have an old Humanscale mechanical sit/stand desk that lets me very quickly adjust the height between sitting and standing whenever I'm inclined to do so. I don't know if you can still get this kind; it probably could be dangerous if kids played with it since nothing stops it from moving fast. There's more mental friction involved in the slow-moving electric-motor adjustable desks, but if you have preset buttons you can think about something else while you're waiting for it to get to the right height.

Some people who stand at desks say it's a lot more comfortable with a soft pad to stand on. I haven't used those myself.

YES. Look for deals. I got a really sturdy one from Costco 4 years ago for about $250 and it's the best desk I've ever owned.

I don't use a char at all anymore - I stand about 80% of the day, and use a stool to rest for the other 20%.

Make sure to get one with programmable heights, and spend some time setting up your ideals for ergonomics.

--EDIT-- This is the model I bought (but mine is black). Looks like it's gone up about $100 since my purchase, but well worth it. https://www.costco.com/tresanti-geller-47%e2%80%9d-adjustabl...

I started off with a regular desk and instead of throwing out my old desk, I just bought a standing desk converter and I really like it. I alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day and it has helped significantly with my back pain. Here's the standing desk converter that I bought[0]. In hindsight I wish I started off with a high quality adjustable desk but I don't regret my path at all.

[0]: https://www.vari.com/varidesk-converters/for-desktops/

It depends. I suggest you first try to work at your desk with a tray on top or something that lets you try out switching between standing and sitting all the time. See if you’ll actually be switching between standing and sitting and enjoy it.

I have one. Bought it about 9 years ago. Thought it was so cool. After the first week I barely ever moved it to standing.

Fast forward to now. I have some pretty bad lower back pains that I do like standing frequently. Unfortunately the desk I have is motorized not manual; and it stopped working. So I now have a tray that I switch in and out during the day to sit and stand.

It may be worth finding out if it’s a motor issue or a power supply issue. I thought my IKEA standing desk was broken for 3 years or so, then Covid hit and I really needed to stand at home.

I’d lost the receipt and couldn’t get help from them. Then I emailed the motor manufacturer and they sent me a free power supply replacement. (I heard a few stories about it being the power supply rather than the motor, of course that may not be the case for you)

I have a "Progressive Desk" frame with a third-party table top (which was much cheaper than what Progressive Desk offered). There's no wobble, and the table is very stable.

The biggest benefit for me actually ended up being able to quickly adjust the table height while sitting down. I don't often stand in front of the desk. However, I do frequently adjust the table up and down a bit to change the angle my elbows are bent at so I have less or more support for my arms and shoulders. Before being able to do that, I used to suffer from occasional shoulder pain/stiffness.

I have the predecessor to the Uplift4 and have owned it for 7 or 8 years now. https://www.upliftdesk.com/uplift-4-leg-standing-desk-v2-v2-...

It has been a very good purchase for me--I stand for at least 2-3 sessions during the work day and find it very helpful.

This particular unit has very little wobble and is extremely strong. Zero regrets and I highly recommend it. If you're doing any consulting/contracting this should be a tax deductible purchase.

For shorter people, the some height adjustable desks are the only ones that are low enough for good ergonomics. Standard desks in the US are too tall for a large portion of the population.

I love mine. Don’t use it to stand all that much (though I will crank it up so I can pace around and follow long conference calls), but being able to adjust my seated height is massive. I’ve never been able to get fully comfortable at a standard height desk, you can permanently adjust the height of a fixed desk which helps a lot, but being able to dial it in while seated is really convenient and being able to notch it up or down by half an inch to fit that days posture is amazing for me

Is it worth getting a better desk? Better chair? Larger screen? On average sleep + work will take 2/3 of your day. Back problems are common and if not prevented early enough they really can take away from quality of your life. Having a comfortable bed and a comfortable work setup is an investment with a very high return in my opinion. Height adjustable desk are not only used as standing desks - they also allow you to get the setup just right for you.

What I’m about to say is purely anecdotal. Posture, in my experience, is vastly overrated in preventing back pain. No amount of high-quality equipment will prevent issues because we’re simply not meant to remain static for extended periods of time. All of my back and hip pains went away the moment I started weightlifting, resistance training will do wonders to your body assuming you’re not injuring yourself in your practice.

You need to keep your body moving, and even mild resistance training is much better than any standing desk.

I have a Flexispot standing desk. Before I purchased, I was concerned about how sturdy the desk would be in standing mode — but it's actually sturdier than my old sitting desk. I love it. Look for sales. They have quite a few throughout the year. Their optional accessories do seem overpriced though. I attached a cheap ikea wire shelf underneath to hold all the cables instead of buying a $50 "Cable Management Mesh"

I have a fixed height standing desk, and just use a barstool when I want to sit at the desk.

The main reason for getting a standing desk (about 12 years ago) was to fix back pain, and even on days where I sit on the barstool all day, the back pain hasn't come back, so it has been a success for me.

NOTE: I had my current desk made by carpenter to the exact height I wanted, before that, I used an Ikea Fredrik desk configured for my height.

When I was working on the road/relative's houses, the height adjustable desk was the only thing that I missed from the office. You have to get one that has a motor though - I've never found the manual ones worth the effort (they usually seem to be low quality and very wobbly). But being able to switch between standing and sitting has been valuable for keeping me comfortable.

My anecdotal data: I almost never use standing feature of my standing-desk in the office, I use it if I want to show something on my displays to a couple of people. I see the value of standing desks, but since I am a very physically active person, I find the health benefits of standing in front of a desk just tiring and useless for me. But a lot of my co-workers do use standing desks.

Depending on the chair and your work.

I do like to stand sometimes when on meetings or presentations. I have a chair that promotes movent on it, which is good for changing the position and should be healthly. But i have never stood without any support (chair or stool) for a longer time on a table.

When i'm writing or coding i must sit, standing or leaning are really bad for me when i need to concentrate.

They're nice to be able to change up your position during the course of the day, but regardless of what you do, it's bad for your body to be in the same position for several in a row. You can throw some money at the problem, but having discipline to get up and have a quick break every 30 minutes will take you much further than a standing desk will IME.

Yes. I made my own for about £200 by buying a crank-driven frame (everything but the desk top) and a length of oak worktop (US: kitchen countertop) and screwed it on myself.

If I had my time again, I probably wouldn't buy a crank-driven one.

I basically can't present work or be interviewed without standing up any more. It feels weird.

I bought a fairly cheap one off of Amazon last year to see if I would actually use it before buying some of the more recommended brands and models. I find there are times where it helps to stand. Usually during those online meetings where I tend to get distracted and fidget more.

How much I stand really depends on the day.

For me yes, but... Try looking on various on-line vendors... I bought mine for around 90€ + the wood top made myself, meaning you can buy some expensive, but also find cheaper one that are as good as others, since the standing part is just a pair of screws operated by a small motor...

You could always try one out for $99 and give it away if you don't like it (example https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C498LWF5/ )

I'm not a physiologist but I reasoned that even if the desk doesn't make me stand up more than 15 minutes per day, it is still worth the money. So I bought one. Wobbliness is a slight problem though.

If you are spending more than two hours per day at your desk, it is worth it. There are some cheap ones out there that are OK (200€) but even a sturdy one is not that expensive, when you consider the time you spend there and the benefits to your health.

If you're looking at these for the health benefits, you might also want to consider dedicating a part of the budget towards a walking pad to go with the desk. Just standing at a standing desk is boring, walking is much more fun and more active as well.

I also have a walkingpad, but I haven't got used to it too much yet. Mine is a foldable rebranded xiaomi, feels kind of bouncy, but sometimes I use it. When I use though, it gets hard to use the mouse, so I bought an external trackpad, which works perfectly.

Yes, just like an ergonomic keyboard was important for my hand, wrist, and forearm pain my sit/stand desk making it actually possible to change my body position when I’m stuck in several hours of meetings helped with my back, neck and shoulder pain.

I got one a few years back. However, I have so much electronics with cables going everywhere that it ended up being impossible to raise once I had connected everything - even if I had used one of those brackets to hold the PC to the desk.

It really only makes sense if you relocate all mains connections to a power strip attached to the desk table, so there's only one cable moving.

Everyone has one at my job and the usage varies wildly, probably due to fitness and willpower. If the price is a barrier, think twice whether you'd really stand or not. Maybe you can try one a few weeks at a coworking place or so?

I have mine from Flexispot.de and I absolutely love it. Already 3 years that I have it, I believe I got a good deal. I stand maybe like 10% of the time but still I think my body and my back is thanking me for this.

I've also got a Flexispot (from Amazon, assuming its the same brand) and its been good for a little over a year now. Seems well built and sturdy at any height.

I don't stand a lot, but it is nice if I wake up and my back is sore. Also gives me better adjustability with the office chair, lets me set the height just right.

I recently purchased a walking treadmill for my standing desk, though it hasn't come in yet. I do think that if you're interested in burning some calories on the clock, a standing desk is a prerequisite.

It's kinda nice to use one, but I hate the fact that we burn energy to burn energy.

I would like to see more (and maybe cheaper) options/alternatives for manual operated walking pads like the Walkolution [0] or Nohrd SprintBok [1] (which seems to be a Chinese white label [2])

0: http://Walkolution.de 1: https://www.nohrd.com/us/sprintbok/ 2: https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005005169772365.html

Yes, but they need to be good quality and quite heavy, so they don't wiggle. Being able to save presets (sitting, standing) is also an important feature for me, otherwise they are always a bit off.

The only important thing is to get a really good one that is not wobbly. I don't have a suggestion but at my workplace there is a really good one but I'm sure it must be very heavy too.

I've seen them sold for about 150€ here in Finland. I'd say it's pretty worth it. A height adjustable office chair is cheaper, however, and still might work for us.

Highly dependent on the person. I had one at my old job and stood once for four hours, hated it, and never stood again.

My coworker had one that was always raised and didn’t even have a chair.

I “built” my own, got an L shaped VIVO desk frame from Amazon and then a butcher block slab from Lowe’s. L shaped standing desk for a fraction of the cost.

The only downsides I can think of is the price and the weight. I have one at work which is nice but I wouldn't bother getting one at home.

I find it tough to concentrate on serious work while standing, but I do use mine elevated when I am doing administrative tasks or research.

It's a nice feature, but it doesn't really fix the issue. I still need like I need to walk around now and again.

Yes. But you have to know how to use them. And I don't mean "pressing buttons".

I use mine constantly, swapping between standing and sitting 3-4 times a day.

Costco was selling a decent quality one for not too much

depends if u use it

ikea has cheap ones

yes

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