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Comment by Domenic_S | Hacker News Reader

Leather straps have buckles.

Just because a strap has a buckle doesn't mean it will ever hit your computer. I wear a Timex Expedition with a leather and fabric strap, and it's almost impossible to make the buckle touch my Macbook because it's too high up on the inside of my wrist - my hand would have to be almost perpendicular to the keyboard, with the backside of my thumb rotated down towards the keys.

You may have smaller wrists than some of us.

Have some fat wrist porn: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kjed7wq0p23l42h/RbCpiuaGjH

I don't usually work directly on my MBP, being of the one true religion (external keyboard/mouse/monitor), but when I do, the first is approximately how my left wrist normally rests, and the second is with my Pebble on, showing the buckle in contact with the MBP.

It was hard to get the angle right on the second picture, so the position of my wrist is slightly off, but you get the idea.

When actually typing (especially for more than a couple words, like I am now), my wrist isn't usually resting so heavily on the surface, but the buckle is still in contact with the laptop.

The scratching is annoying, as is the pressure on my wrist. This has been the case for every watch I've owned with several different straps, so I almost always take them off when using any laptop without an external keyboard.

At least in the position on the right, that's not good form. You can see the intent on the top of the wrist, which means you're not in a neutral position for typing. I can't tell what's up on the left.

Personally, I find my watch tends to sit above my wrist, so it's not over the palm rest at all.

I'm aware of that. I'm also aware that if I use "good form", I can't type for long before my arms fall off, like I'm aware that I never see anyone actually type in what is supposedly "good form" unless they're demonstrating what they claim you should do, but fail to do themselves.

In other words: This is how reality works. And here in reality, the buckle is annoying. Speculation as to its annoyance in an alternate reality is beside the point.

It's worth talking to an ergo specialist, but if you can't easily keep your wrists up it often means your broader setup isn't right - your chair is too low or your keyboard is too high (common on desks based on old designs.)

I've had carpal and nerve issues in the past, so I watch this a lot... generally you can drive the better habits simply by reconfiguring the work setup.

Been there, done that, sent the "specialist" on her way as soon as she started rambling about my aura. My issues went away with a switch to Dvorak years ago anyway.

But all of this is quite irrelevant when one is talking about the inherently non-ergonomic use of a laptop that only happens in meetings and hotel rooms.

If your ergo expert is talking about auras instead of measuring your dimensions and evaluating your posture, you need to find a real ergo expert. Even for ad-hoc use in meeting rooms and hotel rooms, a good expert can help you do a better job and protect your nerves. Anyone who works at a computer all day should probably go at least once a year, just like an annual physical.

http://mindfulmotionphysicaltherapy.com/what-is-an-ergonomic... (For info purposes - not endorsing this particular practitioner.)

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