Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

#21

Post by bredren » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 3:11 PM UTC

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.

Re: Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

#22

Post by tomashubelbauer » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 3:11 PM UTC

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.

Re: Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

#23

Post by octocop » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 3:11 PM UTC

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.

Re: Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

#24

Post by CoastalCoder » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 3:11 PM UTC

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.

Re: Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

#25

Post by walthamstow » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 3:12 PM UTC

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.

Re: Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

#26

Post by tasseff » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 3:12 PM UTC

propter_hoc wrote: post #5

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..

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).

Re: Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

#27

Post by rmetzler » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 3:12 PM UTC

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.

Re: Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

#28

Post by korhojoa » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 3:12 PM UTC

propter_hoc wrote: post #5

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..

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

Re: Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

#29

Post by joncrocks » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 3:12 PM UTC

blah-yeah wrote: post #16

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 t…

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.

Re: Ask HN: Are height adjustable desks worth it?

#30

Post by chamakits » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 3:12 PM UTC

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.