Doesn't seem that bad to me. I paid $200 for a similar desk (without the standing feature) from IKEA. Most desks, standing or not, that are designed for office environments, are at least that expensive.
> The desk can lift up to 225 lbs. Okay, okay…it can actually lift more, but let’s keep things on the safe side.
255 lbs is 102kg; in other words, if I sit on this desk, I'm getting close to the breaking point. Not good :(.
(INB4: yes, people do occasionally sit on their desks, sometimes without even thinking about it - e.g. when full of joy, or drunk. Also there's a good chance that someone at some point will want to stand on a desk to, say, change a lightbulb. Consider this especially if you're buing desks for a more public place, like e.g. your local Hackerspace.)
That might just be the weight that it can life from low to high height. It might be able to still support more than that when static. It would be good to know what it can support statically.
Simple just don't let anybody overweight/obese get on the desk. Or do it in the morning and if it collapses it will make it easier for them to choose what to have for lunch.
Bmi is mostly bullshit. Much better indicators for overall health is the amount of belly fat and the fat around the internals organs. Having a lot of fat on the butt/thighs is much less damning than lets say fatty lever.
Thanks. I am curious about "lever." Was that a typo or a english-locale dependent noun? I am not trying to be a typo jerk, I produce them constantly, I am just curious what the word is.
Not that you need to be using the motor to lift yourself up and down. I'm sure the desk will still support your weight.
Something else to note is that further down it mentions that the 225 lbs limit doesn't include the weight of the table top, so it might be closer to 200.
I'd imagine that these desks cost roughly the same amount to produce and the only reason they're ~£400 is because it's a relatively niche product and is sold through a reseller, not direct.
This is they type of desk that I have and I saved a significant amount of money by just buying the legs and then getting a table top at Ikea. Most of this re-sellers are capturing their margins by having overpriced desktops included in the purchase.
This desk also has a cross bar for support and to conceal an axle which allows the desk to have a single beefy motor. I have found the cross beam to be crucial as I have used the desk off-and-on as part of my treadmill setup and every now and then you want to stabilize yourself holding the desk. Even with the cross beam it can wobble in this scenario.
I would have to guess he's talking about bulletproof coffee. I honestly looked at his face on the Kickstarter page and said to myself "this one I don't trust" before I even read this comment. Not sure if I recognized him, but I heard of Bullet Proof Coffee and, as an overweight person and Bitcoin proponent, went back and read the comments and instantly felt myself in that familiar hopeful being scammed mindset.
I am skeptical of most dieting programs, I have nothing hard against this particular one but can't see myself how adding more butter is going to help any fat people with anything.
He's made quite a bit of money by promoting what can only charitably be called half-truths.
As another commenter mentioned, his primary claim to fame is "bulletproof coffee"(tm). Among other things, he promotes his own coffee beans by claiming that all other coffee is somehow riddled with mycotoxins - which his isn't, for whatever reason. [1][2]
More subjectively, he comes across as a modern age health guru who touts all his opinion as revelatory fact.
I backed this project as an early-bird. I'm not sure why you need 4 memory buttons for the deluxe frame. All I need is one more button (maybe two)! Just let me set the height I want it to be at when I'm standing and sitting. If I'm standing pick the other one, and vice versa.
I have a feeling it will get really annoying to use the two buttons on the regular frame over and over again if you're changing the height of the desk a lot. The desk will probably never be at the same height twice if you're telling it when to stop instead of it automatically stopping at the desired height.
Edit: The main point I'm making is for the $399 price, it'd make a lot more sense to include at least one or two memory buttons if a single person uses the desk.
We have a 'quiet room'; a separated-off room with a few desks that some people (but not typically very many) use fairly often. In this case, it would be handy to have a few presets.
I backed this project as an early-bird. I'm not sure why you need 4 memory buttons for the deluxe frame.
It's not uncommon for two people to use a desk, if not interchangeably, then at least regularly.
WRT price, I have a GeekDesk with four memory presents, and it cost about $1000. Is that a lot or a little? It's hard for me to judge, but among the motorized desks it seemed to hit the optimal price / quality point.
I wouldn't go back to a conventional, seated-only desk.
Like the idea, pricing is interesting and wholly out of line with common desks. Still I would lean towards a glass top (black bordered glass is what I have now) instead of laminate or bamboo. L-shape would be fun, but I guess you could put two together, perhaps slave the controls?
As nice as glass top desks are, they get marked up and show every little smudge mark very easily. Also, your arms tend to stick to them more through perspiration.
People saying its too expensive obviously haven't done any research into PROPER standing desks.
I was pricing a CRANK ModTable - it as going to be over 560 and it isn't even motorized. Getting a motorized one would be about 630.
So for this motorized version at 399 is, as stated on their kickstarter page, "most affordable".
Edit: All the suggestions for cheaper alternatives are really just compromises - stacking cardboard ikea tables, or recycling bins, or used warehouse pallets - "$37 cheaper even with the tetanus shot - so sick of kickstarter scams".
$500!? Plus shipping!? You can make a standing desk with $100 worth of Ikea parts then buy a tall stool/chair for $75 on Amazon. Bam, just beat your "most affordable" sit/stand desk by $325+. Oh, and you can have it next week instead of next year (or later).
I guess I'll start my Kickstarter campaign tonight.
P.S. 45" is not enough height for many of us tall folk, especially in dress shoes with a thick heel.
This is motorized, so you can also sit at a regular chair if you want as well. Some people don't like stools, they simply don't offer the same level of comfort and ergonomics that a regular chair would.
Drafting chairs aren't as comfortable or as good for your back as a nice standard chair. If part of why you're doing this for your back and are going to sit very much at all, you'll want a better chair.
But then you can't use your $750 fancy office chair with it ;).
I think a good cheapo solution would be some sort of platform that you can place on top of an existing desk and will go up and down with hydraulic legs or similar. That way you don't have to remove your desk at your office, get a new chair or similar to try it out.
Only one height? And they claim it fits anyone from 5'2" to 6'2" tall?
I'm 6'3" and my girlfriend is 5'5". Watching her try to use my standing desk is comical. I think those guys are being extremely optimistic, if not outright deceitful.
Yea, if you have a laptop, you need to use an external monitor or it will strain your neck to look down all the time. Ego keyboard is always recommended. Living your life typing on a standard "rectangular" keyboard is a wrist's worst nightmare.
Because the Ikea Galant doesn't raise/lower on demand. It's a significant amount of effort to make it do so, and far more if it actually has things on it already.
It looks very, very similar to the electric standing desk version of the IKEA Galant that I have at home. Too bad for US customers it's not available in their country, because it's a very solid ergonomic desk and reasonably priced.
The StandDesk offered on Kickstarter is a bit less expensive though. I've paid 499 euro (currently 688 USD) for it almost 4 years ago, and that was without the top (I think).
I talk with a lot of people about getting started with standing desks, and I usually recommend throwing a small cheap table (ikea) on top of your existing desk and getting a drafting chair (tall). This way you don't have to pay for a variable height desk, and you keep it on the cheap side to see if you actually like it. Also, be sure to start slow and stand for maybe an hour or two a day for a few weeks. Then gradually stand more and more.
Confused over the country specific pledge tiers. Unless KS has changed since I last backed, I thought you could only select a single tier. Therefore, to purchase a standard fame/top from UK, do I just select the $99 UK tier, but pledge $399? (or is it $99 + $399?)
The $399 tier only ships to the US. AFAICT you'd select the $99 tier, and then they'll email you sometime in 2015 to ask for your address plus the remaining $300 (+VAT and shipping).
It seems like it would start wiggling side-to-side after a while. Need more triangles! Maybe a strut from lower right to upper left, with an upwards arc in the strut to give legroom?
Half the price of the competition sounds nice, but they're also using a single motor that has less lifting power and aren't an established name that will necessarily be around in a decade to service your desk... This seems more of a business and marketing play than one of true cost cutting or technical innovation. It would be more impressive to be of equal capability, but less cost.
Is giving us a list of your advisers (read: board) supposed to make me think that this is a truly community backed project? I'm sick of people using Kickstarter for free money and advertising on ideas that could be (and probably have been) readily pitched to investors.
Kickstarter is supposed to be for projects that are interesting, but that traditional investors probably won't touch. A stand-sit desk hardly qualifies, IMO. Obviously people are free to give money to whatever they want, but I, for one, won't throw any money at such ho-hum ideas.
Oh, and a quick google search shows that their price point isn't even that much of an improvement on the existing market.
Taking your point, if it's on Kickstarter with an appearance that it has already been pitched to investors, it's safe to say that the investors didn't touch it.
Relax, my friend. Kickstarter is an alternative to a traditional pitch. There's going to be a fuzzy overlap between conventional and otherwise-unfundable projects. No one gets to decide what qualifies. It's a market: just let it work. This project is not for you, but others like it. Why get sick?
It's not free money; it's money in return for a promise of goods once the business has started up, with the risk that the business might never get to that point.
I don't see why only certain types of businesses should use Kickstarter. The only times where it's upsetting to me are when people who already have more than enough money to take risks, instead turn to crowdfunding to convince others to.
Does anyone know what the success rate is for Kickstarter projects to actually deliver their products on time? After my absolutely terrible experience with Lockitron (I know they're not a Kickstarter project, but they are similarly funded) and some of the other horror stories I've heard, I just don't have faith that these types of projects for goods deliver on their promises.
When I was researching building my own standing desk, the biggest cost seemed to be getting quality actuators with a long throw at a low price.
Compare this to the a similar looking Ikea Galant workstation at $180-$200. You're getting the motor(s), electronics, actuators, and slide bearings for an additional $200 more.
I'm curious as to how they managed to do away with the horizontal stabilizing bar (this is mentioned as a feature in the video). Without something connecting the legs together, it seems like the left and right tracks could potentially get out of alignment and potentially bind as the desk top raises.
My current verdict from my home built sit stand desk is that it's great for a change a couple times a day. What I found, though, is that my hip starts to hurt after an extended period of standing in one place. I'm now trying standing on an EVA foam pad to see if this helps with that problem.
An ironing board is a great, cheap way to test if you like a standing desk. Got the tip from a friend who travels a bunch and uses them in hotel rooms.
108 comments
[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 180 ms ] thread255 lbs is 102kg; in other words, if I sit on this desk, I'm getting close to the breaking point. Not good :(.
(INB4: yes, people do occasionally sit on their desks, sometimes without even thinking about it - e.g. when full of joy, or drunk. Also there's a good chance that someone at some point will want to stand on a desk to, say, change a lightbulb. Consider this especially if you're buing desks for a more public place, like e.g. your local Hackerspace.)
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/bmi_tbl.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index
...Or if they're someone who takes "Standing Desk" the wrong way.
Sorry I couldn't help it.
I'm guessing as long as you stand on the portion of the desk directly above a leg you're probably fine even well over 102kg.
Something else to note is that further down it mentions that the 225 lbs limit doesn't include the weight of the table top, so it might be closer to 200.
I disagree. That desk is priced at £407, whereas this one goes for £240. All else equal, that's significant.
This desk also has a cross bar for support and to conceal an axle which allows the desk to have a single beefy motor. I have found the cross beam to be crucial as I have used the desk off-and-on as part of my treadmill setup and every now and then you want to stabilize yourself holding the desk. Even with the cross beam it can wobble in this scenario.
That said, Dave Asprey isn't a name that inspires trust. I would be uncomfortable backing a project he plays such a central role in.
I am skeptical of most dieting programs, I have nothing hard against this particular one but can't see myself how adding more butter is going to help any fat people with anything.
As another commenter mentioned, his primary claim to fame is "bulletproof coffee"(tm). Among other things, he promotes his own coffee beans by claiming that all other coffee is somehow riddled with mycotoxins - which his isn't, for whatever reason. [1][2]
More subjectively, he comes across as a modern age health guru who touts all his opinion as revelatory fact.
[1] https://www.bulletproofexec.com/why-bad-coffee-makes-you-wea...
[2] https://www.bulletproofexec.com/mycotoxins-in-america/
I have a feeling it will get really annoying to use the two buttons on the regular frame over and over again if you're changing the height of the desk a lot. The desk will probably never be at the same height twice if you're telling it when to stop instead of it automatically stopping at the desired height.
Edit: The main point I'm making is for the $399 price, it'd make a lot more sense to include at least one or two memory buttons if a single person uses the desk.
It's not uncommon for two people to use a desk, if not interchangeably, then at least regularly.
WRT price, I have a GeekDesk with four memory presents, and it cost about $1000. Is that a lot or a little? It's hard for me to judge, but among the motorized desks it seemed to hit the optimal price / quality point.
I wouldn't go back to a conventional, seated-only desk.
I was pricing a CRANK ModTable - it as going to be over 560 and it isn't even motorized. Getting a motorized one would be about 630.
So for this motorized version at 399 is, as stated on their kickstarter page, "most affordable".
Edit: All the suggestions for cheaper alternatives are really just compromises - stacking cardboard ikea tables, or recycling bins, or used warehouse pallets - "$37 cheaper even with the tetanus shot - so sick of kickstarter scams".
I guess I'll start my Kickstarter campaign tonight.
P.S. 45" is not enough height for many of us tall folk, especially in dress shoes with a thick heel.
I think a good cheapo solution would be some sort of platform that you can place on top of an existing desk and will go up and down with hydraulic legs or similar. That way you don't have to remove your desk at your office, get a new chair or similar to try it out.
I'm 6'3" and my girlfriend is 5'5". Watching her try to use my standing desk is comical. I think those guys are being extremely optimistic, if not outright deceitful.
The StandDesk offered on Kickstarter is a bit less expensive though. I've paid 499 euro (currently 688 USD) for it almost 4 years ago, and that was without the top (I think).
I've gone into more detail here: http://reustle.io/blog/cant-stand-sitting
Because I have a corner desk, I can sit at the other half when I want to write, and I use a stool for the rare occasions I want to sit while typing.
Kickstarter is supposed to be for projects that are interesting, but that traditional investors probably won't touch. A stand-sit desk hardly qualifies, IMO. Obviously people are free to give money to whatever they want, but I, for one, won't throw any money at such ho-hum ideas.
Oh, and a quick google search shows that their price point isn't even that much of an improvement on the existing market.
I don't see why only certain types of businesses should use Kickstarter. The only times where it's upsetting to me are when people who already have more than enough money to take risks, instead turn to crowdfunding to convince others to.
Compare this to the a similar looking Ikea Galant workstation at $180-$200. You're getting the motor(s), electronics, actuators, and slide bearings for an additional $200 more.
I'm curious as to how they managed to do away with the horizontal stabilizing bar (this is mentioned as a feature in the video). Without something connecting the legs together, it seems like the left and right tracks could potentially get out of alignment and potentially bind as the desk top raises.
My current verdict from my home built sit stand desk is that it's great for a change a couple times a day. What I found, though, is that my hip starts to hurt after an extended period of standing in one place. I'm now trying standing on an EVA foam pad to see if this helps with that problem.
Incidentally, if you're curious as to how I added sit-stand capability to my desk for less than $200, check out my blog post: http://planiverse.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/building-a-sit-st... .
Well I'm out.