Thinking About a Kangaroo Desk, ErgoTron or TaskMate? Consider the UPLIFT 975 Sit-Stand Pedestal Desk

Thinking About a Kangaroo Desk, ErgoTron or TaskMate? Consider the UPLIFT 975 Sit-Stand Pedestal Desk

Posted by Human Solution on Sep 25th 2013

*The UPLIFT 975 Pedestal Desk has been discontinued. If you are looking for a desk to fit in a limited space, have a look at the UPLIFT Space Saver Desk!

My colleague Claire recently posted a video and review of our new UPLIFT 975 pedestal standing desk, a high quality, low-priced desk perfect for small spaces and tight budgets. I wanted to add to her post and explain why I believe the UPLIFT 975 is a better option than any of the on-top-of-existing-desk-units you may have seen.

Set-ups that are designed to be placed on top of your existing desk, such as the Kangaroo Desk, ErgoTron, TaskMate, or a DIY unit, will get you off your seat and on your feet, but they can still fall short of a true ergonomic workstation. To begin with, they may not have adjustments for monitor depth, so your screen ends up much closer to your eyes than the recommended arm's length away. This can cause serious problems with eye strain and headaches.

If you do stand back far enough from the screen to prevent these issues, then you're in an awkward typing position. Correct ergonomic position is to have your arms bent at about a 90-degree angle; holding your arms out straight and clomping on your keyboard like Frankenstein is a sure-fire road to ergo disaster. It's important to have the monitor and keyboard positioned correctly, which you can achieve with the UPLIFT 975.

Another problem is, many of these units don't have separate height adjustments for the keyboard tray and monitor. So you may find your keyboard at the perfect height, but your neck is at an awkward angle in order to view your screen. Or you've got your monitor right where it needs to be (with the top of the screen just below eye level) but your keyboard tray is too high. Either of these combos will make for serious pain and discomfort over time.

Even among the units with separate adjustments for monitor and keyboard, you have to make the adjustments manually, such as by unscrewing a bolt, choosing your height, and screwing it back in. Doing this several times a day can be inconvenient. Some units have parts that can be raised or lowered, but it can be tough to get it just right. With the UPLIFT 975, you can make height adjustments within 1/8 of an inch using the electric up/down switch.

At under 40" wide, the UPLIFT 975 is small enough to fit in the tiniest of cubicles, but still supports a total of 165 pounds. If you add a monitor arm, you'll also still have actual desk space to use, instead of taking up all the room with a cumbersome desktop unit. And if aesthetics are important to you, you probably don't want a big hunk of metal sitting on top of your desk!

Adding a monitor arm to the UPLIFT 975 will allow you to easily adjust the height of your screen when you go from sitting to standing and its depth adjustment allows for proper the distance from your eyes to the screen. There is really no reason to mess with an awkward desktop unit when you can go with a complete sit-stand desk for a lower price. Even once you add a fingertip-adjustable monitor arm, you're still well below the prices of the high-dollar desktop units. A lot of people gravitate toward desktop units because they think they're less expensive. The truth is, that isn't always the case.

A desktop unit is a great choice if your furniture is built in, as you'll still get to enjoy the health benefits of periodic standing. But if you can replace your fixed-height desk with a complete sit-stand workstation, why not?

Visit thehumansolution.com for more great products that save you money and keep you healthy.

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