Within Reach of Your Budget: Dexterity Chair Arm Mounted Mouse Platform

Within Reach of Your Budget: Dexterity Chair Arm Mounted Mouse Platform

Posted by Human Solution on Nov 5th 2011

Sometimes consumers pay more for a product for reasons such as name, style or luxury options that are not completely necessary but are nice to have. These are the people who drive a Lexus instead of a Toyota. Other times, choosing a more expensive product really does give more value and function. The latter is true when discussing chair arm mounted mousing platforms.

The Dexterity platform attaches to the arms of most chairs. It keeps the mouse as close as possible to the user’s body and allows users to almost completely avoid moving their upper arm to access the mouse. This has some benefit to most users, but to those in extreme shoulder or upper arm pain, it can be critical to their ability to work. For such users, the Dexterity offers a relatively inexpensive solution that could be a huge benefit. Still, it is not without its shortcomings.

Several notable user issues tend to come up with this platform. The most frequent problem is stability. It is not possible to mount the platform to most chair arms so that it sits perfectly still when in use, unless very light force is used. Also, it has a plastic lip around the platform. This helps keep the mouse from sliding off, but it also has the unintended consequence of being painful under some users’ wrists. Finally, the platform cannot mount to every single type of chair arm. There is an alternative, but it is much higher in price.

Instead of buying a mountable platform, it is possible to purchase a chair with the platform built into one of the arms. This eliminates the stability issue, and has no lip that can cause discomfort. The chair in question is aBodyBilt. It is an extremely customizable chair that is fantastic for people with severe pain, so it matches up with the need for an attached mouse platform nicely. However, its price tag ranges from $1500 to $2500 in many cases, and it can be out of some users’ price range. So for some, the Dexterity mouse platform may be the best feasible option.

The Dexterity chair arm mounted mouse platform allows users to mouse with little or no upper arm motion, which is more comfortable for some users and critical for others. It has some downsides, including some instability, a plastic lip and inability to mount to some chair arms. Still, with a price around $40, it may be the best option for some users not willing to make the investment required for a BodyBilt chair. While a chair with an integrated mouse platform is the ideal option for these users, they still may find that the Dexterity platform is suitable for their needs and within their budget.

Users should also note that an articulating keyboard tray addresses many of the same problems. It works well for a wide range of users’ mousing needs in addition to providing multiple benefits when using the keyboard.

Interested in ergonomics?

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