IKEA Bekant motorised standing desk

by Simon 6 Replies latest social physical

• 

  Simon

  If you're anything like me and have a desk job you will sit for long periods of the day and it's very unhealthy according to lots of studies.

  One thing you can do to change that is to stand - you burn more calories as well as reducing health risks. Yes, it hurts (like hell) at first and you really need a chef's mat to stand on and ideally some hard foam 'things' you can put one foot on to allow you to change your position. You can also get 'standing stools' like the Mogo to give a bit of a half-way house:

  http://deskhacks.com/standing-stools-three-good-temporary-seating-options-for-your-standing-desk/

  One obvious reason not to stand though is your desk - it needs to be higher. Normally you don't stand all day long so you need two levels. I have tried using a home-made version (with Ikea parts for about $25) which did work but to be able to swap you need two monitors which you can no longer use as two monitors together so have to switch which one is active and also have a big thing taking up all the space on the desk. Having the keyboard switchable was messy and the leads got in the way / tangled. It just felt very cluttered and claustrophobic and made working difficult so I eventually stopped using it.

  The idea solution is a motorized desk which can adjust itself with the push of a button and raise up and down between sitting and standing mode. This way your desk setup stays as it is, monitors, computer, keyboard and mouse. Last time I was looking though these typically cost north of $1000 which is a lot to pay for a desk.

  But not any more !

  Ikea now have a motorized desk which is $599 CDN and I think $449 USD. They also have 'side' versions of it for a little more. It's called the Bekant and I played with one in-store and it seemed to work great.

  Sadly though you can't order online (or at least, I refuse to pay an exorbitant $199 for delivery) and they don't have them in stock in Calgary (I want the plain desk, not a 'side' one) so you'll have to wait for a proper personal review but as soon as I can get my hands on one I'll let you know.

  Here's a couple of reviews:

  http://iamnotaprogrammer.com/Ikeas-own-standing-desk.html
  

  http://gizmodo.com/ikea-sit-stand-desk-review-i-cant-believe-how-much-i-l-1652445999

  The only thing that is really missing is preset height settings which would be nice but I could live without that (it would be great if an upgraded controller could be added in future to provide it).

  Anyone else desk-bound tried or thought about the standing options?
• 

  paulmolark

  i currently have the L-shaped version of this desk. I purchased it about two months ago. It is the greatest thing ever. there is no preset but it takes like 5 seconds to go from very low to my standing height of about 6ft.

  it says only about 135 pounds of weight on top but I have tested that and it works with even more. assembly took literally 20 minutes. Just do NOT GET THE WHITE LIKE I DID. I have an all apple setup and wanted a white desktop to match the color scheme. Unfortunately my pointers dog hair is easily seen on it
• 

  Simon

  I'm holding out for the black one, it looks mean and won't show my grubby handprints as much as a white one would, LOL.

  Our dog doesn't shed but we have two white cats that are able to disperse hair throughout the house. Grrr ...
• 

  cappytan

  The black desk with white legs actually looks really good.
• 

  paulmolark

  I have a friend that came by to play with it and he is about 6'5" and he was fine with it as well. So even if you are very tall it is still a viable solution. I work half the day sitting the other half standing and I have to admit that it a god send. My back doesn't hurt as much and my wrist don't hurt as much because I can actually adjust this thing to the perfect height.

  Also make sure you get cord extensions if you need or your new 4k monitor will crash to the floor when you lift the desk to high and the cord pulls it back. There is also a cord holding net built under the desk to keep the cords neatly arranged as well.
• 

  Prefect

  Our dog doesn't shed but we have two white cats that are able to disperse hair throughout the house.

  Make sure the table will take the weight of one of those cats of yours. LOL.
• 

  Simon

  So I've waited patiently and saved my pennies and finally invested in a motorized desk! It took IKEA a while to get them in stock in Calgary but they seem to be buyable now. The design seems pretty good and the cable management / PSU holder works well enough. Overall it seems pretty good value esp. compared to some of the prices you can pay for these things. Yes, other desks lift more but I'm not going to have anywhere near hundreds of pounds of weight on my desk. Even our fattest cat isn't that bad.

  I'd tried the home-brew version of a standing desk made from $22 of Ikea parts and while it worked, it took up a huge amount of the desk space and switching between sitting and standing was very awkward. Also, when sitting, the desk made everything feel claustrophobic and difficult to work. I also needed two monitors - one high and one low (I just moved the keyboard and mouse between positions) which did work but apps open in the last window etc... a seemingly minor thing but it all added to the 'friction' of switching positions.

  Having a proper adjustable desk makes things much nicer and I'm finding I'm more likely to stand up because it isn't such a PITA to switch over. Just knowing you can easily switch back when you get tired makes you more likely to stand up.

  Well, more likely ... but right now it's still pretty painful while I get back into the regimen (I'm about two weeks in). It's getting easier though already - I also invested in a Mogo stool (bum-monopod?) that really does take the strain off your feet and lower back and definitely improves the experience. Now I can switch between standing fully, semi-standing or sitting.

  

  (no, that's not me)

  I was worried that it would slide out from under me at first (on a hard floor) but the rubber ball on the end seems pretty grippy and I'm learning to trust it. It lets you move around and switch your weight about so you are not in such a fixed position all the time (which was a tendency for me when standing - I should have been a guard).

  So, if you're like me and do a lot of desk work i recommend giving it a try. There are lots of reports concerning the negative health affects of too much sitting so anything that can positively contribute to your health while you do your work has to be good.