If you have seen another one of the articles on the blog, you’ll see that as a tall person there are many options for designing a home office. Among your options is getting yourself a desk that is comfortable and ergonomic, this means one that is big enough so you can fit your legs under, and tall enough to stop you hunching over while working.
Well, the answer to all your desk woes could just be a standing desk!
Standing desks burst onto the scene and within no time were the talk of the town. Every man and his dog were talking about standing desks for the office and how great they are, and before we all knew it there was a standing desk in almost every office. This soon led to a bit of a counter-movement of people saying that these desks are a gimmick and not going to help you at all, but that is neither here nor there because as a tall person we can almost guarantee that you will love these products!
For tall people, there is more to a standing desk than just standing. What’s that you say? You don’t stand at a standing desk?! Actually, another name for this type of desk is a height adjustable desks, which in the end as a tall person is what you’re really looking for. Whether you want to sit or stand, we think you’ll get a huge kick out of a product like this as you can find much more ergonomic and comfortable sitting and standing positions while you work.
Standing Desk Overview
There are plenty of health benefits linked to standing at work more often, and having a standing desk will allow you to switch between sitting and standing during the day.
But, even if you decide that standing isn’t your thing, there’s no denying that good posture and an ergonomic desk is important in your day-to-day life. Think about it… you sit at work, at home or in the office, for 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you’re using a desk that is too small then most likely you’ll be hunched over and causing yourself a number of back, neck, and shoulder issues, and these can really accumulate over time.
As a tall person, it’s more than likely that the standard 29” tall desk is not going to be enough, and this is where a height adjustable desk comes into play. These desks, depending on the model, can adjust from 24” to over 50” in height, meaning that anyone can find a comfortable standing or sitting posture.
It’s often pretty difficult choosing a desk like this as there are so many options available on the market!, so fortunately there are certain websites, such as Painless Movement, dedicated to reviewing and comparing the best standing desks to help make your decision easier. But first, we recommend you check out these tips which help to break down for you exactly what to look for in a good standing desk.
What to look for
Type of Desk
To put this as simply as possible, among the many brands and many models, there are two main types of desk. One is a full standing desk, the other is the desk converter. A full standing desk is a replacement for your current desk. These desks are generally a bit bigger, stronger, and more expensive than desk converters.
A desk converter on the other hand, as the name suggests, converts your current desk into a standing workstation. These types of desks are much smaller and portable, can’t lift as much weight (although can lift multiple monitors and screens), and are usually cheaper than a full desk.
Whichever one you choose will come down to personal preference, in the end the result is the same.
Manual or Electric
The second thing to be aware of is whether the desk you choose is manual or electric. Full desks more often come as electric desks, and converters are more often manual. We generally recommend an electric desk if you decide that you’ll be moving your desk up and down often during the day, but if you just need a height adjustable desk to get set up as a tall seated desk, then a manual desk is more than enough.
One feature that is great about electric desks is that they often come with a pre-programmable console. This means if you share your desk with other people, you can all set the correct desk height for your personal use, and then each time you use the desk you can get the exact height you want at the press of a button. This is great for families or in shared office spaces!
Brand
There are many great standing desk brands on the market, and each have their minor points of difference. On the whole if you choose a desk from one of the major brands such as Fully, Varidesk, iMovR, EvoDesk, ApexDesk, or StandSteady then you’ll be in safe hands.
Build materials
Most desks are built with solid metal frames, often which are powder coated with various colors that you can match with your office. The desktops come in a variety of styles. They range from reclaimed wood, to laminate, bamboo, among many other finishes. Once again these all come down to personal preference, although we must say that the bamboo has many positive features.
Bamboo is a very sustainable building material, which is great for the environment, and above all it is strong and pretty scratch resistant, which a great qualities for a desktop, and even better the aesthetic finish is just stunning!
Also, be aware that you can actually just buy desk frames. If you are a bit of a DIYer, then maybe you want to build your own desktop and simply attach it to the frame of your choice.
Ergonomics
In the end the whole point of a standing desk is ergonomics. Ergonomics is the science of creating healthier and more productive work spaces, and therefore a standing desk that is the correct size plays right into that. Having the correct height chair, desk, screen height, among other factors are imperative to a healthy and productive work life.
With a standing desk, there are often extra ergonomic features to consider such as monitor arms or keyboard trays. We have to say, desks with keyboard trays that can be adjusted separately from the desktop win big points in our book! Not everyone is built the same, and not everyone will need the same keyboard to desk distance, so having an adjustable height keyboard tray as well as an adjustable height desk is a real winner!
Adjustable range
Last, but certainly not least (in fact this is the most important factor for tall people!), is the adjustable range. Although many desks could be considered suitable, there are others which are have that little bit of extra range that people over 6’ need.
A standard desk might go up to around 48”, which is perfect for most people, but really if you want a standing desk that will be comfortable with then you should consider those that go up over 50”.
If you are specifically looking at a desk converter, then remember that a standard desk height is around 29”, so basically add this to the height of the desk converter to get the final height of your desk.
Conclusion
So there you have it, your quick guide to standing desks and how to choose a good one. Now it’s up to you to find one that you like! Many desk brands these days have fantastic 30-day money back guarantees so you can try out a desk to see how it fits, and if it’s not for you then simply send it back.
And now that you know what to look for, maybe you’ll want to check out this list of the best standing desks for tall people and see if you can find the right desk for your office.
