In the few weeks that I’ve had the Oristand standing desk at my current gig, I’ve become the most popular contractor on the floor.
“That’s cool!”
“Did you make that yourself?”
“Is that a real standing desk?”
“It costs how much?”
“Where did you get it and where can I get one?”
No matter what people’s opinions are, there’s no doubt that the Oristand is eye-catching, regardless of whether or not you cater to the idea that standing all day is superior to sitting. I’ve been standing at work for a little over five years, right around the time the first studies started coming out that, even if you exercise, sitting eight hours a day still does extensive harm to your system.
While opinions might have shifted on the health benefits of standing desks, I’ve found that it was exactly what I needed. I’m chronically sleep-deprived and by 3 PM at work, I was struggling to stay awake. Standing all day keeps my energy levels considerably higher throughout the day.
Dedicated standing desks are expensive and I’ve not been able to convince an employer to spring for one. So I’ve used several different setups over the past few years to jury rig my own solutions, from creating risers out of accessory shelves, to using a wooden shoe sorter, to stacking reams of copy paper (you can see all kinds of examples of this at the #OristandNeeded hashtag). They’ve all worked well enough (as long as I had a good anti-fatigue mat underfoot); but ultimately they’re cumbersome to move and are never quite at the optimal height.
Oristand fixes that. Costing only $25, this standing desk folds flat, is easily moved, and folds out to mount on any table or desk in a few seconds. It comes in black, white, or natural cardboard color. Despite it being made from corrugated cardboard, the origami-like design ensures that typing on the Oristand is solid. There are even cutouts on either side to help you tame your cable clutter. Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to be much of a mess magnet either. I imagine that, over time, the rigidity may degrade a bit; but when the price per desk is so low, you can easily afford to grab an extra. I’m 5’5″ and type on a laptop on the first “step” of the Oristand and have been able to type all day at it without any fatigue. If I had a monitor, it would be even better, as a flat screen monitor set to its lowest adjustable height would be exactly at eye level for me.
If you’ve been toying with the idea of a standing desk, or you have less-than-optimal ad-hoc solution, the Oristand desk is the perfect solution. Its low cost and pleasingly high build quality gives standing desk devotees like myself exactly what they need. You can pick them up at the Oristand site.
