I’ve been experimenting with a bunch of ergonomic solutions lately, largely because I spend far too much time behind a computer monitor, whether that be my external one plugged into a docking station at home, or my laptop or iPad when I’m on the road. Frankly, it’s important to have ergonomic products set up to alleviate the stress on your body regardless of where you are. We’ll be exploring some solutions that are more suited for serial road warriors at a later time but here, we’ll explore a couple of Kensington products that is designed to help you get a little more comfort at the keyboard.
Let’s start with their Kensington Monitor Stand that uses something they refer to as a SmartFit System. They have a couple of other options as well, which include a standard monitor stand that isn’t adjustable and extensions from the wall that can be adjusted so you can move your monitor up or down or side to side. The Monitor Stand with the SmartFit system pictured below allows you to measure where you need to sit to be the most comfortable and provide the least strain on your arms, hands, neck and shoulders and then adjust the stand to best fit your workspace.
We like the fact that it comes in a nice neutral gray rather than white or black, since it blends in a bit better to a home office environment. The quality of the plastic is strong, durable enough to support a flat panel monitor up to 35 pounds and 21 inches. This provides you with enough flexibility that can handle most external monitors. They also provide you with additional plastic adjustors, so you have a few height options to choose from — it will raises your monitor 2.5 – 4.5 inches above desk and the width between the stand legs is around 20 inches.
Kensington includes non-slip rubber feet to keep the stand in place and prevent your desk from being damaged. It sounds like a no brainer but in our research, we noted that a lot of reasonably priced options didn’t all have soft rubber feet, which also makes moving the stand around that much easier and less likely to scratch your desk.
Here’s the other reason we opted for this particular model — the stand comes with oval shaped side shelves which gives you additional desk space you wouldn’t otherwise have to store things like speakers, accessories or in my case, business cards and my endless number of sticky notes reminding me of the 6,000 things on my “to-do” list for the week. One thing that I didn’t think about since I have a keyboard tray that already slides under my desk, is that you could conveniently use the space under the monitor stand to store your keyboard if you didn’t have a separate tray.
Two thumbs up and a nice way to get some relief at a great price point. The fact that it’s so adjustable, looks elegant and provides additional space is a huge plus for us!
Now, let’s meet another Kensington ergonomic product — the Memory Foam Mouse Wrist Pillow, which comes in a fun and vibrant blue. It is made from hypoallergenic memory foam and helps to relieve wrist discomfort by providing maximum support for your joints. Like the monitor stand, they include a non-skid base to keep the mouse pad firmly in place and prevent scratching of your desk or keyboard tray depending on where you choose to use it.
BTW, shown above is a Kensington ergonomic mouse, which we haven’t tested out yet, so we’re still using our ergonomic Microsoft mice here at the office although we’re keen to put a couple of the Kensington options to the test. They have a fabulous range of products in the ergonomic category which we’ll be exploring in more depth in the coming weeks and months ahead.
This stylish designed temperature and pressure-sensitive memory foam molds to the contours of your wrists alleviating some of the stress that you get from overuse at the keyboard. If you’re like me, you probably spend far too much time in front of a computer and while I have used an ergonomic mouse and keyboard for years, your wrist is still left unprotected. Be sure to read my write-up on the 3 Point wrist and elbow products that help offset some of the pressure on your arms and hands.
The pad is apparently hypoallergenic for sensitive skin, which is great, and has a large rest surface to eliminate pressure points to better improve your overall comfort throughout the day. The material itself is made of lycra, which supposedly repels sweat and dirt to keep the wrist pillow soft over time.
The other thing I love about Kensington is that they’re great with warranty and providing support – this product alone at under $20, comes with a 5-year limited warranty with free technical support. We really love their products and are keen to test out a few other ergonomic solutions in their line as well as some of their travel chargers — they have a great collection of items for the frequent traveler, a godsend for our readers. Be sure to also read my write-up on a great Kensington tote bag, which is a stylish and elegant way to carry some of your gear. More information can be found at www.kensington.com.
Note: Kensington sent products out to review but all opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
