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geekhack Community => Ergonomics => Topic started by: TheSoulhunter on Sun, 22 December 2013, 03:16:32

Title: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: TheSoulhunter on Sun, 22 December 2013, 03:16:32
[attachimg=1]

http://www.ergorest.fi/en/forearm_support/

I play with the idea getting two of these...
What do you think? Anyone here got some experience with em?
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: tufty on Sun, 22 December 2013, 10:52:07
Looks like something you'd find in a gynecologist's office.
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: jeffgran on Sun, 22 December 2013, 19:49:20
Interesting -- never seen it before but at work I have a chair that tucks underneath the desk but I can adjust the armrests of the chair to be above the desk, and I use it a lot like this device. I rest my forearms on the edges of the armrests and my hands hover over my keyboard (currently ergodox). I like it a lot better than resting the heels of my hands on the desk or holding my arms up without a rest. So yeah I think if they work well and support the weight of your arms without too much hassle, you'd like it.
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: eddie on Sun, 22 December 2013, 20:10:58
This looks interesting. I think I've seen these at doctors offices. I don't have any experience but I would give it a go if I had the money and was into ergonomics.  :p
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: Findecanor on Sun, 22 December 2013, 20:26:05
I found a couple in a dumpster that I took home to try out. In short: they felt really weird.

It was weird because of the rests being connected to the short arms. When you want to move the rests sideways, the arms want to rotate around their own joints, so if you try to move your arm sideways, the arm will push you out/pull you in and the resistance against your sideways motion depends on the position of the arms.
It is also not possible to lock the arms in a typing position, so will have to counter to avoid sliding around.
Maybe if you use it for a long enough time, you will get used to them.

I gave mine away to someone else who also wanted to try them out.
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: Oobly on Mon, 23 December 2013, 00:51:13
If they move smoothly and easily, I can see the benefit of them. Desk chair armrests are often set a bit too wide for comfortable support while typing (hands close together) and sometimes to narrow for using the mouse and a 104/5 key board at the same time. Although from what Findecanor says it seems to be difficult to use them as "anchors" when typing, so that may detract from their usefulness (in which case I would probably rest them right up against the desk when typing, may help).
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: kurplop on Mon, 23 December 2013, 06:50:23
Without ever trying them I will resist being overly critical, but it seems to  me that they don't do anything that wouldn't be achieved with adjustable arm rests on an office chair. The chair armrest is intrinsically more solid and doesn't clutter up the desktop and many can be laterally adjusted. The ErgoRest seems to support the forearm closer to the wrist which requires it to move as you go from mouse to keyboard where a chair mount armrest supports nearer to the elbow, allowing the arm to pivot from a fixed point.

I have a Steelcase Leap which has arms that can be adjusted forward and back, sideways, radially and up and down. I didn't like the feel of the armrest pads so I replaced them with oversized, super-padded arm pads that I made and they work great.

Some will warn against using any support from armrests or wrist/palm rests. I understand their concerns, but ergonomics, while having many guiding principles, is still a very individual thing. Experiment and do what works best for you.
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: TheSoulhunter on Mon, 23 December 2013, 11:23:44
The possible advantage I see is that they follow the arm movement (like when moving a mouse around) while armrests on chairs are usually static which means you can only rest your elbow (which is what I do now, resulting in pain after some hours). From the videos I have seen the movement looks very fluid and makes your arm/hand hover around. Guess I gonna order one to test it, gonna report back with my findings...
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: TheSoulhunter on Fri, 14 February 2014, 17:03:53
So, after using em for a month now, I have to say I like em a lot...

(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6842.jpg) (http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6808.jpg)
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6820.jpg) (http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6824.jpg)
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6836.jpg)


Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: daerid on Wed, 05 March 2014, 00:30:38
F'in awesome pics man, I think I need to pick up at least one of these  (for my mousing).

The US distributor doesn't seem to have pricing information (their site is atrocious). How much did you pay for these?
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: TheSoulhunter on Wed, 05 March 2014, 01:25:41
Quote from: daerid on Wed, 05 March 2014, 00:30:38
F'in awesome pics man, I think I need to pick up at least one of these  (for my mousing).

The US distributor doesn't seem to have pricing information (their site is atrocious). How much did you pay for these?

Thx...
I paid around 70 Euros for one, was the cheapest deal I could find around here.
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: JeremiS on Wed, 05 March 2014, 05:21:58
Quote from: TheSoulhunter on Fri, 14 February 2014, 17:03:53
So, after using em for a month now, I have to say I like em a lot...

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6842.jpg)
Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6808.jpg)

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6820.jpg)
Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6824.jpg)

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6836.jpg)

Dude! That looks awesome! What chair is that? Wish I had the money for all them ergonomic components, I'm so uncomfortable in my $50 chair from a stationary shop.
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: TheSoulhunter on Wed, 05 March 2014, 11:08:13
Quote from: JeremiS on Wed, 05 March 2014, 05:21:58
Quote from: TheSoulhunter on Fri, 14 February 2014, 17:03:53
So, after using em for a month now, I have to say I like em a lot...

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6842.jpg)
Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6808.jpg)

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6820.jpg)
Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6824.jpg)

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6836.jpg)

Dude! That looks awesome! What chair is that? Wish I had the money for all them ergonomic components, I'm so uncomfortable in my $50 chair from a stationary shop.

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=37338.msg1228041#msg1228041
My conclusion for chairs: Comfy is better than "ergo" for me...
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: osi on Wed, 05 March 2014, 11:19:15
These look awesome actually. I removed the arms rests on my desk chair because they bother my elbows.
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: TheSoulhunter on Fri, 27 June 2014, 18:21:45
So, here are my findings after extended use:

At first they feel really weird as (in difference to a chair armrest) they move around WITH your arm (but that's actually their main advantage).
It takes some time getting used to em (1-2 weeks), but after that you almost won't notice em anymore,
and if you try to work without em after that you quickly realize how nice they actually are.

One thing I noticed is that the correct mounting position is very important,
because if they are mounted too close or too far you get the effect described by Findecanor.
Linear movement get turned into circular movement by the pivots, but if you set it up right linear motions work well (within a considerably work-area).
It seems that a distance which results in a "Z" folded shape (see image) when reaching your work area works best to maintain linear motion capability.

[attachimg=1]

Another thing I noticed that I prefer to rest the forearm area close to the elbow on the pad (instead of the forearm area close to the palm).
Feels much more natural and less "restricting" to me, especially for mouse heavy applications (Gaming, Photoshop, etc.).

Overall this armrests are really nice, good construction and they work well for gaming and typing alike.
Probably gonna order two more as backup (even tho I think they will last extremely long).
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: Zekromtor on Fri, 27 June 2014, 19:03:38
Looks like they'd work quite well. If I wasn't reclined I'd get them.
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: luisbg on Fri, 27 June 2014, 19:49:18
Quote from: TheSoulhunter on Fri, 14 February 2014, 17:03:53
So, after using em for a month now, I have to say I like em a lot...

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6842.jpg)
Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6808.jpg)

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6820.jpg)
Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6824.jpg)

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6836.jpg)


Why do you have two mice?
Title: Re: Opinions on ErgoRest
Post by: TheSoulhunter on Sat, 28 June 2014, 02:51:07
Quote from: luisbg on Fri, 27 June 2014, 19:49:18
Quote from: TheSoulhunter on Fri, 14 February 2014, 17:03:53
So, after using em for a month now, I have to say I like em a lot...

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6842.jpg)
Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6808.jpg)

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6820.jpg)
Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6824.jpg)

Show Image
(http://soulhunters-crappy-website.com/misc/ER/IMG_6836.jpg)


Why do you have two mice?

The Deathadder is my favorite mouse for gaming because of it's shape, performance and the lack of additional buttons.
So, why I don't use the Deathadder for general use? Because here my preferences are completely different.

For UI navigation I'd like to have a mousewheel with sideclick (great for jumping tabs left/right).
Also I like to have easy assessable DPI switching (ie. quickly lowering DPI in Photoshop).

It's the same reason people use different shoes for soccer -vs- jogging.
It's a matter of picking the optimal tool for the task.