The Edge Desk goes beyond the ball with a portable ergonomic desk system

I’ve done it all. I have a standing desk. I have a sitting ball. I have a treadmill. And now I just might go back to where it all started with the Edge Desk.

This Kickstarter darling raised $500,000 to produce what amounts to a portable kneeling desk. It has a huge work surface – 20×30 inches – and costs $350 for the entry level model. It folds up flat for storage and takes up about as much space as a standard office chair.

The question is, then, what does a kneeling desk do for you and your back. Essentially kneeling is approximately the same as standing to work and it’s less strain on your legs and knees. I can comfortably sprawl on the Edge for a few hours but I have to sit down every half hour or so at my standing desk. This has gotten better over time but I do enjoy the upright posture this thing affords.

Better still the huge work surface can flip up to act as an easel or remain in portrait mode so you can put a laptop and mouse in front of you. While I wouldn’t put an external monitor on this thing I could see it as an alternative workspace in an open plan office, for example, and a welcome respite to the desk chair/standing desk ritual.

There are cheaper kneeling desks out there to be sure. You can get a cheap one for $59. However, if you want to build up and break down your desk and chair on a daily basis or want the workspace, the Edge is a better solution.

How did I like it so far? Take a look at this hunk of beef splayed out on a kneeling desk.

I can tell I’m sitting straighter, for one, and I do enjoy the ability to expand and contract the chair as necessary. I could also see this as a solution for a smaller space – a New York apartment, for example – since it folds up so compactly.

$350 is a lot for a kneeling chair. It’s not that much for a kneeling desk and it’s also not much for a desk that can double as an art studio. It’s been a fun few days with the Edge desk and I could see it joining my other ergonomic friends in my attic office. Move over, big blue sitting ball. There’s a new seating arrangement in town.