Review

Ergonomic IT equipment from Contour

October 19, 2022

Anja Topp Mads Kjærgaard Hansen Nicklas Domrese

Digital Workplace
Contour
Article

We might be pushing it if we start referring to a desk job as hard physical labor. Yet, many of us experience pain when we continue to repeat the same little movements over and over again for many hours throughout the day. Luckily, there are qualified people doing something about it. This includes Contour which is one of the leaders in ergonomic products for the IT world.

We have brought in three colleagues to look into things a bit further. They were each given Contour products to take home in order to test their performance and more importantly – do they help? It is no secret that you do not just change out your old equipment. However, you may end the day with your joints thanking you for a pleasant day at work. A dilemma? We have asked Nicklas, Mads, and Anja to give us their unbiased and cut-throat assessment here! Roller Mouse Red Plus Wireless (all) og Balance Keyboard (Anja), Laptop Riser og Notebook stand (Mads).

”This is pretty comfortable”

Nicklas Domrese is an Inside Sales Specialist at edgemo and he was given a Roller Mouse Red Plus Wireless to test. Even though he only was given the effect of one singular product, the effect was surprisingly substantial: “To begin with, I was always an advocate for a regular mouse,” he says. “I doubted whether I would ever be able to use ergonomic equiptment. However, I noticed fairly quickly that you simply sit better. You sit more upright, and more ergonomically correct in a more relaxed position. And it is not until afterwards that you realize that you do not sit in a very natural position with an ordinary mouse.”

Nicklas explains that the effects of the Roller Mouse did not set in immediately: “With this mouse, the fingers are doing all the work. After a while, you realize that it is actually quite comfortable. It is no doubt better for the shoulders, the back, and the arms. Even though I may not have any pains anywhere, I can certainly tell that I am sitting in a better position.”

Worth making the switch

We have now reached the pivotal point where many may continue to have doubts – can you and should you change routines that work? Nicklas admits that it did not just take him an hour to get used to the new device. “It took a couple of days and some convincing, however, after a week of getting used to it, I have used it ever since. I think it is worth making the switch. Various tasks require different things, but I would not go as far as to say that I am working faster, however, it does have a few short-cuts such as for Copy-Paste and other options, so there is some efficiency to gain from it,” he says, before he solidifies that it certainly did not feel natural at first.

As Nicklas says, he does use his devices over the course of several hours each day. “It has a hand-support feature and often times, this type of textile starts to irritate or becomes sweaty, but I have not noticed anything negative like that with the Roller Mouse. It is important that you do not get irritated with the products. I will also say it holds the charge extremely well. It was connected to the computer for the first 24 hours and now, I have not charged it for 3 weeks – and it is not like it does not get a lot of usage,” Nicklas says in conclusion of his review of the Contour mouse.

”When I got really busy, I had to put it away”

Nicklas’ colleague, Mads Kjærgaard Hansen was forced to admit that making adjustments can be difficult. He is a Logistics Account & Development Manager at Danoffice IT and has tested the products Laptop Riser and Roller Mouse Red Plus Wireless.

Mads' assignments are different from those Nicklas performs and this naturally affects how the devices are used: “Overall, I think the products are very nice. However, I mostly work in our ERP system where I need to move about a lot. For this purpose, I use the arrow keys quite a bit and here, they are very small. Other than that, it is sleek, flat, and quiet.”

With the Roller Mouse, we have a dilemma: “I have had some trouble with my wrists so I can see myself using this in the long term. You probably do position the body more correctly when your elbows are closer to the body,” he says.

”Force of habit is a powerful force and I AM in the habit of using a mouse. When I got really busy, I had to put it away.” As such, you have to be mindful of giving it a chance, because according to Mads, ergonomics must come first. “If I had to make the complete switch, I would probably need to have bigger problems with my wrists,” he presumes.

Quite brilliant

As the only member of our testers, Mads was given a Notebook stand to try out. “It was quite brilliant,” he says out the gate. “I have three monitors in my office, so I primarily use the stand when I work from home."

"It is truly a great product. It is easy to use and has a great design. In fact, it serves as a third monitor as it gets up high where it is pleasant to work. If I had had this stand from the beginning, I do not think I would have asked for a third monitor. It has holes for cords and the like, and even though I have a mechanical dock in my home office, it was easy to install for this. Even with the plug-in. I am curious to know what these products cost because I actually did not look into that,” Mads concludes.

Thumbs Up

Anja Topp is a Service Coordinator, and like her colleagues, she uses her fingers and hands quite a bit in her daily work. Therefore, she was given the same Roller Mouse to test as well as a Contour Balance Keyboard. Anja agrees with Nicklas and Mads in that the devices require some adjusting. “It is a bit difficult to get used to working this way. You click incorrectly quite a bit because everything is so sensitive. You end up switching the functions around. But once the routines lock into place, I would like to keep it,” she confirms. ”In my daily work, I use a laptop which is connected to some large monitors as we use Excel and I use a lot of copy-paste. The trouble with an ordinary mouse is that it can hurt the fingers and it also takes a toll on the palms and support. However, with the RollerMouse, I have no pain in my thumb.”

Yes please

Anja agrees that the Contour devices tested are given an A+ in design and quality. “The materials are really high-end. The keyboard is ergonomic and from a design standpoint, it takes up very little space, so it is very sleek. It has been made a bit smaller than normal and therefore, the keys are also situated differently. The arrow keys are very close and the Delete key is in a different location,” Anja says and points out another physical detail:

“It might also be the issue of putting it together. It is important to put it together correctly because the height affects the ergonomics significantly. But all that comes with the adjustment aspect of it all. I also want to mention that when you are sitting at a large desk with large screens, you have the room, but if you are sitting at a modern, compact desk, where you only have room for a mouse and a laptop, it could be a problem.”

It helps the posture

If you add up Nicklas’, Mads’, and Anja’s statements, we can conclude that the devices are high-end in design and quality and it does exactly what it is supposed to do: it helps the posture! It will no doubt involve some adjusting, but to an extent that most people can manage. “It is not just something you use from one day to the next. But it gets easier. These are devices I have grown to really like and I look forward to using them going forward,” Anja Topp concludes.

Do you want to borrow one?

It typically takes 14 days to get accustomed to using Contour’s products. As such, we offer you the option of borrowing the product for 14 days so you can test it before making a decision to purchase it.