ErgoPants: How I Wear a Keyboard and Trackpad
Decades of experiments in personal peripherals yields this wearable wisdom:
In my early 20s I spent a summer updating my personal web site from the back of a Grayhound bus as I traveled across America. That left me with angry wrists in the decades that followed: I have aches & pains if I compute for hours at a time, especially in unfamiliar circumstances.
Managing my productivity / pain tradeoff, I fell in love with standing desks to avoid back pain and keep my energy up. Home or away from home, I avoid sitting doing computer work - I will use anything mostly stable upon which I can stack my laptop and stand in front. Some upbeat music and I might be dancing as I wait for the computer.
Producing mobile games at a makeshift standing desk January 2011 ngmoco:) thanks Amit Matani for the picture!Standing in front of my laptop at eye level on an inverted trash can, I would scavenge small boxes to put my keyboard and mouse somewhere within a lowered-arm's reach.
In 2020 I realized I could use hook-and-loop Velcro fabric to hang a wireless split keyboard and a trackpad from my body. This frees me to stand near the computer with my arms at my sides - a more relaxed position. I started with an ErgoApron - documented here. Then I wanted to avoid an additional garment and see about harnessing my pants for productivity.
Why Pants?
I tried an apron first, but it was too inhibiting for bathroom visits. Maybe next I would try an ergo kilt or an ergo sarong. The weight of velcro and the weight of the hardware inspired me to see if pants could make a decent platform for peripherals. Years of wearing an Ergoapron had given me a sense of where on my body I would want to attach a keyboard and trackpad. Mostly the front upper thighs and outer thighs, including different velcro-spots for sitting or standing work.
When I'm standing in front of my monitor, I put a wireless split keyboard on my upper thighs. When I'm sitting I put the keyboard on my lower thighs.
I put a wireless trackpad on my outer thigh, alternating between sides to give my fingers a rest.
Prototype ergo pantsIt was easy to test. I bought a 4 inch wide of velcro hook and loop adhesive. I cut some patches and stuck them to my pants, and the other side to the back of a wireless keyboard. The sticky patches stayed on my pants for many moons, even through the wash which I did selectively. I could apply patches in the strategic spots where I'd want to place my keyboard and trackpad. Once I knew I could work from some prototype Ergopants I committed to some work-ready models.
Costs
Here's a late 2022 breakdown of costs, totalling $402 for my full setup:
- Kinesis Freestyle2 Blue Split Keyboard $100
- Apple Magic trackpad $130
- Silicon sleeve for Magic Trackpad to prevent shattering $16
- Cool pants I like with lots of pockets $106
- 1 yard of 4 inch wide velcro only loop side $5
- Tailor cutting & attaching 6 pieces of velcro $45
My first prototypes used adhesive velcro to avoid sewing. The ErgoApron was a continuous piece of loop velcro.
After visiting Germany and purchasing some bright-colored European work pants with many pockets, I went in search of more colored pants with many pockets. I found some pants from one of the handful of firms importing northern European workwear to the United States. They are a sturdy, bright colored 65% polyester 35% cotton blend. Over a few years, I purchased several of these pants and commissioned Gabriel Escobar of Tailor It! in Oakland California to attach six pieces of velcro to my pants. I wear these pants every day and they hold up.
Downsides
A major downside of Ergopants is accidental input. If I don't switch off the keyboard, wandering way from the desk to fix something, or answer the door, heaven forbid I give someone a hug and accidentally drop a block of text and forward to another track of music.
I wrap up a bundle of a keyboard and trackpad to pack in my backpack, using the Ergoapron for peripheral protection. I tried carrying the keyboard without wrapping it up but a key popped off and that cost me $5 to fix. This bundle definitely adds weight to my work backpack; hopefully not heaping too much back strain to offset wrist pain.
I use the trackpad on my pants every day all day. So much of my work is mousing and it's relaxing to have my mousing arm at my side - not reaching out or putting weight on the palm of my hand. Velcroing both sides of the keyboard to my legs is a larger commitment and I don't always take that step. It's a big tear for the whole velcro across the back of the trackpad
The stiching has popped a little around the crotch when I bend or flex or do something like warrior pose during some mid-work stretching.
Benefits
All of this is about reducing ergonomic stress. My hand pain started after a long bus trip to teach blogging across America in 1996. I went to see Dr. Robert Markison who helped me see pain as a potential teacher. I needed to learn to work smarter and more gently on myself. Don't extend your body leaning into the computer. See what you can do to bring the machine towards you.
Now I have work pants. I have a uniform I put on when I'm focusing most of my time on my computer. I would say it helps because if I don't use this gear, my hands hurt much sooner.
My arms have become accustomed to slacking at my side much of the day. If I start mousing, I'm sore quick.
I can set up a semi-decent office in many places. I think about flight shame and I try not to indulge in travel too often. When I am on a plane, my trackpad and keyboard don't slide off my lap under the tray table, while my laptop screen is at eye level. With a laptop stand, these ErgoPants provide sustainable ergonomics.
Thanks ilyse for the picture!Other Attachments
Anything I can put Velcro on, I can now attach to my pants. What else would I want to weigh myself down with? I tried a numerical keypad, I didn't get enough use out of it before it fell and a key broke off.
Your peripherals will be battle-tested with ErgoPants because you're taking them off and putting them back on. If you have matching fat strips of velcro across your pants and the object, it can be a bit of a rip to get them off - the force required can even encourage an occasional fumble. Better having to rip them off than the peripherals falling accidentally - which can happen if you don't velcro the accessories on mindfully. I cracked an Apple trackpad with several falls before I found they sell silicon trackpad protectors. I also discovered you can use clear packing tape to hold in all the tiny glass shards of the Magic Trackpad but when the edges of the tape start to fray and rough up your fingers as you're mousing, what are you going to do then? Rip the tape off? Where will all the tiny shards live?
Now You Try
You can use velcro to attach a keyboard and trackpad to your pants for ergonomic convenience. Attach the soft side loop of velcro to pants, and the scratchy side hooks of velcro to the back of a split keyboard & trackpad. Move them to comfortable places on your body so you can type with your arms relaxed at your sides.
To avoid neck strain I always carry my computer with a compact folding laptop stand so I can get at least a few inches above a table or stack of books. I splurged on a Roost stand years ago and it has served me well, giving me a good height lift for my 6 foot body.
Even with good ergonomics, too much is too much over time. Shout out to Dejal's Time Out, the software I use to manage my pace at the computer.
I started wearing wrist guards whenever I came to a keyboard, to keep my wrists in a neutral position. Later I came to understand that wearing gloves also helped to keep my wrists warm. That's a TLDR here: if you're having wrist pain, first check that your wrists are warm.
It took about four years of use before I understood on the places on my legs where I would want loop velcro, and a solid pair of pants I would like the velcro attached to. I like thinking of how my clothes might further evolve in tandem with the way I use my devices.
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justin hall | <justin at bud dot com>