The ultimate status symbol at The Wing, a women’s social club and co-working space in New York, isn’t a pair of Gucci loafers or even an iPhone X. It’s an ergonomic laptop stand.
The Roost is an adjustable, portable stand that raises your computer 6 to 12 inches. It puts you at eye level with your laptop, relieving the strain on your neck and making you less of a hunchback. I first learned about it at The Wing, when a woman sat quietly using her Roost, minding her business, and I watched multiple people interrupt her, demanding to know where they, too, could purchase it. Now, I spot the Roost every time I’m there.
Writer Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau says she believes she was the trendsetter who first brought Roost to The Wing. “I’ve been suffering from shoulder pain for a very long time, so I did a lot of research to find the right stand,” she says. “Aside from portability, the most important thing for me was height. Most of the laptop stands I found only raise your laptop by a few inches. According to every chiropractor and physical therapist I’ve talked to, the top of your laptop should be at eye level.” At $75, the Roost is one of the pricier laptop stands on the market, so this makes it worth it.
The fact that this Kickstarter-funded gadget looks like an airport luggage cart almost deterred Jouhanneau, who had also considered the sleeker Flio. “I felt dorky and so very uncool the first day I brought the stand, as The Wing looks so pretty and lovely,” she says. But then, as I witnessed, she confirms, “Almost every day, someone comes to tell me that they love my setup, and that they’re going to order one right away. I’ll see someone hovering around, and I know right away they’re coming to ask about the stand.”
This is how Simone Tetteh, the co-founder and COO of Bonnti, learned about the Roost. “Honestly, at first glance I thought it was the lamest, nerdiest thing I’d ever seen!” she says. “But I sat next to this woman and couldn’t help but notice how comfortable and efficient she looked. I ordered it on the spot, literally while still in conversation with her.”
I ordered it, too — and Jouhanneau, Tetteh, and I are in agreement that it really does alleviate neck, back, and shoulder aches. Tetteh even says it also helped with carpal-tunnel pain in her wrists. The best thing about the Roost, though, is that it’s so lightweight, and that it collapses to take up barely any space in my backpack. I’ve long suffered from “writer’s back,” but I’m usually too distracted to actually make an adjustment — preferring just to deal with the discomfort later, with $1-per-minute massages and Google deep dives into “are chiropractors legit?” This is so easy and portable, it gives me no excuse.
“After ordering my Roost, the very next day I counted four other women at The Wing with one,” Tetteh says. “It was to the point where I started getting anxious for when mine would arrive, because I wanted to join this ergonomic cool-girl club as soon as possible!” It’s only a matter of time before “ergonomic cool-girl club” ends up on a tote bag.
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