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Hey, so do you remember a little while back when I told you about a Kickstarter campaign for a new product called the Tesmo Kickstand? Well, the project wrapped up on October 12th, and blew past it?s funding goal. In the intervening time, we?ve gotten to spend some time with the little stands, and can give you our take on it.
Often, when I?m reviewing things, I?m sort of doing it in a vacuum. Sure, I may chat about the products with my fellow editors, and may ?show off? with friends and co-workers who are likeminded to let them see the new things as well. But even that is limited. Recently, I?ve had two items that have sparked a lot of remarks out of the blue. One of those was the Pelican backpack we just reviewed and the other were these Tesmo Kickstands.
Everyone who sees the Tesmo Kickstands want to know what they are, and how I managed to get them lined up appropriately. The alignment, well, that?s just a highly-calibrated eye. And, you know, the fact that you can unpeeled and re-stick them if you need to. In terms of practical usage, they?re just as advertised. They stick on, handling sliding in and out of my bag with out any issues, not getting snagged on anything, or unfolding and coming off of my laptop. Visually, yes, you see them there, but they?re low-profile enough that they glide into spots where you?re putting the laptop.
When the Tesmo Kickstand is ?engaged? and raising up the laptop, you?ve got a few benefits. First, of course, is the fact that the built-in keyboard is now at an angle, which can potentially improve your typing comfort (that?ll be up to your own personal preferences and biomechanics). Secondly, it puts the screen up higher. Not a ton, no, but it?s noticeable. At the office, I?ve got my external monitors on reams of paper to get them up higher (ergonomics for the win), but the laptop would just set on the desk. Well, with the Tesmo Kickstand, the screen is higher, meaning it?s not as much eye (or neck) travel to see what?s on that screen.
Finally, there is a third benefit to the Tesmo Kickstand that may not be so obvious – and that?s airflow. Now, this may just be something ingrained in me back from the days when I used to build my own computers and modded cases to get more fans in, but I like having exposed surface area. I?m sure the engineers in Cupertino have all the thermal management figured out on my MacBook, but I feel if I can get another vector for air exchange against that aluminum shell, all the better.
For what could have easily been a silly sort of a gadget, the Tesmo Kickstand are actually rather useful. Time will tell as to how well they hold up in terms of durability (or when I move them to another machine someday). but I have been very pleasantly surprised with how helpful I?m finding them in day-to-day usage. And given the comments of my co-workers, there are plenty of others who wouldn?t mind giving their own machines a lift. While the campaign has closed up on KS, they?ve started it up over on Indiegogo InDemand, which we?ve linked at the end. Prices are a touch higher, but still manageable – $19 for a single set, and $29 for two pairs. indiegogo.com
