sit – Backerjack

Your favorite chair/stool alternative is back! It’s the Purrch, people, and it’s back in the crowdfunding scene and back on Backerjack. This stool-like people-holder-upper that features essentially a bike seat on top of a curved stick ran an unsuccessful campaign on Indiegogo this past February. They did not reach their $75,000 goal, but were able to raise just over $2,000 and got to keep it, thanks to flexible funding. Now, Purrch is on Kickstarter with a $50,000 goal. The product looks to be the same as on the first campaign with the same prices. One of these people-sicles goes for $70 or $77 if you want the matching Strrap too (get it?!). A product like Purrch makes sense for people who work on their feet or who are disabled in some way and can’t stand to stand for long. Unfortunately, even with the Strrap, the Purrch doesn’t seem too portable, which is the whole point of having it, to be able to sit anywhere. It goes against all of this sitting-hating we’ve seen lately, but, hey, every now and again you may just need to cop a squat.

Back pain, poor posture and lots of lazing around are realities for many folks. Each one of these problems feeds into the other, so it’s hard to break the cycle of discomfort. Darma is a smart seat cushion that doubles as your posture coach. It monitors your sitting habits, posture, breath, and heart rate to give you helpful tips. If you’re slouching, Darma tells you to sit up straight through a smartphone alert. When your heart rate is high indicating stress, it suggests taking a walk to calm down. Similarly, if you’ve been sitting too long, Darma advises taking standing breaks.

Best of all, by collecting data about you specifically, it can give you customized stretches that will alleviate the pain present in different parts of your body. Designed with sleek black leather, it’s unobtrusive and will blend in well with your office chair. One will cost backers a $189 donation on Kickstarter.

Darma is an interesting new take on the type smartphone-powered health assistance we’ve seen a lot of recently. Most of these devices are wearables in the form of clip-ons or bracelets. While we’ve seen previous products aimed at improving posture, Darma blends into its surroundings. The constant alerts may prove to be annoying at first, like a nagging mother telling you to sit up straight. However, the long term health benefits will likely be worth the hassle. All in all, Darma is a great solution for the sedentary and actually one of the least obtrusive solutions to too much sitting.