Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a perfectly good compact motorized fold up treadmill, which works just fine. I almost did not get it, I am glad I took some negative remarks about it with a grain of salt, and did NOT worry and go for much pricier equipment. This is a low-to-mid priced folding but not compact, MOTORIZED treadmill, in NARROWER size for small spaces,. It's perfect. I really like it. I saved a mint. I have USED other gym and home treadmills, but have not owned others. This is just what I wanted. Read on if you're on the fennce abut this- it's really good! Caveat: this review is from a SHORT LAZY person, in a studio apartment- I can't comment on long stride, or if it works for big-and-tall persons, nor households looking for large or fancy (laptop or phone plug in, or work-desk enabled, or high variable incline or multiple home heavy use, or wider, nor- really compact- machines.) But for a regular user, in a small apartment, this is GREAT- the negative reviews are not necessarily entirely true. (Though excercise equipment is very individual- so no dis on any other reviewers' experiences) . - Setup in under 20 minutes -solo (I'm 50 years old, not an athlete or gym rat) It weighs sort of middling for treadmills, getting it out of the box was the only 'hard' part. And not that hard. Assembly was a complete piece of cake. I'm glad I disregarded some negative reviews on this - I almost did not buy it- almost got one a lot costlier (on a credit card. Debt. Yike!) but this is a great little (heavy, but compact folding) walking AND JOGGING, Sturdy, Quiet, Freehand- walking AND jogging machine, 1- Yes, you can jog - it is not just for walking. It's well-sturdy enough for jogging. 2- Yes, freehand walking and jogging. NO you do NOT have to 'hold onto the bars' unless you have a sense of unsteadyness, prior injury, etc. Eg- I'm uncoordinated and a total klutz. For walking or jog, I DID get the benefits of the arm-swinging balancing- that was a dealbreaker for me with treadmills. I read "you MUST hold the bars". I took a shot. Works fine, truly, freehand for me, the ordinary clod. (NOTE: I cannot give medical recommendation- so DO know your own balance and limits, check with your doctor etc.) But I found the stated I found the REQUIREMENT that you 'grip the bar'- even for a normal klutz with no sense of coordination- was excessive. I had NO problem at 1-3 mph (walking speeds) walking and jogging, freehand for long time periods. Like, I was reading the manual and watching tv.) 3- This is STURDY. The tray/ dashbord is cheap, - some space for a book or magazine, and two cup holders for your gin and tonics (j/K) but no real 'working table' as such. (forget that. Get a different treadmill.) But the machine is very sturdy and metal, blalanced- no rattle, thump-a-thump etc. I'm impressed! I expected it to be all but disposable. But this was really adequate (MIND YOU I AM SHORT) - for walking and jogging, freehand, while reading and watching tv. (It's not recommended that a person be distracted, but it's not a flimsy thing that will topple or explode or fall over or so on.) Nice reasonably solid feel. (I've seen $1,300 treadmills that are HEAVIER by far, but not appreciably STURDIER for normal use.) But- pay SOME attention. ANY treadmill can throw you clean into a wall if you hit it on, or hit a fast speed.) But this is not wobbly badly made thing overall. 4- QUIET Motor - Yay. BIG plus. I expected and worried it would sound like a lawnmower. In a studio apartment with neighbors all over- I worried that a lower cost machine would have a loud motor and be a thing that also registers and transmits footfalls (Brzzzzz! Bonk Bonk Bonk!- "Oh, I see the neighbor got a treadmill.") NOPE. It's not silent but it's really quiet. I don't have to raise the tv volume (which I keep relatively low), I don't have the 'oh there goes that MOTOR", and it doesn't klonk when I jog. (Note: Secure all bolts AND the console screws tightly, and re-tighten them as needed.) It's really surprisinly quiet. My sewing machine is noisy. My FAN is noisy. This thing is just a steady low not-unpleasant hum that lets me know the machine is on. But does not let my NEIGHBORS know, nor do you hear it from the kitchen. Go with the motor treadmill if you are not an athlete and have no willpower. I looked at the $100 dollar cheaper 'no motor' treadmills. For that, I can just use 'pavement' or 'the park'. Which I never do because my laziness spectrum is vast but as to things I've at least sort of sometimes dabbled in or do once a week un-dilligently - semi-yoga stuff? okay. Light weights? okay. Stretching, okay- feels good if done short term. but AEROBIC stuff? No WAY!. So I need the pavement moving underneath me on it's own to motivate me to move forward. I would take a cab from my door to the corner bodega if I could. I'm THAT 'walk-lazy'. I will help you mover your furniture from your apartment up and down four flights of stairs slowly as to lifting and 'hard work' - while sweating profusely, but if someone has to make a one block run for potato chips, it will be 'you, not me' MOTORIZED treadmills solve the motivation problem and THIS has a relatively quiet, relatively smooth motor, it starts at 1mp always so I don't fling into the wall, it moves up in 1/10 mil of an hour increments, so I don't go from 1 mp directly to two (you CAN, but you have the butto that slowly gradually increases speed at your direction- it doesn't 'automatically speed up') I clip the 'stop' thingie- the clip- the magnet that auto- stops it, the lanyard- whatever that thing is- to my NECK not my waistbelt. I want it to brake if I stumble, not 'by the time I've already fallen down'. But it has a slow brake, It doesn't 'jerk to a stop, on a dime' making a stumble into a disaster. It's a great thing. It goes 'slow, slower, stop" so you can catch your balance, without getting chewed into the machine. This machine- granted- has NO bells or whistles on this thing- effective but obviously cheap console. (mph, miles, calories burned, cupholder for your whiskey sour... j/k.. cupholder, water-bottle holder (two, in fact) and you have to put your finger on an alleged 'heart rate monitor' but no plug in pulse ox or heart rate, no "google maps. It has a few 'excercise' modes, but, I have not explored those and I probably never will. If you want a machine to be also a sort of workout trainer buddy, you will have to spend a lot more to get the fancy computer stuff. I have enough apps on my phone to cover that. But it HAS an incline and it forces you to lift your feet. And if you want NO inlcine, it is enabled to remove the incline for flat walking if you have knee injuries or so on. FOLDING- It does fold. Not tiny but it DOES-- fold and latch for upright, for 'out of the way-ness'. It will not fold into a 3" flat but it is not an 'always out and huge' thing. It is the dimensions they state, but in real life, that is bigger than it looks. That said, fits in my cramped tiny apartment reasonably okay. It's not 'compact'. But I don't want anything so compatct that is also too flimsy. Plus if I store it under the bed, it will build itself a forever-home there, and I want to USE it. For things besides 'Just a handy clothing rack'. Which is what I see many treadmills and excercicles used as. I leave mine out. Not decorous but it is not UGLY, and it does say "Less of a sofa spud than I used to be" so that's fine, as decor goes. It is about $300, and it is a 'no frills motorized'. In sum, I have used ,but have not OWNED other treadmills to compare it to. I live in a studio apartment, and I am not athletic. -this is small but it IS heavy (for stability) so don't expect 'small equals portable' in terms of weight, but it is for Walking, freehand, Jogging, freehand, it has a long enough bed for a reasonable stride, you can use the dashboard thign for reading- it holds a book magazine or table. I'm really REALLY impressed at how much BETTER than described, this is. I cannot speak to long term wear- but so far, it's quite, it is sturdy, it is small enough but also BIG enough (for a shot person), it is surprisingly QUIET, and it works freehand for a balanced strided very well. If you were going to go with a non-motorized because of noise, consider this instead if you need motorized motivation. (for $100 more, I have a treadmill I will USE!) and if you were thinking it would cost at LEASt $600 to get a decent treadmill and really more like $1000- and up, unless you need the 'trainer' features, this is great.