The mat is durable at a low price.
It’s a good product that seems to be working very well, but installation on the second floor of our home included carrying the bulk of the weight as one single unit. I had hoped that the platform and the safety arms’ structure shipped separately so each component could be carried separately to lighten the load. (If we could carry the whole load at once, we might not need exercise equipment). But with a lot of effort and plenty of breaks, we managed to walk the nearly fully assembled product up the stairs one step at a time. So get the product, but also get someone (or two) young and healthy to put it in place.
This treadmill is amazing. I got it for myself and my 9-year-old as he likes to stay active. I have been on it 5 days a week early in the morning working my way up toward my goals. Definitely helps that it can be folded up and stored if you needed to. Unboxing was difficult it's very heavy but other than that once it's out it's ready to go. I would highly recommend this to anybody who is trying to get healthy or more activity into their daily life.
All in all this equipment is good and functional. The display is large and easy to read despite it being on the ground instead of being somewhere in the waist to chest level. The remote works well and is about as uncomplicated as it can be without losing function. It is well designed and easy to use.
The treadmill itself is very sturdy and has wheels on the front so you can pick it up from the back and easily drag it anywhere. This makes it very mobile although you do of course need to be within a short distance of an electrical outlet or an extension cord. The speed is adjustable via the remote control and when first turned on it slowly goes from stopped to a minimum speed of six tenths of a mile per hour. This prevents any issues with it suddenly going quickly and catching you off balance. So, that is well designed also. So, mostly I would say that this is a good product and functions in a usable way, but of course there are minor issues.
The only real issues I had with the product were related to the belt and frame. Out of the box the belt would work its way to the left until it was contacting the frame and making an awful noise. This is somewhat to be expected and it came with instructions on how to adjust the belt and a tool to do it. But for me it took a while to get it approximately correct. I adjusted it and then it started wandering to the right so I adjusted the right side and it wandered to the left again. Eventually I got it to the point where I could walk about a mile before it wandered off to the left. Not great but acceptable.
I believe that part of the issue that causes that is the fact that the width is about six inches too narrow. The narrow belt causes me to have to place each step closer to the middle of the belt than I would normally walk. If I walk my normal way then the edge of my shoes almost touch the edge of the frame. So, of course on occasion I do touch the frame and it can easily cause me to stumble. But I have good balance and so far it has not caused me to fall, just stumble. To prevent this I walk with my steps closer toward the middle of the belt which is a little awkward for me but does keep me from contacting the frame sides. But this seems to be what causes the belt to wander left. If I change my step a little and turn my toes a little left then the belt wanders right and off the frame and vice versa.
The other issue with having to place your feet toward the middle more instead of your natural width is that it causes hip pain at the joint of the pelvis and femur. I contacted a sports physician and he gave me some exercises to help with this issue, but I really can't do more than a mile and a half without having to stop and let the hip socket relax.
So, the bottom line for me is that I would estimate another six inches or so in width would remove all the issues I have with the product. It should be fine for younger people or older ones where their hips have not widened as the do with age and child birth.
I do like it and will use it but it will only be on those days that are too unbearably hot and humid to walk outside or when it is raining out. I thought I could use this to get my walking in while also catching a TV show or similar but that is not the case. I can go about half an hour at the most and then have to stop, whereas when walking outside I will typically do five miles or more at a time. So, it is the forced awkward stride of having to place each step closer together than normal that is creating the issues for me and probably will for many other adults.
No more worrying about the gym and making sure everything’s sanitize which most of the time it is not even wipe down. Now I can exercise at my own convenience. 😊