Sole Fitness F80 Folding Treadmill Review

The F80 weighs 250 pounds which is a bit heavier than the average treadmill. This one folds making it fantastic for people with small spaces.

It will cost you about $1,500. This isn’t an inexpensive treadmill. You can buy some for so much less but they may not be made so well.

The maximum user weight is 335 pounds which is a higher number than many other treadmills. It measures about 75 inches long by 33.00 wide.

It has a fantastic warranty. I think this might be the best warranty I’ve seen and perhaps a reason to spend $1500 rather than $500. You’ll get a 30-year warranty on the motor; a lifetime warranty on the motor; 30 years on the deck; lifetime on the frame; the electronics, belt and rollers- five years and two years on the labor.

The sizes of the belt and deck can be a deal breaker. The rule of thumb is that the belt should be at least 17 inch by 50 inches. You’ll get a belt on the F80 that is 20 inches by 55 inches. This is a very impressive size.

Many machines now have names for their decks. Sole calls their system a Custom Flex Whisper Deck This deck claims to reduce impact on joints by up to 40%. That number is amazing. You’ll see numbers like 15% and even 30% but never 40%. My experience is that for walking and powerwalking (I don’t run.) the deck on the Sole F80 was in fact amazingly comfortable, and flexible.

It also is very quiet. I say that based on my power walking with no incline and walking uphill.

I like the whole design of the F80. A feature I have never seen are the speed and incline controls on the arm rests! If you like to hold onto I the handles you don’t have to take your arms off to change your speed or incline.

The incline on the F80 goes up to 15% and the speed goes from .5 to 11 which are more than anyone I know needs.

A real plus is the fact I could enter my weight and age making the readouts more accurate than machines that don't have that feature.

More information and experiences

There is a place for my bottle, cell phone and keys as well as a magazine rack all integrated in the machine.

The display buttons are very easy to read. The readouts are speed, distance, incline, time, distance, calories burned, and heart rate.

There is a 1/4 mile track so you can watch how many times you go around and another graph that displays what other programs looked like as I played with them.

The F80 has two fans.

There are six pre-set programs (hill, cardio, fat burn, strength, interval and manual), two heart rate programs and two that I could make myself. Even if I pick a pre-set program I can always increase or decrease the speed and incline.

The quick buttons that are on many machines are a nice feature. They allow me to go, for example, from a speed of 3 to 5 without using the arrow button. All I have to do is hit 5 and I’m there. Even without this feature this is a great machine.

This treadmill will take a couple of people a couple of hours to assemble so be prepared or pay someone to do it for you.

Please check with your doctor before starting an exercise program. Also please keep your children and pets away from any treadmill.


Jo's Viewpoint

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