I don’t know that I’ve ever written such a specific product review on the blog before, but after I shared my excitement over my new collapsible treadmill a couple of weeks ago on Instagram, SO many of you reached out with questions and have followed up looking for the link since then – that I thought it would be easier if they lived in one permanent place.
As a short backstory – I love walking/running but truly hate the cold. On top of that, the concrete can often be hard on my knees and in recent years have found that running on a treadmill at the gym is far more forgiving. Enter – the pandemic. My gym was closed for 6+ months, but since it was spring/summer/fall weather I continued my strength training exercises at home and would take long walks or short runs outside. Although my gym has since reopened, I find running inside with a face mask pretty difficult and the risk of being there just generally doesn’t feel like it’s worth the reward.
As we faced the winter ahead I was feeling really anxious about losing the joy that walking/running brings me. Not in a million years did I think I’d be able to squeeze a treadmill into our NYC apartment – but when I started seeing these collapsible options on the internet I was super game to try them.
SHOP THE POST:
This one in particular has thousands of reviews and a 4 star rating. I’ve had it for about 2 weeks now and probably used it 7-8 times and I’d personally give it 5 stars – with a couple of caveats. First of all, you’re not buying a $3,000 treadmill you’d find at the gym so it’s not going to have all of the same bells and whistles. That being said, for less than $500 and the fact that I can run inside my apartment, I couldn’t be happier.
PROS:
- Compact – I can’t get over the fact that this fits under our apartment sized couch. We checked measurements beforehand, but like magic it disappears once you’ve collapsed it. Besides fitting in our living room comfortably, you could also use this with a standing desk to walk while you work!
- Price – For less than $500 this will pay for itself easily over time with how often I use it. And while there certainly aren’t any “frills” to it, I wasn’t looking for those. Despite being reasonably affordable, it feels plenty sturdy when I’m on it and has a really solid weight to it.
- Ease of use – There’s a lever on the side that collapses that top arm and this thing goes from under the couch to me running in probably 2 minutes flat. Assembly took less than half an hour.
- Quiet – When I’m walking, it’s super quiet – maybe comparable to the hum of the dishwasher. When I’m running, you can definitely hear a louder hum to it and of course – the sound of my steps. But no louder in the hall than when someone has a radio or the TV turned up with bass. That being said, we don’t have neighbors in the apartment below us right now, so if someone moves in I’ll definitely be conscious of not using it super early in the morning or very late at night.
CONS:
- No incline and limited metrics – Again, there are no frills here. Just a simple little remote that you can increase or decrease speed. I’d recommend using a Fitbit or Apple watch to track distance and time. The speed is actually in km/hr and I think the max speed translates to around 8MPH. Again, I wanted this for walking and light jogging so that’s just fine for me. If you’re looking for sprints and measuring your heart rate.. this might not be for you.
- Compact – For me this is a major perk, but it took a couple of days to get used to the fact that the belt is more narrow and shorter than what you’d find on a gym-sized treadmill. I’m 5’4″ and have no trouble with not having room for a full running stride, however if you’re very tall you might find it awkward.
- Device stand only fits phone – The small device stand at the top is only built to hold an iphone, but Adam took out a couple of the screws and now my iPad can sit up there too. Otherwise you could simply face the treadmill towards a computer or TV. I usually just listen to music when I walk or run so it doesn’t bother me.
- Weight – this is partially a pro, because it feels really nice and sturdy. But be forewarned, it’s about 70 pounds total. We live in a 4th floor walk-up and managed to carry the box upstairs, but if you can get help from a delivery person or have an elevator.. all the better. Now that it’s assembled, the front is on wheels so I only have to lift the back end and then sort of pivot and roll it to get it under the couch but it’s hefty. Most mornings I just have Adam get it out for me as it’s easier for him to left.
Voila! Tucked away and completely out of sight under our couch until the next time I want to use it. Shop the treadmill here and happy walking/running!