Balance Board

I would never say I have great balance and so have always been someone afraid of balance boards. I am older now and since retiring from the military have spent the majority of work, and time in general, on my bum. I know how good and useful a balance board can be and finally bought this one about a year ago. I did that in part because I bought a sitting to standing desk and found I tended to pace when I tried to use it while standing. This seems like a good reason to get something that would help rebuild some stabilizing muscles and keep me in once place. Once I started using it I found I loved it, and the fact it has several settings means I could increase difficulty as I became better with it. I placed it on a section of a yoga mat (due to hardwood floors) in front of my desk and it has been great. I've not ever fallen from it causing a sudden disappearance during a zoom call, yet. It is very solid and well made as I'd expect from something made by our wonderful Canadian neighbors to the north. I couldn't recommend it higher to anyone who is a beginner and you needed fear about progressing beyond it for a long time.

This is a quality, well made product, that gives you the same kind of experience you could get in PT at home. Unfortunately, these are kind of pricey for one piece of rehab equipment (to me anyways), but in the end, I think it is worth spending a bit of cash on some nice items to help your core- especially since these boards are also fun to use. A product like this is light-years ahead of any balance boards I've seen in typical stores. I tried out a $20 plastic Reebok board, for example, and was able to balance on it with zero effort. I don't see why anyone would buy such a thing. Fitter First boards, on the other hand, are actually quite difficult at first (which is EXACTLY what you want- if it was too easy it would be pointless!), and then you gradually get much better as you get stronger. After a couple months in PT on 2 fitter first wobble boards that only balance side to side, I went from being able to barely balance for a few seconds at a time to being able to not let the board touch the ground more than a few times in a period of two minutes. Three times a week of trying to balance on the board as much as possible for only 2 to 4 minutes each time really does help your core balance gradually. This balance board is even harder than the side to side boards I used in PT (even on the first difficulty setting), and I'm glad, as I wanted something at home to keep progressing with on my own. It's a nice way to keep getting stronger even when PT stops. But I also feel that even a person who has no balance experience could still start with this board- it just would be harder than what PT would usually initially use, but in my non medical opinion I don't think this board would be very dangerous or anything like that if you did. If you used this board to start, I would spend weeks getting better at balancing on it while holding onto something until you get strong enough to start letting go, and doing exercises where you just try to rock the board side to side, and front to back, without even balancing. While ideally you should start with easier boards than this, the reality is that you would probably then want 2 or 3 other boards also in the hundred dollar range which can get kind of pricey, and a couple months down the line you wouldn't need the older ones- something to think about anyways. I personally am quite happy with this product myself even though it seems like a lot of money to buy a circle of wood for- it's good sports-medical quality equipment and I haven't found anything similar in quality to Fitter First boards for cheaper anywhere.

We first saw this at a nearby ski shop - The salesmen balanced on it while we tried on boots. It is very nicely made and finished - looks like a quality piece of furniture. The adjustment mechanism is brilliant, and the rounded shape of the bottom means that is truly challenging as a balance board (cheaper boards appear to have a more squared-off shape that would be less of a challenge). It is very sturdy - it does not deflect when I stand on it though I am around 275 lb. We leave it in the middle of the living room floor (because it looks so nice) and whenever one of us walks by we stop and balance for a few minutes. Worked up to the highest setting in about a week, and now are working on going forward/back and doing a sort of modified hula. We use it on carpet because it's quieter, but it works fine on tile as well. Definitely need to use it either in bare feet or with shoes on - socks do not stick to the surface. I even enjoy the Canadian user manual - in the US this would have lots of warning labels ("Do NOT have ANY fun with this object!!!") but the booklet just says a few nice things like make sure there's ample space to step off the board should you need to, and use it in a doorway if you need help balancing. A wonderful product!

Good quality and good for strengthening the ankle and for balance training

Very fast shipping. Product works great. We tried one in a gym while on vacation and really wanted one. This is a bit larger than the one we tried but we like it better. No problems with slipping and I like the adjustment feature as well.

Great little device to develop ankle strength & balance. Arrived on time. A bit expensive.

Brilliant

Works well, adjusts easily, solid.