Soozier

The media could not be loaded. I was pretty wary about purchasing this. A too-good-to-be-true price, not shipped from a Prime warehouse and typical Chinese quality? A lot could go wrong here.But, I disregarded the poor reviews (as the good reviews implored me to do) and I'm glad I did.I could not build one of these out of steel for the $100 I paid. Maybe out of lumber, but then it'd be huge and cumbersome.And I definitely couldn't do it if I factored in my time.I also couldn't ship the large 45 lb box it came in for $100.Yet, I ordered it on Monday and Aosom had it delivered by Wednesday. How Aosom turns a profit on these is a mystery to me.Box took the brunt of some carrier mishandling, but the product itself was unharmed.Assembled in 30 minutes. No pieces missing, all parts installed. I am a machinist / fabricator / light welder by trade. The welds are typical of cheap mass production. Not pretty, but functional. Unit is powder coated with a gritty flat black.It is completely sturdy enough. Note that the weights are on a 3-4' fulcrum, so you won't be putting hundreds of pounds on this; you won't need to.No modifications or tricks need to be done. I am completely pleased. $100 well spent.

PACKAGING: I quickly received the product in several days. The box and product were undamaged. All the parts were in plastic bags, separated by foam dividers within the box. Nothing was missing. Loose parts were in a sealed envelope. All the fasteners were identified and plastic wrapped on cardboard. Each of the parts had a paper label with its part number on it. The instructions were included and easy to follow. The holes for bolts all aligned without issue. I think we had it assembled within 20-30 minutes. CONSTRUCTION: The product is solid and well-constructed. Welds are not an issue; I would NOT worry about welds failing (component parts are also bolted together for extra rigidity). It has a matte black finish and should be durable. Seats and pads are adequate. Floor to seat cushion height is a comfortable 20.5 inches. It is not the most comfortable calf-raise machine that I have used, but I am comparing it to commercial-grade equipment costing hundreds more. OPERATION: It gets the job done! MINUSES: Because of the design, the knee pads *could* eventually be prone to shifting a little. They can be easily moved back into position and retightened if indeed that happens. The unit sometimes seems wobbly because the long seat tube has a single connection point by design, but it is stable. WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT? Unless you are a heavy lifter, I think it offers a lot of value for the money.

Regardless , of what negative comments were made for this product, i give it 4 out of 5 stars overall. The only issues i have with this seated calf machine, is that the directions aren't the greatest and its not what you would find in a gym for quality. BUT, for the price of this compared to the more expensive versions, you Can't beat the price. If you are looking to build calf muscles, well don't overlook this model. It does its job, then some.Though it may work a little flimsy at times, its all about the control of the weight you are using, as like any lifting exercise you perform.It comes with the 2" plate adapters, but you really do not need them, for the 1" clips work just fine to keep the weight stable. Make sure you put this unit on a flat surface for the best stability, otherwise you will have a few problems. Other than that, it is a great addition to a home gym, and really doesn't take up much space. I am glad i spent for this unit over the more expensive ones on the market.Just remember, you do NOT need to load plates on this unit, for if the exercises are done properly and in a slow control manner, you will see the gains with just adequate weights . One last thing, it is great to use this machine near or at the end of a leg workout, where its just your calves doing all the work.

It’s not bad, but it’s not as good as the more expensive ones you can buy. It’s missing a plastic grommet guide that I showed in the pictures where I colored the area that’s missing in green. Not sure if the seller can replace it, but I checked the box to see if it fell loose during transport? And nothing. It’s still usable, but wobbly without that piece and it’s kinda annoying not having it. The only other critique I have is the weight plate holder sleeves? They could’ve used a hex screw to hold them on, but instead they have bar clips at the end of them. So you have to take off the clips to change plates, and the sleeves, which are heavy start to slide off too. I might drill a hole through them to add the screws myself to prevent them from falling off and hitting your feet.But it works, and is adjustable, it’s good for the price you’re paying. Vs others that are over $200 for a similar design.

The machine does what it's supposed to, strengthen your calves. Those customers who say it's wobbly it's because they aren't cranking down on the bolts that go through the bearing/bushing were the seat pivots. If you don't, it will wobble. But the bearing/bushings can be tightened to remove the wobble and will still pivot smoothly. I had to modify a few things to make it work better for me and my clients (I'm a personal trainer) but it's well worth the money spent. Why spend 6x as much for something that does the simple thing of holding some plates and moves in a short range of motion.The box was beat up really bad and was retapped. Somewhere along the line in shipping a part fell out. Not Aosom's fault. I contacted Aosom and Mehran helped me out. I got the part in 5 days! Thanks Mehran :)