Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsQuality bench, easy to use, very sturdy
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2018
Purchased this bench as part of the beginnings of putting together a home gym. We're short on space, so it was important that it had a small footprint. Assembly was relatively straightforward, and if you can put together a small Lego set then this should be a breeze for you. Total assembly took about 30 minutes, and you'll want a knife or a pair of scissors to work through the packaging. Allen keys to assemble everything are included. During assembly, the "heavy-duty-ness" of the frame was apparent, and I wouldn't hesitate to load this bench up with the recommended max weight (person plus weights) of 600 pounds. Once assembled and flat, it does take up some real estate; in the stowed position, that's cut down to about 1/3rd.
In the fully declined position with seat lifted, decline sit-ups feel just right with the ankle bar. The flat position is rock-solid when doing bench presses, and it's very nice to have several options for incline. The mechanism for raising/lowering the bench is a spring loaded "pull pin" type which allows the upright support arm to glide easily up and down the floor leg - no grinding or scraping sensations. Once your desired position is selected, you can allow the pin to pop in place which fully secures the back rest. Optionally, you can twist the same handle to lock the support arm and leg together to eliminate any play between them. The seat has two position options, flat of course, and then raised. In the raised position, it's high enough to fully prevent sliding down the seat when doing incline work but not so high as to be distracting. With the seat raised, it's also set at the same angle as the backrest when fully lowered, providing for a great base for decline work or for decline crunches/sit-ups. The seat mechanism is simple. Lift the seat up to lock it into the up position. Lift a small red lever to allow the seat to drop back down to the flat position. The rounded edge of the seat has plenty of flex to it, almost like I'm sitting down in my favorite recliner at first. I worry that this flex may lead to long term wear and tear issues, but without knowing the internal design of the cushion (no, I'm not tearing it apart) I have no evidence to suggest that my worries are true. The ankle holders are foam, not super soft, and they seem like they'll hold up for a good while - time will tell on both items.
The ankle holder folds up for storage, but the mechanism which allows it to fold up also allows for some free play. You can get it to rattle quite a bit and make some noise if you grab it and shake it, though good security of the mechanism is apparent, and I expect it to be very reliable.
The feet of the bench are adjustable, so if you don't have a perfectly flat floor, it will allow you to compensate. Some have indicated that the gap between the back rest and the seat is very wide. There is truth to that; the gap is 4" when the bench is fully flat and 2" at a 45 degree incline and raised seat. At a 90 degree incline, the back meets the seat. It would have been possible for Bowflex to eliminate this gap, but it would have required a much more complex mechanism resulting in either a higher cost or a lower quality product. To be honest, I find that my butt rests perfectly in the gap on a flat bench when my ankles are under the ankle supports which allows the back rest to provide support to the arch of my back, sort of like how a good car seat provides just that little bit of much needed support. Because the seat is roomy though, there is some space to move around a little bit, perhaps to locate the gap directly under the arch of my back, but there was no way that I could completely eliminate the feeling of the gap. The best that I could actually come to getting a "gapless" sensation was to actually lie on the bench backwards with my head on the seat and spanning the gap with my neck, though even that wasn't perfect. If you require a bench with minimal gap, definitely look elsewhere.
Beyond that, the quality of the material looks solid, and I'm not worried that I'll damage the upholstery. It also looks very sharp. Oh, when it's on the casters, it doesn't *quite* fit through a standard 30" doorway unless the door opens a full 180 degrees. The total width of those legs is probably 28 1/4" wide. If you can turn it and pick it up though, not a problem.
