Smooth Fitness 800 Treadmill Review

Pros and Cons of the New Smooth 800 Treadmill

 

There’s been some confusion about SmoothFitness since they were bought by ICON – the same name that owns Nordictrack, Freemotion and Proform.

Since the ICON takeover, gone are the old Smooth treadmill designs, replaced by treadmills that look very much like Freemotion and Proform treadmills – with a lot of the same features.

The Smooth Fitness 800 treadmill is a new starter model coming in at a very attractive $899 price point here.

Is it a good buy for you? How does it stack up to the competition?

Here’s what you need to know:

 

The Basics:

Price: $899 + Free Shipping

Motor: 3.25 HP

Incline: 15%

Speed: 0 – 12 MPH

Belt: 22 x 60″

Weight Capacity: 300 lbs

Folding? Yes

Built-In Workouts: 32

Warranty: Lifetime Frame and Motor, 3-Year Parts, and a 1-Year Labor Warranty

 

 

Smooth Fitness 800 Treadmill Review – Benefits:

 

Impressively Strong Motor

There’s a very powerful 3.25 HP motor on this treadmill – surprisingly strong for a treadmill at this price point. You almost never get a motor this strong for under $1000. This means you can work the treadmill a bit more and it will hold up very well in the long run.

 

Extra Long, Extra Wide Belt

This is another surprising feature at this price point. The belt is long at 60 inches and extra wide at a full 22 inches across, giving you extra room to stretch out and run.

 

iFit Compatible

iFit connects your treadmill to the Internet. From there you can download new workouts where personal trainers coach you through the exercises.

You can also run world trails and map out new trails to run. Another nice feature is that you can track your workout progress over time, set new goals etc.

ICON is basically putting this technology on all of their new treadmills – including the Smooth Fitness 800 treadmill. However note that iFit is not built-in so you will have to pay for the iFit module if you want to use it with this machine (about $99).

 

 

Folding With Easy-Lift Assist

The treadmill folds up easily with a lift-assist option to save the strain on your back.

 

iPod Dock With Speakers

You can plug in your iPod to the console and play your favorite tunes through the built-in speakers. While this is fairly common on ICON treadmills, it’s still a great option to have that will make your workouts more enjoyable.

 

Hand Grip Heart Rate Monitor

You can use the hand grips in front of the console to give you a heart rate reading – shown on the console display. Again, fairly common but nice to have all the same.

 

15% Incline

This is another nice bonus extra as many treadmills at this price point only give you up to 10 or 12% incline. So you get a little more challenge and room to grow with the Smooth 800.

 

 

Smooth Fitness 800 Treadmill Review – The Drawbacks

As stated above, you will need the iFit LIVE module to use iFit with this treadmill. Also the console, while backlit, is not multi-color. And it’s very simple – similar to many starter Proform treadmills.

 

 

Bottom Line?

I was actually prepared not to like the Smooth Fitness 800. It’s been disappointing that ICON has made the Smooth brand look like all of their other treadmills – and lost the look that made Smooth Fitness popular (and different) in the first place.

However when you actually look at the treadmill it gives you some very good value for the money (very strong motor, extra large walking area, high incline, etc). My guess is that ICON is keeping the price on the low side because Smooth is not as well known as their other brands (so you can’t charge for the name).

Still – that might work to your advantage if you’re in the market for a treadmill under $1000 that packs some decent value into it.

 

 

Where to Buy and Save

You can get the Smooth Fitness 800 right now from the Manufacturers Official website. You can also get Free Shipping to your home which can save you about $150.

Click Here for More on the Smooth 800 Treadmill