Sole F80 Treadmill (2011 Model)
Getting serious about getting into shape often means getting at-home exercise equipment. Treadmills earn top-honors as the most popular pieces of home equipment. A good treadmill lets you get the cardiovascular exercise you need to get into your best physical condition. If you’re thinking about getting a treadmill for your home, you’ve probably run across plenty of them. Two of the most popular models available today are the Bowflex Series 7 treadmill and the Sole F80 treadmill. Each of these treadmills is manufactured by a company known for making top-of-the-line fitness gear, so we decided to put them up against each other to see which one would come out on top.
Battle of the Titans
As far as popularity with home exercisers go, you’d be hard pressed to find two more popular treadmills. These two models are consistent best-sellers, so it’s pretty apparent that each one is a top quality treadmill. The goal of this treadmill comparison article is to give you the facts about each model, so you can make the smartest purchasing decision. After all, when you invest in a treadmill you want to get the best value for your money. Keep the facts about each of these popular models in mind as you comparison shop for yourself.
Bowflex Series 7 Features
- Features grip and telemetric heart monitors to help you measure how hard you’re working during your workouts.
- Running area is 20 by 60 inches, so it’s large enough for virtually any type of stride.
- Chosen as the top fitness product by a large consumer advocate magazine.
- Features a quick incline option to help you take the intensity of your workouts to the next level.
- Quick change speed keys to let you run as fast as you want to go.
- 15 exercise programs to help you work toward different fitness goals and stay motivated.
- 15 year warranty on the motor, 10 year warranty on parts, 2 years on electronics
You’d have to purchase an actual gym-quality treadmill to get more helpful features than you get with the Bowflex Series 7. We read quite a few Bowflex Series 7 treadmill reviews during research for this article, and many customers have said that this is the best home treadmill they have ever used. When you look at all the features you get with this treadmill, along with the Bowflex reputation for high quality, it’s very easy to understand why this is a best-selling treadmill year after year.
Sole F80 Features
- Built with a powerful 3 horsepower motor for continuous, smooth motion while running.
- 7.5 inch screen display with built-in speakers and an audio cable to listen to music while you work out.
- 6 built-in workouts, 2 custom workouts and 2 heart rate driven workout modes, for variety in your workouts.
- Easy to fold up when you’re not using it, so you don’t have to give up too much floor space.
- 350 pound user capacity
The Sole F80 has a quiet motor that lets you work out hard without dealing with too much noise. There are built-in fan to keep you cool while you run, and enough built-in workout modes to keep you engaged with your fitness program. Sole is known for making some high-quality home exercise equipment, and the Sole F80 certainly lives up to their reputation for quality. It’s built to be used on a regular basis without breaking down or falling apart. This is a machine that’s built for years of regular use, which means you’ll definitely get your money’s worth out of this home fitness investment.
Feature for Feature
The Bowflex Series 7 treadmill has a serious advantage when it comes to built-in program modes. With 16 pre-programmed workouts versus the 6 from the Sole F80, it’s clear that the Bowflex is the winner in this department. Having variety is one of the best ways to stay on a fitness plan, and with 16 available workouts to choose from, plus the ability to add inclined running surfaces to your running courses, it’s simple to declare the Bowflex Series 7 as the victor in regard to variety. Either model gives you a solid running experience, but it’s nice to have more choices, and that’s just what you get with the Bowflex Series 7 treadmill.
Customer Scores
If you’re reading a treadmill review or comparison, the determining factor to you just might be what real life customers have to say. After all, we all feel better about the purchases we make if we’ve read a customer testimonial or two. We looked up customer scores and comments about each of these treadmills while preparing this article, and have listed a few of them for you here:
Sole F80 Comments
The Sole F80 has 39 customer reviews online and the average score for it is 3.9 stars out of a possible 5. Here are some sample comments from online reviews:
- “Strong but brainless.”
- “I love this treadmill.”
- “Excellent value.”
- “A solid purchase.”
The majority of customer reviewers seemed to really like the Sole F80, but there were a few complaints. Some people said that this treadmill is a bit slow, and others said that putting it together wasn’t very easy. Overall, though, the user scores speak for themselves, and this treadmill has higher than average scores.
Bowflex Series 7 Comments
We were surprised to find 225 user reviews for the Bowflex Series 7 Treadmill. It’s not often that you see that many reviews for a fitness product, so it was a bit unexpected. Here are some sample comments from these reviews:
- “Very happy with this treadmill.”
- “Good purchase.”
- “Just turned 1000 miles.”
- “Great treadmill.”
The average user score for the Bowflex Series 7 treadmill is 4.2 stars out of 5 possible. That means that customers have a very high opinion of this treadmill. And since there are so many reviews, that score is all the more impressive.
Who’s the Winner
We have to give the edge to the Bowflex Series 7. It has more workout programs, features like the incline, and an overall better design. And since the Series 7 costs about $200 less than the Sole F80, it even offers a better price. Both treadmills are nice, but the winner in the battle of the Sole F80 versus the Bowflex Series 7 goes to Bowflex. If you’ve been on the fence between these two treadmills, we recommend getting the Bowflex treadmill.
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Buy Sole F80 Treadmill (2011 Model) at Amazon and Save $500 – Click Here Now!