Sole F80 Treadmill Review (2011 model)

The Sole F80 Treadmill was voted Best Buy in its price range, and for good reasons. The 2011 model is an improved version of the last year’s model, and all for the same price.

The Sole F80 comes with notable advantages, strength and durability, for an affordable price of $1,500. Follow us next into a depiction of the Sole F80, completed by our Conclusions that will help you create an accurate idea on whether this treadmill is what you need or not.

Sole F80 Treadmill Specifications

Speed: 0.5- 12 mph

Motor: 3.0 HP Continuous Duty, DC type

Incline: up to 15%

Decline: none

Extra Speed and Incline controls: on the arm rests

Belt: 20 x 60 inches/ 51 x 152 cm

Cushion System: reduces impact with up to 40%

Belt Lubrication: uses a low-friction bed

Maximum User Weight: 350 lbs/ 159 kg

Warranty: lifetime for motor, deck and frame, 5 years for electronics, belt and rollers and 2 years for in-home service

Sole F80 Treadmill Features

Display Info

The F80 incorporates a backlit blue display. Feedback information aims at Speed, Incline, Time, Distance, Approximate number of burned calories, Pulse and Pace.

The main display is divided into several small screens that help you follow performance feedback easily. There is a Dot Matrix Center Display with ten rows of dots that indicate workout levels. There are 24 columns for time measurements. Next to the Dot Matrix, there are 3 LED lights that correspond to track, speed and incline.

The 1 mile track is displayed around the dot matrix window and the Pulse Grip Window shows current heart rate. The Calorie display offers info on the approximate number of burned calories at a given time.

When starting a workout, the calorie window will be showing your body weight. Enter the correct body weight for an accurate calorie count. Heart rate window will also start blinking your age. Being allowed to insert age and body weight will help the console calculate as thoroughly as possible your improvement showed in the number of calories burned.

Heart Rate Readings

Choose one of the two options, the hand pulse grips or the wireless chest strap that is included. You have the option to determine the heart rate range the suits your requirements best. First, determine your maximum heart rate by applying the formula 220 – User’s age.

Workouts

The F80 offers 10 workouts: 2 User Defined programs, 2 Heart Rate Control and 6 Standard programs.

To start a program, press the desired button out of the available workout buttons. After pressing Enter, insert personal information or press Start to begin workout with default settings. Adjust Time by pressing Up/ Down. All other windows will show information as entered by you prior to starting the program.

Select User 1 or 2 by pressing Program and then Enter.

The advantage of this console is that it offers a clear structure of information input and output.

Fan: included

Folding Options- included

Built-in Speakers- included

iPod Compatibility- included

Conclusions

Sole F80 is one of the best 2011 treadmills. The treadmill is an improved version of the 2010 model, with even more attractive features for the same price. We highly recommend it to users looking for a strong, comfortable and smooth machine.

This model will best serve users who need a wider running surface. Sole F80 incorporates one of the largest surfaces for the price given, a strong advantage for heavier or taller users. One of our testers is significantly tall and this treadmill seems to fit his needs.

The motor presents its fare share of advantages. It is strong and sturdy, going up to 12 mph. In addition, it remained surprisingly silent even during our hard workouts. The cushioning system succeeds in reducing impact so much that we feel no pressure and no stress when workouts are done, even the tough ones.

The display is designed to make workouts a whole lot easier for every user. It is divided into several screens that help keeping track of our performance much quicker. Speed, incline, time, distance, approximate number of burned calories, pulse and pace are concentrated in different windows that make feedback easy to read.

An all time advantage is being able to manipulate speed and incline without reaching out to the console. This treadmill includes speed and incline controls right on the arm rests.

To make it all even more tempting, you get the wireless chest strap when purchasing the treadmill. It’s most common for treadmills to include the possibility of using a chest strap, without including the chest strap in the price. It’s just another reason why this treadmill was voted Best Buy in its price range by consumers and critics.

This Sole model allows users to create up to 2 profiles, which is great if there’s more than 1 user working out on this treadmill.

You can insert age and weight, which means you’ll be getting a more accurate calorie feedback. This is good.

On the other hand, included workouts are basic and there is no diversity. We believe there should be more preset workouts added, especially for $1,500.

Another week point may be the fan. Ours had some issues, but luckily we managed to solve them and now it works perfectly.

Plus, assembling is not an easy thing to do. You’ll need strong assistance. Luckily, you can fold it. But don’t go wondering around for a place to move it often. Sole are known for the durability and heavy weight of their treadmills, but on the other hand this is what makes their treadmills some of the best.

All in all, the new model got our attention and for the warranty received, the features included and its performance, Sole F80 is a good bargain. More details about this unit can be found here.