Choosing a Treadmill - If you give a mouse a cookie
Hello all!
I'm in the market for a treadmill, after determining I'm getting enough use out of my ~$350 walking pad to justify it (No longer sold on Amazon, but it was rated for up to 6 MPH, no incline, 340 lbs capacity).
The trouble I'm having deciding is two-fold.
Every time I find a model that looks promising, I go down a rabbit hole of research and find a bunch of conflicting reviews (more than I typically find for other products).
Every-time I find these conflicting reviews, there is something to the effect of "don't cheap out, upgrade one model up" and then the cycle repeats.
Initially I was looking in the sub $1500 range, but I could be persuaded to go up from there. Here's where I'm at:
-I know Nordictrack and Proform are awful, and I should not give them my money.
-I haven't really found any commercial refurbs on marketplace, and generally the deals don't seem to be good enough (for a non-Nordictrack) to not get the warranty.
-I'm definitely on the heavier end of users, though I am losing weight, and intend to continue doing so (currently at ~265).
-I am training to run longer distances (Planning to run/jog a marathon in October, starting with a 5K this month, have run a 1/2 Marathon previously), Will likely be doing a lot of my jogging/running in the 6-10 MPH range, plus some walking.
-Variable use - I plan on doing a lot of real world walking in the Spring/Fall, but will get most of my exercise in indoors during the winter/summer.
-Plan on using in front of a TV most of the time, and don't really care about advanced programming/touchscreen features - I do not want to get a unit that requires a subscription service to be useful
- Folding isn't a must, but I do want to be able to move it out of the living room - so wheels & not 600 pounds would be preferable.
The models I'm currently most considering:
Horizon AT 7/7.4/7.8.
Sole F63/F80/F85.
For both of these, I started looking at the most affordable level, then made the determination the next level up would be better, and then found more divides to the point I started looking at the top level (I can afford the difference, but would prefer to stick to something more cost effective unless it's a big improvement).
Would appreciate any input from those who have dealt with the same conundrum, and am willing to look at other suggestions if there is something obvious I'm missing.
Thank you for reading, and apologies for piling on to the "help me choose" posts!