StairMaster 4200PT Stepper

I purchased this product for my wife who loved working out on a stairmaster when she was younger (they are getting hard to find in gyms these days). We have had this for about 3 months now and it has really made a difference in our lives. It is so easy to jump on, hit quick start and go. The stairmaster kicks your butt in a way our spin bike or elliptical can't match. Because of this, we only need 15 minutes to get a great workout. It is so efficient, we can squeeze it into our busy days without a problem and the result is we are no longer procrastinating and we are GETTING IN SHAPE!!

We also love and are impressed with how solid this machine is. It is very smooth and quiet in its operation. It seems to have a very solid chain drive so it feels very stable and smooth.

Finally, I am very happy with this model which lacks the side-bar. I was reading that the side-handles actually encourage bad posture but I was a little nervous that my wife (she is 5'6") wouldn't be comfortable reaching up to the upright handles. On the contrary, she is very comfortable and I am happy knowing the upright handles encourage better posture and strengthening. We also LOVE the small footprint of this machine. While it is tall (you should be sure to have standard 8' ceiling), we can easily hide it in a small back corner of our family room and many of our friends have completely missed the addition until we point it out. :)

The smaller size also means that I could carry this machine by myself. It is still heavy, but not impossible to move. Regarding setup -- it really wasn't that bad. The hardest thing was getting the staples out of the crate (be sure to have a crow-bar). Give yourself a few hours to assemble, but that should be all you need.

The first thing I want to say is that as of this writing the Amazon listing for this Stairmaster still reads: "comes fully assembled." This is simply wrong. In fact we had to hire two men with a full tool kit to assemble it (it took around an hour) and the cost was nearly $125.00. The good news is that Amazon refunded the assembly money to us, and says that the listing will be corrected.

My wife and I both love the unit. It is solid as a rock, ours doesn't "smell," I'm not an aerospace engineer so I can't comment authoritatively on the material the other reviewer is complaining about, but ours looks similar to all the steppers I've used in gyms through the years.

I can't imagine how much cheaper (again I'm responding to the other reviewer) they could sell something like this with all the innards and electronics involved. We feel we got our money's worth, and the company stands behind their products with a solid warranty.

The only good thing I have to say about this stairmaster is that it does seem to be mechanically sound. I originally had the 4000PT which was wonderful. I thought that a newer version would be great, however, I was really disappointed! I was shocked at how cheaply it was made with what seems to be a very low end plastic type of material. I had to take great care while assembling it because it seemed on the verge of breaking as I put it together! Anyone who has used the 4000PT knows that it is built like a tank so you can imagine my shock at the lack of quality of the 4200PT. In addition, anyone who is chemically sensitive should beware. There was a definite odor when I removed it from the box which immediately gave me a headache. This is often a problem with cheap plastics, etc. I cannot believe that I paid over $2,000 for this piece of junk!

I absolute love it. It came late, but the product was upgraded because the company did not have the item I wanted. I wish I would have ordered one sooner.