Although all of the discussions here concerns the Crossbow, I wanted to mention something about the Gold's Gym Power Flex. There is not much available on the Net about this product, so I wanted to mention this just in case there are others who have bought this piece of equipment and can share their experiences.
We are in Japan working in a remote location (ie. not Tokyo) and have been looking for suitable work out equipment, as there is no gym close by. Free weights have been considered, but these are ridiculously expensive here, even if you can find them. We did manage to find a small set at the local sport store, but this only goes up to 15 Kg. We have a Nordic-Track also for aerobic work.
For the last year we were looking for a home gym that could be brought to Japan. There are a few restrictions with this, as basically you can easily double your purchase cost once you add on freight for basic equipment. Pure weights gyms are out of the question - transport costs are too expensive, even if you can find someone to ship (which not many people are willing to do, it seems). We narrowed our preferences down to the PT 3000 from Excerciting and the Bowflex. The PT 3000 is still in the development phase (as I understand) and the Bowflex (in addition to being expensive) had a long waiting list so we were still not getting any closer. On reflection now, I do not think that the PT 3000 could have been shipped due to weight restrictions (250 lb +) and the Bowflex was close to US$ 2000 and they would ship international for another $ 1000 I seem to remember. I read as much as I could about the Bowflex and hesitated as this is getting very expensive by this time and I did not really have a good feel for the quality without having seen one ($ 3000) is a lot for something site unseen). I did find Soloflex Japan but I believe they offer their setup here for about US $ 2000+, which seemed very pricey compared with Ebay. Add this to the fact that you may have to practically give the equipment away when it comes time to leave again, the $ involved start to mount up.
Anyway, Fast Forward to December 2002 and a quick trip back to the US for Xmas and still thinking about what to do as the 15 Kg. free weights are getting tedious. Getting over jetlag at 2.00am I saw the Crossbow Infomercial and decided to go and have a look at one at Sears, while contacting PT 3000 by Excerciting in the meantime. PT 3000 is not available at this time due to development / production issues, so we pretty much figure that we will have to look at something else, even though we did like the look of the PT 3000 . We also have a chance to look numerous Fitness Equipment Outlet stores offering a huge range of excellent weights equipment, but nothing that we can get to Japan (either financially or logistically - FedExing weight stacks Priority just seems surreal and somehow wrong)
The Crossbow looks pretty good in the store, with an excellent price, but I am not sure about the rods. A short trial seems to give a pretty good pump, but there are also none left (big item over Xmas). We decide to think about it and price shipment. ON-line quotes give us an all up price of US$1200 by the time it gets to Nagasaki, which is not too bad. So after another sleepless night, I see the infomercial for Gold's Gym Power Flex (this infomercial is much less common than the Crossbow) and I go to look at the website. Although US$ 400 more expensive that the Crossbow, it also has the advantage (for us) of no dead-weight and the possibility of easier shipping. In addition, it also has a one touch handle for changing the tesnion / weight which my wife insisted on as she did not want to fool with all the rods like on the Bowflex. It promised to do the same excercises and looked to be of sturdy construction with an acceptable foot-print. Of cousre I had not seen one in person (and was not likely to in the few days that we had over Xmas), but having t do something, I took a gamble and weighed up the Crossbow, Gold's Gym Power Flex and Bowflex and picked the middle option.
The Power Flex arrived as promised from Iconfitness at our addres in TN a week after we got back to Japan. I finally was able to arrange shipment from TN after some difficulty through an existing FedEx account (and getting a reduced rate!) and the Power Flex container (62 in x 24 in x 12 in) arrived on our doorstep on 2/6/03, with an all up cost of $1350. The unit was well packed in a 65 Kg box. Immediately after opening it became obvious that "some assembly" was going to be required, as there are a considerable number of parts with this machine. A suggested tool list is supplied, and the only additional tool I need was an additional wrench for tensioning bolts. Assembly took about 4 hours all up - the instructions were good, but I thought it better to go slow as not to strip welded screw threads etc. - obtaining replacement parts at this point would be a problem). I did like the quality of the Power Flex - everything looks well made and strong. The band tension mechanism comes ready assembled and is controlled by a handle that allows you to
increase weight by 10 lb increments and the whole system is set up so you do not need a spotter. The initial system has 210 lbs of resistance tension, which is certainly enough for the time being, as we are getting back into weights after a long absence and will be starting slow ands steady again. The seat has a strong frame with a sturdy backrest, which I like, especially for the inclined excercises. The Power Flex has a stable platform, although they do warn you not to operate the machine with making sure that you are seated correctly as this could cause it to tip. I do not get the feeling that it is unstable at all, and they are probably referring to the
higher weights.
The resistance is different than the free weights from the gym and this takes a little getting used to, as you do not have the immediate pump that you may be used to. But after a workout with a number of the exercises from the Wallchart provided, we could definately feel / see the difference. It feels somewhat different in that as the real pump comes at the top of the exercise. There are also plenty of different exercises to keep you interested and we are happy to have created a good compromise in getting a gym style piece of equipment at home, here after all this time.
After 10 days we feel that it is working out well and the machine is delivering what it is promising. The main issue was being limited by so many factors to begin with (location, import, freight etc.) But we are happy with this compromise. Purists may argue that free weights are necessary for concentrated strength gain, but we are going to give this piece of equipment a full work out to see just how much we can get out of it. It is a pleasing sturdy design with good initial resistance @ 210 lb (and can be upgraded to 410 lbs) and comes with the additional leg attachment. The final footprint of 4 fit x 4ft footprint (storage) is also a pretty good size for a Japanese-style house. It also struck me how quiet it is when being used - certainly quiet enough to use in a Japanese apartment with their paper-thin walls (not that you would though - most are just way too small ). So far it gives a good workout when combined with 30 mins aerobic on the Nordic-Track and I expect it will last a good few years before major repairs are required.
I also expect that the design will allow me to fix anything that goes wrong / breaks (a real consideration out here). Initial warranty is 1 year.
So we have started out on our routines again and will advise on any issues / problems with the Power Flex as they unfold, if anyone is interested. Overall, I have a very positive first impression of this machine, but the next 6 months will tell.
Ian B.
Linear Mode
