The Spirit XT600 Treadmill Review — A solid unit under $2000

Ohiyo!

Eegads! Things get busy here at the DOJO and suddenly almost 3 weeks have gone by since the Treadmill Sensei’s last review! I’m working on a new format for the website which should be finished in this next month and will make finding reviews a lot easier. I’m also going to be reviewing entire lines instead of jumping around so much. Since a good chunk of the Spirit line is already done I’ll start there. After that I’ll do the new Landice treadmills which are looking fantastic. So keep an eye out and, if there is a line you guys are interested in, zap me a note and let me know.

Today I am going to start with a treadmill from Spirit Fitness’ new X line of equipment. Well, not exactly new as it has been around for about 6 months now and is really just a retooling of their older Z series. The concept behind the “X” series of equipment seems to be to offer brick and mortar dealers (meaning walk in stores) an alternative to treadmills and ellipticals from Sole. The units aren’t seen as widely on the internet because of Spirit’s separation of internet and regular stores for some reason…don’t let that lack of internet presence scare you off because these are some very nice machines.

The Spirit XT600 treadmill is the top folding treadmill in the X line of machines. After having set up about 10 Spirit XT600 treadmills this past month, I’ve been able to see the inner workings of these machines. They use the standard XT series treadmill console and struts but with a longer running area than the other units. In fact, having worked on a lot of Spirit and even more Sole treadmills, I’d have to say the Spirit XT600 is basically a reworked version of the Sole F85 with a shorter running area.

The Spirit XT600 is a great treadmill — sturdy, great motor, lots of extras, easy to assemble and well built — but why Spirit decided to skimp a little on the running area baffles me. Sure, the unit is generally about $100 less than the comparable Sole F85, but I’d go ahead and pay that extra cash for the additional 2 inches of deck length.

The pros on the Spirit XT600 are the giant, cool-running 3.5 horsepower motor, 2.75 inch rollers, 10 workout programs, heart rate monitoring and control and general solid, sturdy construction. When you get on an XT600 treadmill you get a good solid run without a lot of the wobbles you see in lower end machines.

The only real con on this machine is when you compare it to Sole F85 treadmill and see the slightly shorter deck. When judged on its own, the Spirit XT600 is nearly perfect.

For only having one minor quibble, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Spirit XT600 treadmill 3.5 out of 5 golden buddahs.

UPDATE: This unit has been discontinued and sold out by the manufacturer. Check out the best buy Sole F83 treadmill for an excellent alternative with a larger deck.

– The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com