The Proform Perspective ES Treadmill — Surprisingly Not Bad

Ohiyo!

Your Treadmill Sensei has finally recovered from his eating binge yesterday and is back in fighting form. So, after a long night of pain and discomfort I thought I’d write about the fitness industry manufacturer that gives me similar pain and discomfort, Proform.

Now, any regular reader of this site knows about my opinions on the quality of most Proform equipment. In order to be fair, I thought I’d write about one of their better units, the Proform Perspective ES Treadmill.

We get in a lot of malfunctioning or broken low-end TV treadmills at the DOJO, and this is probably the sturdiest TV treadmill in its price range. Normally television treadmills are shoddy, full of plastic and over-priced, so when Hikaru came in to my office a couple of days ago and said “Sensei, you have to see this,” I wasn’t expecting much. When I saw the Proform Perspective treadmill sitting in the middle of the repair bay, I was expecting even less.

After letting Hikaru power the treadmill up and then getting on myself to do a quick warm-up workout, I was blown away by what I saw and felt.

I’m not completely sure how they did it, but the unit weighs in at a bit over 200 pounds and is easily one of the sturdiest treadmills Proform produces. Even more surprising is the mid-size, 3 horsepower motor they’ve placed in the Perspective treadmill. The motor runs at a slightly high RPM than a Smooth or Sole treadmill, but still runs fairly cool and should have a nice long running lifetime. Needless to say, when I opened up the hood on one of these babies earlier this week and saw something other than the normal, soda can sized motor Proform treadmills normally have, I was a bit shocked.

The rest of the specs on the Perspective treadmill are surprisingly decent as well — an insane 28 programs, an average 12 mph max speed and 12% incline, and the 20×60 inch running area is great for the under $1500 price point for the Proform Perspective.

All-in-all, the Proform Perspective ES treadmill is a decent buy. The warranty is a bit sparse so I’d suggest getting an extended warranty, and I’d still make sure to take extra care of the motor. Keep it dry and dust free and it should for a good long time. It’s not a fantastic treadmill but any means and there is still a bit more plastic in the construction, but it is a good buy for someone looking for a TV treadmill.

The Proform Perspective ES Treadmill gets 3.5 out of 5 golden buddahs from the Treadmill Sensei for being a solid TV treadmill and a decent price.

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