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If you are looking for high-tech training options, the Sole F80 has it all. Continue reading this review of the Sole F80 Treadmill to discover all the features it offers.
Updated: September 15, 2023
If you have been juggling subscription content versus non-subscription content or smart features versus user-friendly features in your search for the best treadmill, look no further. The Sole F80 requires no compromises. Sole offers features that most treadmill brands lock behind paywalls. No other treadmill has impressed me with what it has for free nearly as much as the F80. This review of the Sole F80 treadmill dives into all its training options and more.
The Sole F80 uses a new and modernized Z-shaped design. The frame is aluminum but feels just as sturdy as treadmills that use steel frames. The plastic components of the treadmill’s arms feel slick, especially when sweaty. These arms are shorter than standard, making the insufficient grip more noticeable. The foot rails feel sturdy but could use more texture to improve traction. The grooved aluminum is a bit slippery underfoot, but I felt comfortable standing on them to get on and off the treadmill or adjust something on the console.
The Sole F80 has a 3.5 HP motor suitable for walking or running. The F80 is a great treadmill for a daily cardio routine or long training sessions. The motor is ready for almost anything, but multi-runner households or heavier users might find the Sole F85’s 4.0 HP motor more appropriate for their level of use.
The deck is large at 22” x 60”. This is plenty of room for most stride lengths, from walking to running at higher speeds. The belt is textured for improved grip, so you can feel as confident as I did about every step.
Sole states that its “Cushion Flex Whisper Deck” reduces impacts by up to 40% compared to running on asphalt. Without validating this claim or reviewing the data used to arrive at this claim, I can only state my anecdotal experience. The deck of the Sole F80 feels much firmer than NordicTrack or ProForm treadmills. I don’t think this is a bad thing. A firmer deck more accurately replicates the outdoor running experience and allows the body to adapt to a new stress. Exercise is all about introducing a controlled level of stress to make the body stronger!
The Sole F80 is a folding treadmill. A yellow lever releases the deck from its upright position. Initially, it releases rather quickly, but it catches about a third of the way to the ground to lower soft and slow the rest of the way. The Easy Assist Folding makes lowering the treadmill a breeze with hydraulics. I prefer the F80’s lever release over the kick release of other soft unfolding treadmills. The lever helps me feel confident that the treadmill is locked in place.
Folding the treadmill is a little more difficult than other hydraulic models. It is a heavy treadmill at 274 lbs, making the deck heavier. However, most users should be able to raise the deck without help.
One of my favorite features of the F80 is the four transportation wheels. Most treadmills require you to tilt them back onto their two transport wheels, but the F80 lets you skip the tilting. It is much easier to push the F80 than other treadmills in its class. If you need to relocate your treadmill frequently, the F80 is a great option for a full-sized treadmill. It works best when rolled over a hard surface.
The F80 has an incline range of 0 to 15%. There is no option to decline the deck, one of the few features this treadmill lacks. The 15% incline is sufficient for a great hill workout. Incline adjustments are quiet and smooth. My only complaint is that the adjustments are slow. It takes quite a long time to get to 15%, so if you are training fast and cannot sustain a steep incline for very long, consider slowing the treadmill down or stepping onto the foot rails.
The Sole F80 has abundant features. This treadmill really dazzled and overwhelmed me. Most of the time when I test treadmills, I spend most of my time focused on walking or running. On the F80, I devoted considerably more time to testing all the smart features. There were so many functionalities to try out, and I consider myself thoroughly entertained by the F80.
The F80 console is busy–how could it not be with so many features? Yet, this is where another dislike of mine comes into play. I had difficulty reaching the console to adjust my speed or tap a button on the screen while running. I don’t have this much trouble on comparable treadmills like the NordicTrack Commercial 1750 or the ProForm Pro 2000. When I did reach for the quick adjust buttons on either side of the screen, I hit the motor hood with my foot because of how close I needed to move. I am 5’4”, for reference. Taller or longer-limbed users may not have the same difficulty.
The speed and incline buttons, set to the right and left of the screen, respectively, do not have every whole number within their respective ranges. I prefer these buttons to increment by 1. Some skipped buttons are popular settings like 0% incline and 6 or 8 mph.
There is a secondary option for adjusting speed and incline. These large switches are situated on the sides of the front crossbar. They cannot be held down to increase the speed or incline faster, but they do assist in selecting a more precise speed or incline than what the numbered buttons offer. The incline adjusts in increments of 1 while the speed adjusts in increments of 0.1.
The Sole F80 has a 10”–excuse me, 10.1”–touchscreen. The screen uses an Android operating system but does not have the full capabilities of an Android tablet. Of the treadmills we tested, Sole has the most options embedded into their touchscreens, which I appreciate. The screen size is adequate, but some of the proportions of the metrics seem off. I wish there was less dead space on the console and the screen. I occasionally hit the wrong button while exercising on the F80, though I attribute this error more to the angle and distance of the screen from my position on the deck than to its size.
There are two cup holders in the F80–one on either side. These cup holders can hold large water bottles, like a Stanley cup. There is an additional compartment next to each cup holder. This space is great for keys, nutrition, or your phone. Sole even includes engraved symbols before this compartment to give you ideas about what to place there.
The speakers are powerful. It was easy to hear them over the quiet motor sounds and my loud running steps. The volume can only be adjusted from the screen, whereas the fan is given an onscreen control and a tactile button. I wish the speakers had been given an offscreen button, as adjusting the volume while viewing the apps in fullscreen was not always easy. I don’t think this is a huge downside to the treadmill, as you can still make volume adjustments; I just miss that little detail to an otherwise fully functional set of speakers.
I had some Bluetooth connection issues. My Android smartphone does not work as well as another reviewer’s iPhone did with the F80. I could not download the Android screen mirroring app as it was too dated for my device’s update to Android 13.0. I am hopeful that this is something Sole can resolve soon, so Android users can use the screen mirroring feature of the F80.
My Garmin Forerunner 245 had no problem pairing with the F80. If you plan to use a Garmin or another smart device with the F80, ensure it is not connected to your phone. You cannot have your Garmin connected to your phone and to your treadmill, as the F80 connects through the phone pairing feature rather than the device pairing route. With this connection, I could see my heart rate, respiration rate, and body battery on the screen during my workout.
The screen mirroring capability of the F80 allows you to access an even wider range of content from your smartphone. It makes the device rack seem a little redundant, save for users who experience technical difficulties with getting the feature to work. The console appears to be more iPhone-friendly but lacks the same cooperation with Android devices. A reviewer here at Treadmill Reviews had no problem getting the screen mirroring to work with her iPhone. Streaming video content was a little sluggish, and her screen froze occasionally. Overall, screen mirroring is not as seamless as using the integrated content, but with a few improvements, it could be a great feature on an already robust treadmill.
The wireless charging pad works well for compatible phones. If your phone is compatible with wireless charging, but your case is not, you must remove it before setting it on the charging pad. The phone must be placed in the landscape position. I love this feature as it adds much more longevity to using the screen mirroring function.
Even with screen mirroring and built-in content, the Sole F80 provides a device rack for more content options. The device rack is positioned above the screen, which works well for tall users. At 5’4”, I prefer the built-in screen to the device rack, but either would be fine for viewing.
The console is very sturdy and keeps your device secure. There is also an adjustable clip to help keep the top of your device stable. My phone only rattled slightly while seated in the device rack, but I have both a thick case and a PopSocket on my phone. Without these two features, your device should stay stable without any rattling.
There are EKG pulse grip sensors on the front crossbar. EKG heart rate sensors are a dated but customary feature on cardio machines. I believe they will be phased out in the coming years due to their inaccuracy and the abundance of other options. Sole has improved its compatibility with Garmin watches. Hooking my watch up was easy, giving more reliable heart rate data. You can train in a heart rate program to put this feature to good use.
The Sole F80 Treadmill starts with a login screen. You can exercise as a guest or set up a unique profile. There is space for up to nine different profiles. When you set up your own, you are prompted for basic demographic information like height and weight for calorie expenditure estimates. You also choose between one of the cute profile avatars.
You can sync your profile on the F80 to the Sole+ app to keep track of your performance and unlock more personal records. I easily connected my profiles with the QR code displayed on the treadmill screen from within the settings. It’s convenient to look back at the individual workouts I did. Since I connected my Garmin watch, I also have the heart rate data saved inside the workout metrics.
The first few sessions on the F80 could be spent only exploring its content. If you have a harder effort planned, I recommend knowing what you are going to view on the screen. Starting an app while you are already inside an activity is easier. I could not always figure out how to start a workout inside one of the integrated entertainment apps. The exception to this is YouTube. If you have used YouTube’s picture-in-picture feature on your phone, you will know how it works on this treadmill. The YouTube app can be minimized to a small window, visible from any other content page on the treadmill’s display. Outside the YouTube app, I suggest using a walking warm-up to set your onscreen content.
The deck feels firmer underfoot, but I don’t mind it. If you are used to running on roads, the belt won’t be a problem. However, if you want a good recovery treadmill, I recommend the Nordic Track Commercial series, which has some of the softest decks. The F80 feels spacious both in width and length. Runners with long strides will have no problem even when maxing the speed at 12 mph.
Overall, the F80 is a very stable running treadmill. The motor is quiet, but the speed and incline adjust very slowly. It is not quite as suited to interval work as the Horizon 7.4 Treadmill, but the option to customize your workout program alleviates some of the slow transitions. It holds up to heavy running use, casual walking, and everything in between.
The Sole F80 has numerous ways to train. The onboard programs include hills, fat-burn, cardio, strength, HIIT, 5k Run, 10k Run, and Heart Rate (if you use a compatible monitor). There are also built-in military fitness tests from the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. There are two additional fitness tests–the Gerkin and the PEB. The Gerkin is another military fitness test, while the PEB is a law enforcement standard. Most of these programs are very simple, allowing you to manually control the speed while you shoot for a distance and time goal. The Gerkin is a little more involved and requires a heart rate monitor.
You can also train in a manual activity. While in this type of activity, you can view three different screens. These are stats, charts, and track. ‘Stats’ displays three large metrics on screen. You can choose which metrics display: speed, elapsed time, pace, distance, elevation gain, heart rate, METs, incline, time left, average pace, distance left, calories, or average heart rate. The top bar can be displayed or hidden from any screen and always shows incline, distance left or traveled, time elapsed, heart rate, and speed. ‘Charts’ displays a graph of your speed, incline, and heart rate. ‘Track’ is just like it sounds, a 400m track that a marker bounces around to show your progress and the number of laps traveled. If you are using a Garmin watch, a fourth screen will display your current heart rate zone, respiration rate, and body battery.
After you complete a manual activity, you can save your workout as a template for future exercise. This is convenient if you find yourself repeating workouts weekly. I am rarely drawn to the onboard content of treadmills, but I also find continuously hitting buttons to adjust my intervals frustrating. The Sole F80 makes setting up my training plan or following along with one much easier.
Kinomap is one of the app options on the Sole F80. Creating an account starts your 14-day free trial. You do not have to enter your card information to participate in the free trial, so don’t worry about having to cancel if you do not want to keep using Kinomap. This app has global videos of trails and exercise routes, coached content, multiplayer mode to compete against other users, and a map function to create a route. There is a lot of content on the Kinomap app, and I noticed it lagged a bit. Reducing the video quality from HD greatly improves its function.
Forget a structured workout, when I am on the treadmill, I like structured binge-watching. First, a little Netflix, then YouTube as a palate cleaner, and I am onto HBO Max last. Jokes aside, the Sole F80 has a great offering of third-party streaming apps. It’s super nice to have all these apps available right on the treadmill screen. So many other treadmills hide these apps behind a secondary paywall (don’t make me pay for Netflix twice!) or restrict the usage of their screens to their premium training content. Sole gets a round of applause from me for not messing up what should be a simple perk of having a fantastic treadmill display.
The Sole F80 is a feature-packed treadmill. Walkers and runners will never get bored using one of Sole’s integrated entertainment or fitness apps. The customizable training options ensure even users who do not want an added expense can get a great workout on the F80. I applaud Sole for not hiding their apps behind a paywall, so all users can get the most out of the F80. This treadmill has one of the most impressive offerings for subscribers and non-subscribers alike. It is a powerful treadmill with a durable construction, outstanding warranty, and strong motor.
