Stair Stepper for Home-Upgrade Vertical Climber Workout Machine for Full-Body Exercise Climber Fitness Equipment with Stable Frame Adjustable Handlebar

Very Robust and Effective
Assembly of this stair climber was pretty easy and straightforward. Just follow the clear instructions. One thing to note is that the “steps” where you put your feet do slide up and down on the frame. As such, there is a clear, silicone grease lubricant on the frame in this area that is covered in the packaging. Others have noted this in their reviews and wiped it clean. Do not do that. The steps need that lubricant to slide up and down easily. So, just be careful during assembly to not touch the lubricant (it won’t hurt you) to keep it in place.Overall, this machine is really robust. I weight 240 lbs, right near the advertised weight limit. It holds me fine and I don’t feel unsafe when using the machine. It feels very solid. Yet, it’s not too heavy that you can’t move it around your home gym easily.I was a bit skeptical of the design at first. I am an engineer and always like to understand how things work. The “steps” are connected through an elastic band, which helps to pull one up as the other is pushed down. I thought that this would make the effort needed entirely too easy. Boy was I wrong! It works and works really well. You will really start feeling it in your legs within just a minute of use. It definitely gives you a good workout! I want to get into shape for hikes and mountain climbing requiring a lot of uphills and this stair climber is going to be just perfect for that! I would definitely recommend this piece of home gym equipment. It looks simple, but it’s still robust and effective.

Good at Home Climber
Easy to put together. Low to little resistance during use. One small part broken upon delivery but nothing a little DIY couldn’t fix. Pricing is great for the quality. Better then going to a gym. Definitely recommend

I did 45 minutes on this, my full review.
I did 45 minutes on this machine. I tried everything: standing upright, bending forward around 45 degree angle, bending forward around 90 degree angle, and even backwards.Note: It’s really jarring when your foot hits the very bottom of the pole, so the best way to use this machine is to ensure that your feet don’t go all the way to the bottom as the ricochet can feel jarring on knees and hips.I found early into my workout that this really fired up my calves and wore them out, which is great as I’m always looking for a good calf workout.However, to switch it up and for longevity, I found myself putting the heels of my feet on the foot plates and letting my toes hang out over the top of the foot holders. I wear size 7 shoes and I was able to do that without my toes rubbing along the bars and it made for a good workout without continuing to hurt my calves.I found that you get a different workout if you stand upright and use the machine as opposed to leaning forward and using the machine. It’s also easier to go faster on this machine if you are leaning forward. Another benefit is to work out next to a mirror so you can see how far down you can let your feet go without it hitting the bottom and getting that ricocheting feeling.I also used a resistant band around my thighs and found that was a good thigh workout, feeling most activation in the thighs if you are standing upright.I tried the machine without my hands, and that obviously had me slowing down needing to steady myself more. I am kicking myself that I didn’t grab some weights to see if I could incorporate a nice arm workout while on the machine. But my soul purpose today was to get my heart rate up and to get a good sweat.I even went so far as to use the machine backwards, I stood on the pedals backwards and held my upper body up on the handles. That became a very interesting, upper body, strength/endurance work out as you have to steady yourself. I could see that being a core workout as well.All in all, it’s a good little machine. My only qualms are that unless you are going fast, it’s not smooth. The other qualm is what I mentioned earlier, and that is the jarring feeling when your foots hit the bottom of the pole.