Weslo vs Gold’s Gym Treadmill

Fitness is an important way to deal with stress and keep in shape. But going to the gym is not always a practical option, and jogging outside in urban environments can be anywhere on the spectrum from uncomfortable to unsafe.

So owning a treadmill at home, in order for you to walk or run whenever you feel like it, could be a viable alternative. Today I’m comparing two popular choices for treadmills: the Weslo Cadence G 5.9 and the Gold’s Gym Trainer 720.

Key Features

The Weslo Cadence G 5.9 Treadmill is a simpler, more straightforward machine, which is reflected in the price. It doesn’t have a lot of features or options but works well for walking and light running. It takes only around 15 minutes to set up with two people.

The Gold’s Gym Trainer 720 Treadmill is more complex. Plus it has a lifetime frame warranty and a 25-year motor warranty.

More about the Weslo Cadence G 5.9

Let’s start with the bad news:

The Weslo has no automatic incline increase, you have to choose manually between the two available positions, either 1.5% or 6% incline.

It also doesn’t have any audio features.

The more important downside, though, is that the warranty on parts & labor is only good for 90 days, while the motor has a limited 1-year warranty. So you want to plan your buying date carefully to ensure that you have plenty of opportunities to test it out in the first 90 days.

Now the good news:

On the upside, in its price class it is regularly voted as the best; a simple, no-frills machine that will do for walking and light running. The maximum capacity is set at 275lbs.

It can be set up within 15 minutes (by two people) and can easily be folded away. To fold it out again, you only need to pull out two knobs on the sides to release the tread down. Its light weight and wheels mean that it is easy to move around.

It is also easy to use with 6 built-in workout programs. For the heart rate it has a thumb sensor on the console, rather than the one on the handgrips, which makes it a lot easier to keep track of your pulse regularly and accurately.

It has all the usual basics, like water bottle holders and one-touch quick keys. Another plus is that it is quiet and efficient to run. Weslo cadence g 5.9 treadmill review says this is a great product.

More about the Gold’s Gym Trainer 720

Again, I’ll start with the bad news:

The Gold’s Gym machine takes longer to assemble and is a bit bulkier than the Weslo. Because of its significantly higher price, you would expect a much better machine but the parts are mostly plastic and feel a bit flimsy.

This treadmill uses a handgrips heart rate sensor, which means you have to hold on to the hand grips all the time if you want to keep an eye on your heart rate throughout. I don’t know about you but I’ve never been able to do that.

On the upside:

This machine has 18 pre-programmed workouts and more incline levels (0 – 10), which can be changed smoothly with the one-touch quick keys on the console.

Aside from the usual cup holders and heart rate display, it offers iPod and MP3 compatibility, so you can keep your energy levels up with your favourite workout tunes. It also has a cooling fan.

A big plus are the warranties: lifetime on the frame and 25 years on the motor.

Weslo cadence g 5.9 treadmill review Bottom Line

Considering the price difference, I feel that the Weslo is a better deal overall, although the very limited warranty is a bit of a worry here. I don’t find the lack of audio a problem, as long as I’m at home, I’m always going to have other options to get my music blasting.

The pre-programmed workouts are a nice feature on the Gold’s Gym machine but not enough to justify the difference in price.

Otherwise they are pretty comparable. They both do up to 10mph in speed, the treads are similar sizes, both have the SpaceSaver design and can be folded away easily. The maximum capacity is also similar.

Aside from the price, the Weslo has one other feature that puts it ahead in my opinion: a thumb sensor on the console for the heart rate rather than the handgrips sensors that the Gold’s Gym treadmill uses. As mentioned above, this is easier to use (for me at least) and more accurate.