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(More customer reviews)I've been working out with weights for 15 years but have been out of the game for the last several due to personal reasons. A few months ago I was told by my Dr. that I need to lose about 25 lbs. so I decided to get back in the game after a 2 year hiatus. However, because of my very limited time and having 2 young children at home, I did not want to go back to the gym at this time. I'm away from my kids enough during my work day so I decided to set myself up at home. The problem was, as it is with most people, I have very limited space and certainly don't have a large extra room I can dedicate as a home gym.
I bought this bench because the price was appealing and because I needed something that would fold up and take up less space since it's being stored in our bedroom. I was actually surprised at how sturdy it is for a folding bench. The bench is solid and folds up and stores very easily in a small corner of our bedroom. The mid width is perfect for my 6' bar. It will handle 6' and 7' bars but you won't be able to use it with a bar less than 6' long (the distance between the uprights is too wide for shorter bars). It's very stable and wide enough that you don't pinch your hands when re-racking the bar. It's not as heavy duty, stable or wide as an olympic size bench but it's less than half the price of a good olympic width bench and takes up much less space as well. And there are no folding olympic width benches available that I know of (not to mention I don't have the room for a bench that wide). The uprights have a good range of adjustment heights and can be turned around to do squats. The adjustment pins seem a little thin to me but this isn't a gym quality olympic bench and it is not rated to hold a dumptruck like those benches.
On the down side (and the only minor reasons that I did not rate it a 5), the back rest pad is spaced a little far away from the seat pad making for an uncomfortable gap under your lower back when doing flat presses. It's not detrimental to the exercise as your lower back doesn't touch the pad when doing flat presses anyway, you just need to make sure that you slide down far enough toward the leg developer so that your butt is fully supported by the lower pad. The backrest pad really could have been moved a little closer to the lower pad to close up this gap some and decrease the overhang of the pad at the top end (see comment about squatting). With inclined presses, it's not an issue, only when laying flat on your back. Also, the top of the backrest pad extends a little to far past the uprights and is partially in the way when aproaching the uprights from the top end for doing squats. Ideally, you should pivot the backrest up and out of the way to use the bench for squatting, a minor inconvenience.
One other downside is that the owner's manual does not tell you what the weight capacities of the bench are. This information is not posted on any web sites I visited when shopping for a bench either so I had to contact the manufacturer to get this information. Incidentally, the maximum weight for the uprights is 300 lb. and the maximum weight for the leg developer is 100 lb. I think the weight capacity for the leg developer is a little low but when using the heavier weights one could always do one leg at a time, effectively doubling the weight capacity per leg. I think this is a minor compromise considering the low cost of the bench.
Assembly was very easy and took only about 45 minutes. They even give you the tools you will need to assemble the bench. The assembly instructions were pretty good with only 1 or 2 minor discrepancies that anyone with any type of common sense could figure out. Bolt holes all lined up, the finish is very good and there are not a lot of parts to get lost.
Overall, I would rate this bench as an excellent buy. For people looking for a good quality stable bench for the home that does not cost a lot, takes up little space when stored and can handle a full 300 lb. load, this bench fits the bill very well. Of course if you are a serious bodybuilder who needs to squat 500 lb. you will need to look at full sized olympic benches and cages, but you should already know that. This bench was not designed to do the work and hold the weight of a full cage, but it doesn't take up the whole room either. This bench was designed for the average person looking to get/stay in shape at home and it meets that goal very well. The average person working out at home typically won't need to load more than 300 lb. on the uprights.
I would not hesitate to buy this bench again.
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Best Fitness BFOB10 Olympic BenchThe space-efficient BFOB10 folding Olympic bench is an all-in-one free weight center that delivers a total body workout with room to grow. The bench makes it easy to perform bench presses, incline presses, leg extension, leg curls, and much more. The bench is fully adjustable, with a flat setting, three incline settings, and a decline setting, along with adjustable uprights to accommodate users of different heights. The heavy-duty back pad and oversized foam rollers, meanwhile, make leg exercises just as comfortable to perform as bench presses. And thanks to the folding frame, it's a breeze to store and transport the bench. Affordably priced and appropriate for just about any household, the BFOB10 measures 41 by 45 by 68 inches (W x H x D) when fully assembled and 41 by 72 by 26 inches (W x H x D) when folded. It also carries a three-year warranty on the frame and a one-year warranty on all other parts.
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