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The Merit 725T Treadmill is made by Horizon Fitness, a well-known company in the fitness machines field. I considered a lot of different makes and models before I finally decided to buy this one. The main reason for choosing it was the price - at $399 it was a lot cheaper than other treadmills with a similar specification.
Although it has a low price the Merit 725T seems to be a pretty robust and solid machine. There are some parts which are made of plastic, such as the cover for the motor, and these look as if they would easily crack. However this doesn't affect the structure of the machine at all.
One problem I had right at the start though, is that the treadmill is only partly assembled when it is delivered and there is quite a bit of work involved in getting it ready to use. The assembly instructions were none too clear and lots of the bolts didn't line up very well with the holes. It's heavy too, so it's best if you have someone to help you with the assembling.
The room where I keep it is small and this treadmill is very compact. When folded it hardly takes up any space. Although compact I found the running area to be more than adequate for me at just over 6 feet tall; there is plenty of room for a long stride.
It is very easy to use as it has 7 preset programs and the running deck can be inclined to make the exercise even harder. The programs are not as complicated as they are on more expensive treadmills, but I like this as it is easier to choose between them. It also has a good range of speed settings, going from 1 up to 10 miles per hour, more than adequate for most runners.
Although everything works okay, I am not sure that the heart rate monitor is very accurate as the readings jump about a bit. This is not something that concerns me as it is easy enough to take your pulse by hand.
If you don't want to spend a lot of money to get a treadmill that is equipped with loads of features that you probably won't use, then the Merit 725T treadmill is a good buy. Its quality is very good for the price and it looks as if it will stand up to hard use.
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