Century VersaFlex Stretching Machine

by Century

Product Features

• Ideal for the person seeking maximum stretch in minimum time
• Stretches to 190 degrees
• 4-position stretching arm
• Multi position thigh pads
• Degree indicator to chart stretching progress

Product Description

Century's ultimate commercial or home stretching machine

Product Details

• Item Weight: 56 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 52.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000EZYT7Q
• Item model number: 1557
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,518 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Definative Review, December 22, 2009

By 

R. McLaughlin "Stinkyonion" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Century VersaFlex Stretching Machine (Sports)

I bought on accident both this stretcher and the Pro Leg Stretcher by Timas. I kept both for purposes of this review. My kids and wife have used both. The bottom line is that the Pro Leg Stretcher by Timas is a better machine, but is also slightly flawed. First I will discuss the Century VersaFlex STretching Machine.

The VersaFlex comes in like 50 pieces. Instructions are horrible. The pictures are too small and poor resolution. They are on different page than the written instructions. The pictures of the bolts are too large, not actual size but 110%, making it difficult to figure out which bolt is which unless you get a ruler. The handles that go at the end of the legs are not pictured or discussed adequately. I was still able to put it together in about 1.5 hours.

I am 5'11". The legs are too short by like 6 inches. Gimme a break. It would only have cost a few dollars more to make the legs longer. Now, my legs hang of the end, so all stretches are done with my knees bent and the end of the leg support digging into bertween my calf and ankle. I was going to make my own longer leg pieces since I have a wood shop, but now will likely give this unit away and keep the superior Pro Leg Stretcher.

The teeth on the ratchet assembly dont hold very well. If there is a lot of tension it will just close. The ratchet assembly is cheeply made and I can see why it is unreliable and multiple others have reported the cables breaking. The ratchet on mine is kockeyed and only engages 2/3 of the gear. Worse, the ratchet assembly has about 5 degree increments only. This is way too large.

The machine is rather large in that it is about 2 feet tall, and the legs dont close all the way but only to about 30 degrees making it take up more floor space than necessary. This also makes it more awkward to get into.

The VersaFlex has an angle gauge that is poorly positioned so the user cant read it very well. It is also off by about 15 degrees. (This is bad but the Pro Leg Stretcher has no means of measuring how far legs are spread).

With all these shortcomings it will still give you a powerful stretch. My stretch has improved faster than with no machine. I am extremely unflexible and it is hard for me to get in conventional stretching positions but this makes it easy to stretch.

Now on to the Pro Leg STretcher:
Wow. This one came fully assembled. The legs are long enough for me (5'11") but are still too short if you are much taller (but still way longer than the VersaFlex). Unlike the VersaFlex the vertical leg pads dont rotate. This is bad because the pad end tends to dig into my mid thigh a little bit. The wheel used to make the stretch is essentialy infinitely variable whereas the VersaFlex is in about 5 degree increments. Trust me, 1 degree change when you are near your pain threshhold is HUGE. You can eak out extra stretching power with the Pro Leg Stretcher that you cannot do with the VersaFlex because of this infinite variability rather than waiting a week or more for the next 5 degree increment. The back folds down on the Pro Leg Stretcher and the legs come completely together making it take up about half the floor space and half the height of the VersaFlex. While it is substantially better thant the VersaFlex, the Pro Leg Stretcher would be improved by makeing the vertical leg pads rotate and removable (like on the Versaflex) which would make it more comfortable and be able to slide under the bed. Also, there is no way to assess the amount the legs are opened. I am going to attach a tape measure from the end of one leg to the end of the other so I can better follow improvements. With these changes the Pro Leg Stretcher would have gotten 5 stars.

The VersaFlex gets only 3 stars for its many shortcomings.

UPDATE: After a couple months of use I now realize it is easy to follow your improvement with the Pro Leg Stretcher. Just start with it all the way closed, and count the number of turns you can do with the wheel. At 11 turns it becomes painful for me, and can slowly go up to 12 and a half now. Yeah, that is not degrees of leg opening but it does let you follow your improvement easily and reliably. I gave my Versaflex away, it remained clearly inferior.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Versaflex is a joy to use!, December 21, 2005

By 

Neplusultra (Blairsville, GA. United States) - See all my reviews

I am a dedicated martial artist that has been frustrated in my attempts to attain greater flexibility. Despite my previous instructor's claim that these types of machines are a waste of time & money, I decided to investigate the potential effectiveness of the "Versaflex". Based on this investigation, I purchased this machine & in the very short amount of time that I have used it, I am really happy. For me it makes stretching very relaxing & comfortable. I am very impressed!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great, February 24, 2008

By 

J. K. (Maine, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Century VersaFlex Stretching Machine (Sports)

I bought one of these, and expected a bit of a hassle putting it together according to the other reviews. The main problem(s) with the directions are that they show pictures for parts that are not used with this product, and the exploded pictures are not next to the written directions, so you have to keep flipping back and forth between the pictures and the explanations. Despite that, apart from almost cross threading one screw putting the seat on, the assembly went ok.

I have been using it for about a month and have slowly increased my stretch from about 100 to about 125 degress. But the problems for me now are (1) the machine makes you increase your stretches by 5 degress each time, so you can't just nudge it forward a degree or two and (2) its putting all the pressure on my knees to force my legs apart with the pad in the outer most hole. There are holes closer to the middle, but they'd be too close to the top of my legs. It could have really used a hole a little further out.

It is built well and works as advertized, but as I mention above, as I have gotten to my max stretch where I need to slowly move forward, I have to go forward by 5 degrees at a time ...