Customer Reviews

Century VersaFlex Stretching Machine

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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!

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 ...

I love this machine. The strech is allowed to happen at a slow and gentle pace and the legs are nicely supported. The only draw-back is the retraction process sometimes I have to push a little futher in order to release the latch to pull the legs back in. Other then that b e a utiful

I bought this VersaFlex last year, and I got troubles with this machine from the beginning. I think it's bad design because the crank is really weak. Its teeth are not binding together. When I am at my maximum stretching level, the crank retracts by itself. I am trying to find parts to replace the crank and its components without success. Don't buy this junk.

Beware! Over time, mine wore out and the ratchet hook no longer holds on the gear teeth. It just suddenly pops free, and it can crush your fingers if they are in the way when it lets go. I have looked it over carefully and can't see anything that has come loose. It's just wear and tear, and it didn't have heavy use.

The major problem of this machine is that the central star and the lever you use to stretch your legs are made of an alloy that can't withstand even medium loads. In addition to that it is not properly welded together. After a month the most important element of machine - the central gear wheel stopped holding legs in the stretched position. It can simply let it go in the middle of the workout - it became really dangerous to use this machine. This machine seems the cheapest amidst the similar ones but it's not worth it because after a couple of month it will be out of order. Besides to assemble this machine from the very beginning I had to buy in the local store some screw-bolts and this is something I hate the most - to realize that the gear you bought is lacking some elements essential for its proper work.

This is an awesome stretching equipment. Despite daily stretching, my side stretches were improving at such a snail pace, that i decided to get this product. In about 1 week my maximum stretch has improved by about 20 degrees. I am expecting that my rate of progress was slow down a little, may be to 10 degrees per week from here on. But even that would be spectacular progress.

Pros:
(1) Great sturdy solid steel construction. Sure to last a really really long time.
(2) It has a lever crank that you must push down to increase your stretch unlike the turn wheel cranks. Before buying this product, I was a little hesitant about this mechanism. But it works great, and since the lever can be tilted away from you, it does not obstruct your motion, when you try to bend your body forwards.
(3) The best part of this product is that you can measure your progress by degrees, which gives a great motivation to stretch further a little more each time.

Cons:
(1) Assembly process was the worst part of this product. The instructions were really bad. It took 3 hours of trial and error to assemble the whole thing. It has 60 different parts. A website showing video assembly would really help for this complicated assembly.
(2) The only other glitch is that the degree measure is off by about 20 degrees (I figured this by testing the angle of maximum stretch, which should be 190 but reads 170), which is no big deal as it is easy to do mental math. I am sure that if i called the company, they would assist me in pulling the cables to get this machine to measure accurately. But i guess i am not that motivated.

Summary: This is a great machine, and no matter how bad your stretch, if you use this machine daily, you will get to 180 degrees in less than 6 months. But be prepared for a complicated assembly. If you are not too good at assembling things, and don't have a friend who can help you, maybe you should not get this.

I waited a while before buying, trying to decide if it would be worth it. For me it was definitely worth the purchase. The price was right and the shipping time excellent.

As for the machine, it was simple to assemble although I am highly mechanically skilled. I would say that for the average person it would be a medium skill level to assemble. If you can put together Ikea type furniture you can put this together.

The quality of the steel, cushion and winch are pretty much what you would expect on a mid-grade household product, although the steel gauge (thickness) is pretty beefy. It looks like their simplicity and quality will give a good life span

Unfortunately, no user manual is included (just assembly guide) which is something I feel others should have. It is a little vague on handle position but I imagine this could be left to user discretion.

I also recommend painting the indication arrow to a more visible color, I just threw a little red paint to make it easier to see.

Also you do not need to increase stretch to release. Simply pull the trigger in on the ratchet an pull it towards you it'll release the lock. I do not know why other are having this problem.

Would I use this in a pro gym or dojo? No, I'd use one with a bit more support and smoother draw (less ratchet effect) but for a home use Yes.

So I've had this device for several weeks. After normal use now it won't lock your legs into position. The little catch wont hold the main gear so after you let go of the lever your legs just come back together. Piece of junk.