Customer Reviews

Weider X-Factor Door Gym

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Well, let me start off by saying I bought this yesterday (Valentine's Day) returned it today because I couldn't find a door that would shut with the equipment installed. I'm disappointed because I think it would be a good exercise product & I was really looking forward to trying it out. I gave it 4 stars because of the price, quality & ease of installing/removing & storing it. I'd like to give it 3.5 stars though, b/c I couldn't find a place to use it in my apartment. Also, shop around.... I bought mine at a local Dick's store for $99.99 plus tax, didn't have to wait (or pay) for delivery.

Pros:
- Seemed well made for the price. (Didn't get to use it, so don't know about longevity, but nice out of the box)
- EXTREMELY easy to install. From the box to installed in 10 minutes. Very easy to put up, take down & store. (I easily moved it around to every door in my apartment trying to find a good place to use it)
- Small, light weight & portable.

Cons:
- The brackets that go over the door are wide so they'll fit over thick doors. They don't fit thin doors very well.
- Instructions, which you don't see until you buy it, recommend installing the X-Factor on the side of the door that closes against the door jamb (for example, most doors open into a room, so you would have to install it & exercise on the side of the door that's in the hallway). The reason is to increase the strength of the door as you pull against it during exercise. They don't come right out & say it, but this reduces the chance that your door could bust open & fling against you during your workout. Referring back to my example, if you're exercising inside the room, the only thing holding the door shut is the door latch.
- There MUST be at least 1/8" clearance between the top of the door & door frame (header). Same for the bottom of the door & the floor (sill). This is so the bracket can fit between the door & the frame/floor when you shut the door w/ the X-Factor installed. This is where I had problems and had to return it without any chance of using it. I found reviews on other websites (sorry, can't recall where), that a few people had the same problem but didn't give details, so I took my chances. One person said they trimmed the door shorter to fix the problem. I'm a renter, so that's not an option. Another point to be aware of, if your doors are hollow core, not solid wood, trimming them shorter may reduce their strength, and when you start pulling on them w/ the X-Factor you may end up damaging your door & hurting yourself.

So, before you buy this, check your doors to make sure there's enough clearance & that you can install it in a place where you'll enjoy working out & be able to watch the videos too (back to my example... I don't know anyone who has a t.v. & dvd player in their hall).

Also, Google around for other reviews. It seemed like there was a mix beginners & pros, and there was a variety of opinions. The pros felt it was a good "back-up", but wouldn't give up their pro equipment, and the beginners thought it was a good product to start with.

Not sure if this will add to your decision or not, or your opinion on my review... so here's a little about me:
I'm a 34 yr old female. I work in an office all day, and am very disgusted w/ how out of shape I've become from sitting on my butt for up to 70 hrs a week. I want something that will exercise my whole body and can be used in short or long time frames for a good work out. I also want something that doesn't take up a lot of space & is easy to move around as necessary, and, yah, doesn't cost a fortune either. I really thought I struck gold w/ X-Factor. Bummer... the search continues.

Good luck in the frustrating quest to find exercise equipment that's right for you!

The Weider X-Factor Door Gym has a lot of potential. I like the way it fits on the door forming a triple X and that it's portable and lightweight. I even like the more than enough resistance it provides at different levels for different muscle groups. This equipment has quality resistance bands as well as hand handles and ankle straps; it even comes with a how to DVD.

Where this equipment fails is in the lack of quality in the pulley wheels; they are made of cheap plastic. It doesn't come close to the same high quality as the rest of the pieces.

Out of the box two of the wheels were warped. When I exercised, the wheels would scrape against its housing making a very loud annoying sound. I could still hear it through my headphones with the volume turned up.

Needless to say I returned it. I did not replace it.

The quality of the cheap plastic wheels doesn't appear to be made for extended use over a long period of time. Anyone who bought a total gym and actually used it regularly knows what I'm talking about with it's wheels. I'm not about to waste another $100 for another piece of junk that I would have to buy parts for later, and then figure out how to install them.

If this product was made with a high grade pulley system then it would definitely be 5 stars. Too bad it isn't.

Boo on you Weider for taking short cuts and wasting my time!

There are some good aspects of this exercise aparatus: The metal brackets and pulleys are very solid. They feel like real gym equipment. The bands are good too.

The huge problem is that the bands on the right and left side don't provide the same resistance. I felt the difference immediately and so I did two tests.

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Test #1:
I stood on a scale and weighed myself. The scale read 258.5 lbs.

Then I moved the scale to the right side of the door and hooked up to the 60 lb band at the bottom right and stood on the scale with the handle as far down as my arms normally hang. The scale read 265.

Then I moved the scale to the left side of the door and hooked up to the 60 lb band at the bottom left and stood on the scale with the handle as far down as my arms normally hang. The scale read 271.

So you can see the band on the right was providing 6.5 lbs of resistance and the band on the left was providing 12.5 lbs of resistance.

So, the band that went to the bottom left was providing TWICE the resistance as the band that went to the bottom right.

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Test #2:
So, then I performed another test and tried hanging 15 lb weights off the bands to see if they would hang the same distance.

The band that went to the upper right (ie bottom left) hung down half way under the weight of the dumbell. The band that went to the upper left (ie bottom right) hung down all the way to the floor and felt like it could go a little farther. So, basically this test confirmed the weighing test. The bands do not provide the same resistance.

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Conclusion:

You could do different exercises using only one band at a time. But if you think you're going to do any exercises with two hands you will not be able to get an even workout, which drastically reduces the usefulness of this product.

I wish I could rate different parts of this product differently. I would rate the design and part quality very high. The anchors are strong and I thought the pulleys were good quality too. The bands themselves provided good resistance throughout the pull and felt like they would last - BUT because the bands on the left and right don't provide the same resistance the product is far less useful than it could be.

I have posted a picture of the weight experiment in the customer images by the product picture with the weights on!

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I tried to contact Weider customer service to explain the issue to them and give them a chance to fix the situation for me so that I could take down this horrible review. However, their website requires a model and serial number to even send them a message. I tried all the numbers I could find on the equipment/boxes. None of them worked(I don't think there even was a serial number on the equipment) and the website would not submit a comment if they weren't valid. So, too bad for Weider, looks like this review is permanent! Returning this product and would advise everyone against purchasing!

I bought the Weider X-factor from a local store. I installed it a couple of weeks ago, and installed it two days ago. Immediately, the pulleys made a LOUD clacking noise. The bands also have unequal tension. I contacted Weider about the problems, and they said that there is nothing they can do for me. I stated that I had done some research about complaints, and that Weider changed the pulleys in some way to address the problem. They said yes they did, but that they wouldn't replace my X-factor. Their web site clearly states that the X-factor has a lifetime warranty. Apparently not.

You are taking a gamble when purchasing the X-factor. Don't assume that Weider will stand behind their product. They won't.

Iam sorry to say it but this xfactor machine is a horrible imitation the tower 200 door gym. First, the product is cheap. the pulleys are made of the cheapest plastic that i've ever seen, and they make a disturbing noise during use. The cable were even worst. Whenever in use they tend to twist up inside of the pulley, and it becomes very annoying, and last but not least, the xfactor can hardly fit on any door. I had to cram it to fit on my door, and the door almost popped off the hinges....lol. I purchased mines from modells sporting goods, and sorry to say i returned it the next morning. I purchased this machine because my friend let me borrow his tower 200. So I figured that I would get the xfactor since it was cheaper.....well, now I see why. This doesent even compare to the tower in, quality, resistance, or how it well it fits on the door..........conclusion: If you want quality door gym......dont waste your money on this..(trust me) just spend the extra 50 or 75 dollars and get the tower, trust me it will be well worth it

Despite the few minor negative reviews, I decided to purchase this product.

Pros: Well made, easy to install (5 minutes). Good videos. Just right for an engineer who spends most of the work day on a coputer designing numerous devices. All in all I find the product, for the price, very well built, fits any interior or exterior door in my home easily, and very quiet to operate.

Cons: Absolutely none, good weight balance and good work out.

Profile: moderate and regular weight lifting, running, and rope jumping. Not a gymn rat or extremest, just a guy trying to get some exercise 3-4 times a week. (ps wife likes it also)

Reading the negative reviews makes me wonder if these people are pushing another device or have other ulterior motives, or just get off on being negative.

The door gym is easy to set up and use. It is not for young guys building big muscles but it is perfect for me, a 61 year old man just trying to avoid any additional droop. The system does appear to need to be set up so that it pulls against the door frame, which normally means pulling into a hallway or other room. But really, what do you expect when using a standard door in your home. I have been using it for just over a month. I exercise everyday and use only a few basic movements. Some of the movements on the instructions are for people that need to be at the gym, not those doing some straining before they eat some prunes and put their teeth in the cleansing glass for the night. For my use it is very good. I can try to pull as much weight as I dare, and it has more to give than I can pull. It is sturdy and should last for quite a while. There are lots of plastic parts but again, this is not for the 25 year old jock. It is great for a toning or conditioning workout. It works really well for me; simple, good price, seems to be good quality.

I have given this product 1 star, not because it is a bad product but because it didn't fit on any of the 12 doors in my house. Hence, I can't really say whether it works or not. I can say that it appeared to be well made and that Weider promptly responded to and corrected a problem with a defective part.

I was skeptical at first because I was kind of put off by others negative reviews and plus I have bought so many exercise machines before and ended up returning them but weider x factor is so far the best exercise product I've ever bought. When I first started using it OMG I was in alot of pain (Good Pain) the next day and alot of sweat during the workout. What I love most about it is the resistance and how every workout feels like its in control whether you're doing it right or wrong. I'm happy I finnaly found something so simple that gives me a full body workout without leaving the house. If it gets worn out I'm definately buying another.

nice product, I get a good workout from it, but it doesn't offer the amount of resistance it lists... maybe I got one that came a bit more loose than normal, I don't know. But as I say, it's still a good workout overall. I'd probably suggest grabbing two of the cheaper "top to bottom" door gyms from walmart for better overall resistance (got one of those for my nephew for his birthday and it was a lot better on resistance out of the box than this.