LAT Pull Down Machine, Low Row Cable Machine for Home Gym

First of all very sturdy machine and looks great. Instructions are ok and pretty good. Doesn’t take too long to set up with the correct tools. Had 2 missing parts both of the cables were missing. Had to order both cables separate.

I researched the heck out of the product vendors and their products for this Lat Pull Down Machine, and this one has to be among the best. First, I am 6'1" and as such I want to have a full range of motion when I do lat pull downs. This machine with the adjustable seat, and knee stop does the trick. Using the chain at the top is optional. If you are 6 foot or over, you will be able to get a full range of motion by not using the chain. The bar can connect direct to the safety hook which is attached to the upper cable. There is still an inch of two of give at the top to allow the bar to fit in the bracket holder at the top when not in use. This is one machine in which every station and exercise works as it should with no awkward movements. The Row station is also excellent allowing for a full range of motion too. The Lat machine allows for the use of either weight plates with the 1" diameter bar holes or the 2" diameter bar holes for Olympic weights. The machine came boxed with the individual parts wrapped and identified as well as the bolts, washers and nuts. It came with a printed instruction manual with diagrams and step by step instructions. I assembled it by myself and it took me about 4 hours to assemble it using their provided tools and my own socket set. (If you have one, an adjustable wrench or socket set will speed assembly). The cables required a lot of focus and studying the drawings to understand how to assemble them. In the case of the cables, it would have been helpful had the diagrams been larger and had there been some close up shots. The cables were a bit of a pain to run and assemble with just one set of hands but I got through it with some patience. All the parts are heavy duty steel, and the fit and finish is exceptional with strong, solid and smooth weld beads. Very impressive. The shipping along with the packing was exceptional. No dings, no scratches, no chipped paint or bent metal. All parts were perfect in fit and finish. The product arrived ahead of schedule by days. Very impressive. As far as working out with the machine, it has worked extremely well with me being able to employ full range of motion on every exercise. The cables glide effortlessly with no noise through the pulleys with little to no friction and do NOT jump off the wheel tracks. When adding weights especially if you are using weight plates with the 1" holes, you may find it helpful to add a weight barbell collar on each bar pushed to the inside. Doing this will give the weight plates, especially the 45 pound plates a little extra clearance from the cables on the upper range of motion. Also, as other reviewers have stated the machine has a small foot print and I was able to easily place it between my leg press machine and Seated Dip Machine with no problem. Obviously, you can do a large variety exercises with this machine from wide to narrow grip lat pulldowns, as well as overhanded and underhanded, behind the neck and front presses, as well as Triceps Press Downs too. With the Row Station, you can do various rowing variations using the short bar or the lat bar, overhanded and underhanded. You can also do standing cables curls or standing reverse curls. (I have worked out at a lot of gyms too and this lat pull down machine works as well as any Lat Pull Down Machine in any commercial gym). The weight capacity for this machine is 500 pounds--250 per side. All and all, an exceptional machine at an incredible price. A++

Box arrived damaged. Missing essential pieces making item unusable.

Like others mentioned, you'll need your own tools to put together (we had everything). Wife and I got this together in under an hour, and we're both really impressed with it. What a great addition to our gym! They say in the directions to not over-tighten the pulleys, so you're going to have to guess a little when tightening them. We tightened down to where the thread pokes through the nut about 1/8", and the pulley 'wobbles' a little on their axles. There was a little wear at first on the wire, but after using it a little, loosening a tad, and wd-40'ing the moving parts, everything's smooth.. no grind at all. We'll see how the wire holds up over time, but after 50+ sets on it so far I couldn't be happier with it. As others mentioned, get other handles for it for a wider range of workouts. Only gripe for me I guess would be I can't do standing curls from the bottom rope as I'm taller and the wire hits the seat, but not a big deal as we have a preacher curl station. And I needed to super-glue the Olympic plate sleeve to the plate holder bar, as well as the rubber 'end' that's supposed to go there, because it kept sliding off when removing plates. Not a big deal at all.

I was surprised how stable this machine is. It was very easy to put together and its very easy to use. I was also surprised how smooth it is when using the cable system. The instructions to putting it together are pretty basic, but easy to understand. I assembled it by myself and it took maybe an hour or so to do it. You can do a variety of exercise on it. The seat isn't the greatest, but it does get the job done. That and the fact I wish you could adjust the height of the pulley system are really my only issues with it. I would really recommend this as an option for those who like using this type of equipment at a gym.