Pros
- No required subscription: streams apps on your existing accounts
- Spacious, cushioned 22" × 60" deck eases joint impact
- Lifetime frame and motor warranty: best in class
- Heavy-gauge, hotel-gym-grade construction
- Hydraulic soft-drop folding to reclaim space
Cons
- 10.1" screen is small and not tilt-adjustable vs. rivals
- No decline capability
- DC motor benefits from a cooldown after sustained hard running
Specifications
- Motor
- 3.5 CHP
- Running surface
- 22" × 60" CushionFlex deck
- Incline
- 0 to 15% (no decline)
- Screen
- 10.1" Android touchscreen, no required subscription
- Max speed
- 12 mph
- Weight capacity
- 350 lbs
- Folding
- Yes (hydraulic soft-drop)
- Warranty
- Lifetime frame & motor, 3-yr parts/deck, 1-yr labor
Performance
Start with the gripe, because it is the F80's most honest limitation. TreadmillReviews.net timed the one thing spec sheets never mention: "The incline mechanism is agonizingly slow. It takes a full 39 seconds to sweep from flat to steep." If rolling-hill interval work is your training, that lag matters. Everywhere else the hardware over-delivers: the 3.5 CHP motor and CushionFlex deck give a smooth, joint-friendly ride for walkers through runners up to 350 lbs, incline tops out at 15% with no decline, and the screen streams your own apps with no paywall in front of them. Plan a rest after roughly 45 minutes of hard running; the DC motor prefers it.
Build Quality
Heavy-gauge steel is the F80's quiet flex. Sole's long reputation for sturdy folding decks holds up here, with owners and reviewers comparing the build to commercial machines, and the hydraulic soft-drop fold makes stowing it painless for something this substantial. The complaints are software, not structure: the 10.1" screen is small, fixed in place, and clunkier to navigate than the big swiveling panels on machines that cost more.
Value Assessment
Run the three-year math and the F80's case makes itself. NordicTrack's iFit or Peloton's All-Access add roughly $400 to $600 a year on top of the hardware; the F80 adds zero, because every feature works without a membership. Around $1,799 up front, a lifetime frame-and-motor warranty behind it, and no recurring line item, ever. Is the Sole F80 worth it? For buyers who want the deck without the tax, our research says it is the easiest yes in the category.
What Owners Say
“Running on the Sole F80 feels remarkably stable and secure.”
“It did not feel like it was going to choke under the weight of a 300 lbs. user.”
Verbatim owner and reviewer comments gathered during our research, linked to where we found them. They are not our words, which is the point.
Who Should Buy It
Pick the F80 if the subscription model is what has kept you off connected treadmills: you get near-commercial hardware, a class-leading warranty, and your own Netflix and Peloton logins on the built-in screen.
Who Should Skip It
It is the wrong machine for two groups: people who want a big immersive class screen with a guided ecosystem, which NordicTrack and Peloton do better, and anyone whose training depends on decline or fast incline changes.
Final Recommendation
Here is the framing our research kept landing on: every rival on this page sells you a machine plus a relationship. The F80 just sells you a machine, and once the warranty and subscription math settles, that turns out to be the better deal for most people. Accept the modest screen and the slow incline, and there is nothing left to apologize for at this price.