My Hunt for a Walking Pad — the Treadmill’s Cheaper, More Discreet Cousin

I researched and tested many popular models during my quest, but after trying theUrevo CyberPad Office, I can’t imagine recommending anything else. At $450 — though often on sale for much less — it is significantly more expensive than many best-selling models. Cheaper pads may work fine for a while, but the all-metal Urevo’s quiet, reliable dual-motor design makes it worth the premium for anyone looking to get their steps in for years to come. Thanks to its 400-pound weight limit and large 39.4-by-16.5-inch walkable area, this includes taller and larger people as well. I’ve been using it to do hot-girl 12-3-30s and chill walks for over a month now and have yet to encounter a single issue with its performance.

The CyberPad Office’s top speed of four miles per hour is typical of most walking pads and can be a bit limiting for joggers, but you can still quickly work up a sweat by adding up to 14 percent electronically adjustable incline. In addition to feeling sturdier, its all-metal raising and lowering mechanism offers a wider range of adjustability than the typical 8 to 12 percent found in most pads. This includes Urevo’s own CyberPad Home (not recommended), which has only 9 percent of powered adjustment but can be adjusted to 14 percent by manually lowering the unit’s rear. I also like that the CyberPad Office’s aluminum side bevels are wide enough to stand on, in case you need to abruptly pause your walking to answer a call or something.

The trade-off to all this sturdiness is bulk and weight. At 63 pounds and 6.3 inches tall, the CyberPad Office is about twice as heavy and tall as the cheaper, plasticky options I also tested. Its bulk makes it difficult for one person to carry. And taller standing-desk users will need to check that the additional height won’t exceed their desks’ maximum height. The Urevo has wheels, which make it easier to move within a room, but it’s not meant to be regularly moved around. It does, however, have rubber feet on the front that allow you to stand it vertically for storage.

This slightly cheaper pad also has a steel frame, twin brushless motors, and a large 39.4-by-15.8-inch walking surface. The Spacewalk 5L also has the same top speed of four miles per hour and a 400-pound weight capacity of the CyberPad Office. However, its narrower body panels aren’t wide enough to stand on and are made of plastic rather than aluminum. It also offers only 9 percent electronically adjustable incline, which means you can’t quite do 12-3-30s on it. On the other hand, it has a large display at the front of the unit, so you can monitor your stats without looking at the remote or your phone screen. I think the CyberPad’s metal body panels and 5 percent additional incline adjustability make it worth the premium, but if this version is more than $100 cheaper, it’s worth considering.

If you want to try a cheaper option before committing to an expensive piece of equipment and don’t mind a more plasticky design, Strategist senior writerEmma Wartzman recommendsthe entry-level Urevo. Its steel chassis provides a solid platform for getting steps in, so long as you don’t mind losing incline adjustability. “It’s not nearly as nice as a long walk in Prospect Park,” she says, “but I’ve been using it almost every day just to make sure I’m moving my body more than I would be otherwise.”

Note that the Spacewalk E1L has a comparatively low 265-pound weight limit and a four-inch shorter walking surface, making it a poor choice for taller or larger would-be walkers. But Wartzman told me it’s held up well through this brutally cold northeastern winter. Nor does it emit any plasticky odors, unlike other walking pads I tested in this price range.

To make sure I wasn’t missing out on a secretly amazing, cheaper option hiding in plain sight, I ordered this top-selling walking pad on Amazon. But the nicest thing I can say about this plastic-framed walking pad is that its 27-pound weight makes it easier to return. It came out of the box reeking of plastic chemicals, which only got worse when I turned it on. After several weeks, it no longer smells like plastic when it’s just sitting there, but the odor comes back within minutes of turning it on. For what it’s worth, it does double as avibration plate, but that might not be a selling point either. “Almost every expert I spoke to concluded that vibration plates are generally safe to use, but there isn’t enough evidence of their efficacy to make them worth buying,” concludessleep writer Amelia Jerdeninher explainer on the topic.