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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 Essential complement for power racks Sep 15, 2007
By dreinha5
Just as the description indicates, this bench can be used in any configuration inside a power rack or smith machine. Conventional flat-incline-decline benches have to straddle the back lower bar of the rack to be able to lift off the rear supports. That's not an option if you have a lat attachment. Because the front of the Bodycraft bench slides backwards, there are no such clearance issues even at full incline.
Quality is excellent in my opinion, far superior to my Marcy (Impex) AB4050 FID bench and at least as good as the Bowflex 5.1.
Only negatives to note:
Full incline isn't as inclined as other benches I've seen, probably only +80 degrees, not a problem for some (If you want to be fully upright what do you need the bench for) but if you insist on this feature, you should know it's not available.
Assembly instructions differ slightly from actual product. The assembly is still obvious and foolproof, and the engineering on what you actually have is superior to what is shown. Must have been redesigned with making a correction to the manual.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Versatile and built to last May 05, 2011
By E. S. Franke
Title says it all. I'm a light guy, but this is built like a tank and would withstand several times my weight without a problem.
I got this to be able to use in a power rack. It is the only Incline/Decline bench that you can incline yet still use at the back of a power rack, due to the sliding mechanism. This lets you fit it all the way in there, saving space in your workout area. Especially helpful if your rack is near or against a wall - other benches need to be put through the rack and stick out the back. Otherwise, you incline bench off the front of the rack - I don't want this, because I want to squat off the front! I can have a dedicated squat bar and a bench bar and not have to change them every workout.
Instructions seemed incorrect at times - it seems like this product was revised at some point with some slightly different parts but the instructions were not updated to match. Still, it isn't rocket science to figure it out.
could have been better but does its job Mar 13, 2013
By James B.
All in all, a good bench, if not overpriced . As has been mentioned in other reviews, I am not a fan of the space between the seat and the the bench as I would prefer to have all of my back firmly supported at all times under a loaded barbell. So far, this has proven not to be a problem as much of a preference, but decide if that is a dealbreaker for you before buying. I bought the bench to compliment the Bodycraft F430 power cage I purchased from Amazon thinking it would properly fit the cage (which it does) and missed that there was a gap between seat and bench in flat position. I primarily only use the bench for flat bench press but wanted to have the option to do incline, decline work. I did not lower my rating based on that as most adjustable FID benches that I have used are like that (tho not as big of gap). Just throwing it out there for those who might find issue with it
As far as the bench moving into flat, incline, decline positions, it does the job very nicely.. The roller pads at the end of the bench? Not necessary in my opinion, even a possible distraction at times. Easily worked around though. Again, my preference.
Finally, putting the thing together. The instructions were more of an exploded diagram and I had all sorts of difficulty assembling it. I don't want to come off as harping on what others would say is a small point, but when I am shelling out hundreds of dollars, the instructions should be crystal clear and thorough. I consider the assembly manual part of the product and knocked off a star for that reason.
Overall a fine bench. If having a noticeable space/gap between the seat and bench is a issue, you might want to reevaluate if you need a FID adjustable bench and opt for a flat, but that is only my two cents
Very Decent Bench Apr 24, 2012
By zal
I picked up this bench to use with my Powertec Power Rack. I love the way the bench slides into the rack when your performing Incline, Decline bench or Shoulder Presses. Great looking bench as well.
My gripe with this bench is that when your benching (flat bench), there is some sway on the back support. This can be improved by tightening the bolts, but guess what? When you tighten the bolts too much it makes changing positions very difficult. So its almost like you either keep the sway and have an adjustable bench or you remove the sway and lose your adjust-ability. I will probably end up picking up another bench solely for flat bench and keep this bench around for everything else.
If it wasn't for this, I would have given this bench 5 stars.
1 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Pretty good with a serious flaw Apr 21, 2012
By EmailZola
I changed to a rack and needed a bench to accomplish my chest workouts. Most benches (Body Solid) with a preacher option have a u-shaped front brace that extends outward right where I plant my feet. This is unacceptable when I've got 315# over my body. That set my options to only a few benches.
I chose this bench mostly because it is close to the ground so is easier to work dumb bells with. It also appeared to be substantially built. It is built well, is very tight and feels solid under me. No problems with quality or materials used, all top shelf. Easy enough to put together, too.
One flaw comes in the design of the pads. In order to achieve their specialized non-moving incline gimmick the butt pad and the back pad become separated when the bench is set completely flat, like when you want to do a regular bench press. This gap is 3 1/2 inches across so it is difficult to do a bench press unless you either leave a lower portion of your back unsupported (bad idea) or utilize only the back part of the bench. This might be ok for smaller guys but at 6 foot my head hangs over the back of the bench.
1 week later.....
So now I have adjusted the bench and my style so that the aforementioned flaw ain't so bad. A new problem has surfaced and has me perplexed. Look at the photo and draw an imaginary line where the force of the weight against the pad goes while lifting on incline. It goes back alot instead of down. The bench has a tendency to scoot back during incline lifts. YIKES! I'm going to try a cushy mat to try to stop it but if I can't this baby goes to Goodwill. I need my bench to Sit! Stay! This one is not so well-behaved.
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