The Sunny Health & Fitness Folding Treadmill in Pink ($419.98) from Amazon. 

I’ll admit – I’m one of those twisted freaks who actually enjoys running. Maybe it’s the runner’s high, the feeling of accomplishment post-jog, or just plain masochism, but I have made it a daily ritual for the past decade to lace up my sneakers in the name of mental and physical health. 

Although running outside is my ideal, as a native San Franciscan there are days I just don’t feel like scaling the city’s mountainous roads, weaving through busy sidewalks of tourists, embracing the chilly fog, or risk stepping on any presents left on the ground by dog or human. Thus, the treadmill has always been my gym go-to. 

When the mass exodus of community gyms occurred at the start of the 2020 pandemic, I panicked and decided it was time to invest in a treadmill for at-home use. While choosing the best treadmill for my needs in a sea of options was daunting, I knew I wanted a budget-friendly machine that was under $500, compact enough to squeeze into my microscopic studio apartment and wasn’t a total eyesore.

Based on that criteria I landed on the sleek, bubblegum pink Sunny Health & Fitness Folding Treadmill, and have not found a reason to set foot back in a gym for the last two years. 

The Sunny Health & Fitness Folding Treadmill assembled and ready to use. 

The Sunny Health & Fitness P8700 Folding Treadmill has:

Both the display monitor and handrail buttons allow you to control the pace, as well as start, pause, and stop the machine. The handrails additionally have pulse monitors to measure heart rate.

The treadmill has a foldable design for easy storage and comes with two built-in bottle holders for hydration and a device ledge for tablets, phones, or reading material. It’s available in two colors – a fun Barbie pink (which, let’s be honest, was a big selling point for me) or a more subtle gray. 

Amazon offers free delivery for Prime members, so you can get this puppy up and running within a few days as I did. 

The LED display on the Sunny Health & Fitness Folding Treadmill. 

Sunny Health & Fitness P8700 Folding Treadmill Cost: $419.98 in pink; $419.99 in black

The treadmill set me back $419.99 at the time of purchase and has saved me oodles of money over the past two years. Prior to working out at home, I was paying $45 per month for my gym membership plus an additional $50 annual fee each year. So at the point of writing this article, I would have spent $1,180 on the gym, and have instead saved a sweet $760 thus far by purchasing my own home gym equipment. 

Of course, there are a host of other benefits to having a gym membership including access to a wider variety of equipment, fitness classes, towel service, and machine maintenance. But as someone who doesn’t need much more than a place to run like a hamster on a wheel, some resistance exercise bands, and an ab wheel, the return on investment for my at-home gym has been significant. 

Amazon offers a full refund or replacement within 90 days if anything goes wrong with your machine. I purchased the additional two-year protection plan for $49.99 at checkout, but have blissfully never had to use it. 

Aside from money, having an at-home treadmill has saved me time. I have more minutes to actually workout without the commute to the gym cutting into my precious allotted hour. I can sneak in a walk while watching my brain-numbing reality TV shows, take a quick run during a weekday lunch break at home, and forgo the fungus-ridden gym showers. Also, going to the gym only to realize I forgot to pack my earphones is a dreadful experience of the past. 

There are cheaper options like the Goplus Under Desk Electric Treadmill ($369) and pricier machines with more advanced settings like the NordicTrack Commercial Series ($1,599+) but I found the Sunny treadmill is a great middle option that does the job well without breaking the bank. 

Assembling the Sunny Health & Fitness Folding Treadmill only took around 30 minutes. 

As aforementioned, I needed a treadmill that would fit in my puny 275-square-foot city studio apartment. The Sunny Health & Fitness Folding Treadmill is 62” length by 25.5” width by 50” height, making it slightly smaller than the commercial treadmills at the gym.

Due to its foldable design, it can become even more compact for easy storage, with a soft drop hydraulic mechanism that assures safe, hands-free unfolding as to not scuff my floor when dropping the treadmill’s base. When folded, the treadmill reduces to 36” length by 25.5” width by 58” height. The treadmill also comes equipped with transportation wheels so moving the 103-pound machine out of the way isn’t such a pain. 

The Sunny Health & Fitness Folding Treadmill fits in my 275-square foot studio apartment. 

Admittedly, upon unboxing the disassembled treadmill bits I was thoroughly intimidated. As someone who doesn’t have the best track record with IKEA furniture or the patience for handiness in general, the instructions looked daunting. Yet once I dove in, assembly was surprisingly straightforward and foolproof. I got the machine up and running in around 30 minutes, which I cannot take skillful credit for – it was simply easy to set up. While Amazon offers the option of having the treadmill expertly assembled upon arrival for an additional fee, I’d recommend forgoing it. The hardest part was dragging the heavy box up the stairs to my second-floor apartment, and the rest was a piece of cake. 

Using the treadmill is just as easy as assembling it was. The display and handrail buttons are accessible, and the machine speeds up and slows down smoothly. As a heavy user of my treadmill (averaging 60-100 minutes on it five times per week over the course of a few years) the longevity and durability of the machine for the low price was an initial concern, but I’ve never had an issue with its functionality. The extent of my maintenance has been wiping it down after a sweaty session and applying treadmill lubricant under the belt every few months, which only takes a minute.

Another concern that was quickly put to rest was the noise factor. While the machine is not silent, it certainly is not as loud as I expected, which I’m sure my neighbors appreciate. Since I have a hardwood floor, I put this perfectly-sized exercise equipment mat under it to eliminate floor scuffing and reduce noise. I’ve also used the treadmill on the carpeted floor which worked just as well. 

On the downside, the belt isn’t that wide, and as someone who was used to the big heavy-duty treadmills at the gym, I felt a bit cramped at first. The max user weight is 220 pounds, making it more restrictive than its commercial-grade counterparts. Another slight annoyance is the manual incline. There aren’t many options for incline, and you can’t adjust the incline while the machine is in motion so if you want to change it up, you have to pause your workout. 

The Sunny Health & Fitness P8700 Folding Treadmill has been an excellent investment, in my experience. The ease of assembly, use, and maintenance far outweigh any of the cons. For the price tag, I’ve gotten a reliable, durable treadmill that has helped me increase my daily steps, has saved me time and money, and has supported my fitness goals.

I have not personally used the nine built-in workout programs, so I could be missing out on even more benefits. Regardless, it is by far my favorite purchase of 2020 (and I am still using it consistently in 2022), and I look forward to using it for years to come.