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#1 NordicTrack Skier Review

Chris L.
March 18, 2021

The NordicTrack Skier is one of the best ways to burn calories without placing too much stress on your joints. You essentially mimic the motion you'd do during cross-country skiing. With 7 resistance levels and varying inclines, there are many ways to make your workouts more intense.

Is the NordicTrack Skier best for you?

You no longer need a snowy mountain when you have the NordicTrack Skier in your home gym. It doesn't take up as much space as a treadmill, and you still burn a good amount of calories during a session. While there's one basic motion to perform, you can switch things up by altering the resistance for your legs and arms separately. This provides you with a full-body workout for getting in shape simpler than ever before.

There are clips to keep your feet secure as you move. Plus, you can place it in front of a TV to entertain yourself during your regimen. Ultimately, if you want a cardio machine that doesn't come with the same high price tag as a treadmill, then consider a skier instead.

Consider NordicTrack Skier if...

  • You need low-impact exercises. Running can be tough on some people's joints. When you want less recovery time between workout sessions, you need something like a skier so that your knees and ankles don't hurt as much.
  • You want resistance tailored to you. You can increase resistance at your own pace. That means you can start slow and work your way up as you build muscle.
  • You like easy-to-read stats. You can keep track of your progress via the LCD display. It provides metrics related to calories and distance, so you can monitor how much you've progressed over time.

Avoid NordicTrack Skier if...

  • You need programs. A lot of treadmills and ellipticals come with programs to mix up your routine. A skier is designed to solely mimic the motions of cross-country skiing. There's only one thing to do, and you can just move up the resistance level from there.
  • You want something high-tech. The LCD display is fairly basic. It gets the job done, but there's not even a place where you can set your tablet to watch videos or something.
  • You don't like a low warranty. You have 1 year of coverage on parts. It's not very long in case something goes wrong relatively soon.

NordicTrack Skier pros & cons

Pros

  • Adjustable elevation
  • Adjustable stride and arm resistance
  • Smooth flywheel
  • LCD feedback window

Cons

  • Low weight capacity
  • Short warranty

Construction and design

  • Flywheel: The flywheel offered by NordicTrack is patented for a one-of-a-kind experience. It's designed to perfectly mimic what it feels like to actually go on a cross-county excursion.
  • Console: The console includes an LCD display that allows you to monitor your pulse, calories, distance, and time.
  • Resistance: There are 7 resistance levels you can go through with this at-home skier.
  • Stride: The machine utilizes a patented stride system to offer a Reverse Arc motion to get you to engage with multiple muscles in your legs.
  • Built-in Programs/Features: No preset programs come with this skier.

Key NordicTrack Skier Specs

Stride Length
Standard
Heart/Pulse Sensor?
Grip
Resistance
7 levels
Built-in Programs?
N/A
Max Weight Capacity
250 pounds
Size (Dimensions)
60" x 23.5" x 93"
Foldable?
No
Warranty
1 year on parts

Reasons to buy NordicTrack Skier?

  1. You value cardiovascular workouts. Treadmills and ellipticals can be found anywhere. When you want a unique cardio experience, you need the NordicTrack Skier.
  2. You want to move up on inclines. You can alter the height of your skier for different inclines and declines. This is great for those who want to push themselves and burn more calories in the process.
  3. You need something easy to move around. Weighing at just over 70 pounds, you can easily move the skier on your own in the event you need to switch locations.

Reasons to avoid NordicTrack Skier?

  1. You're heavier. The NordicTrack Skier only supports weights of up to 250 pounds. This is significantly less than the 300 pounds you tend to find with most NordicTrack treadmills.

What real NordicTrack Skier reviews say

We spent 18 hours scouring the web (reading over 253 customer reviews). Our conclusion? NordicTrack Skier receives high praise! Our average consolidated user rating sits around a 4.6 - 4.8 (across several hundred reviews). NordicTrack Skier scored higher, on average, compared to their closest competitors.

What reviewers like

  1. "This is my second skier, and it gives an amazing work out, I wore out my first one, highly recommend."
  2. "Quite easy to put together, even for someone who is bad at that kind of thing."
  3. "Best piece of equipment I've owned. Gets the job done without the high cost of bells and whistles."
  4. "It is easy to assemble, easy to use, and a great way to stay in shape."
  5. "Just like the one I had 15 years ago! I wore that one out and thought I would like to try a different machine."

What reviewers dislike

  1. "I had a problem with the bar below the winding mechanism and set pictures and text to describe it to customer support."
  2. "No instructions given on assembly."
  3. "I did email a [question] to them and got no response."
  4. "I find the machines that are being sold here are significantly overpriced."
  5. "Easy to lose balance."

Our verdict

If you have bad knees, then you need a cardio machine that doesn't place as much stress on your joints. It doesn't get much better than the NordicTrack Skier. You're going to feel like you're really skiing. And with the ability to adjust the incline and resistance, there's a ton of room for growth to where you may not need another cardio machine for a while.

It's definitely not the most advanced piece of equipment technology-wise. However, some people may prefer that. It's easy to set up and get moving, and you don't have to deal with syncing it to an app or any other complicated process.

Where to buy NordicTrack Skier

You can get the NordicTrack Skier at a great price on Amazon. Plus you can take advantage of Amazon's fast, free shipping!