Century Versaflex 2.0 Stretching Machine Black

I purchased this item for my daughter. She recently earned her first dan in Taekwndo and she felt like flexibility was her biggest athletic limitation. After just a few days of use we've already seen some modest improvements in her flexibility and look forward to what continued use will help her achieve.Pros: Effective, ease of use, durability of design, affordability, thigh-pad adaptability for people of all sizes;Cons: Size/storage (the unit requires some floorspace and doesn't exactly store neatly), assembly (instructions were a challenge of flipping between diagrams and parts lists on separate pages, but overall do-able)Note: the initial package arrived with a hardware pack which was lacking a bushing. Actually it had all four bushings (2 for each leg) but it contained 3 top bushings and just 1 bottom bushing. I found a contact number on the Century Martial Arts website and received very prompt and courteous response. A few days later the package arrived and assembly was completed.Overall, I am very happy with the purchase and would make it again.

The instructions that come with it are of little use. The best we could do was find a YouTube that gave us some of the steps to construction. Keep in mind that different versions of this stretching machine exist so if my directions arent helpful you may have a somewhat different model. My tips would be that the plate with the 2 triangular holes the back legs fit into that the screws go in from the bottom and not the top, super unclear in the instructions. The long leg pieces line up with the larger holes in the plate I was talking about above (near where the 2 rear legs screw on). The metal plate that the control wires run through goes on top of the long leg pieces with the plastic piece that the wires run through toward the front. Lastly the handles that go at the ends of the leg pieces are to face up at an angle (and not down as pictured on this Advertisement) and are used to help keep your legs in feet in line.Once the setup is done the machine itself appears to be a generally quality construction. I am a novice a Karate so I wont make any claims about what it can do for you. I did find that removing the upper pull out leg pads ads greatly in getting on and off the machine as does removing the front most handle that is used to help stretching. Also this machine does have a degree measurement but it is quite well forward on the gauge and not easy to read the pointer. The handle you use to adjust the spread only needs to be pulled straight back to release the tension. The handle has a notch on the right that engages 3 brass looking arms to release the pressure.. Be extremely careful not to push the handle forward when you want to release the tension as you could hurt yourself as it may spread your legs beyond what is safe for your body.I think this machine is a hidden bargain and I would recommend that Century have some one take a half hour and post a complete video. I am a physically large and tall individual and although part of my leg does hang off it hasn't been a issue. If you buy it I would recommend just taking your time and be sure you have a second person to help hold pieces together. The machine has put up with my weight well although I do take care to keep my weight centered over the load bearing surfaces. We have been using the machine daily and it works well but one must take reasonable care, it is solid overall.

Instructions could be more detailed and simpler to follow, but once assembled, it's quite sturdy, and will likely last a long time. Have purchased a few of these leg stretching machines, and this I can say is the best one I've had.

WHOEVER DID the instruction booklet for assembly should be FIRED. IT is terrible, if it were not for the tutorial on youtube, i would have sent it back. A great product at a great price, but totally moved back 20 steps with the terrible instructions. I suggest you have someone rewrite and illustrate the assembly part better, doing this would improve sales and customer appreciation. I give it 3 stars for everything on that note.

It takes about one or two hours to put it together, but the machine is high quality. It works great. I love the cable and cable release system on it. I bought one from them about 35 years ago and they have improved it significantly since I bought that one. However, the one part of this that you cannot see in the photos that makes no sense to me is the back support piece. The back support is much larger than my old machine which is great, but the back support does not have a support that keeps it upright like my old one. This model has a curve under the seating area which makes it prone to rock back on you. My old one had a straight post under the seat that served as a support. I have no idea why they changed this. I'm going to reach out to Century and see if they have any ideas. Otherwise, I will have a friend weld a support piece onto it so it stays in place.

Item came quickly and was in perfect condition. It was just a pain in the tail to put together. The directions had zero words just pics and numbers. Then all of the screws and bolts were attached to the parts list so when you opened it up, you accidently ripped up the parts list. A good buy altogether though. If you're putting this together find a YouTube video because the instructions are worthless.