My wife and I are looking to purchase a good home gym. We're starting out and really just want to get in shape. We screened out cheaper gyms from box stores and ended up considering Hoist, Body Solid, and possibly Bodycraft. The V1 and G3S are both at $999. The Bodycraft Galena is $1238, but might be more than we currently need.

The problem: we're in Iowa. There seem to be no dealers for anything but Hoist nearby. We could drive about 250 miles to a city with dealers. No local ebay deals, but one listing for a Hoist H-100 for $800.

Locally, a Hoist V1 is at $999 with a current special. Online, I see the Body Solid G3S at $999. It's hard to judge the G3S with online info only.

So, how would you compare the Body Solid G3S with the V1? Are they basically the same machine with different feel? For the same price, the V1 is tempting, possibly just because it's local. The Hoist warranty is for 10 years, but it's supported locally. For Body Solid, the lifetime warranty reads that I would need to ship then the defective item (I hope that means just the part, not the gym!) and they'll replace it.

My wife and I are looking to purchase a good home gym. We're starting out and really just want to get in shape. We screened out cheaper gyms from box stores and ended up considering Hoist, Body Solid, and possibly Bodycraft. The V1 and G3S are both at $999. The Bodycraft Galena is $1238, but might be more than we currently need.

The problem: we're in Iowa. There seem to be no dealers for anything but Hoist nearby. We could drive about 250 miles to a city with dealers. No local ebay deals, but one listing for a Hoist H-100 for $800.

Locally, a Hoist V1 is at $999 with a current special. Online, I see the Body Solid G3S at $999. It's hard to judge the G3S with online info only.

So, how would you compare the Body Solid G3S with the V1? Are they basically the same machine with different feel? For the same price, the V1 is tempting, possibly just because it's local. The Hoist warranty is for 10 years, but it's supported locally. For Body Solid, the lifetime warranty reads that I would need to ship then the defective item (I hope that means just the part, not the gym!) and they'll replace it.

Ever think about a traditonal rack with traditonal freeweights? Hoist is a good company. Consider Lamar,Nautilus and Tuff Stuff as quality brands also. Body Solid is a step down from the others.......

I have a Hoist H-100 that I think is very good for starting out. I have lost 45 pounds on Body for Life using the H-100 for weight lifting. I do not know too much about the new models other than the local dealer wishes they had not discontinued the H-100. They have a used one on their floor and asking $1,200 (with leg attachement). As a company, their equipment is very solid, smooth, and straightforward to use.

I agree with Busy that if you stay with lifting, you will want to move to freeweights and a cage of some kind - I just did that this weekend. So it could become a "buy it now or buy it later" issue for you.

Free weights have been ruled out by my wife, as she's worried the kids could get hurt on it. Whatever we get needs to use a stack and pulleys.

You can drive yourself crazy searching for "THE PERFECT" machine. There a so many out there, and every person on every forum has a vastly different opinion. For each person that says "it's cheap junk" you can find someone that says "it's the greatest ever".

You have listed reputable companies with strong histories of good equipment.

My suggestion is define your needs, define your budget, find one that fits those needs, buy it, don't look back. A local dealer is good because you can get hand's on, and their price usually includes delivery and setup (which avoids aggrevation).

I've used both and actually liked the bodysolid more. I found it as smooth and solid as the hoist. I also found it had more exercise options than the hoist did. Evryone says the hoist is a better piece of equipment but I don't buy it. The body solid also comes with a lifetime warranty.

We were referred to a Body Solid dealer 75 miles north and drove up to try out a G3S and G1S. They also had a used Hoist V2 for $1000, so it was nice to try them all out at one time. While I felt the G3S's movement wasn't as quite smooth on the Hoist, it did seem to have more exercise options and adjustments for positions. Anyway, my wife really liked it more, so we got the G3S. It's going to arrive Thursday, so now I need to start reading and see just what I'm getting into. :)