Anyone here actually living with the Body Power Compact Smith Machine-the space-saving sled that promises big-boy lifts in broom-closet square footage? I’m trying to figure out if “compact” means “efficient footprint” or “congratulations, you now bench inside a phone booth.”
Looking for real-world owner intel and nerdy measurements. Bonus points for photos, squeak stories, and “I had to shim it with playing cards” hacks.
Questions that the marketing page conveniently forgot to answer:
- Actual bar weight: What does the sled weigh empty? Luggage scale measurements welcome. Is it counterbalanced or just vibes?
- Friction and stick-slip: Does the bar glide or does it do the haunted-house jump between pegs when you go slow? Nylon bushings or linear bearings? What lube worked best without turning the guide rods into a dust magnet?
- Angle/vertical: Is the track perfectly vertical or slightly angled (and if angled, which way)? For squats, do you face the “right” way or just pick your favorite knee?
- Footprint reality check: With a full-size bench rolled in, how much usable depth is left before knuckles meet uprights? Any incline settings that become impossible because the headrest smashes the frame?
- Ceiling drama: What’s the true assembled height, and how much clearance do you need to comfortably press without headbutting joists? Anyone using it under 82-inch ceilings without inventing the seated-everything program?
- Safeties and hook spacing: How fine are the stop adjustments? Easy to set for bench press fail-safes, or is it “pick between rib crush or elbow hyperextension?”
- Bar diameter and collars: Standard Olympic sleeves or some “surprise, it’s 1-inch with adapters” situation? Do regular spring collars and locks fit without wobble?
- Cable add-ons: If yours has high/low pulley options, what’s the true ratio (1:1, 2:1)? Smoothness under load? Any hilarious pulley rub points that turn lat pulldowns into lat vibrations?
- Stability under bands: Do the uprights flex or does the sled bind when you add bands? Worth doing, or save the bands for something that won’t try to yeet the bar off the rails?
- Noise: Apartment/garage friendly or does it sound like a shopping cart full of kettlebells on a gravel road?
- Mods that actually helped: UHMW on stops, silicone dry lube, bearing swaps, frame shims, 3D-printed hook sleeves, anything that made it feel 200% less “budget.”
- Long-term wear: Any rounding of the hook teeth, play in the sled, guide rod scarring, or cable fray if you’ve got the pulley version? How fast did the first squeak show up?
Space and setup specifics I’d love measured by owners:
- Inner width between uprights (usable space).
- Bottom-of-bar to floor at the lowest catch, and max travel distance.
- Depth from bar path to the rear frame (to know how far a bench can sit back before interference).
- True hole/peg spacing for stops.
- If you’ve got a slight floor slope, does the sled drift to one side? Did shimming fix it?
Weird-but-useful tests you can run in 2 minutes:
- Friction test: Hang a luggage scale from the center of the bar, pull just until the sled moves. Report the peak number. That’s your “friction tax.”
- Drift test: Set the empty bar at mid-height, let go. Does it stay, creep, or choose a favorite direction like a shopping cart with a bad wheel?
- Microload test: Will a 2.5 lb plate per side move the sled smoothly, or does it stutter until you cross a secret threshold?
Training use-cases I’m hoping it handles without comedy:
- Smith bench without shoulder hate: Can you get a decent scapular position, or does the path force your elbows to sign a waiver?
- Squats facing both directions: Any difference in comfort, hip tracking, or bar path weirdness?
- Hacky vertical leg press with a bench: Practical or pure Instagram?
- Hip thrusts off the safeties: Do the stops set low enough to be useful?
If you’ve owned both this and, say, a Force USA G3/G6 or a Body-Solid smith, how does the glide and build feel in comparison? Trying to decide if this is a clever compact solution or a squeaky compromise that I’ll hate by week three.