Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Just wanted to leave a review for those on the fence, who may have read a balance of negative and positive reviews and are trying to get a decent understanding of the quality of this product. The type of reviewer: My wife and I really enjoy this bench. We are short. She is 5'4" and I'm 5'8". The most either of us will bench is 225, leg lift 100 and this is because we are into fitness, not necessarily ever increasing strength. This bench is rock solid. There is not even a doubt about it holding up, in fact the quality of it doesn't even lend a thought to that type of thinking, it is that solid. I'm convinced that the key to having success with this bench begins with the assembly. Mechanically minded people, or those who have turned a few wrenches having common sense to understand what bolts need to be very tight (structural bolts ) vs. just snug (hinge bolts) vs. firm (bench pad bolts). It took about 2 hours to get it together, fine tuning the hinge bolts (not too loose, not too tight) and getting the leg extension adjusted for both my wife and I. By the way, the instructions are strictly diagrams and not words so be intuitive, we made a couple of mistakes and had to take apart and redo and laugh at ourselves for not paying close enough attention ... no big deal. For us short people, the bench pivot points are perfect. What I mean by that can be put into perspective this way. We first bought the Bowflex 5.1 because we wanted a super duty bench and it has great reviews and is known to be top quality. It is a tremendous bench for TALL people, but the bench hinge points for incline, decline, length of butt seat pad from knee to back too long etc. etc. We hated using it, it was heavy for my wife to move around even with the wheels. Comparably, the Marcy SB-350 is amazingly well fit for us. When I do decline dumbbell bench I no longer feel like I'm on a medieval torture device, but it just fits perfectly. The same goes for the leg attachment, everything fit perfectly. There are some reviews from tall people (6"1 and up) for this bench ... I don't see how this bench would fit them comfortably but those reviewers claim it does. There are also reviewers who make an issue of stability. I honestly have no idea what they are talking about, not at all. I'm 220, leg lift 100 and there is not even a hint of instability. Just really weird having used this bench and then trying to understand what those reviewers are talking about. The one negative that other reviewers have stated that I'm experiencing is the hinge bolt for the leg lift attachment does indeed stick out too far and scrapes the inside edge of the knee. One reviewer added extra washers to get the smooth rounded edge if the nut to be out far enough to cover the scraping blot threads. another suggested tape. It is not that bad, really more of an annoyance and I will be adding washers like the reviewer who submitted a picture of such in his review. Conclusion: Who should buy this bench in my opinion? 1) Persons 6 feet or less. 2) People who want to be in great shape but not excessively strong. Go 225 for more reps as opposed to 315 for Power/Strength training. 3) Space savers. With bench inclined and leg lift attachment off the footprint is 52" or so. Who should avoid this bench? 1) 6'1" or taller you begin to not match up with the bench dimensions. 2) People who want to train for strength Mark Rippetoe style, you will soon outgrow this bench. Go to a real gym and not Planet Fitness either LOL or get yourself a $400 commercial gym bench. 3) People who have no skill to assemble resulting in negative reviews because of their lack of understanding i.e. don't over tighten the screws to the pads or you may rip out the built in fasteners, duh. Don't over tighten hinge bolts or the won't pivot etc. This is a great bench, we love it!