Giant Econo Lat Machine

Assembly was very easy. Everything fit together perfectly. The machine is compact and uses very little linear space. It does need a good amount of head room. The metal gauge is a good quality for a home gym. The glide of the weight during use has a decent resistance and is very smooth. (Note that this uses Standard weight plates (1" hole), not Olympic plates.) Our lat machine gets a good amount of regular use from five people. The way the machine is constructed causes the upper arm to move slightly during use; however, this is an expected movement. We have checked the machine for bolt loosening or structural wear, and it shows no signs after several weeks worth of use. The machine functions very nicely for both the upper and lower. My personal assessment is that the lower row functions more smoothly than the upper. My husband (a competitive bodybuilder/powerlifter) noticed no difference, yet he doesn't prefer the lower row as the user must pull slightly upward rather than in a straight line as the machines in a commercial gym perform.The adjustment for the seat is simple, as it uses a removable "U" pin. Switching from upper pull-down exercises to the lower row is also very easy with a simple clip hook-up of the lower cable to the top cable. The quality of the attachment bars are very poor. The short 18" bar is better quality than the 48" bar. When my husband was using the machine for "lat pull-down" with the 48" bar, it bent slightly. My husband was only using 190 pounds.Also to note, because it is free weight, if one is accustomed to using very heavy weight for lat pull-down or seated row in a gym, you will notice how much less weight you will need for this machine. My husband racks the lat pull-down machine in the gym and adds extra weight making it 300 pounds, while with this machine, he uses around 200 pounds (sometimes a little more). Both my husband and I are professionals in the fitness field and I also use this occasionally with my clients (I am a natural health doctor and fitness professional). I trust the machine to perform as expected as my husband and I have put it through rigorous testing and use. I do NOT like the way this machine performs under heavy weight (280-300 pounds) as the upper arm moves far too much for my liking.I gave this a four star rating only because the bars are poor quality, and the machine has a slight movement during use as noted above. We purchased all new bars/handles that one would use in a commercial gym.

First of all, looking at the pictures I had the impression this would be huge. It is not; it's fairly compact, lengthy but not at all wide and moderately tall. It can fit in a rather small space. I actually wonder whether there would be enough reach for lat pulldowns if you are *very* tall.The construction quality is amazing. It took me a bit over an hour to build (I'm 65 and careful); everything fit perfectly and gave you a feeling of solidity. Very clear instructions (do follow the one that says to not tighten the nuts till the end!) and all the parts were there, including one not mentioned in the instructions, a rubber truncated cone with a screw protruding; I finally figured that this protects the point where the sliding weight mechanism hits. During final bolt-tightening a ratchet nut-driver (not provided) will save you a lot of time and sweat.You can use the machine for lat work and triceps pushdowns, and also you can use the low pulley for seated rows or curls (I haven't done that yet, but don't doubt it would work). The machine accepts regular (1" hole) weights; you may need adapter sleeves if, like me, you have Olympic weights. Two bars (lat and rowing) are provided and can be conveniently stowed on the machine.I should add that the seat has three easily adjustable positions, as does the knee guard.Overall, I'm thrilled with the purchase!

I just assembled my Machine and was excited to find something for $350 with such fantastic reviews! The machine assembled easily in well under an hour and looked as if it was built very well. I loaded 100 pounds and had a friend do a set of 10 while I stood in front of him. I was shocked to see an alarming amount of forward and backwards sway. Enough to make me feel extremely uncomfortable with exercising on this machine. I own a workout facility so I'm very familiar with how much load equipment can handle before it starts to break down and safety is a major concern. I went through and double checked that the machine was assembled properly then re-tightened all the bolts. Same result. I don't know if any of these reviewer's have watched the machine buckle while someone else worked on it but this is anything but stable. I have a request in to the seller to see if there's something they can fix so I will update after they get back to me but as of right now I would avoid purchasing this machine at all costs.

Did a lot of research and found most of the lat machines out there have issues with being crap construction or a very poor design like some keep you too close to the top of the tower which results in poor range of motion. This does not, I have to stretch to grab the top pully bar for lat pull downs and I'm 6'2 275lbs. The fact that it uses less pulleys than most other systems makes it more sturdy and as smooth as cables at the gym (as long as you grease the poll). Simple and very effective. Now the negative, it arrived with a destroyed weight slide totally bent and useless. I called Yukon and they immediately shipped me a replacment by express mail. I was very happy with that. Yukon is a high end company that makes very expensive professional weight equiptment. Your lucky you can buy something from them at this cost ($320). Stop shopping for a lat machine at the best price. I did all the work for you. This is the only one you need. If it is out of your price range than don't buy one at all untill you can afford this. (also buy from who ever as it is drop shipped so it's sent straight from Yukon).