The air walker is a home cardio workout machine that allows you to get an elliptical like zero impact aerobic workout at a budget price. It’s also lightweight and portable, making it suitable for confined workout areas. Air walkers had their heyday in the 1990s when they were often sold through TV infomercials. However, they remain a popular seller over the internet.
In this article, we drill down on the 6 best air walker machines on the current market. We’ll cover the features and benefits that lift these half dozen machines above the competition. We’ll also investigate the benefits and any potential drawbacks of using an air walker and answer the most common air walker questions. At the end of this article, you’ll have everything you need to make an informed, educated air walker exercise machine buying decision.
Table Of Contents
- 1 Best Air Walker Comparison Table
- 2 1. Gazelle GSUPCAT Supreme Glider
- 3 2. Sunny Health & Fitness SF-E902 Air Walker
- 4 3. Gazelle GEDGECAT Edge Glider
- 5 4. Gazelle Freestyle Glider
- 6 5. Sentuca Foldable Air Walk Trainer
- 7 6. Kenxen Air Walker
- 8 Buyer’s Guide
- 9 Frequently Asked Questions
- 10 Conclusion
Best Air Walker Comparison Table
#1 Editor’s Choice
Gazelle GSUPCAT Supreme Glider
Read Full Review
- 300 lb max user weight capacity
- 2-inch thick steel tube framing
- Foldable air machine
#2 Editor’s Choice
Sunny Health & Fitness SF-E902 Air Walker
Read Full Review
- 300 lb max user weight
- 2-inch thick steel tube framing
- Foldable air machine
Gazelle GEDGECAT Edge Glider
Read Full Review
- 250 lb max user weight
- Functional monitor
- 1.5 inch diameter steel tubing frame
Gazelle Freestyle Glider
Read Full Review
- 300 lb max user weight
- Monitor records pulse and calories burned
- Smooth action
Sentuca Foldable Air Walk Trainer
Read Full Review
- 264 lb max user weight
- Solid frame
- Large non-skid foot pedals
Kenxen Air Walker
Read Full Review
- 360 degree multi-directional motion
- 36-inch stride
- Lightweight
1. Gazelle GSUPCAT Supreme Glider
Editor’s Choice #1: We’ve ranked the Gazelle GSUPCAT as the top air walker on the market based on its smooth range of motion, stride and reliability. This air walker exercise machine has been around for a long time, attesting to its reliability and durability. It is an impressively quiet exercise machine that compactly folds for storage. It includes a simple but easy-to-operate monitor and comes in at a budget price.
The Gazelle GSUPCAT Supreme Glider is the top-of-the-line air walker produced by Gazelle LLC and promoted by fitness celeb Tony Little. It has been around for many years, attesting to its durability and reliability. It has a maximum user weight of 300 lbs, being among the highest you will find in the home air walker market. The frame is durable and the base extremely solid, so that you can stride with complete confidence.
Sturdy And Stable
The Gazelle Supreme Glider is made from 2-inch thick steel frame tubing. That is a half-inch thicker than you get with the Gazelle GEDGECAT Edge Glider, and that half-inch makes for a much more stable unit. This X design machine folds up for compact storage. Even the non-skid foot platforms fold flat so that, when, folded the depth of the unit is just 13 inches.
The foot pedals of the Supreme foldable air glider exercise machine are made from a hardy polyurethane plastic and are slip-resistant. Steel cables connect the foot pedals to the base of the machine to provide an extra level of rigidity. The handles on this strider are covered with slip-resistant rubber as well as being fitted with pulse sensors.Smooth Functionality
The Supreme air walker exercise machine features a pair of hydraulic cylinders to provide resistance settings. This allows you to adjust the resistance by way of a centrally located dial. All of the joins on this air walker feature high-quality ball bearings to ensure a smooth, natural glide motion that is free of any jerkiness. It also results in a very quiet low impact cardio workout.
The monitor on the Gazelle Supreme Glider has all the basic functionality you’d expect with the addition of heart rate monitoring thanks to the sensors built into the handlebars. A scan function rotates through readouts of your speed, distance, time and pulse. Your purchase of the Gazelle Supreme Glider cardio machine comes with 3 DVDs to get you set up and provide you with sample workouts. You also get a bottle holder and a plastic water bottle. Assembly is straightforward and should be able to be done within thirty minutes.
Pros
- 300 lb max user weight
- 2-inch thick steel tube framing
- Foldable
- Adjustable resistance
- Pulse monitor
- Full range of motion
Cons
- No adjustable stabilizers
2. Sunny Health & Fitness SF-E902 Air Walker
Editor’s Choice #2: The Sunny Health & Fitness SF-E902 makes it to our number two spot based on its terrific value for money. You can pick this one up for less than a hundred bucks. Unlike many low-priced air walkers, the Sunny SF-E902 exercise machine delivers a secure, solid frame and a very smooth stride motion.
Value For Money
The Sunny Health Fitness SF-E902 Air Walker is the best value air walker that we’ve come across. It provides you with a high level of rigidity and operates smoothly, unlike most walkers in this price range. You won’t experience any stuttery jerkiness on this machine, and, at 37 pounds, it is one of the lightest air walkers on the market.
The stride length of the SF-902 is 30 inches. This will be a little short for people who are taller than 6 feet in height, preventing them from getting a full range of motion. The max user weight is 220 pounds, which is a little lower than most of the other walkers we reviewed, but what you’d expect for an investment of less than a hundred dollars.
This air walker exercise machine features an adjustable abdominal pad that helps to keep your torso in an upright position while you’re working out. The LCD monitor on the Sunny Health Fitness air walker is pretty basic, featuring readouts of the time, distance, stride count and calories burned. It can be assembled in about 15 minutes and is covered with a 12-month warranty.
Pros
- Great value for money
- Smooth stride
- Solid frame
- Abdominal pad
- Foldable air machine
Cons
- Low max user weight
3. Gazelle GEDGECAT Edge Glider
Impressive Capacity For Cost
Gazelle sells three air gliders, with the GEDGECAT being the budget model. The other two machines are the Freestyle and the Supreme. Being a budget air walker doesn’t mean that the Gazelle Edge is lacking in stability. It has a maximum user weight of 250 lbs, which is pretty impressive for a walker in its price range. It will provide you with a solid, secure experience as you are suspended in mid-air.
The frame of this air walker exercise machine is made from 1.5-inch diameter steel tubing. The edges of the frame have plastic covers on them to prevent you from inadvertently scratching yourself and to enhance its durability. The movable handles allow you to work both the upper and lower body. The LCD monitor on the Gazelle Edge is basic but functional and the digits are large and easy to read when you’re exercising. The data point functions are speed, distance, strides and time. The screen is not backlit, though, so it may be a little hard to see in limited lighting conditions. The GEDGECAT is a quiet cardio machine to operate, but as with all air walkers, you will need to lubricate it for even a couple of weeks to prevent squeaking.
Pros
- 250 lb maximum weight
- Functional monitor
- 1.5-inch diameter steel tubing frame
- Quiet operation
- Budget price
Cons
- No adjustable resistance
4. Gazelle Freestyle Glider
The Gazelle Freestyle Glider sits between the Edge and the Supreme in the Gazelle air walker stable. It sells for under $200 and, considering its build quality and smooth action, is great value for money. The Freestyle Glider has recently undergone a revamp and now has a maximum user weight of 300 pounds, putting it on par with Gazelle’s top-of-the-line Supreme glider.
Smooth Resistance
Unlike with the Supreme, you cannot increase the resistance on the Freestyle. However, you do get a similar level of smooth, reliable stutter-free resistance. This air walker can be folded flat for easy storage. Several online reviewers have noted that the Freestyle can become quite noisy, with a loud squeak being produced. To eliminate this noise, you just have to give it weekly WD-40 lubrication.
The digital monitor on the Freestyle glider provides you with a running readout of your pulse, time, distance and calories burned. If you’re after a light cardio workout that is consistent and reliable and don’t mind that you can’t get an intense workout tension, then the Freestyle glider from Gazelle is a good option.
Pros
- 300 lb max user weight
- Monitor records pulse and calories burned
- Smooth action
- Solid construction
- Value for money
- Non-slip pedals
Cons
- No adjustable resistance
- Squeaky if not lubricated
5. Sentuca Foldable Air Walk Trainer
The Sentuca Air Walker has a solid base, with 2-inch tubular framing in an X design. The max user weight is 264 pounds and the maximum stride length is 30 inches. While that will be a bit limiting for people taller than six feet, it does deliver an impressively smooth glide movement.
Comfortable Grip
This medium-priced air walker features large non-skid foot pedals and large foam-covered handles for increased gripping comfort. Dual-action split suspension provides a complete range of motion and freedom of movement that you do not get with most air walkers in this price range.
Foldable Design
The foldable design of the Sentuca Air Walker makes this model ideal for people who have limited space to exercise in. This machine is good for low impact workouts.
Pros
- 264 lb max user weight
- Solid frame
- Large non-skid foot pedals
- Dual-action split suspension
- Well priced
Cons
- Limited stride length
- Squeaky
6. Kenxen Air Walker
The Kenxen Air Walker exercise machine has more of a traditional elliptical design than the other air walkers reviewed on this page. It allows for a 360-degree multi-directional motion and delivers a 36-inch stride range to give even the tallest users a full range of motion.
Upper Body Workout
The dual-action arms on the Kenxen Air Walker allow for an upper body workout to complement the lower body stride workout. The textured non-slip food plates are oversized to allow for multiple foot placements. High-density foam handlebars provide a slip-resistant grip. The monitor is pretty basic but still allows you to scan through all of your important training data points. It gives you a readout of your time count, total distance, and speed. The Kenxen Air Walker folds in half to give it a very compact storage footprint. At 39 pounds, this is a light machine that can be easily handled. Assembly is straightforward, requiring no more than 30 minutes.
Pros
- 360-degree multi-directional motion
- 36-inch stride
- Lightweight
- Dual-action arms
- Foldable air machine
- Foam covered handlebars
Cons
- No adjustable resistance
Buyer’s Guide
What Is An Air Walker Machine?
An air walker is a lightweight home cardio machine. It consists of an A-frame or X-frame with movable pedals connected with handles that move in unison with the foot pedals. The air walker allows you to move in a striding action range of motion without having to lift your feet off the foot pedal. That makes it a low-impact form of cardiovascular exercise.
Air glider exercise machines were marketed as a low-cost home alternative to the commercial elliptical machine. While it does provide a striding action, you do not get the same elliptical motion with the air walker exercise machine. Another key difference is that you are unable to significantly increase the resistance when you are working out on an air walker. That limits the usability of the machine. While it provides a useful, challenging workout to beginner exercisers, more advanced trainers will find the lack of added resistance too limiting.
These exercise machines were very popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s when they were mainly sold through TV infomercials. Today, they are rarely seen in brick-and-mortar retailers but are widely available online.
Benefits Of Using An Air Walker Machine
Despite the limitation of not providing as much resistance, air walker exercise machines deliver several benefits for home workout enthusiasts. In comparison to other options like treadmills and elliptical machines, the air walker offers a low-cost, lightweight home cardio workout option.
Here are 5 key benefits of using an air walker:
Cardiovascular Health
These exercise machines provide a low-impact way to exercise your cardiovascular system. It provides a convenient way to get the 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise that is recommended by the US Department of Health & Human Services. Working out regularly on the air walker will allow your heart to pump the blood around your body more efficiently.
A stronger heart will pump more blood with each beat. This lowers blood pressure and puts less stress on the heart. The blood flow to your blood vessels will increase. This enhanced blood flow will help to prevent heart attacks, and lower cholesterol levels. It will also boost your cardiovascular endurance as a result of the increased supply of oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles when you’re exercising.
Weight Loss
Air walker exercise machines help you to lose weight if it is used regularly and done in conjunction with a reduced-calorie diet. To lose weight you must create a daily negative calorie balance where you are burning more calories for energy than you take into your body through nutrition. The air walker does not burn as many calories as a treadmill or an elliptical because of the resistance limitations. However, you will still burn around 260 calories for every 60 minutes that you work out on an air walker.
If you were to also reduce your calorie intake by 250 calories daily, you will create a weekly calorie burn of 3500 calories, which will burn off around a pound of stored body fat. The air walker allows you to work your upper body and lower body to increase calorie burn.
Low Impact
An air walker and air glider is an example of a closed chain cardiovascular exercise. In a closed chain exercise, the feet remain in contact with the exercise platform at all times. As a result, there is virtually no impact on the ankle, knee and hip joints during the movement. This makes the air walker an excellent choice of cardio exercise equipment for people who require a low-impact workout due to existing joint problems or who suffer from conditions such as arthritis or osteoporosis.
It is also a smart choice for seniors. Over the age of 50, we steadily lose bone mass, making it more important than ever to reduce joint impact while exercising.
Compact
The air walker is a compact foldable exercise machine with a space-saving design and is also lightweight. It folds inward to produce a small footprint so that it can be stored against a wall, under a cupboard or bed. That makes an air walker a good option for people with confined workout conditions. The air walker is also a very quiet exercise machine, making it ideal for those who live in thin-walled apartments.
Choosing The Right Air Walker Machine For You
When shopping for an air walker, there are five areas that you need to check to make sure that you’re getting a reliable, sturdy, efficient cardio machine that will work for you.
Maximum User Weight
The maximum user weight capacity as indicated by the manufacturer is the best indication of the sturdiness of the frame of the machine. The air walker suspends your body in the air so the last thing you want is a machine that feels rickety and unreliable. Yet, a lot of the cheapest air walkers deliver that very experience.
To ensure that you’re getting a solid, stable frame, look for an air walker with a maximum user weight capacity of 250 pounds.
Foot Platforms
The foot platforms on your air rower are the connection between the machine and your body. If they are not solid and secure, you won’t be able to get a fluid, reliable striding workout. You want the foot pedals to be large enough that you can adjust your positioning with toes pointed inward and outward. They should also have a skid-free surface to ensure that there is no unwanted lateral foot motion as you are striding forward and backward.
Compact And Foldable
Most people do not want to keep their air walker permanently set up. Look for a foldable air machine that allows you to easily fold it to a compact footprint so that it can be stored away when not in use.
Resistance Adjustment
Although the resistance potential is limited on an air walker, you can still adjust the resistance on most of them. Look for a machine that has a centrally located adjustment dial that allows for a smooth tension adjustment without any jerkiness or stuttering motion. If you’re unable to test drive the air walker before buying, check online reviews from verified purchasers.
Monitor
You can’t expect a very advanced monitor on an air walker but you should expect one with basic, reliable functionality. Look for an air walker with a monitor that provides a readout of your time, distance, speed and calories burned. This latter function will usually come by way of heart rate sensors that are built into handles.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Use An Air Walker?
To use an air walker, begin by grabbing hold of the handles for support and then stepping onto the foot platforms, one foot at a time. Take a moment to get comfortable, ensuring that you are properly balanced. Begin exercising by striding forward with one leg as the other goes back. Continue in a fluid forward and backward motion, keeping your upper body upright and maintaining a neutral spine position. Be sure to get a full range of motion on every stride.
What Is The Difference Between An Air Walker And A Cross-Trainer?
The main difference between an air walker and a cross trainer is that cross trainers, also known as ellipticals, are usually larger and more solid than air walkers. They provide a unique elliptical range of motion compared to the back and forth motion of the air walker. Cross trainers are also more expensive than air walkers and provide a greater range of resistance levels. The air walker is very similar to the cross trainer in that they both allow for a full striding motion in suspension.
Is An Air Walker A Good Home Exercise Choice?
An air walker is a good home exercise machine for beginner exercisers and those who are looking for a very low-impact form of cardio workout. However, it will probably not provide enough resistance for people who have been working out for more than a year. As a result, users will reach the point where their body finds the workout less stressful than is needed for ongoing cardiovascular and strength gains. Your range of motion is more limited than if you were striding out on a treadmill or an elliptical cross-trainer.
Can You Lose Weight Using An Air Walker?
You can lose weight using an air walker although there are additional factors such as diet that will have an impact. The limitations of using an air walker are that it does not provide as much resistance capability as more expensive machines such as the treadmill and the elliptical and many air walkers also have a low maximum user weight capacity. You will still burn around 260 calories for every 60 minutes that you work out.
Conclusion
An air walker is a low-cost cardio machine that provides a good introduction to working out at home. While it isn’t designed for experienced trainers, it does provide an effective introduction to cardio exercise that is low impact, compact, and user friendly. In this article, we’ve covered the half dozen best air walkers on today’s market. Use that information along with our buyer’s guide as the basis to make your best air walker purchasing decision.
