Sunny Health & Fitness’ SF-T4400 is a small, budget-friendly treadmill that offers just the most basic console features. That said, it’s going to be hard to find a more highly-rated treadmill under $400.
The SF-T4400 comes with a small running surface and a weight capacity of just 220 lb, but with a surprisingly strong 2.2 HP motor, it’s able to reach a top speed of 9 mph.
It’s also lightweight and foldable, making it easy to move around when necessary.
And the warranty isn’t great, but for the price, it’s about as good as we can expect.
Long-story-short, the SF-T4400 is a simple treadmill best suited for smaller users looking for an affordable walking treadmill.
If you’re interested in the longer story, keep reading.
In this review, I’ll go over everything this treadmill does and doesn’t have going for it. After reading, you’ll know whether or not the SF-T4400 is the right option for your home gym.
Let’s begin.
The Sunny Health & Fitness Folding Incline Treadmill (SF-T4400)
As budget brands go, Sunny Health & Fitness (SHF) is one of the better options out there.
Their cardio machines don’t usually have the most memorable names (most come with generic descriptions like this one, meaning you have to look at the model number to tell ’em apart), but they’re pretty well-built for the price.
And SHF has a huge lineup of products to choose from too – so large in fact, it can be a little overwhelming trying to compare different models.
I mean they seriously have like 30 different motorized treadmills to choose from on their website… crazy.
Anyway, the SF-T4400 we’re here to discuss now is one of their most popular models, as well as being one of the top selling treadmills on Amazon (at the time of writing this anyway).
And if you’re like me, you might be quick to say that this treadmill’s success is purely due to the fact that it’s so affordable… but there are a lot of affordable treadmills on Amazon.
Regardless, we should move on.
Let’s start things off with a rundown on this treadmills performance specs.
Pros
- Very affordable
- Easy to assemble
- 2.2 HP motor
- Top speed of 9 mph
- 9 built-in workouts
- Quick-touch speed buttons
- Tablet holder
- Easy to move
- Decent warranty
Cons
- Small running surface
- Very simple console
- Manual incline
- Max weight limit of only 220 lb
Running Surface
A treadmill’s running surface refers to the physical dimensions of the belt and it’s an important spec to look at because it tells you exactly how much room you’ll have (or not have) while using the machine.
It’s measured in inches and usually written as “width x length”.
Bigger is always better because having more room is always nice, but the amount of space you’ll really need depends greatly on your height and how fast you’re moving.
Taller folks with longer legs will have a longer stride, thus needing a longer running surface; and everyone’s stride increases when running at faster speeds.
The gold standard for higher-end treadmills these days has become a running surface of 20″ x 60″ because at this size, pretty much everyone should be able to run as fast as they want without fear of having to shorten their stride.
With this info in mind, the SF-T4400 comes with a running surface of 15.5″ x 49″.
This is small.
At this size, I think this treadmill is best suited for folks under 6′ tall and walkers more so than runners.
Jogging at slower speeds should be doable as well, but again, I think shorter people are going to find this treadmill more comfortable than taller ones.
That said, there are plenty of users who say they are 6’1″ saying that they walk and jog on this treadmill comfortably.
Although it’s worth noting that a lot of the 6′ tall users also seem to complain that the console is hard to see at that height and that some users have issues with hitting their hands on the handles.
Certainly something to consider.
I also want to mention that the SF-T4400 comes with an assembled weight of only 103 lb, which is very light for a home treadmill (many home models are in the 200 – 300 lb range).
This will definitely make it easier to move this treadmill around, but being this light isn’t going to provide the same heavy-duty feel you’d get from a heavier machine.
Of course, with a weight limit of only 220 lb, the SF-T4400 isn’t exactly designed for larger users anyway, so the point might be moot.
Overall, this treadmill comes with a very small running surface, a low assembled weight, and a small weight limit. In other words, it’s designed for smaller users.
Motor
But, if you are a smaller user and fit the size requirements, that might not be a problem.
When it comes to the motor, the SF-T4400 actually scores pretty highly – with a 2.2 HP motor under the hood, this treadmill is about as strong as you’ll see in this price range.
Well, there are some comps that come with 2.5 HP motors, but what’s a quarter of horse here or there…
Anyway, this treadmill comes with a top speed of 9 mph and even though it doesn’t have power incline, you can manually adjust the incline angle (max of 4%).
Manual inclines aren’t especially convenient because you have to stop your workout to change it, but at least it does give you the opportunity to work against some gentle inclines.
In the world of home treadmills a 2.2 HP motor and a top speed of 9 mph is a bit weak, but for a treadmill that costs under $400 it’s not bad.
That said, most agree it’s a good idea to have at least 3 horses under the hood if you plan on doing serious running, so again – this treadmill is not designed with runners in mind.
With that short running surface, I personally wouldn’t want to go any faster than 6 mph (but I’m 6’1″ and 200 lb).
Overall though, I think the SF-T4400 scores pretty well in the motor department -it’s packing plenty of muscle for comfortable walking.
Features
The SHF SF-T4400 comes with the following features:
LCD console- the console on this treadmill is very basic. It’ll display all the simple metrics (speed, time, distance, etc), but it doesn’t come with any nicer features like bluetooth, fans, or USB charging. It’s backlit, but some users have complained that the console becomes unclear at certain viewing angles.
9 workout programs- this treadmill comes with 9 pre-loaded workout profiles, giving you the option to simply select a workout and go.
Heart rate monitoring- the SF-T4400 isn’t compatible with chest straps, but you can grab the built-in grip monitor to get a rough estimate of what your heart rate is (these things aren’t exactly known for being accurate though).
Quick-touch buttons- you can instantly set the speed to 2, 4, or 6 mph with the push of one of these buttons.
Tablet holder- there’s a little shelf on the console, giving you a place to put your table or phone during workouts. It will block your view of the console display however.
Water bottle holders- there’s even room for 2 water bottles, so you got no excuse for not staying hydrated.
Assembly
If you decide to purchase this treadmill, the last thing you should worry about is putting it together – it couldn’t be much easier.
Once you get it out of the box and all the packaging off, you just have to fold the uprights/console up into their upright position and attach a few screws.
You also have to connect a few covers, but that’s really about it.
This treadmill comes like 95% pre-assembled.
Plus, it’s really lightweight, so it shouldn’t be that hard to handle considering it has built-in rollers.
That said, it’s never a bad idea to have a second person around to assist with everything.
Overall, getting the SF-T4400 assembled should be very straightforward.
Warranty
SHF back the SF-T4400 Treadmill with the following home warranty:
- 3 year frame
- 6 month parts
Alright, so 3 years on the frame is short if we compare it to higher-end treadmills that come with lifetime frame guarantees and cost hundreds of dollars more.
But it’s not bad compared to the 1 year guarantee a lot of other affordable brands offer on their treadmills.
Although XTERRA offers a lifetime frame guarantee on their TR150 (which is only a few bucks more than the SF-T4400 on Amazon).
Anyway, 6 months on parts is also pretty short – it would be nice to see at least a year here, but in this price range, it’s certainly not a given.
There’s also no labor warranty, but that’s pretty normal for this price range.
Overall, not a bad guarantee for such an affordable treadmill.
Final Thoughts
Ok, I think that about does it for the SF-T4400.
I feel like that went by really quick, but the reality is, there just isn’t that much to talk about with this treadmill.
This is a really simple treadmill – there aren’t any fancy bells or whistles or anything like that to go over.
When thinking about treadmills in this price range, you have to keep in mind that they’re affordable for good reasons.
A $400 treadmill isn’t gonna look like a $1000 treadmill – just isn’t gonna happen.
These treadmills are smaller, lighter, and less dependable, but as long as you have realistic expectations, they can still be worth investing in.
With that in mind, if you’re looking for a really affordable treadmill to do some walking on, I could see the SF-T4400 being a good buy.
As long as you realize how small this thing is and you fit the size requirements.
If you’re 6′ tall or taller, I’d suggest finding a treadmill with a longer running surface; but if you’re of smaller stature and under 200 lb, this treadmill should get the job done.
Overall, this is likely one of the best treadmills in this price range.
