REVIEW – I have always enjoyed working out with weights and strength training. I used to go to a gym, but back in 2019, just before COVID, I got some equipment that would allow me to weight train at home. The strength training device I have is called a Tonal. It mounts on the wall, and all weights are managed by magnets in the machine via a cable system. The unit came with a bench, but it is a simple flat bench that was not adjustable. I have been looking for an adjustable weight bench to start varying my weight routine when the Flybird FB299 adjustable weight bench became available to review.
What is it?
Flybird has several levels of weight benches available. I chose the FB299 because it has incline and decline and weighs only 30 lbs. It can support up to 880 pounds of weight which is way more than I will ever put on it!
What’s in the box?
- Flybird FB299 adjustable weight bench
- One foot support
- One foot support bolt is used to adjust the position of the foot support
- One M10 bolt is used to adjust the position of the backrest
Hardware specs
- Length: 46.5” (118 cm)
- Width: 13.8” (35 cm)
- Height: 18.9” (48 cm)
- Backrest Length: 31” (79cm)
- 3 Seat Positions: flat, 12°, 23°
- 8 Back Pad Positions: 24°, 38°, 52°, 70°, 90°, flat and decline (-9°, -30°)
- Stowed Dimensions: 30.1” L x 13.8” W x 9.5” H (79 x 35 x 24 cm)
- Weight Capacity: 880lbs (400kg)
- Item Weight: 30LB
Design and features
The Flybird FB299 adjustable weight bench is a well-built bench with a lot of features. Below is a close-up of the knob used to adjust the height of the backrest. It pulls out very smoothly, and it also slides very smoothly. There were no herky/jerky actions, and I could adjust the incline or decline of the bench very easily. The knob is very sturdy and reminds me of the benches that I find in the gym.
The picture below is a shot of the junction between the seat pad and the backrest. There is a hole to the right of the silver bolt where the M10 bolt slides in. It helps to keep the bench level.
Pulling the M10 bolt out, putting the seat pad all of the way down, and the backrest at full decline will let you fold the bench in half for storage. That is a nice feature.
Here is a picture of the top of the Flybird FB299 adjustable weight bench. It has some comfortable padding. One of my few complaints about the bench is that I wish it were the same width at the top of the backrest as it is at the bottom. A larger person with wide shoulders could be slightly uncomfortable if they were lying flat doing bench presses. I do like the red accents with the black.
The footrest has three positions, as shown in the pictures below. The padding is adequate and I never felt any pain locking my feet underneath the footrest.
The Flybird FB299 adjustable weight bench’s backrest has eight different positions. I want to mention again that adjusting the seat pad and backrest was very smooth. Nothing stuck, and the pins went in place easily.
Another nice feature of the Flybird FB299 adjustable weight bench is that all four ends of the base have adjustable foot pads on them. If you have a slightly uneven floor, you can easily adjust the footpads to make the bench level.
I took some pictures of the underside of the bench and some closeups of the seams. My bench had no issues with any of the seams. No threads were poking out anywhere.
Setup
The setup of the Flybird FB299 adjustable weight benchwas very easy. The bench came in its folded and storage position. I unfolded the bench and inserted the M10 bolt at the junction of the headrest and seat pad. I then mounted the footrest by inserting the built-in bolt into one of the two holes on the bench. It is a nice feature that they give you two mounting holes as an option. I wear a women’s shoe size of 9 1/2. Some men with really large feet would appreciate the higher bolt mount. I used the higher of the two bolt mounts to accommodate my husband. Once the bolt was through the hole, I screwed in the supplied knob to hold it into place.
I then set the seat pad and back rest at a level position for a comparison to my existing weight bench.
Performance
In the picture below, you can see the Flybird FB299 adjustable weight bench is longer than my existing bench. My tape measure told me it was two and a half inches longer. I like the length of the FB299 compared to my Tonal bench.
The other issue I have with this bench is the height of it. It was just a bit over four inches taller than my existing bench. I will admit that the Tonal bench was lower than most benches I have used in a gym, with a height of only 15 inches. However, I would appreciate a bench that is only 18 inches high vs 19.25 inches like the FB299. All of my height is in my legs with a 32-inch inseam. That means I have a short torso. Laying down on the bench and reaching for a weight is a bit of a stretch. Also, the height of the Flybird FB299 adjustable weight bench interfered with the plug on the bottom of my Tonal when I needed to push the bench front up against the wall so I could use the back of the bench as a brace to do rows.
I wanted an adjustable bench so I could do exercises like seated curls. Keeping my back tight against the backrest keeps me from cheating and throwing my weight around to lift the weights. You can see in the picture below there is a slight downward slope on my thighs indicating that the bench is a bit too high for me.
I also wanted to perform inclined bench presses, which the Flybird FB299 adjustable weight bench accommodates easily. Again, you can see that my heels are slightly off the floor because the bench is too high for me.
Weighing in at only 30 lbs, I found the bench easy to pick up and move around. The workouts on my Tonal require me to reposition the bench multiple times in a workout, and it was easy to do with the FB299.
What I like
- Very adjustable. I love that it can incline and decline on the backrest.
- Light enough at 30 lbs that it is easy to move around.
- It is well built with smooth action on adjustability.
- It can handle over 800lbs
What I’d change
- Make the backrest the same wide all the way from the top to the bottom.
- Lower the bench height by about an inch.
Final thoughts
I recommend the Flybird FB299 adjustable weight bench if you are looking for a well-built adjustable bench. Anyone with an inseam of 33 inches or more would love this bench. I found it a bit too tall for my needs. I also love that it folds in half for storage and is easy to move around at only 30 lbs.
Price: $132.88
Where to buy: Flybird (Save 40% sitewide with code “Flybird40” expires 3/31/24)
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Flybird.
