The WalkingPad G5i Review – Is This The World’s Most Innovative Folding Incline Treadmill?

WalkingPad Review

The WalkingPad G5i might be the most innovative folding treadmill ever made. It is a full incline treadmill, with a genuine 18% gradient across 25 levels and a 10 mph top speed, and yet the whole deck folds clean in half so the machine stands against a wall about as deep as a hardback book. We have had one at home to test, and these first impressions, with our own photos throughout, are among the most positive we have written.

By Chris Linford  |  Reviewed September 2026  |  Hands-on tested in the UK, with our own photos

✓Hands-on tested by our teamWe unboxed it, set it up and put it through its paces. We are seriously impressed.

RunRank 4.9 / 5

Best folding incline treadmill

£1,899£1,599

RRP £1,899. Free White Glove delivery and a full year of Kinomap included.

Check price and launch offer →

Launch offer, a further £200 off with the code on WalkingPad’s site, taking it to about £1,399. Ends 30 September 2026.

What is the WalkingPad G5i?

Most folding treadmills simply raise the deck up and out of the way. They still need a dedicated spot, and they still take up a decent amount of floor space. Go smaller and you compromise on performance. Go bigger and they do not fold at all. The G5i is WalkingPad’s answer to that problem. It is a full treadmill with a real 18% incline and a 10 mph top speed, and the deck folds completely in half so the whole machine stands upright against a wall.

WalkingPad calls it the world’s first folding incline treadmill, and on the evidence of our first few days with it, that billing is fair. This is a first-impressions review, so we will be putting proper mileage on it over the next month, but the early signs are genuinely excellent. There are only a couple of quirks, and we had to search to find them. Before the detail, here is how it arrived and how it set up.

The fold, in real time

Unboxing and delivery

Our G5i was delivered in mainland UK by a two-person BJS courier team, part of WalkingPad’s White Glove Service, which is included with the launch offer and normally costs £199. The service was excellent. We were kept well informed throughout, given a delivery window that was met, and called on the morning and again when the van was under 45 minutes away. The team will carry the machine to wherever you want it in your home.

Scroll through our unboxing photos →

The box is heavy. You want two people at a minimum, and a third pair of hands would help. It is also a fair bit wider than the treadmill itself, and since the easiest way out of the packaging is to lay it flat, you need enough floor space to work.

The packaging is the best we have seen on a treadmill.

The packaging is the best we have seen on a treadmill. Thick polystyrene foam wraps the whole machine, board inserts stop the box crushing in transit, hard plastic corners protect the edges, and every surface has protective film. The tools you need, the levelling key, treadmill lubricant, the power cords and the tablet holder, sit in a small inner box right at the top, so you can set them aside without losing anything. We found it easiest to lift the lid off, slide the polystyrene sections away with the G5i flat on the floor, then lever it up onto its wheels and roll it clear of the rest. That is the point at which it becomes a one-person job.

One small thing we liked was the bag. The whole machine comes inside a large clear bag rather than a thin plastic sheet, so all the other packaging tucks neatly back inside it afterwards for a tidy clear-up. Be warned that there is a fair amount of it, so a short tip run is likely.

Setting up the G5i

This was one of the simplest out-of-the-box setups we have had on any treadmill. The machine is complete and ready to deploy from the box, and deploy is the right word, because this is a serious piece of kit that feels genuinely premium. It sounds silly, but even the wheels, with their clear composite finish, feel well thought out and quality. If we had to make a comparison almost everyone would understand, the WalkingPad G5i build quality feels like unboxing a Mac. It is a beautiful bit of kit, not just utilitarian.

Scroll through the setup steps →

There is a comprehensive manual in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch that walks you through setup and the preloaded workouts, plus a quick-start card with a QR code to download the app, and an after-sales card (the contact is eu.contact@walkingpad.com).

With the machine flat on the floor, you start by raising the arms. Find the orange foot pedal, swing it out into position and press down (we had to pump it twice to release the arms), then pull the arms up. They are light and come up easily, and they drop back on a soft-close mechanism when you stow the machine away.

Next you open up the deck. This is the moment to centre the belt manually, which is simple thanks to two guide marks on the motor housing. Spin the belt slightly to help. Once you are happy, drop the deck fully and it locks in place.

One of the simplest setups we have had, and it feels like deploying a serious piece of kit rather than assembling a budget treadmill.

The midsection feet, the clever part that lets the G5i reach a steep incline and still fold in half, have large suction pads. They work best on hard floors, as in our photos. We would not use them on a treadmill mat, and we would not want to on carpet, because the suction is a big part of what makes the machine feel so planted. When you fold it back up, the pads release with a loud crackle. It sounds alarming the first time, as though something has broken, but it is completely normal, so consider this your heads-up.

With the belt down, you fold out the arms. Two orange levers unlock them to swing into position, and you are done. If your floor is uneven, the supplied key levels the machine, though ours did not need it. The last steps are to pop in the tablet holder and the emergency-stop device. The stop device is a nice touch, because rather than a magnet it uses actual pins, which feels closer to a commercial machine and is sturdier at a full run, where magnetic clips have a habit of falling off. It is another nod to what this treadmill is built for.

Then it is time to peel. The console and the SpeedDial are covered in screen film. If, like us, that is the most satisfying part of an unboxing, peel away now. If you prefer to leave it on, everything works fine either way. Finally, plug it in. WalkingPad ship the G5i with both UK and EU plugs, and the supplied cords are exactly two metres. Make sure the rocker switch is in the off position before you connect it, and plug it straight into a wall socket rather than an extension lead, as the motor draws a fair amount. The power input sits on the back of the machine, which is neater than the side-mounted input you get on a machine like the DeerRun X20.

Build quality and the fold

The G5i is built to a standard well above most folding machines. The running belt carries embossed WalkingPad branding and a grippy surface texture, and the deck feels genuinely spacious underfoot. The motor housing wears the KingSmith logo, the parent brand behind WalkingPad. The real engineering story, though, is underneath. A set of mid-deck feet with large suction pads plant the machine on hard floors and, crucially, let it reach a steep incline and still fold completely in half. The SoftStep cushioning is obvious the moment you step on, and comfortable underfoot, although we do not have the long-term data yet on what it means for your joints.

Scroll through the design details →

Little touches carry the premium feel through, from the clear composite wheels to the pin-based emergency stop and the two orange levers that fold the arms away in seconds. It reads far more like a piece of considered design than a budget flat-pack.

How big is it, folded and unfolded?

We measured the G5i ourselves rather than take the spec sheet on trust. Deployed, it is about 160 cm long, and the deck is about 70 cm wide across the running belt and the fixed side steppers, so there is proper room to move. Folded is where it earns its billing. With the tablet holder removed it comes down to about 117 cm long laid flat, and stood upright it is roughly 115 cm tall and only about 23 cm deep, about the depth of a hardback book laid flat.

Scroll through our tape-measured dimensions →

To give a sense of it, folded and upright the G5i stands about as tall and wide as a washing machine, but at only around 23 cm deep it takes up almost none of the floor, so it wheels flat against a wall and would very likely slide under a raised bed. It is genuinely easy to move around, with one caveat. It does not have multidirectional wheels like a suitcase roller, only two fixed wheels, so rolling it in a straight line is simple but slotting it precisely into a gap takes a little care. Set against the fact that a machine with this incline and top speed folds and moves at all, that is a very small price. Most treadmills that manage even 12% incline and a 10 mph top speed are fixed-deck behemoths.

The screen, controls and app

Power the G5i up and a KingSmith logo animates across the SpeedDial screen. It is a minor thing, but like the chime on a premium laptop it sets the tone, and it feels like part of an ecosystem.

Scroll through the interface and app →

The interface is easy to use. Two buttons greet you, P for programs and M for manual. Programs gives you the ten preloaded workouts, from a beginner fat-burning run to a peak-incline interval session, none of which need an app or a connection. Manual lets you set a time and pace and get going immediately. Quick-speed keys jump you to 3, 6 or 9 km/h, and two buttons on the left handle incline and decline. The one thing we would add is quick-jump incline, because at present you click through the 25 levels one at a time. The SpeedDial itself, WalkingPad’s name for the scrolling selector wheel with its small screen, is the interaction highlight and makes the G5i feel like a piece of high-end tech as much as gym equipment.

The SpeedDial makes the G5i feel like a piece of high-end tech as much as gym equipment.

Connecting is quick. On power-up the Bluetooth symbol flashes beside the dial. WalkingPad’s own KS Fit app is free and needs no subscription, but it has few downloads, a single star on the iOS store, and honestly feels a bit unfinished. That barely matters, because a machine of this capability is better paired with Kinomap or Zwift, and a full year of Kinomap (worth £99) is included with purchase. Kinomap setup took us under 30 seconds. You open the app, add a device, search WalkingPad or KingSmith, and the G5i is the first and only interactive option. One tip. If you have connected the WalkingPad app first, disconnect it before pairing Kinomap, because the machine allows only one connection at a time. Since Kinomap is interactive, it can drive the G5i’s speed and incline for you through a session.

Walking and running on it

This is a first-impressions review. We will be using the G5i over the next month to give you real running experience, but after a day or two we are already impressed. There are ten preset programs out of the box, none of which need any app connectivity, running from beginner fat-burning sessions to a peak-incline interval program. Pair it with Kinomap and, because Kinomap is interactive, the app can automatically control the speed and incline as you follow a route.

At the top of the range, you feel the full 18% working through the calves.

The incline is not silent by any means, but it is far from the loudest we have used, and it is very smooth. At the top of the range you feel the full 18% working nicely through the calves. Once the incline stops moving, the deck settles quickly and does not shake much, although the tablet holder is a little flimsy and does shake at speed. The SoftStep cushioning is comfortable and immediately obvious underfoot, and the running deck feels genuinely spacious, which is not something you can say about most machines that fold away.

How it compares

The incline is the headline. At 18% across 25 levels, the G5i rivals commercial-grade machines. The NordicTrack Commercial manages 15% at £2,499, and only its deck folds up, although it does add a large touchscreen and a higher top speed. The JTX Sprint 9 Pro, at a similar £1,699, offers a faster 13.7 mph but just 11% incline, and again only the deck folds up. The G5i gives up some top speed and motor CHP, and its warranty is shorter, but nothing else here folds completely in half to stand against a wall. If space is your main concern, that trade is an easy one to make.

There is a cheaper route to a folding incline treadmill. The DeerRun X20 folds flat for storage and reaches 15% for around a third of the price, but it lies flat on the floor rather than folding in half to stand upright, its build is a clear step below, and it does not match the G5i’s 18% gradient or its commercial feel. That is the G5i’s niche in a sentence. Against the premium fixed-deck machines it undercuts on price and wins outright on storage, and against the budget folders it pulls ahead on incline, build and the fold itself.

Full specifications

Frequently asked questions

The verdict

WalkingPad supplied the G5i for us to test, and they did not pay for this review or influence its score. We reviewed it hands-on, and every product photo on this page was taken by us during that testing. We research and compare products independently using our RunRank system. If you buy through links on this page we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Prices are checked regularly and change with sales, so always confirm the current price on the retailer’s site.