We should also address the price. There’s no denying that at £499 it’s a fair investment. But when you take the cost of reformer Pilates classes — around £25-35 each — into consideration, it actually starts to look incredibly reasonable. For the cost of between 14 and 20 classes, you could buy this instead any enjoy those blissful leg circles anytime you like.

Keep reading for exactly why I think the nexace Pilates Reformer is such a sound investment.

I’ll admit it, before this arrived I had my reservations. Amazon can be a bit of a wild west when it comes to fitness equipment, but on opening the box I was pleasantly surprised. Everything was neat, clean and orderly and it looked like a decent, sturdy bit of kit. The carriage is generously padded in wipe-clean faux leather, while the metal structure seems solid and well put together.

In the box, along with the carriage, you’ll find all the classic reformer paraphernalia (straps, shoulder pads, springs, pulley rods, footbar, headrest), an allen key to aid set-up, an instruction manual, workout guides, and, if you’re lucky like me, some bonus metal springs along with the rubber cord versions that come as standard.

The standard rubber springs

The brand often sends out bonus metal springs

Putting the reformer together is pretty straightforward, although some prior knowledge of what goes where is an advantage. While the instructions are illustrated they are a little sparse in places, for example, ‘assemble the foot bar with the tool included,’ so I’d advise watching this assembly video as well.

I’ll admit there were a couple of moments that felt a bit too reminiscent of putting together dodgy IKEA furniture (why do the holes never fully align?!) but it took me, a 5’4″ woman with very little upper body strength no more than 15 minutes to put it all together.

Pro tip: make sure you have enough space before assembling the reformer — I foolishly didn’t and had to do some last-minute rearranging in my garage.

• Five 5 kg cords/springs, totalling 25 kg resistance
• Optional ergonomic headrest
• Adjustable footbar — choose from six positions
• Thick, durable ropes with foot and hand loops
• Optional carriage stopper — I recommend using this for a softer carriage return
• Adjustable pulley rods
• Comfortable, wipe-clean faux leather carriage
• Raised off the ground — not the case for all home Pilates reformers
• Folds away for easy storage

Immediately on lying down on the nexace Pilates Reformer, it does feel a little more compact than your typical studio model, and I had to shuffle myself down a bit to nestle my shoulders under the pads. But honestly, that’s where the negatives end.

The carriage movement is smooth, it’s very comfortable to use and I surprise myself in absolutely loving the rubber springs as my hair never gets caught in them during child’s pose (if you know, you know — ouch).

In terms of adjustments, you can fiddle with the footbar position, height of the pulley rods and length of your ropes (they start off a little short, so I’d recommend this — you can alter them underneath the reformer bed), as well as the resistance via the rubber springs. Speaking of, the springs — both rubber and metal — carry around 5kg resistance each, so you can stack up or reduce the load easily, depending on the type of work you’re doing.

The nexace Pilates Reformer has both long and short loops

An adjustable footbar allows for a versatile approach

You do of course need a fair amount of space each side to really get into some of the classic reformer moves like leg circles and side-on lunges, which my cramped garage doesn’t really allow for (time to bring it indoors I guess!). But no matter what exercise I do on this thing, I always feel totally supported and stable. At no point do I feel I can’t put my full weight or any extra pressure on the machine, and I have no worries performing all the moves I normally would during a reformer class — including some more advanced stuff.

nexace Pilates Reformer Machine

It should come as no shocker that I’m slightly in love with the nexace Pilates Reformer. Being able to indulge in a spot of reformer whenever I fancy is an absolute game-changer, and I’ve already more than made my money back in class fees.

Is it a looker? Not exactly, but I can’t say I care, and because it folds away this is a minor niggle. (The brand does make a fancier-looking wooden version if you’re so inclined.) It also performs so exceptionally well that the vague torture-rack aesthetic is forgiven.

It is worth noting that this might not suit those on the taller side — I did find myself occasionally hitting the limit with the foot straps during leg circles when my feet were piked downwards — although to be frank, all this did was prevent me from overextending my lower back (a no-no in Pilates and my weakness), so I’m painting that as a positive.

I would also advise that complete beginners should attend reformer Pilates classes before getting on a machine by themselves, but once you’re au fait with the machine and safety measures, there are plenty of brilliant reformer classes on YouTube — I particularly like the Align Pilates channel.

nexace Pilates Reformer Machine

Reformer Pilates essentials

nexace also makes a Pilates box to make your reformer go further. Plus you can boost your workout with these Pilates buys.

Core Balance Pilates Resistance Ring

Sweaty Betty Mid Length Ankle Gripper Socks 2 Pack

Core Balance Soft Pilates Ball

Now 15% Off

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Hattie Parish is the Health and Fitness Ecommerce Editor for Women’s Health, Men’s Health and Runner’s World, covering the best gym wear, latest fitness tech and wellness launches worth investing in, plus the best deals during Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. As well as clocking up the miles in myriad running socks, pummelling her muscles with massage guns, testing out fitness mirrors and donning dry robes every other weekend, Hattie consults leading experts in the health and fitness industry to help readers make informed decisions when shopping online. Brought up by two medics, Hattie worked in health clinics before completing a BA in English at King’s College London. She qualified as a journalist in 2015 and has since written for titles such as Healthy magazine, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and Red, as well as worked commercially with health and wellness clients such as Holland & Barrett, Lloyds Pharmacy and Superdrug. Hattie is passionate about arming readers with honest, unbiased product reviews and has a particular interest in the role of technology in our wellbeing, as well as gender-based inequalities in healthcare. When she’s not putting gym wear through its paces on the Pilates reformer or kitting out her home gym (garage) with the latest equipment, she’s attempting to make progress on her teetering pile of bedside books, cycling round South East London or sampling wellness retreats for the Women’s Health travel pages.