I mentioned a little bit ago we’re going to be getting back into games and gaming accessory reviews, so we’re starting that off today with a nice fitness kit from Thrustmaster.
Today for review I’ve got the Elite Fitness Pack+ NW from Thrustmaster for the Wii that has several things in it to make sure you get a nice workout with your Wii. Included is a stepper extension that raises your Wii balance board, a set of weights, a carrying bag, a pedometer and a few other things. So read on to check it out…
Specifications:
Ultimate pack comprising 9 accessories for the Nintendo WiiFit Balance Board
-1 leg band for the Nunchuk controller – for leg strengthening using the Nunchuk tilt feature (EA Active by EA, Football Academy by Ubisoft etc.)
-1 carry bag featuring a trendy design and "sports" style colours, with two internal pockets: ideal for storing, protecting and transporting your Balance Board with one game and the pack’s accessories.
-2 flexible dumbbells for strengthening your wrists or ankles: "toughen" your training like the pros do!
-1 floor mat – 1.80 m x 0.5 m, made from woven foam, for exercising on the floor
-1 stepper for the Wii Balance Board – add steps to your training routine!
-1 pedometer – count your steps during each in-game exercise or train without games!
-1 lanyard – hang your MP3 player around your neck.
-1 armband for Wiimote or Wiimote with MotionPlus – ideal for activating menus without stepping away from your training area.
-Ideal for Nintendo WiiFit & WiiFit Plus games such as EA Active (EA), U Shape & My Fitness Coach (UbiSoft) – and also for training without games!
Unboxing:
So I figured why not do a video unboxing for this one:
So you saw everything in the video basically, but here’s some still pictures as well.
The is big and it’s thick and soft.
The weights are cloth covered for comfort, they’re like bean bags really.
The kit comes with a nice little pedometer to monitor your steps for use in gaming or just if you’re out for a job. It’s like most other pedometers out there, fairly basic, but it does the job. The kit also comes with a lanyard that you could use for an MP3 player of whatever.
The straps for the remote and nunchuck are a soft cloth and they’re fully adjustable.
The bag for the balance board is very nice really, it is slightly padded and should offer good protection for your board. The only issue is that once the board is in the bag there isn’t much room for anything else.
The main part of this kit is the extension for the balance board that makes it sit higher off the ground. This can be used for things like step exercises or even for doing push-ups, the higher elevation will give you a better workout.
The stand is collapsible for transport, and it does have rubber non-slip feet. It seems fairly well made.
Installation, Performance, Comparison
Well I have nothing to compare this to, so there won’t be any type of comparison is this review.
As far as installation is concerned it couldn’t be any easier really.
For the extension you just set the Wii Balance Board on it into the holes designed for the feet. It does seem sturdy and it should be able to hold a lot of weight. You do have to step squarely on it and not on the edge of the board as if you step on the back the front edge will lift up a bit. It’s common sense really… It does raise the balance board up quite a bit as you can see here:
As far as the controller holders are concerned, you just slip your controllers in and that’s it, very simple to do and they do keep the controllers in place very well.
The bag for the balance board is nicely made, there are two pockets inside, but once you get the balance board in, there isn’t much room for anything else.
The one thing that bothers me a bout this kit is that you can’t fit everything in the kit into the bag as one might expect you to be able to. If you want to take the stepper with you then you’ll have to carry it on the side.
The weights work, but there are better choices out there. For a kit like this, they are a nice addition though, they’ll work.
The lanyard is rather pointless honestly, I don’t thing I want my MP3 player swinging around while I’m exercising, but it’s great for attaching to a USB drive..
The mat is nice, it does offer a decent amount of padding and it’s better than lying on a hard floor.
The pedometer works, it not only counts your steps but it can be a timer or a stopwatch as well. It also has a calorie mode, step mode and distance mode.
The color green they’re using isn’t the best I think, not sure why they choose such a funky shade of green.
As far as price is concerned I couldn’t find this many places online, but when I did I found it for around $40 which isn’t too bad considering everything that you get in the kit. NewEgg has it for $35, which is the cheapest I found. It’s not listed under the product name though, on NewEgg it’s called the Thrustmaster Wii Fit 9pc Ultimate Access Kit.
Conclusion:
So, for what it is the Thrustmaster Elite Fitness Pack isn’t a bad product really. if you’re into fitness on the Wii then I think this could be very beneficial.
Sure the color isn’t the greatest, but it’s about the function that counts right?
For about $40 what you get I think is worth it really, the bag, pedometer, mat and stepper alone are probably worth that, you could call the other stuff a bonus.
Pros:
+Lots of stuff in the kit
+Great for fitness people
+Seems well made
Cons:
-Can’t carry much in the bag
-Don’t care for the green color
-Weights aren’t the highest quality
Ratings
Overall: 4 out of 5
Performance: 5 out of 5
Aesthetic: 4 out of 5
Build Quality: 4 out of 5
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