GDLF LAT Pulldown & Low Row Cable Machine

Picked this up on marketplace for $100. It’s cheap but gets the job done for my training. I wasn’t willing to spend much more on a machine that’s only used for accessories maybe once a week. I have low ceilings and this fits just fine. I can’t get a full stretch on lat pulldowns (I’m 5’9”) so I took a few stars off for that. I primarily use it for triceps and low rows, so the fact that the lat pulldown part is short doesn’t bother me too much. I cut the end cap off the top section so I can do face pulls without the cable rubbing against the metal. If you want something even remotely higher quality, then pass on this.

It does what it needs to, and is one of the only lat pulldowns I have found that is short enough it will fit in my basement. The downside of this is that if I want to do lat pulldowns with full range of motion, I have to remove the chain from the upper pulley, use the smallest carabiner I have, and kneel on the ground. I'm not especially tall, either, at 5' 9". That said, I'm not knocking any points off for that, it fits in my basement, and no pulldown machine could avoid having that problem with the basement constraint. Other than that, build quality is *OK*, you get what you pay for with a machine that's around $150 new. It feels a little unsteady sometimes, but it works and gets the job done. The included attachments were terrible and immediately went in the bin.

I bought this used off Facebook for $100. It is alright it does the job I need it to do.

It works better than expected for what cost me $150 at the time. Fairly smooth movement but I did lubricate the post. Downsides can be big as the height definitely is a negative. I don’t even have the seat pin in as it allows me to drop the seat all the way down. At 5’8” and not using any chain, just carabiner, I can get full stretch. Keeping in mind this thing was inexpensive, the pulleys are cheap plastic but they do work fine. They are not held in place with any sort of tight tolerance and in use have a nice little wobble but you don’t notice it. The foot plate is… well… there. It would be much better if it wasn’t braced with just the ends of a small little bar. You very much feel the plate flex when it’s flipped up doing rows, so I try to brace more with the heel and not the toes in any way. The biggest annoyance is the leg brace. I could deal with it if it were longer/wider and held the pads in place. As it is, it’s very narrow and every time I get up I drag the pad/s off the post a little. So I’m always pushing them back on all the way. Would I recommend it, if price is a concern and you aren’t over 5’8” or so, I’d say give it a go if you get a killer deal on it. I’ve considered upgrading to a better built and taller unit but it gets the job done fine. Now if you are the type to load the heck out of a lat machine then I definitely would go with something far more sturdy.