WalkingPad C1 Under Desk Treadmill Review 2023

In-depth Review of the WalkingPad C1 Under Desk Treadmill

Construction Quality/ Durability

We recommend the WalkingPad C1 Under Desk Treadmill for use primarily under standing desks. This is a very small walking treadmill that doesn’t have any handles or even side rails for you to step on. While it can be used on its own and I won’t be in your home telling you how to use the C1, I caution people to use it this way, especially if you have balance issues. Placing the C1 under a desk gives you some support while walking because you have your desk to hang onto when you need it. So, if you want to use the C1 in the middle of a room on its own, it is probably a good idea to put it near a tall table or something.

What makes the C1 so appealing is that it is tiny and capable of fitting under most standing desks.

This walking treadmill is a great way to get in steps in your home or office without requiring a lot of room.

Frame

With how slim, lightweight, and minimal the WalkingPad C1 is, it isn’t lacking in construction. For only weighing 48 lbs and being the lightest treadmill from WalkingPad, it feels solid to walk on. It sits directly on the floor like other under-desk treadmills of its size and has 8 feet the deck is positioned. The front two are adjustable so you can plant the C1 to the floor to eliminate any rocking.

It is made out of steel and feels sturdy while walking. It is rated to handle users up to 220 lbs which is comparable to other treadmills of this size. The C1 isn’t best for larger users and might be too small for some people to comfortably walk on, so keep this in mind. If you’re under that limit and used to walking on a small treadmill, the C1 is one to consider though.

Matt is 6’5” and he can walk on the deck, although he prefers using larger under-desk treadmills for longer periods of time.

Motor

Most under-desk treadmills are fairly quiet to use, however, some are louder than others. The WalkingPad C1 Under Desk Treadmill isn’t the quietest under-desk treadmill we’ve tested, but it is by no means loud. Using it at my desk in our shared office space, I don’t annoy my coworkers when I’m walking on it while typing away.

The brushless motor performed well and goes up to 3.75 mph.

The motor gets gradually a little louder as the speed increases, but this is standard with most treadmills. 3.75 mph is a nice walking pace. When I’m at my desk, I only walk at about 1-2 mph. If I try to walk any faster, I’m not able to type, read, or operate my computer very well. If you’re looking for a treadmill that lets you jog in addition to walking, the WalkingPad R2 is larger and has a more powerful motor that’s capable of going up to 7.5 mph. It also has an adjustable handle for balance when you’re running.

Deck

The C1’s deck is very similar to the WalkingPad C2. The belt is just around the same size at around 47” long and 16.5” wide. The C2 is slightly narrower but you can’t tell the difference when you’re using either of them. This size deck is the smallest that we’ve seen so far on under-desk treadmills and treadmills in general.

With the narrow design, they can take some getting used to. I for one, can’t walk in a straight line very well, especially while I’m working at my desk, so I often have to look down at my feet to make sure I don’t accidentally step off the moving belt. If you work at a wide desk, you might want a larger under-desk treadmill like the one from LifeSpan that offers more surface to walk on.

I think with time though, most people can get used to walking on the C1’s small deck.

Most of our reviewers are able to walk on the C1’s deck. I’m 5’1” and I have plenty of room length-wise, and so does our tallest reviewer, Matt, at 6’5”.

The surface feels firm underfoot because there’s minimal cushioning in the deck. This is also typical for small under-desk treadmills. For walking at slower speeds, most people should do just fine with little cushioning.

What also makes the WalkingPad C1 best for use under most standing desks is its low profile. It is only 4.6” high when measured at the top of the motor hood so it will slip under most desks. It also is very easy to step on and off of which is nice and necessary since the deck is notably missing side rails.

Side rails are the railings often seen on either side of a treadmill’s deck. This is where you can stand while the belt is moving if you need to catch your balance or just catch your breath and take a break. There isn’t a place to stand on either side of the C1’s belt, so if you need to step off of the belt while it’s moving, you’ll just step onto the floor. Ideally, you want to stop the belt and wait for it to stop before stepping off, but sometimes things happen, or your patience might be thin like mine. On many other tiny under-desk treadmills and even 2-in-1s like the Redliro, the side rails aren’t terribly large so we don’t really miss them on the C1.

Console

On most under-desk treadmills, there is a console built into the motor hood to display your metrics. The WalkingPad C1’s display is instead built into the handheld remote that it comes with. I actually don’t mind this design because having to look down under my desk at the motor hood to see what my speed, time, distance, and steps are at, is a little annoying.

Instead, all this information is in my hand or on my desk when I put the remote down.

The only downside to having a remote to adjust the treadmill is that it can be lost. So keep this in mind. Fortunately, the C1 can also be adjusted using the KS Fit App, too. If you lose the remote you can still use this free app to adjust it. (More on this in a moment). Although, I’d try not to lose the remote.

The remote is a little larger than other remotes from WalkingPad. It is still pretty small though and fits well in my hand. The small display adjusts between reading your time, distance, calories, speed, and steps. This is pretty much everything you’ll want to know and usually what we see other under-desk treadmills track. The remote comes with a wrist lanyard so you can keep it on your wrist. What’s nice about the remote is that it’s small to set on your desk while you’re working without it taking up too much space. The LifeSpan TR1200 Treadmill in comparison has a console that sits on your desk for you to adjust it and track your metrics. It can kind of get in the way, especially since it attaches to the treadmill with cords.

App And Other Features

Like other WalkingPad Treadmills, the WalkingPad C1 is Bluetooth-enabled to connect your device to the free KS Fit App. Even if you don’t want to use the app while using the treadmill, you’ll need to connect to the app to unlock the max 3.75 mph speed. Before unlocking the treadmill caps out at a much lower speed of 1.75 mph.

In addition to unlocking the speed, the app is where you can use features like child lock which locks the deck while the treadmill is on and you’re not using it to keep kids and pets safe. The C1 also has a mode that shuts off the belt when you step off of it. You can go through the Novice Guide to get a little walk-through of how to use the C1, too.

The KS Fit App keeps track of all your current and previous workouts and like I mentioned, it is where you can adjust the treadmill in case you lose the remote.

Performance & Functionality

The WalkingPad C1 Under-Desk Treadmill performs as expected. It is really comparable to other treadmills of its size. It’s also a pretty good price for what you’re getting. The C1 is definitely one of the easier under-desk treadmills we have to move because it’s lightweight and folds in half.

There are 2 small orange wheels under the motor hood to wheel it around when you need to.

These are handy so you can wheel the C1 under your desk and under your bed or couch to store it. The deck folds in half like other WalkingPad equipment.

The C1 is only about 5.5” high when folded.

Folding is pretty straightforward and definitely makes the C1 more storable than when it’s unfolded. Something we did notice is that when it’s folded, the belt has a good amount of slack and can fall away from the deck. This is normal and typical for most treadmills that fold like this.

Once you lift the back of the deck, the treadmill will fold in the middle of the deck.

Where it folds in the deck is called the “fold hinge”. It is essentially the crease that allows the deck to fold in half. On other WalkingPad Treadmills, we’ve noticed that you can feel this crease or seam underfoot. While I can feel it on the C1, it isn’t quite as noticeable as other WalkingPads like the X21. The X21 has a faster max speed for jogging so that might be why it feels more noticeable to us.

I think the fold hinge on the C1 though is very minimal, considering what it allows this treadmill to do. I think with time you probably won’t even notice it, we barely do after using WalkingPad Treadmills regularly.

Like the C2, the C1 has a manual mode and an automatic mode. The circular button at the bottom of the remote is where you switch between the modes, or in the KS Fit App. Manual mode allows you to adjust the treadmill using the remote or the app, while the automatic mode is where you can adjust it using your feet.

While I think this technology is pretty cool, I think this is harder to do on treadmills like the C1 and C2 because of how small the belts are. When you walk on the front part of the deck, the mode will increase the speed and when you walk towards the middle back of the deck, it will slow down. I’ve found it’s hard to keep a steady speed in this mode because moving too far forward increase the speed and too far back decreases and eventually stops the deck entirely. Manual mode is my preference and it probably will be yours, too.

Warranty

WalkingPad includes a 1-year warranty with the purchase of the C1.