Reformer Buyer's Guide

Merrithew

VERSUS

Fortus Pilates

Included Accessories

Enhancing your Pilates experience goes beyond just having a basic reformer.  The addition of carefully selected accessories can significantly enrich your practice, making it more engaging, challenging, and diverse. Essential accessories to consider include:

• Jumpboard
• Sitting box
• Platform extenders
• Foot strap

The first notable distinction between Fortus Pilates and Merrithew reformers emerges in their accessory offerings. Both brands provide essential items like the sitting box, foot strap, and platform extenders.  However, Fortus Pilates stands out by also including a jump board with their reformers.  Additionally, Fortus Pilates typically offers both a padded and a hard platform extender, whereas Merrithew reformers come only with the padded version.

The Fortus Pilates reformers gain a competitive advantage with the inclusion of jumpboards and hard platform extenders as standard features.  In contrast, opting for these additions on Merrithew reformers incurs an extra cost, amounting to over $600 added to the base price. 

Advantage: Fortus Pilates

Quality & Durability

Experiencing a studio-quality reformer, as opposed to a lower quality one, marks a significant difference in the Pilates practice. A top-tier studio reformer is characterized by an exceptionally quiet and smooth carriage glide, exuding a premium feel while ensuring lasting durability for years of usage.

Both Merrithew and Fortus Pilates reformers excel in these aspects, meeting high standards of build quality and endurance. Whether in a studio setting or for intense personal use, both brands deliver outstanding performance and reliability, standing up to rigorous and prolonged use with unwavering quality. 

Advantage: Tie

Price

Cost is a crucial factor in the decision-making process, especially for studios where budget constraints are often a consideration.  While the choice of a reformer shouldn't hinge solely on price, it's important to ensure that you're not overpaying without additional benefits.

In terms of pricing, there's a significant disparity between Merrithew and Fortus Pilates reformers.  A Fortus Pilates reformer is priced between $2,000 to $2,800, offering a more budget-friendly option.  In contrast, the entry-level Merrithew reformer starts at $4,000, with prices escalating from there.

Moreover, as previously mentioned, Merrithew reformers do not include certain accessories like the jumpboard or hard platform extender, which are standard in Fortus Pilates models.  Adding these to a Merrithew reformer incurs an extra cost of about $600.  Consequently, the total cost of a fully-equipped Merrithew reformer can exceed twice that of a comparable Fortus Pilates model, highlighting a significant price difference for similar functionality and quality.

Advantage: Fortus Pilates

Multi-tier Spring System

The spring system is an integral component of any Pilates reformer, with its quality directly impacting the machine's resistance consistency, noise level, and durability.

Merrithew reformers typically feature a five-spring system, comprising three heavy, one medium, and one light spring, coupled with a single-tier attachment system.  This setup provides a standard range of resistance levels.

In contrast, Fortus Pilates reformers employ a more complex six-spring system, with two springs each of heavy, medium, and light resistance, integrated into a multi-tier attachment system.  This design allows for a significantly broader spectrum of resistance configurations.  At its heaviest setting, the Fortus Pilates reformer can offer nearly double the resistance compared to a Merrithew reformer set at a similar level.  Conversely, at the lightest setting, both reformers offer comparable resistance.  This versatility in the Fortus Pilates reformer caters to a wider range of exercises and user preferences, from beginners to advanced practitioners.

Advantage: Fortus Pilates

Return Policy

Investing in a reformer is a significant financial commitment, and as a buyer, it's essential to have peace of mind regarding your purchase.  This includes having options available if you realize the reformer doesn't quite meet your needs after some use.

Merrithew's policy is quite strict in this regard; their reformers are not eligible for discretionary returns, with the exception of cases involving shipping damage.  This means you cannot return a Merrithew reformer simply because it doesn’t fulfill your expectations or requirements after usage.

In stark contrast, Fortus Pilates demonstrates strong confidence in their products.  They offer a customer-friendly return policy, providing up to 30 days to request a return for any reason.  This policy ensures that customers have ample time to assess their satisfaction with the purchase and offers a safety net in case the product doesn’t align with their needs or expectations.  This commitment to customer satisfaction by Fortus Pilates adds a valuable layer of assurance to your investment.

Advantage: Fortus Pilates

Upholstery

Upholstery quality is a vital aspect of any reformer, balancing comfort and durability.  The ideal upholstery should feel soft to the touch while withstanding the rigors of frequent, intense workouts.

Merrithew opts for vinyl upholstery in their reformers.  This material strikes a balance between durability and flexibility, making it quite suitable for regular use.  However, vinyl might have a slightly plastic-like feel, which some users might find less appealing compared to more premium materials.

Fortus Pilates, on the other hand, chooses premium microfibre leather for their reformers' upholstery.  Microfibre leather offers the luxurious sensation of top-grain soft leather, along with remarkable durability.  This material replicates the tactile experience of genuine leather while maintaining the resilience required for long-term, heavy use.  The primary trade-off for this enhanced quality is the cost – microfibre leather typically comes with a higher price tag compared to vinyl.  This choice by Fortus Pilates reflects their commitment to providing a superior user experience, even if it means a higher cost of production.

Advantage: Fortus Pilates

Warranty

A robust warranty from the manufacturer is not just a form of protection for the customer; it also reflects the manufacturer's confidence in their product's quality and their dedication to customer satisfaction.

For Pilates reformers, warranties are typically segmented into distinct categories, each offering its own level of coverage.  This structured approach ensures that different aspects of the reformer are protected to varying extents, tailored to the nature of the component and its usage.  Understanding these categories and their specific coverage levels is crucial for customers to appreciate the full extent of the warranty and the commitment of the manufacturer to their product's longevity and performance.

• Frame
• Carriage and rail system
• Springs
• Upholstery
• Wear items (straps, loops, ropes, etc.)

Merrithew and Fortus Pilates provide warranties for their reformers that are largely similar in their basic structure and coverage.  A close examination of the fine print reveals only one important distinction in the area of uphostery, with Fortus Pilates offering a longer coverage period.

Here's a detailed breakdown of the warranty coverage from both Merrithew and Fortus Pilates, highlighting both their similarities and the one difference.

The Fortus Pilates warranty is offers a significantly longer warranty period on upholstery.  Both companies offer similar warranties on the reformer frame. 

Slight Advantage: Fortus Pilates