Varieties of X5 - how much do they matter?

February 3, 2009

Hi all. In my late 50's, not having used a Bullworker since my late

20's I dug out the old Bullworker 2 from the loft, brushed off a

sheen of rust and wondered if a) it was going to make a sound

contribution in my pursuit of fitness and being old and a little

creaky, was it good enough to help or would I do better with a newer

(possibly more advanced) one?

So, I started investigating the availablity of the X5 here in the UK.

There is no-one here selling new ones at the moment. Importing from

the US is tricky because on top of the cost and the postage there may

be hefty import duty to pay as well, so it looks like second hand is

the way to go, and eBay seems to be the place to find them, but there

isn't one X5, there are 11 varieties to choose from!

1. Earliest X5, has a mustard coloured handle.

2. X5 - has black handles and black straps (the most common on eBay)

3. Super X5 - no idea how it varies from the X5, seems to have black

handles and black straps.

4. X5 but has red-edged straps - don't know if that matters or

indicates some other differences that do matter.

5. The Buffaloworker T3. Looks like an X5, but with the different

name. Anybody know where it's from and how it compares to a genuine

X5?

6. X5 " Heavy Duty " . One ebayer claiming to sell this, looks like the

standard X5 but apparently with stronger spring and thicker flanges

on the handles (still black)

7. Late standard X5 with a yellow handle.

8. Lady X5, with purple handle

9. Senior X5 (has weaker spring, apparently, not sure of handle

colour)

10. Junior X5, green handle

11. Pull and Push 2500 - made in China, all 3 tubes are black plastic

but otherwise looks like an X5.

I still haven't bought one yet, the prices are yo-yoing between £5

and £60 for a basic black-handle/black straps X5 - the presence of

the wall-chart, training book and an original printed box explain

some of the variation but not all. Anyone have any info to add about

these different variants and their merits?

For now I'm biding my time and using the mark 2.

Regards, Graham

Recommended Posts