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The Nautilus T616 Treadmill is the upgraded version of the entry level T614, with a 12 mph belt speed, 15% incline, and 26 workout programs.
Inspired by their commercial-grade fitness equipment, Nautilus manage to build in all the useful tech features that can benefit your workout, without pushing up the price.
So what upgrades can you expect over the T614, and which of the two treadmills represents better value for money?
In our Nautilus T616 review, we’ll be taking a closer look at the features that make this treadmill stand out, including comparisons with treadmills from LifeSpan, ProForm, and NordicTrack.
Design and safety features
When you’re buying a new treadmill, there are several key features you’re going to want to check. These are; motor power, belt speed, incline gradient, and size of the running area.
In terms of motor power, the Nautilus T616 is one of the best in its class, rated at 3.0 CHP. Most treadmills under $1000 are limited to 2.5 CHP or below, including the Lido from Yowza Fitness (2.5 CHP), Horizon Fitness T101-04 (2.25 CHP), and the LifeSpan TR1200i (2.5 CHP).
So it’s got a more powerful motor than most of the bestsellers, but unless you have the space to run, you can never experience its full potential. So what about the size of the running area?
This is another feature to be upgraded since the T614, and now measures 20″W x 60″L. There are few non-commercial treadmills offering a larger running area, and this will be suitable for users to 6ft+ in height.
If you’ve run on a treadmill with a 60″ belt before and it’s too short, we can recommend the Delray Elite from Yowza Fitness. It’s a non-folding design and a bit pricier than the Nautilus T616, but you get a more powerful motor (3.5 CHP) and more importantly, a 20″W x 63″L running area.
Back to the T616, and you’re looking at a 12 mph top speed for the tread belt, with 15% maximum incline. We’ve never seen a home treadmill with a faster belt or steeper incline than this, regardless of the price.
Taking a look ‘under the hood’, and Nautilus have built the running deck around an advanced 6 hex cell cushioning system, called StrikeZone. This is designed to reduce the impact of your footfall while you run, and combines with the thicker 2-ply tread belt to reduce the level of wear and maintenance.
In addition to the cushioning, you also have the 2.75″ Crown rollers, which help the belt to glide smoothly around the deck, providing a quieter workout.
Although the 300 lb capacity is perhaps a little on the low side for such a powerful motor and strong frame design, it’s equal to the T614, LifeSpan TR1200i, and Yowza Fitness Sebring.
It’s difficult to find a treadmill with a capacity much higher than this under $1000, so this isn’t something that came as a surprise. But if the T616 was in the $1000 to $2000 range, we’d certainly expect something closer to the average of 350 lbs.
Nautilus T616 Treadmill – Features Summary
- Blue backlit Dual Track LCD display – two LCD windows display the status up to 13 workout details
- Bluetooth LE connectivity and Charging USB port
- 0 to 12 MPH
- 0 to 15% incline
- 3.0 CHP motor
- 20-Inch x 60-Inch belt
- 26 programs
- 4 user profiles
- Acoustic chambered speakers for big sound
- 2.5-Inch crowned rollers
- Soft Drop folding system
Display console design
The Nautilus T616 console has everything you need to set goals, track your workout, and compare against your past performance.
At first glance the layout looks similar to many other treadmills in this price range, with pre-set controls for the speed and incline, start/stop buttons, and a screen to provide you with feedback.
But Nautilus have actually managed to combine all the best workout tracking features into a relatively small space, which is still intuitive to use.
Towards the top of the console you have the Pacer Icon and User Indicator Lights. This adds an element of competition to your workouts, as you compete against a virtual opponent to complete the workout ahead of the pacer.
Directly below this you have the first set of LCD screens, one to show your fitness score, and the other to display your progress towards a fitness goal. This is all based on the currently selected user profile, which is useful when more than one person will be suing the treadmill.
As part of their DualTrack (TM) display, you also have a larger high-resolution blue backlit LCD display screen below these two, which is used to keep you updated with 13 workout feedbacks. These range from the number of calories burned, user profile and distance, through to heart rate and current incline/speed settings.
To help keep you cool during your workout you also have a 3-speed adjustable fan built-in just above the safety key slot, and a USB media port for data sync to NautilusConnect or MyFitnessPal.
The Nautilus T616 also features an MP3 input port and acoustic chambered speakers for if you like listening to music while you workout.
But the console doesn’t offer a color touch screen, virtual imagery of your route, or come web-enabled. These are features we’ve seen exclusively on the NordicTrack line of treadmills, and can certainly be exciting features to use. Nautilus have instead chosen to include only the features that improve the efficiency and quality of your workout, helping to keep the price of the T616 more affordable.
Heart rate monitoring
As with their T614 treadmill, heart rate monitoring is available in two forms; touch sensors built into the console, and telemetry via a chest strap.
The only real difference between the two machines is that the T616 includes a heart rate chest strap, whereas you need to buy one separately with the T614.
Workout programs and user profiles
An important part of improving your long-term health is consistency, where you create a realistic and maintainable fitness and nutrition routine.
But unless you’re motivated to step back on the treadmill, it’s going to be difficult to maintain any routine. This is one of the reasons why Nautilus have increased the number of workout programs from 22 to 26 when they upgraded to the T616.
6 workout program categories:
- ManualIf you want to simply start your walk, jog, or running workout without a specific intensity level in mind, this program offers you the most freedom.Unlike the other programs, the speed and incline won’t change unless you press one of the quick-select buttons.
- Quick GoalA series of simple goal-oriented fitness programs, these allow you to choose from a target distance, duration, or number of calories burned.You’re then free to select the incline and speed setting, and the workout continues until you achieve your goal.
- Heart HealthAs with the earlier model, the Nautilus T616 includes 4 different heart rate control programs, each of which is designed to keep you at a percentage of your maximum heart rate.These are; Healthy (55%), Fat Burn (65%), Aerobic (75%), and Anaerobic (85%). Each is designed to provide a specific health and fitness benefit, whether it’s to assist with weight loss, or improve your endurance.
- Weight ControlA selection of 5 programs, ‘Weight Control’ workouts are designed around two types of cardio; steady-state, and hill climb.The first 3 programs maintain a fairly consistent speed and incline range, while the final 2 programs reach a peak intensity level half way through.
- IntervalInterval training is a hugely popular way to burn high numbers of calories in a relatively short space of time, and the T616 has 3 variations to choose from.The first is based entirely on varying the incline, the second based on varying the speed, and the third varies a combination of the two.
- TrainThe most varied of the categories, ‘Train’ features a collection of 4 programs, ranging from workouts that improve your endurance, through to more varied ‘rolling hills’ style programs in the shape of the ‘Boot Camp’ option.
- CustomIf you’re looking for a break from the programs listed above, or want to follow a new workout routine, the ‘Custom’ programs are a convenient way to setup a new repeatable workout.This is an advantage over the Manual program, as you can program the speed and incline for each of the 16 segments ahead of time, then follow the workout again in the future.
Workout data sync
Personal fitness trackers are becoming an important part of daily life for millions of people around the world, with devices from companies like Fitbit, Jawbone, and Garmin becoming household names.
The main benefit of these devices is the way in which they track your movement during the day, then sync the data to your online profile or app for analysis.
This is something that Nautilus have made possible with the T616 treadmill, thanks to NautilusConnect, and the Nautilus Trainer fitness app.
Using the USB port in the console, you can connect a flash drive and download workout data for your profile, then connect it to a computer and upload to your online profile.
But you can track your data with NautilusConnect and MyFitnessPal using the console on the T614 treadmill. What makes the T616 different?
The Nautilus T616 is currently the only one of their treadmills to feature Bluetooth connectivity, which is why you can pair the console with the Nautilus Trainer app. This allows wireless data transfer and an automatic upload to your online profile, without the need for a USB.
4 user profiles
This is the same number of user profiles as can be created on the T614 treadmill, but acts as a useful way to store personal fitness goals and workout preferences.
After entering some basic personal information, such as height, age, and weight, the console can also make more accurate calculations for your maximum heart rate, and the number of calories burned.
What’s covered by the warranty?
- Frame and motor: 10 years
- Parts: 2 years
- Labor: 1 year
Review Overview
Overall Review Rating
3.5 / 5
So, for what's usually a $300 difference between the two treadmills, does the T614 or T616 represent better value for money?
In our opinion the T614 is the most cost efficient option, as you're getting the same number of user profiles, speed settings, and incline levels, with identical warranty coverage and the same 300 lb capacity.
Although the T616 gives you more workout programs and the option to sync data via Bluetooth, this is heavily reliant on being able to actually pair the console with your Bluetooth device, which isn't always easy.
The only real reason we would choose the T616 over the T614 is if we needed the extra running area length to build up to our full stride. In this case it's absolutely worth the money, but if a 55" long running area is enough for you, our advice is to choose the T614. Then you can always spend the $300 you save on some new running apparel.
Product dimensions: 57.6"H x 35.2"W x 77.2"L Product weight: 215 lbs Weight capacity: 300 lbs
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