Review on Soozier Lightweight Wooden Balance Board Trainer With Non-Slip Roller, Ideal For Building Core Stability And Balance Training In Office Or Home Use - 32 Inch Wobble Board by Ben Duncan

The Soozier balance board is an interesting addition to my exercise room. It isn't really a heavy workout item, but it adds variety to pushups as well as standing stability practice. The overall quality of the item is ok, but not the best. It is made of thick plywood with a relatively finished surface, but the edges are rough, and the plywood has plenty of voids. Strong enough to use but somewhat unsightly. The assembly took longer than I thought (30 minutes) due to some quality control issues with the parts. You have to assemble the wheel yourself, which is just threading the wooden disks onto a threaded rod and screwing on the caps. However, some of the disks were too tight and had to be forcefully screwed on. Also, the end caps didn't screw on properly due to threading defects, so they only went partially in and with great difficulty after multiple attempts. You can't use it when it is loose as the wheels will wobble, so you have to make sure the disks are tightly bound together. I had to get a big nut as a spacer then use a wrench and torque wrench to securely bind the disks. After securing it, the board works ok although there are still some issues.The board itself has a guide rail made from a piece of plywood glued and brad nailed on. It is a bit thinner than the spacing of the two disks, so while it travels relatively evenly across the wheel, the board can twist a bit and bind against the wooden disks. It doesn't travel purely in a side to side motion so it can be a bit jarring until you perfect your sense of balance. This doesn't matter as much with low center of gravity exercises such as pushups but is more obvious when standing upright on it. I suggest grabbing onto something with one hand at first to stabilize yourself then work up to one finger lightly pushing downwards until you get used to mounting and standing upright on the balance board. I can stand for a while one I got the hang of it, and I can evenly shift the wheel to the right or left of the board. The binding of the wood with the wheel as you shift is a bit jarring though, so you have to take it slow with the rolling.Overall, it works ok but is not exactly the highest quality product. It is relatively basic, being made of plywood, but it beats buying and cutting out one yourself. The price is relatively reasonable for the material and construction. I figure a plastic balance board may be more refined though.