Choosing any piece of home gym fitness equipment is partly an individual exercise. But there are several features common to any good treadmill.

The most important criterion for any fitness item is safety. In this case that comes primarily from sturdiness and reliability. A solid steel alloy frame will stand up to much more punishment than the average aluminum one. If the treadmill uses plastic composites in the mechanical sections (as opposed to just the controls), they should be aircraft quality. They should be as good or better than metal. The hand rails should be rock solid and stay that way for years.

Cost is always a factor, of course. A high-end treadmill may cost as much as $3,000 or more. Some of that price is the result of several 'nice to have' electronic features that make the treadmill easier to use. But one major factor is whether it has a motor and of what quality.

Manual treadmills make you move the roller from a dead stop to whatever speed you'll 'run' or 'walk' at during use. That can take a lot of force and you may not want to waste your energy on that initial stage. A motor will get your treadmill running gradually at the speed you want to workout. But a quality 2-hp motor - reliable, quiet and long lasting - will add 10-20% or more to the total cost.

Other components of the treadmill should be equally high quality, even for one in the $2,000 range. The belt and rollers will get a lot of use over the lifetime of the machine which, naturally, you want to be very long. They should continue to look and act almost new for years. Some slight wear on the belt from your feet and/or shoes is normal. But rippling, uneven movement and so forth that occurs six months after your purchase is not acceptable.

At the same time, the whole assembly - motor, belt, rollers - should be ultra quiet and stay that way for many years. That isn't just a matter of annoyance or interference with your music or TV though that's a factor. Stability, smoothness and lack of noise go hand in hand. Quality parts will produce a quiet, reliable 'ride' for a long time, just as they do for autos.

Once the basic safety, reliability and wear factors are satisfied other attributes can take center stage.

You may want a folding treadmill for convenience. If so, they should fold and unfold relatively easily, and the hinges (here we go again!) should be sturdy and high quality. Keep in mind that even a folding treadmill will still be fairly heavy. The feature is to allow freeing up floor space when it's not in use. It's not for the purpose of making the machine portable. Though it does help when you move your home. The ability to adjust the incline can also be very handy since it allows you to adjust the kind of workout you get.

Multiple controls are nice to have features, but sometimes that can mean VERY nice to have. Numerous pre-sets, an accurate heart monitor, programmable variations, a bottle holder, a magazine rack and more are all great ways to get the optimum out of your treadmill.

Do some homework and you're bound to find a treadmill that meets your standards.