If you’re too busy for the gym or the weather gets in the way, staying active can feel harder than it should be—that’s exactly why walking pads were created. At KingSmith, we pioneered the WalkingPad category, creating award-winning designs recognized by the Red Dot and iF Design Awards and featured by Forbes.
Best Award-Winning Walking Pads You Can Trust
1. WalkingPad X21 Double-Fold Treadmill
iF Design Award & Red Dot Award
The X21 vertical-fold treadmill takes the WalkingPad concept beyond space-saving design. Its dual-fold structure significantly reduces its footprint for storage while delivering a treadmill experience closer to that of a traditional model. A stable frame and integrated handlebar also provide added support for comfortable workouts.
Recognized by both the iF Design Award and Red Dot Award, the X21 brings together compact storage, everyday usability, and a design that fits naturally into modern homes.
2. WalkingPad G5i Foldable Incline Treadmill
Honored with a CSS Award for Innovative Product Design
The G5i addresses one of the biggest challenges in home fitness: combining incline performance with space-saving storage. Its innovative folding deck allows the treadmill to fold flat under furniture or stand vertically against a wall, while its 18% powered incline supports more challenging walks and runs. This recognition from CSS Awards highlights how the G5i brings performance, functionality, and compact design together in one thoughtfully engineered treadmill.
3. WalkingPad WalkingCase Walking Pad
Honored with a CSS Award for Innovative Product Design
WalkingCase reimagines portable fitness equipment through a lightweight, suitcase-inspired design. Weighing just 44 lb, it is easy to move, fold, and store, making everyday walking more accessible in compact homes and flexible living spaces. This recognition from CSS Awards highlights how WalkingCase combines portability, space efficiency, and modern aesthetics with everyday usability.
4. WalkingPad C2 Featured in Forbes
Unlike design awards, editorial recognition from Forbes reflects a different kind of validation. When WalkingPad models like P1 and C2 are included in Forbes’ “Best Walking Pad Treadmills,” it indicates:
• Strong real-world usability
• Positive user experience
• Relevance to everyday lifestyles
This is not a jury decision — it’s an evaluation shaped by how products perform outside of controlled testing environments.
5. WalkingPad A1 Walking Pad
iF Design Award & Red Dot Award
The A1 is where the WalkingPad story truly begins. Before its release, compact treadmills existed — but they were still fundamentally traditional machines, reduced in size but not reimagined with folding technology. The A1 introduced a different concept: a treadmill designed from the ground up to be foldable, minimal, and unobtrusive.
Winning both iF and Red Dot Awards in 2019 marked a turning point. It signaled that this was not just a niche idea, but a viable new category. Many products that followed — across the industry — adopted similar approaches. That influence is part of what defines the A1’s significance.
6. WalkingPad T1 Treadmill
Red Dot Award
The T1 explores how traditional treadmill design can be adapted for home environments without losing its core functionality. Rather than focusing on extreme compactness, it refines proportions, structure, and visual presence. The result is a machine that feels more aligned with modern interiors — less industrial, more integrated. Winning the Red Dot Award suggests that even within a familiar product type, thoughtful design changes can significantly improve user experience.
7. WalkingPad K12 Treadmill
iF Design Award
The K12 focuses on a different dimension of design: accessibility. Not every user is looking for advanced features or performance metrics. For some, the priority is ease of use, safety, and comfort. The K12 reflects this by simplifying interaction and reducing complexity. It is designed to be approachable — something that can be used without a learning curve. Its iF Design Award recognition highlights that good design is not always about adding more, but often about removing friction.
Are These Awards Actually Credible?
The awards associated with WalkingPad products — including iF Design Award, and Red Dot Award — are not created by brands. They are independent, internationally recognized systems with strict evaluation processes.
Each product is reviewed by panels of experts across industrial design, engineering, and user experience. Submissions are compared globally, not within a single category or brand.
What this means in practice is simple:
• These awards are competitive
• They are externally judged
• And they evaluate real-world usability, not just appearance
What Is the iF Design Award?
iF Design Award has been one of the most respected design competitions in the world since 1953. Every year, thousands of products are submitted from across industries. Only a small percentage receive recognition after a multi-stage review process. Judges look beyond surface design. They evaluate:
• How intuitive the product is to use
• Whether the design solves a real problem
• The balance between innovation and practicality
For home fitness equipment, this matters more than it might seem. A treadmill isn’t just a machine — it’s something that has to exist comfortably in your home, be easy to use daily, and not become a burden over time.
What Is the Red Dot Award?
Red Dot Design Award is another globally recognized benchmark for product design. What makes Red Dot particularly relevant is its emphasis on design quality under real use conditions. Winning products are not only visually appealing but also:
• Ergonomically sound
• Structurally reliable
• Thoughtfully engineered for long-term use
For a category like walking pads — where compactness, stability, and usability must coexist — this level of evaluation is critical.
What Are the CSS Awards?
The CSS Awards recognize innovative product design in the sporting goods industry. Products are evaluated on more than appearance, with consideration given to:
• Innovative design concepts
• Practical functionality
• User-centered solutions
• Potential to improve the fitness experience
For fitness equipment, this recognition highlights products that combine thoughtful design with practical solutions for real-world use.
Why Award-Winning Design Matters
Not all walking pads are created equal. Products recognized by global design awards like the Red Dot Design Award and the iF Design Award are evaluated on more than just appearance. These awards consider:
• Real-world usability
• Structural reliability
• Ergonomic design
• Innovation in solving everyday problems
In other words, these aren’t just stylish products—they’re built to work better in your daily life.
Why You Can Trust These Products
Awards don’t guarantee a perfect product—but they do make the decision easier. They show that a product has been evaluated by independent experts, not just presented by the brand itself.
In practice, this means:
• Less uncertainty before making a choice
You’re not relying only on product descriptions—the design and performance have already been tested against global standards
• More confidence in daily use
From usability to stability, these products are designed with real-life use in mind
• A better fit for everyday living
They’re built to integrate into your space and routine—without becoming a burden
Final Thoughts
WalkingPad was never about making smaller treadmills. It was about rethinking how movement fits into modern life — especially in spaces where every square inch matters. The awards these products have received are not the starting point. They are the result of that thinking and empowering movement around the globe as a result.
You can trust that the product you’re choosing has already been tested, refined, and recognized — not just by us, but by the industry as a whole.
