I've had my Stamina 1402 for six weeks now. First of all, I think it's a fine, sturdy machine. It was fairly easy to put together even by one person. Once together, it glides very smoothly and has a good amount of resistance. No damper needed - the harder I pull the more resistance the machine gives back. In six weeks of using it daily for thirty minutes it's given me no issues at all. I'm very pleased with it and consider it a good buy for my cardio workouts. There a a very few things I don't care for but can live with. For me, at 5" 10, it's difficult to get into a proper catch position - I think the footbeds are mounted too high and there is no adjustment like a Concept II has. I may turn the footrests upside down to bring my heels closer to the floor. I don't care much either for the pivoting footrests, but that's certainly something I can live with and I'm able to get a strong drive with my legs. One thing I'd suggest, as others have mentioned is to switch the footrests from left to right to make it easier to strap in. All in all, with a couple of modifications to the foot beds, I feel that this is a machine that gives me a good workout, and should last a long time.