Stackable Pilates Reformers for Group Studios
A group reformer class depends on floor space. That is why many owners look for reformers that stack. Not every design stacks the same way. Some lift onto one another with wheels built into the frame, some nest with their legs still fitted and one line stacks with the tower still on. Here is how they compare.
What makes a Pilates reformer stackable?
A stackable reformer has a frame built to carry an identical machine resting on top of it. The maker decides whether a model can stack and how high. Peak rates its MVe and fit reformers at four high. Machines without a stacking rating should be stored standing or folded.
Wooden reformers that stack: the Elina Elite family
Wood and stacking rarely go together, which is what made the Elina Elite stand out. Elina describes it as the first stackable wooden reformer on the market. The maple frame weighs 187 lb, runs 96.46 in long and has transport wheels built in, so moving each machine toward the stacking area is a rolling job rather than a carry.
Two more maple models share the trait. The Elite Advanced stays stackable while adding a footbar that slides along the full frame, with wheels on its front legs. The Master Instructor, with its integrated mini tower and adjustable pulleys, is rated stackable at 179 lb. Its Physio version, raised to a 23.62 in bed, stacks too and weighs 194 lb. By contrast the Nubium, Lignum and Mentor store standing on end, which suits a room with wall space but no stacking zone.
Aluminium stacking: HL line, MVe and fit
Among aluminium frames, weights vary more than you might expect.
- Elina HL 1 to HL 4: one machine at four bed heights, from 8.66 in to 24.41 in. Every HL stacks horizontally or stands upright on transport wheels. Frames weigh 137 lb for the HL 1, 143 lb for the HL 2 and HL 3 and 154 lb for the HL 4.
- Peak MVe: 103 in long and 135 lb. Its patent-pending design nests units four high without removing parts or legs, so there is nothing to unbolt first.
- Peak fit: full studio height at 97 in long, stacking four high or standing on its end. At 237 lb it is the heaviest machine in this list.
Can a reformer with a tower still stack?
Usually not, because a fixed tower stops another frame from sitting on top. The exception in our range is the Elina HL with tower. Elina describes its HL tower reformers as the only ones on the market that stack horizontally with the tower in place. That folding steel tower weighs 44 lb.
Other tower machines need a different plan. Peak notes that MVe reformers stack four high only without the tower fitted, so a mixed floor might keep one MVe with its tower as a fixed station and stack the rest. The Elina Elite Wood Reformer with Tower has a tower that comes off easily, letting the reformer rejoin a stack when the layout changes.
Planning the floor and handling a stack safely
Decide where the stack lives before the machines are in the room. A stack of four occupies about the footprint of one reformer plus walking room around it. Mark that zone away from doors and the teaching area, on a level and firm floor.
- Read the stacking instructions for each model before the first lift.
- Lift with two people, holding the frame rather than the footbar, carriage or ropes.
- Clear the carriage first. Boxes, jump boards and loose handles come off.
- Never exceed the published stack height. Keep each stack to a single model.
- Keep clients clear while machines go up or come down.
If clearing the floor between classes is your priority, compare the HL stackable reformers side by side or browse our wider range of studio and commercial equipment.
