KingSmith’s compact home fitness journey began with rethinking everyday walking and later evolved into a foldable machine that combines walking and running. Through the Just Walk and Hybrid Series, KingSmith created two distinct product formats that made daily movement and more versatile home cardio easier to fit into modern living spaces.
Staying active doesn’t always require an intense workout—sometimes, people just need more opportunities to walk. Yet traditional treadmills were often bulky and more complex than necessary for everyday walking. KingSmith saw an opportunity to rethink the format and create a lighter, foldable, more space-efficient solution. As the creator of the WalkingPad category and owner of the WalkingPad trademark, KingSmith has continued to evolve this idea through the Just Walk Series, from the original A1 to the next-generation WalkingCase.
Everyday walking has different needs from traditional treadmill workouts. For many users, convenience, simplicity, and space matter just as much as performance.
- Many people need more daily movement rather than high-intensity running.
- Traditional treadmills take up considerable floor space and can be difficult to move and store.
- For walking-focused users, high speeds and complex structures are often unnecessary.
- Home walking equipment needs to be lighter, slimmer, and easier to fit into everyday living spaces.
Just Walk began with a simple idea: create a new kind of fitness equipment built specifically for everyday walking. By combining a walking-focused design with compact folding and easy storage, KingSmith turned that idea into the foundation of the WalkingPad category.
Launched in 2016, the WalkingPad A1 was created specifically for everyday walking rather than as a smaller version of a traditional treadmill. Its patented 180-degree folding mechanism allowed the walking deck to fold completely in half, making it easier to move and compact enough to store under a sofa or bed.
With the A1, KingSmith introduced a new product format centered on walking, folding, and space-saving storage. The innovation brought KingSmith widespread recognition and helped create and define the WalkingPad category worldwide, establishing a strong and distinctive position for the brand in the home fitness market.
The A1 under-desk walking pad became the foundation for an expanding lineup, followed by the A1 Pro, A1 Plus, P1, and later models. While the core focus on everyday walking and space-saving design remained, the lineup expanded to offer users more choices in features and product configurations.
The Just Walk lineup later expanded with the Youth Series, beginning with the C1 and followed by the C2 foldable walking pad. While the C1 has since been discontinued, the C2 continues the series with the same focus on everyday walking, compact folding and easy home storage.
“If you want a small treadmill to go under your desk, the WalkingPad C2 is a great option. It literally folds in half, as the deck will split and fold on itself.” Nicole Davis Garage Gym Review
In 2026, KingSmith introduced a bold new design breakthrough to the Just Walk Series: WalkingCase. Inspired by a rolling suitcase, its lightweight, compact form and telescopic handle make it easy to pull, move, and go with you on your travels. A fresh palette of bright, youthful colors also gives WalkingCase a more fashion-forward look than traditional fitness equipment.
Already showcased at major industry exhibitions, the WalkingCase brings technology, fitness, and lifestyle design together in a new form. With its distinctive appearance and focus on portability, it represents the next evolution of the Just Walk Series and a more stylish, home-friendly direction for the walking pad category.
Across generations and models, the Just Walk Series stays focused on making everyday walking simple, compact, and easy to fit into home life.
- Walking-focused performance: Built primarily for daily walking and increasing step count.
- Compact construction: Slimmer and simpler than a traditional treadmill.
- Space-saving storage: Foldable, compact forms make storage under furniture more convenient.
- Easy mobility: Compact structures and mobility features make the products easier to move around the home.
- FootSense™ control: Automatically adjusts walking speed based on the user’s position on the deck for intuitive, hands-free control.
- Home-friendly design: Slim, compact forms fit naturally into living rooms, bedrooms and home offices.
Just Walk is the starting point of KingSmith’s walking and running portfolio and the series most clearly focused on everyday walking. The four series serve different movement and space needs:
- Just Walk: Daily walking and increasing step count.
- Hybrid: 2-in-1 walking and running.
- Vertical Fold: Greater running capability with upright storage.
- Foldable Classic: A traditional treadmill experience with space-saving folding and incline training on selected models.
Together, these series allow users to move from simple daily walking to more advanced running and incline training while choosing the format that best fits their space and workout needs.
The next chapter of the Just Walk series will continue to explore how walking equipment can become lighter, more portable, and easier to integrate into the home. KingSmith will continue finding new ways to make everyday walking more convenient and accessible while pushing the boundaries of what a walking pad can be.
The Hybrid Series marked the next step in KingSmith’s evolution of compact home fitness. For some users, walking was only the beginning—they wanted the freedom to run, too. Building on the space-saving philosophy behind Just Walk, KingSmith introduced a new 2-in-1 format that brings walking and running together in one compact machine.
As users looked for more from home fitness equipment, walking alone could no longer meet every workout need.
- Just Walk was primarily created for everyday walking.
- Some users wanted to progress from walking to jogging and running.
- Flat walking and running pads lacked handrail support at higher speeds.
- Users wanted running capability without the bulk of a traditional treadmill.
KingSmith’s answer was not simply to make a walking pad faster. The product itself needed a new structure—one that could physically transform between walking and running.
In 2019, KingSmith introduced the R1 foldable treadmill, launching the Hybrid Series and its 2-in-1 walking and running format. Rather than simply adding a handrail to a walking pad, KingSmith combined a foldable running deck with a retractable handrail to create a true dual-mode machine. Raise the handrail for running and greater support, or lower and retract it to seamlessly transition into a flat walking pad for everyday walking.
The original R1 established the foundation of the Hybrid format, combining walking and running in one foldable machine. That concept continued to evolve with the second-generation R2 and third-generation R3 Foldable Under Desk Treadmill, with each generation refining the overall product experience while preserving the same core 2-in-1 approach.
Good Housekeeping named the WalkingPad R2 its “Best Foldable” under-desk treadmill, highlighting its foldable design and the ability to lower the handrail for use with a standing desk.
KingSmith was the first to bring this foldable 2-in-1 walking-and-running format to market. Rather than simply increasing the speed of a walking pad, the Hybrid format introduced a new product structure that allowed compact cardio equipment to support both walking and running while remaining foldable.
This new approach helped establish 2-in-1 walking and running machines as a distinct product category. Hybrid later became one of KingSmith’s four core walking and running series, bridging the gap between walking pads and more traditional treadmills.
The Hybrid Series combines walking and running in a compact 2-in-1 format, offering greater workout flexibility with space-saving storage.
- Walking + running: Two workout modes in one machine.
- Foldable running deck: Reduces the footprint for more compact storage.
- Adjustable handrail: Raised for running and lowered for walking.
- Compact storage: The deck and handrail work together to create a smaller folded form.
- Flexible daily use: Supports both everyday walking and more active workouts.
- Home-focused design: Adds greater workout capability while maintaining a compact, space-conscious form.
Within KingSmith’s walking and running portfolio, Hybrid sits between the simplicity of a walking pad and the greater workout capability of a full treadmill.
- Just Walk: Daily walking and increasing step count.
- Hybrid: Walking and running in one compact machine.
- Vertical Fold: Greater running capability with upright storage.
- Foldable Classic: A traditional treadmill experience with folding and incline on selected models.
Hybrid bridges the gap between a walking pad and a full treadmill, giving users more workout flexibility while maintaining a compact, space-saving format.
The Hybrid Series will continue to explore new ways to bring walking and running together in one compact home fitness format. As the category evolves, KingSmith will continue to balance greater workout capability with flexible everyday use and space-saving storage, making 2-in-1 cardio equipment easier to fit into modern home life.
