I am not nearly as strong as most competitive bodybuilders and somehow I can do nearly the entire stack on most Hoist machines. Perhaps there is a different line that you are speaking of, but I cannot imagine a legit strong bodybuilder being able to use these. And yes, the "functional" comment was made by a sales guy. He also told me this machine was the most functional in the gym since it involved a rope which you use in "real life" rather than a D-Handle or barbell. I told him that I would agree with him if I worked as a crew member on a sailboat.
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LOL!!! That's part of the Hoist Mt. Everest series, right?... LOL
Yes, I use the full stack on most of their machines, too (which is why I like them best for Pump Sets in Fortitude training, which employ the lightest loads I'll use). I think the pulldown machine is relatively heavy and I use the full stack on the leg press for single leg movements.
TBH, I would say I use / have been using the full stack on most machine lines (50+% of selectorized machines in general) for decades now, so that limitation doesn't stand out me. That's a limitation for most selectorized (stack-based) machines.
Anyway, like many lines, some machines are better than others, and the Hoist Roc-It line is no exception... And I agree with you as far as not the machines not being "functional..." (That's a whole other topic, IMO, really, related to specificity of training.)
As far as commercial lines go, they are generally not made for those who are in the upper 10-20%-ile strength wise, so Hoist wasn't targeting this. Given maybe the top 10 most popular lines found in big box gyms to choose from in outfitting a gym, I'd pick a couple of the Hoist machines for personal use, but CERTAINLY not the entire line. I like the chest fly and the side lateral, which I wish were a bit heavier, but I think that could be remedied by adding weight to the seat / foot plates ala adding more body weight. I've use Hoist seated curl (and i think the dip machine) and added load by putting a fixed barbell across the foot rests on the platform in this way and it worked OK. Not an optimal solution, but neither is sticking a post welded to to pin in the stack to hold extra plates or pinning them to the stack.
-S