I decided to upgrade my client bed for a host of reasons. The ability to bring my client up or down, and to elevate the head or legs was the main one. I needed a more ergonomic work station in order to minimize fatigue and any potential strain on my neck and shoulders. I had my eye on the Sil-Tones for a few years. They look great and aren’t we, as Canadians, always thrilled to support a Canadian product.

For those reasons, I was all in. Sadly, after a year with my Silhouet-Tone Newstream Escape, I am mostly out. I thought I made an investment that would carry me through to the end of my career several decades from now. Rather, I invested in a slightly better than average bed sold to me at a premium. The Silhouet-Tone Newstream Escape is very elegant to look at but it’s functionality is a big, fat flop for a number of reasons.

Why the Silhouette Tone Newstream Escape Is Not A Luxury Spa Bed

First, the proportions are all wrong. The only person who laid down on the bed and said, “wow this is so comfortable” was a man over 6 feet tall with a longer-than-average torso. Everyone else slides down towards the middle so I always have to say, “brace your feet and push yourself up”. This is because the bed folds in a place far below where the average person’s hips rest. It’s so strange this is a bed designed for body treatments and yet, it takes a lot of work to get both me and my client comfortable for any type of treatment. I had to remove the head cushion in order for the bulk of my clients to fit properly on the bed. The head cushion was a main feature for me buying the bed. I do enough back, shoulder and neck work that I thought it would really improve my client’s comfort but instead the head cushion just throws off the proportions of the bed so no one fits properly.

The second problem with the functionality of the Silhouet-Tone Newstream Escape is that the bed cannot be used in a flat position. The flat position is a negative drop for the client’s head and shoulders and many clients complained of discomfort. The headrest does not fit the bed properly, it cannot be tightened to be level with the bed (see image of lever that cannot be tightened). The head cushion always on a negative incline. This is just bad design. Silhouet-Tone could not have tested the bed in a professional setting before putting it on the market. The headrest cannot be tightened into a position to be level with the bed. It is impossible.

Silhouet-Tone Newstream Escape Negative Headrest

Defective Headrest on Silhouet-Tone Newstream Escape

Another feature of the Silhouet-Tone Newstream Escape that greatly influenced my decision to pay a premium for this bed was the pneumatic arm rests. Sadly, they are useless and do not work as advertised. My clients ended up reaching UNDER the arm rests to support their hands on the underside of the bed because the armrests did not adequately support their weight. These arm rests are meant to comfortably support the arms when clients are on their stomachs but the armrests went the way of the head rest – to gather dust in the corner of my office. I had to get out my drill and get underneath the bed to remove them myself. I tried to bring attention to these issues but Silhouette Tone ignored me completely. My emails with accompanying pictures and phone calls were all ignored. The sales manager at Somak, the local distributor of Silhouet-Tone products, was openly hostile to me when I tried to bring up these concerns with her.

There are other design flaws with the bed too but I won’t bore you with the minutiae. Everything from the head rest to the paper roll at the foot of the table was added without any insight to how a professional would use this bed. The measurements are off and the product is all style and no substance.

Maintenance of the Silhouet-Tone Newstream Escape

Another feature of this bed was the better quality leatherette and it does look and feel amazing. The drawback is that it is much higher maintenance than the cheaper vinyl covering on my old bed. The fabric is porous and stains easily, thus it is impossible to keep it clean with the method recommended by Silhout-Tone. I have to use Oxy stain remover and let it sit on the bed for an hour or two and then rinse off.

The Good Things About The Silhouet-Tone Newstream Escape

It looks really good and I can easily move the bed up and down to suit my preference. But if the motor every goes, I am in trouble. Somak and Silhouet-Tone both treated me with no respect after my purchase so I am not optimistic that they can help with any future issues with the bed.