Last updated on March 13th, 2026 at 07:03 pm

Nothing I have ever reviewed caused as much divide in opinion as the Sanddune Stepper. One side thought it was a $300 piece of foam, and the other thought it was the recovery, prehab, rehab tool handed down from the gods.

We have been using the Sanddune Stepper for several years now. Myself, my wife, my daughter… these things get abused in and out of the gym, on the front lawn, under my desk, and more. In this article you’ll find a full review, multiple check in videos over that timeline, and even an interview with Matt Dahl the owner of Sanddune Stepper. Hopefully you’ll better understand what this thing is, and what it isn’t, so you can decide if it makes sense to grab one for your gym.

Transparency Note

I purchased my first Sanddune Stepper, wrote my review, did my interview with Matt Dahl, and then he sent me a second one. Matt has also sponsored the Garage Gym Competition multiple times. Full transparency as always, hopefully you see that my notes reflect my enjoyment of this product, not a free product.

Links throughout may include Affiliate Links. These help fund the site at no expense to you.

Background

When I was a little kid playing sports, I had EXTREMELY tight Achilles Tendons. So much so that I ran around on my toes on the soccer field. I wore insoles from an orthopedist and did calf stretches daily and before all activities. It worked, kind of, for a while. Fast forward to when I first start trying to squat in the gym and I had to throw a 25lb plate under each foot. I spent a lot of time in college where we walked to and from class getting shin splints. This meant taking breaks, stretching, and more between simple mile walks.

Fast forward a few more years and I blow out my calcaneus (heel bone) on my left foot. I had a nice fracture, 3 months of a cast, no weight bearing, and no ankle mobility. The ankle was literally stuck in extension for 3 months straight. I was also stuck hobbling on my right foot with crutches for about five months. Not exactly great for an already bad set of ankles.

Long story short, this has been my struggle for the majority of my life, and made worse with recent events. Tight calves, short Achilles, painful pops and cracks, and a constant fight to grab at any ankle range of motion to alleviate knee pain, squat, and move like a normal human being. I’ve tried every trick in the book and to no avail.

My wife is a nurse, and she has a bad right knee from a soccer injury as a kid. She got slide tackled, tore her meniscus, and they never did any kind of PT or anything. So she has been plagued with that “I’ve got a bad knee” idea since childhood. She is on her feet a LOT for work, chasing my daughter around, in the gym, and just in general likes to avoid knee pain. We are careful with her gym time and avoid anything that flares up that knee. Squats are rare, lunges are hit and miss, and there is plenty of consideration put into exercise selection and order to keep that knee happy.

Sanddune Stepper Overview

The Sanddune Stepper is, on paper, two foam pieces connected in the middle with a base, a cover, and a slight angle from front to back.

It is built specifically to allow compression, but not too much, which creates a form of neural feedback. The sides work independently compared to one large piece of foam, meaning that each leg has to work effectively. The high and low sides create unique opportunities to challenge your ankles, feet, and hips.

The Sanddune Stepper is, you might think, meant to mimic walking through sand. That isn’t exactly right though. Where sand moves out of the way, the Sanddune Stepper pushes back. If you’ve ever done a hike of any kind on the beach, you know that afterwards muscles you didn’t even know you had are tired, but you somehow also feel REALLY good. It is this odd combination of feeling wiped and feeling stable, strong, and secure, that I’ve never really found anywhere else.

The Sanddune Stepper aims to create a similar experience, but without the need for a trip to a beach. And it aims to make it accessible for all audiences.

Sanddune Stepper Specs

• Brand – Sanddune Stepper
• Color – Black
• Made In USA – Yes
• Product Weight – 12.5 LB
• Length – 22″
• Width – 26″
• Height – 6″

In talks with Matt Dahl, the owner of Sanddune Stepper, he talks a lot about the lymphatic system, its role in movement dysfunction and injury, and how the Sanddune Stepper can be a big part there. Especially for those that can’t quite load up a barbell or machine of any kind. How the nervous system needs constant signals to contract muscles, for them to work properly, and often injuries break down those pathways. The Sanddune Stepper seems to help “wake up” for lack of a better term, those pathways and help people with traumatic injuries take that next step, and the next one, and the next one.

If you check out their Instagram and website there are a number of practitioners doing just that. I happened to be recovering from an ankle break during my first go at the Sanddune Stepper, but also have kept it around long enough that we got time to use it as a more “normal” type of person. So we’ll cover both experiences as we go.

During my chat with Matt (which you can read later in this article), I asked him what was going on with the Sanddune Stepper. And the words that are still in my head are “I think there is more going on there than we understand”. Based on the testimonials we see on his Instagram from people that had life altering accidents and were able to rehab with the Sanddune Stepper, I’m thinking he might be right.

Sanddune Stepper Performance

Whenever I see something that multiple people are recommending for ankle, knee, hip and other health, I get intrigued. When I see people start claiming it also has performance boosts, I get HYPER intrigued. When I start seeing them recommend that same thing for cardio and more, I get a little weary of the snake oil salesmen with the cure all elixir.

Ankle Recovery

My first go around with the Sanddune Stepper was after my ankle injury, trying to get it to be “unstuck”. I did a lot of wonky stuff, including various walks, jumps, hops, stretches, isometric work, and more. I hooked up bands, I carried weights on it, you name it.

I eventually started using the Sanddune Stepper at my standing desk. This gave me more time to move and groove, challenge that foot, challenge that ankle, and try and keep them mobile throughout the day instead of locked into place.

The ROM on that ankle seemed to improve over time. Was that the Sanddune Stepper? Or was that just time accumulating? I’m not sure. I definitely got some solid pops and cracks out of it, and being able to use it throughout the day, during warm-ups, with no shoes on, in a low impact way, definitely seemed to add more “reps” to my recovery program. Most people only get rehab work once a day for a few minutes, I was essentially doing it ALL DAY LONG.

More Problems

That ankle issue was eventually diagnosed further, where I had a problem with my heel, leading to a hip shift and misalignment in my spine. It travelled up into my neck, and nearly caused me to stop benching and doing anything type of upper body lifting at all.

I had the help of my local chiropractor who uses ART and other methods to move things along, as well as a quality Physical Therapist (I had to try 3 before I found a good one) that got me a heal lift and progressing forward.

The Sanddune Stepper became part of my recovery with this issue as well. I was addressing hip shift problems by using bands in an isometric fashion to stabilize the knee while moving through a lunge pattern. I was also using it for plank variations and push-up variations, where the instability forced me to properly brace while loading up my pecs and shoulders.

Again, I’m not sure the Sanddune Stepper did the work here, but I’m also pretty positive it helped me continue to find weaknesses in my positions, movement patterns, and overall body, and work to correct them. Bird Dogs were easy to cheat, but Bird Dogs on the Sanddune Stepper destroyed me. Push ups were easy. But Push Ups on the Sanddune Stepper WERE ROUGH. I was strong enough to get the job done, until I was FORCED to do it correctly. The Sanddune Stepper was a big part of that.

My Wife

I mentioned my wife early on, and her bad knee. We struggled for a long time to do any kind of leg dominant strength training that didn’t aggravate her knee. Squats, Leg Extensions, Lunges, Leg Curls, didn’t matter. We found that the Sanddune Stepper worked. It seemed to drive a lot of blood to the legs, challenge her in a way that her body could handle, and help her get to where she needed to be, so we could start lifting.

It was that first step she needed, to get her onto the real path forward.

What About Now?

Since we aren’t dealing with any ongoing issues, and are more or less totally intact, you might think that the Sanddune Stepper has been collecting dust. At almost 5 years later, we are actually still using them.

I’ve talked to Matt over the years and he mentions that he has people using it in a number of ways. A very common approach is to start every day with it. Walk on it, squat on it, just overall get some movement in on it, for about 5 to 10 minutes. This gets the body moving well for the rest of the day. Toss it into your warm-up routine instead of a normal walk or cardio blast and be ready for some of the silkiest smooth squats you’ve ever done.

We have been making cardio sessions a regular part of our routines over the last year. First was a walking vest, then a rower, then a treadmill, then an elliptical… you know, the normal pokemon process of a reviewer. We ended up going back to our Sand Dune Stepper for our cardio sessions in the past month or so, for a couple reasons.

First, this thing is small. So it can store away essentially anywhere. It can also be set up anywhere, by anyone. So no need for a dedicated cardio corner. Second, it is entirely silent. This means that you can do your cardio while watching TV with the family, in the main living room, without disturbing anyone. A treadmill, Rower, Ski Erg, quite a bit different. And third, it is easy to mix in the Sand Dune Stepper with other forms of activity.

My daughter has been working on her dribbling for basketball, so we’ve been using these indoor basketballs alongside the Sanddune Stepper, to get in cardio, footwork, and dribbling practice. We can improve hand eye coordination, athletic abilities, cardio function, ankle and foot strength, and more. Plus, it is good old fashioned family fun.

How About In The Gym?

You can also toss in some “gym” stuff here and there on the Sanddune Stepper. I’m not a fan of a lot of unstable surface training for general lifters. We need stability to demonstrate maximal power. Without stability, we have to drop the weight. Dropping the weight means less gains.

But if you toss it into some movements that are meant to challenge stability as the PRIMARY piece to the puzzle, like bird dogs, planks, even push-up variations, this can be very interesting. Similar to using the bandbell bar for bench, you are going to have to really OWN those positions, otherwise you are going to take a ride.

It also makes for a great companion for medicine ball work. We use it as a dual purpose piece as a rebounder for slams and stuff, as well as a landing platform for jumps, and cardio built in.

Side note – this is one of the simplest workouts I’ve ever written. I started doing it on weekends years back, and it is a fantastic way to get a little bit of everything in, in a VERY short time frame, basically no matter where you are. And it is deceptively difficult. Give it a shot!

Get Those Steps In!

For general activity, we take several walks a day. I have a dog, so to me this is just basic good pet ownership. But sometimes the weather is nasty and not conducive to my wife and daughter taking a walk at a valid hour with us. The Sanddune Stepper kicks in and replaces those walks. We turn on some music, hit a timer for 10 minutes, and get our walks in.

My wife and I have a goal to get 10,000 steps in. From heart health, to body comp, and more, this is just a good goal I think most people should strive for.

Some days, that goal sneaks up on ya and you manage to hit 6pm and only have a few thousand steps. Again, because the Sand Dune Stepper is quiet, indoors, and easy to use, whether it is raining or 100 degrees outside, we can get our steps in, in a comfortable environment, without any issues.

The Sand Dune Stepper also gets tossed in for Ninja Warrior work, we’ve used it as a quick hip thrust pad… and when Audrey seems to have endless energy after dinner we tell her “go jump on your sanddune” in an effort to tire her out a bit.

Is There Anything Bad?

The backside of the unit is this kind of bungee corded, bumpy material like you’d find on a shower floor. It is an attempt to make it anti skid, but it doesn’t really work. It looks less than ideal, and just isn’t up to snuff with the rest of the unit. Something more polished here would make the unit not slide around on slick floors, would make it last longer, and all around just be a better solution.

There also absolutely should be a handle. I managed to pinch a piece of the foam off carrying it. And after 5+ years of ownership, these things are starting to look a little beat up. They might eventually need to be completely replaced, since there is no way to perform maintenance on them.

Most people are still going to freak at a $300 piece of foam. I get it. My stance is that I spent thousands on chiropractor appointments, massages, supplements, and various tools to try and fix my problems. And got no where. The Sanddune Stepper was the first step in the right direction for me. Much cheaper than surgery, than those other interventions, and of course way cheaper than other cardio options.

The $300 is going to come down to, how do you use it? If you simply see another toy, it is a bad investment. If you see something that can help you recover, rehab, condition, and strengthen over the course of years to keep you healthy and happy and moving… then that is a VERY low investment. Even a basic treadmill walking pad on Amazon is a few hundred bucks. Take a look at a budget rower, an airbike, or a folding treadmill, and we are saving quite a bit of money and space.

So think through what this is going to look like in your gym, before deciding if that $300 price tag makes any sense.

Also, don’t think you are going to hop on this and automatically be fixed and cured of all issues. You still have to hammer your soft tissue work and make sure you are moving correctly. In fact I think the number one answer to MOST peoples issues, is poor movement patterns in and out of the gym, paired with poor decisions around sitting, sleeping, and other items where we gather hours of cumulative problems.

This is a tool, you need to know how to use it correctly. And it isn’t meant to do everything.

Interview With Matt Dahl

I wanted to get more on the Sanddune Stepper from the main man himself, Matt Dahl. Here is our chat.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions today Matt, let’s kick it off with a quick intro. What is your background?

I’ve been active most of my life, I lifted at the Jack LaLanne institute, roller-skated 20 miles a day in my teenage years, I’ve done every sport you can think of, and I’ve been injured, and gotten out of injury, numerous times on my own determination, research, and abilities. I’m 65 years old, live in Palm Springs, CA, own a Harley, and just had hernia surgery. Thanks to the Sanddune Stepper, I’m already a full 2 months ahead of schedule on my recovery plan and looking forward to riding again soon.

Why the Sanddune Stepper/ What triggered you to say “the world needs this!?”

My father had a stroke when I was about 25 years old, and after seeing the typical Physical Therapy treatments only get him so far, I knew there had to be more. PT stops when they sop making improvements with the patient. Whether that is at 25%, 70%, or 90% recovery. There was clearly more my Dad could have improved, so I started researching.

I learned a lot about rebounding, the lymphatic system, neural feedback, the central nervous system, and more. There was something to a lot of these common injuries and issues, a lack of balance was common in strokes, injury, Parkinsons, and more. This lead to a first prototype, which we got to a 75 year old Parkinsons patient who was falling down regularly, walking with a walker, and on his was to an assisted living. We put him on the prototype, after 3 months he was walking with no cane or walker. I knew we were on to something.

My father had a stroke when I was a child and I can relate to some of what you shared. My own PT experiences have been very lack luster as well. Who is the Sanddune Stepper for?

I started in the physical therapy industry, until a foot and ankle specialist contacted me for an interview. That is how Donnie Thompson, the powerlifter with a 3000lb total, got involved. He was an outside the box thinker about foot and ankle rehab. Donnie got it to the Philadelphia Eagles, players started getting them for their locker rooms and houses, rugby players started rehabbing ankle injuries, MCL problems… NBA players, runners, and more were finding ways to cut their injury and recovery times.

Damarcus Cousins used the stepper to recover from his ruptured Achilles. Matt Brown, the UFC fighter, was having ankle issues for a year. We got him one six weeks out of a big fight. He’d been using other items from other companies with no success. He was able to get past his issues that started as kid. He has one in his house and training facility, uses it throughout the day, every single day. Joe Drafranco got one and does regular HIIT sessions on it and he had Triple H and his wife using it as well. Triple H has stiff ankles, Stephanie has loose ankles, and it works wonders for both of them.

I guess the answer is, anyone and everyone. Why is it so effective? What is going on there?

Neural feedback and muscle engagement. It simply forces your body to work harder, and smarter, to get the job done. I think there is more going on that we know actually. I think there is something about the rebounding effects, detoxification, regulation of hormones, and a bunch more.

There seems to be mixed feelings out there on stability training, what is your take?

You need the neural feedback that the stepper provides. The high intensity foam, compared to air, provides constant feedback. The flat surface allows your ankles to get in a stable position and activate all the right muscles. The grade from high to low throws your proprioception off slights. The two sides are independent, so one side doesn’t impact or compensate for the other. This means you are truly doing single leg stability and strength work.

The majority of the other equipment is unstable, but doesn’t align with the needs of the athlete. Air doesn’t give you the right feedback and proprioception. Standing on a ball forces your ankles out of alignment, and those balance boards are too hard of a surface. I’ve had PTs that saw the stepper as a gateway to getting athletes on something “more difficult” and after using it ditched the other options.

Which exercises can you do with the stepper?

The basics are the best. Squats, one leg work, etc. You get big strong dudes on this thing and they struggle, until it seems to reset a lot of their ailments. They all of a sudden half full use of their ankles, hips, lug muscles, etc. It is something that often is overlooked, people don’t identify their compensatory movement and it leads to problems, especially when we are talking about strongmen, powerlifters, and elite athletes.

Mike Burgener, Crossfit and Olympic lifting coach, got the stepper from Donnie. He has done battle ropes on it, he owns three of them. Mike’s word for the stepper was “Legit”. The hill next to his house was on fire during some LA fires and he ran back into the garage and grabbed his stepper. His wife asked him what he was doing and he said if their house was going to burn down and they were stuck in a hotel, at least he could get in a solid workout!

A few strongmen competitors actually introduced me to using the Stepper for upper body work. They were able to remove tendonitis in the elbows and wrists, increase their weights, and reduce their recovery time. I hadn’t even thought of that.

The biggest thing I hear over and over is why $300 for a piece of foam?

You can get it for about $250 with a discount code. Shipping costs $50, the cover is $20, so we are talking $180 for the foam itself. The price of the R&D and the foam construction process, the molds, etc. adds up as well. The process involves molding two chemicals together at once to create the high density foam.

Comparing to regular upholstery foam, it doesn’t push back. The foam compresses too much, isn’t dense enough, and fills with air. That means you aren’t getting that full proprioception throughout your workout. The stepper also won’t bottom out, and is usable for 300lb linebackers and 100lb rehab patients. Most foam is going to tear so you’ll be replacing it often. Pair that with the overall design we talked about, having two sides, flat top, etc. It just doesn’t compare to a standard piece of foam. I’ve not had a single return.

What is one thing you want to leave our readers with?

The Sanddune Stepper is all about improving quality of life, especially when people have no alternative. Being able to help people recover from injury, prehab, rehab, improve performance. It is all there in the Sanddune Stepper.

Should You Buy The Sanddune Stepper?

Because of its shape, size, and general build, you could use it for a lot, in a lot of places, without dedicating much space for storage or time for set up. And it is friendly for beginners to advanced athletes.

But… You could probably replicate a lot of this, in a lot of different ways.

The indoor cardio option, you could probably jog in place or walk around the house. The med ball work doesn’t NEED a rebounder, or a soft landing for jumps, and that would be one less thing making this an even simpler workout. And they make a lot of different options for standing desk mats that are about 1/3 of the price.

Their Instagram is filled with some great ideas, as well as a bunch of bogus ones. I think the concept of balance training done on unstable surfaces for your average lifter is at best, not great. I don’t think the Sanddune Stepper ever “fixed” any problems I had. Hip issues, ankle problems, knee instability, tight calves, etc. So the concept of rehab or prehab or whatever, is a little MEH. And, after 5+ years, we are possibly going to have to replace these soon, since there really isn’t any way to do maintenance on them.

What I can say to wrap this up is…

We use them. We enjoy using them. We feel that they work well enough in the multiple ways we use them consistently, that if they fall apart, we plan to replace them. But don’t expect these to be some miracle pill that will fix all of your aches and pains and turn you into a top tier athlete. And as always, if they collect dust, they won’t do anything for you.

Wrap Up

For me and my family, the Sanddune Stepper has been awesome. I have talked a lot of people into buying them, and talked a lot of people out of buying them. The end game here is, if you use it, it works. If you don’t, it’ll collect dust just like every other thing you don’t use. Active recovery, bad weather walks, conditioning, strength stuff, core stuff, and so much more. And they hold together well as long as you aren’t insane. These are a definite yes for me. And if you follow them on Instagram you’ll see athletes from every major sport, strength coaches, crossfit coaches, powerlifters, and rehab facilities using this to make their athletes better.

💲Want to buy a Sanddune Stepper? Use this link.