treadmill vs eliptical? brands?

Hubby and I are working on losing wt.  He is 340# so we are trying to find a treadmill or elip that he can use, too.  Neither of us have much experience with elips but wonder if they would be good.  Hubby has trouble with knee pain--are elips easier or harder on knees than tm's? I'm also having trouble finding a treadmill that will handle his wt.  He has lost 70# since Nov but is kind of on a plateau.  Our insurance won't cover surgery so we are trying our best without it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Oh yeah, we have a Schwinn Airdyne bike.  It is nice but the seat is miserable--hard and it feels like you are going to slide off into the floor.  If we could get the seat to where is was usable, we probably would use it alond with one other piece of exercie equipment.    Should that influence our choice of elip vs tm?   Sorry, I know it's a lot of questions.  We used to be on here a lot but have been off the boards for a while.  It's good to be back and see some familiar and some new faces and a lot of success stories.

I have knee pain too and I find the eliptical is great. I have no pain at all when i work out. I went to nordictrack.com and bought me one there. The shipping was free at the time and I made monthly payments on it until it was paid off.  I would never return mine. I have had it for 2 years now and love it. No problems what so ever.

I also use an elliptical every morning.  I bought mine at a local place, I ws very heavy at the time so I had to drop some serious coin to get one that would work for my weight.  It was totally worth it.  After a year or so at goal I started running too and I use the treadmill at the gym in the evenings.  I would google for more comfortable bike seats, I'm sure there are some out there.  Having more than one type of exercise going is really good for you.  Good luck and CONGRATULATIONS on your progress without Surgery.  Well Done. Carla

I also have knee trouble and I love ellipticals.  I recently purchased my first big exercise equipment.  I got a treadmill from Sears and it should be delivered tomorrow.  It's a Nordiac Track Viewpoint 3000 and the weight limit is up to 350 lbs.  I did a lot of research on it and it's supposed to be good cushioned and better on your joints.  If you get a treadmill, that is definitely something to look for other than weight limit.  One of the websites I found was treadmilldoctor.com which was good for reviews.  if I find the other website I will post it. 

You don't need equipment to excercise. I used to make excuses too. The best thing is just to get outside and move it. If you really can't walk, then I would get the eliptical. But, I know from running on a treadmill, at the outdoor track, the indoor track, and the bike path, that I prefer to run along the road.

I so appreciate the Elliptical Trainer that I purchased @ Sears. I, too, struggle with the stationary bike seat being hard on the buns, and I also have knee joint pain. I am really pleased with the Pro Form brand of exercise equipment, although there are several great ones out there. I looked on consumer reports prior to purchasing it, and then went to the store and tried out several.