BASI Systems is the equipment brand behind BASI Pilates, the teacher-training organization founded by Rael Isacowitz in 1989. Where older manufacturers like Gratz build around fidelity to Joseph Pilates’ original designs, BASI Systems sits at the opposite end of the spectrum: contemporary industrial design, modular hardware, and a proprietary multi-port spring system built specifically for the BASI teaching method.
For a studio owner comparing brands, BASI Systems is worth understanding less as a legacy manufacturer and more as the equipment arm of a global education brand, one that only started building its own apparatus relatively recently, and that ties its equipment closely to how BASI-trained teachers are taught to move.
History
BASI (Body Arts and Science International) was founded in 1989 by Rael Isacowitz, a dancer and Pilates educator who trained at the Wingate Institute in Israel and later completed a master’s degree in Dance Studies in England. BASI grew into one of the largest Pilates teacher-training organizations in the world, and today reports more than 50,000 graduates across 55+ countries, headquartered in Newport Beach, California.
BASI Systems, the equipment side of the business, is a separate and considerably younger company. Third-party company records place its founding around 2014, with a registered address in Amsterdam, Netherlands, though BASI’s own published FAQ describes its operations as based in Istanbul, Turkey. We were unable to fully reconcile this discrepancy from public sources alone, it likely reflects a European registered entity paired with Turkish manufacturing, which is common in this industry, but we present both facts rather than picking one to state as certain. BASI Systems’ signature engineering idea, the F2 System, was conceptualized by Rael Isacowitz himself and rolled out across the equipment line as the company grew.
Market Positioning
BASI Systems positions its equipment around design, modularity, and its proprietary F2 System rather than historical authenticity. The company describes its apparatus as blending scientific precision with the artistry of movement, built from aerospace-grade aluminum, beech wood, and antibacterial vinyl upholstery. Unlike Merrithew, where the equipment brand and the certification brand are the same company, BASI Systems is a legally distinct company from BASI Pilates education, closely partnered, but not identical, which is worth knowing if brand continuity matters to your buying decision.
Product Range
The BASI Systems catalog is organized into Reformers, Towers and Trapeze Systems, Chairs and Barrels, additional Pilates equipment, options and upgrades, and accessories. Its most distinctive feature across the range is the F2 System: a set of multi-port levers that let springs be attached at different angles and positions across Reformers, Cadillacs, Barrels, Chairs, and the Spine Corrector, and that double as handles positioned for the wrists and shoulders during weight-bearing exercises. A notable recent product is the BASI Systems Cadillac-Reformer Combo, which adds an Enhanced Pulley System (EPS) for adjustable pulley angle on top of the standard F2 spring ports.
Main Models
The Reformer line is BASI Systems’ primary product and the one most directly tied to its F2 System. The Cadillac-Reformer Combo pairs a Reformer with a full trapeze table conversion for studios with limited space, and is one of the brand’s more heavily marketed pieces of equipment. The Chairs and Barrels line rounds out the apparatus needed for a full BASI-method studio setup, and BASI Systems also sells the options and upgrade hardware, extra F2 ports and EPS kits, that let existing owners extend a base unit rather than buying a new one.
Who BASI Systems Is For
BASI Systems suits studios and teacher-training locations already working within the BASI method, since the F2 System is designed specifically around BASI’s approach to spring-based resistance and lever-assisted exercises. It also appeals to studio owners who prioritize contemporary industrial design and equipment modularity, the ability to reconfigure spring angles and add ports later, over the classical-heritage positioning of a brand like Gratz. It is a less obvious fit for studios that want a long, independently documented track record of durability, given how much more recently BASI Systems was established compared with the oldest names in the industry.
Advantages and Limitations
Advantages:
- The F2 multi-port system is a genuinely distinctive piece of engineering, not just a marketing label, and it enables spring configurations that fixed-port reformers can’t easily replicate.
- Backed by BASI Pilates, a globally recognized teacher-training brand with a large, active instructor base.
- Uses aerospace-grade aluminum and higher-end upholstery materials as standard.
- Equipment can be extended over time through official options and upgrade kits rather than requiring a full replacement.
Limitations:
- A comparatively young equipment company, roughly a decade old as of 2026, next to manufacturers with multi-decade track records, so there is less long-term, independent data on how the equipment holds up.
- Pricing is not published; buyers have to contact the company directly for a quote, which is less transparent than manufacturers who list prices openly.
- Public sources disagree on where the equipment is actually manufactured, Amsterdam-registered versus Istanbul-based operations per BASI’s own FAQ, which we could not fully resolve and would flag to any buyer doing supply-chain due diligence.
- Being a separate legal entity from BASI Pilates education means the tight brand integration buyers might expect, as with Merrithew and STOTT PILATES, isn’t guaranteed to be as deep, worth confirming directly with the company.
Source: Information compiled from basipilates.com (About BASI, BASI Systems FAQ) and basisystems.com (About BASI Systems, corporate footer), cross-checked against independent company-registry data and industry press coverage. Last verified: July 2026.