Flashforge Adventurer 5M 3D Printer Drops to Just $135
There’s a specific price point at which a hobby stops being a decision and starts being an impulse. For 3D printing, I’ve always thought that number was somewhere around $150 — the point where “should I get into this?” becomes “why not, that’s a nice dinner out.”
According to IGN, the Flashforge Adventurer 5M has fallen to $135 shipped, which they describe as the best price they’ve seen on a solid entry-level printer. That’s below my mental threshold, and it’s worth talking about what you actually get at that number — and, just as importantly, what you’re signing up for.
Why the Adventurer 5M matters at this price
The entry-level 3D printer market has changed dramatically, and I don’t think casual observers have caught up. Five years ago, a budget printer meant a kit you assembled yourself, tuned for a weekend, and then re-tuned every time the weather changed. The barrier wasn’t money. It was patience.
The current generation of budget machines is a different proposition entirely. The Adventurer 5M sits in the category of printers that arrive largely assembled, handle bed levelling automatically, and get you from box to first print in well under an hour. That shift — from “project” to “appliance” — is the single most important development in consumer 3D printing, and it’s what makes a $135 machine genuinely recommendable rather than a trap.
What you’re getting in broad strokes:
- A fast-printing FDM machine in the class that redefined what budget hardware could do.
- Automated setup, which removes the failure mode that killed most people’s interest historically.
- A quick-swap nozzle design, making maintenance a two-minute job rather than an evening.
- Wide filament compatibility, so you’re not locked into one material or one vendor.
My honest opinion on buying a cheap 3D printer
I’m going to say something slightly unfashionable: most people who buy a 3D printer stop using it within a year, and that’s completely fine.
The reason isn’t that the printers are bad. It’s that 3D printing is a solution looking for a problem in most households. You print the benchmark boat, a phone stand, a few articulated dragons, and then you run out of ideas. The machine goes in a cupboard. This is the normal outcome, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling filament.
So here’s the actual test I’d apply: do you already have a reason? If you have a specific broken thing to replace, a hobby that needs custom parts, a kid who’s into design, or a workshop where jigs and fixtures would genuinely help — then a printer is a tool and you’ll use it constantly. If you don’t, you’re buying the possibility of a hobby, which is a much worse deal even at $135.
The good news is that at this price, the calculation is forgiving. A printer that gets used enthusiastically for three months and then occasionally for years afterwards has still comfortably justified $135. That’s not a claim I’d make at $600.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Exceptional price for a machine in this class — the discount is substantial, not cosmetic.
- Automatic setup means genuine same-day results rather than a tuning project.
- Fast print speeds compared to the previous generation of budget hardware, which matters more than you’d think for staying engaged.
- Low financial risk. If it doesn’t stick, you haven’t lost much.
Cons:
- FDM printing has visible layer lines. If you want smooth, display-quality miniatures, resin is a different and messier path.
- Filament, replacement nozzles, and the inevitable accessories add up over time. Budget beyond the printer.
- It makes noise and it takes up permanent desk space. Neither is a dealbreaker, both are real.
- There is a learning curve for modelling. The printer is easy now; designing your own parts still isn’t.
Practical advice before you click buy
A few things I’d genuinely recommend thinking about first:
Decide where it lives. A printer that has to be set up each time is a printer that never gets used. Find it a permanent spot with ventilation before you order, not after.
Start with PLA. It’s forgiving, cheap, and doesn’t need an enclosure. Exotic filaments are a later problem.
Download before you design. There are enormous free model libraries out there. Print other people’s work for the first month while you learn what your machine does well.
Expect a few failures. Everyone’s first week includes a print that turns into a plastic bird’s nest. It’s not a defect, it’s the tutorial.
If you enjoy this category of low-cost, high-capability hardware, our write-up on the Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 covers similar territory for the tinkering crowd.
Who should buy it
Buy it if you have an actual, specific use case waiting — repairs, hobby parts, prototyping, a maker-inclined kid. At $135 this is a genuinely great tool acquisition.
Buy it if you’ve been curious for years and kept deciding the price wasn’t right. This is the price being right.
Skip it if you want gallery-quality detailed models. Look at resin printing instead, and accept the extra hassle that comes with it.
Skip it if you don’t have space for it to live permanently. Storage-cupboard printers do not get used, no matter how good the deal was.
The verdict
This is one of the more straightforwardly good deals I’ve looked at recently. The Adventurer 5M is a capable, modern, genuinely easy-to-live-with machine, and $135 shipped removes almost all of the financial risk from trying 3D printing.
The only real caution is the one that applies to every cheap tool: buy it because you have something to make, not because it’s cheap. If you clear that bar, this is an easy recommendation. If you’re chasing bargains more broadly, our PC hardware deal hunting playbook covers how to time purchases like this one.
Confirm the current price and shipping terms at checkout — deals in this category move quickly and stock at the lowest price rarely lasts.
Sources
According to IGN, the Flashforge Adventurer 5M has dropped to $135 shipped, which they note is among the best pricing seen on an entry-level 3D printer. Verify pricing and availability before purchase.
Source: IGN