I borrowed an escalera from a friend last week because I needed to move 5 games into my basement. My initiation with the machine was bringing it up from his basement and then a dry run down to my basement, both times unloaded.

When i moved two games down in quick succession, I found it pretty easy and strain-free... except for my hands. My hands were tired. I was gripping the handles much tighter than I needed to. The next game I moved down, I focused on taking my time, keeping it balanced, and found it much more relaxed. Long story short, it has a bit of a learning curve, but makes moving games by yourself very doable and convenient.