WaterRower Ash Rowing Machine with S4 Monitor | USA Made | Original Handcrafted Erg Machine for Home Use & Gym | Best Warranty

Like most people in their 40’s, my knees and stamina are significantly reduced from the aging process. I am 6’2″ and a svelte 240 pounds; so clomping away on the treadmill makes a heck of a racket, makes my soul bleed and is rough on thee ol’ bones as well.So my purpose here was not to “compete online” or any of that nonsense, but rather to have a decent cardiovascular workout while I numb my consciousness with a show or movie. Rowing seems like the ticket, so I started researching: A neighbor has the Gold Standard of rowers, the Concept 2, which I was able to test and honestly it’s a better value: Everything about the Concept 2 is better – it’s mostly metal and is commercial quality, with a smooth pull, a wider range of resistance adjustment, it has some silly two-dimensional “games” to help motivate you, a better screen and it gives you the impression that someone will snatch it up at your estate sale in 20 years… wipe the dust off and get another decade or two out of it – which is why you see it in every gym (and my neighbor’s basement). It’s tough. It’s also $200 less… However, it’s also loud… loud enough to where in a confined space (like your workout room), I feel you’d have to blast the volume on your TV or replace the batteries on your hearing aid before working out.Enter, the WaterRower. The WaterRower is trendy (they don’t even need a space in the name, it’s THAT edgy), yet it’s still a good buy as it better fits what most of us are likely to use it for: working out at home, in a smaller room while watching a show. I can easily have a conversation with my children, watch Crockett chase someone down the streets of Miami in impeccably white Espadrilles at normal volume and still have the impression of “hey, Miami Vice was the best TV show ever, and this rower remarkably quiet!” My wife likes the wood construction and I will admit that it handles my 1/8th ton of mass effortlessly with no problem, unlike most of the furniture from Ikea (hint: don’t shop at Ikea unless your a 60kg Swede). I just finished a workout and broke a sweat, but in a way that was comfortable and repeatable. The display is basic, however it turns on automatically and displays the basic info that most of us would want: your rowing rate, elapsed time, etc. No PacMan or Pong on it that I can see – which might have been a nice perk.Most of us will be rowing for a duration of time, so although the display was the ugliest part of the machine, it remains perfectly reasonable and utilitarian, like the dashboard of a Volvo. The best part, is that I did not have to turn up the volume on the TV in a 12 foot room to hear comfortably over the machine. It really is remarkably quiet, with smooth efficiency and a pleasing appearance. It is easy enough to stand up out of the way as well, so in this context I’d say the WaterRower is a better “value” for most of us recreational users. I was able to assemble the machine in about 10 minutes, not counting a trip to the garage to get a second 5mm allen wrench.If you feel the need to play a pixilated 1980’s game of pong (“catch the fish”) while trash-talking your Crossfit buddies on Snapchat before celebrating your new personal best with an ice-cold Michelob Ultra, then you probably have two active gym memberships, a single-digit bodyfat percentage and would be better off with the Concept 2. As for me, I like real beer, 80’s crime dramas, full figured women – and the WaterRower. I rate it as a definite “buy.”