Best Rowing Machine: the Award Goes To…
Like the Academy Awards, rowing machines shamelessly compete to be recognized as best in their industry. They are all winners because when you check around it seems that any individual or commercial operation that ever bought a rowing machine, of any sort, really likes it. It doesn’t matter whether they spent a little or spent a lot. It makes little difference which resistance mechanism their machine uses. From plain to fancy, they all get high marks.
If choosing the best of them all is the dirty work that must be done, then so be it. The rowing machine that looks like it might rise a tiny bit higher in overall consumer satisfaction is the Concept 2, Model D.
So, what makes it the best?
The manufacturer of the Model D humbly began at the, Vermont based, Concept 2 company. Over 30 years ago two brothers started out actually making rowing, sculling, boat racing style oars for competitive rowers. In the northeast United States this was only a summer sport and they basically got bored in the winter. One year they decided put together a homemade indoor rowing rig. It was a prototype for a winter training apparatus for summer rowers.
The idea caught on and it was developed into an official indoor rowing machine. Evolving along the way, the Model D was introduced in 2003. This is a lean, mean rowing machine with only enough frills to satisfy the public’s demand for more gizmos and gadgets. This model, the D, is the more moderately priced of the Concept 2 Company’s small line of only two machines. Its lower $900 price tag allows more people to afford this fine piece of equipment and may be part of the reason it is so widely enjoyed.
Along with the company’s long reputation for being foremost leaders in rowing equipment, the model D looks sleek and produces the desired results in fitness. The Concept 2, Model D is strictly an air resistance rowing machine of the purest form. Sometimes the simpler things are just better.
Smart Marketing
From its roots until today, the Concept 2 company uses true rowing references in its marketing and product descriptions which bodes well for the category of best rowing machine. The Model D has a streamlined electronic monitoring device for your workouts. Included in the usual times and strokes it has a rowing competition you can play against yourself, with your previous times acting as a “pace boat.” The Model D can be accessorized with slides that you place underneath the machine. The slides stay in place as the machine itself moves over them and underneath you during use. This produces a more realistic feeling of a rowing scull, gliding though the water.
No slouches to ergonomics, the Concept 2 Company knew what they were doing. Rowers need to be comfortable while rowing to maintain the stamina required for competition. The Model D takes all the best of their ergonomic expertise into account, assuring the indoor rower that their workouts always produce optimal fitness results and minimal injury. Natural hand and arm positioning back support, and foot location have been carefully calculated and tested for comfort and positive muscle toning properties.
The model D is offered with either their PM3 monitor or their PM4 monitor for about $150 more. The PM4 has more onboard flash memory, allows rechargeable battery usage, and allows competitive connections between two machines using a wireless computer and a direct cable connection.
The Last Word
One of the Model D’s biggest features is that while it is sturdy enough to hold a weight load of up to 500 pounds it is still portable and light. No tools are required to easily disassemble the machine into 2 pieces for quick storage in a small space. The Concept 2, Model D has everything anyone could want in a rowing machine and deserves to win the title of best rowing machine.