JOROTO Rowing Machines for Home Use, Foldable Rower Machine with Bluetooth Monitor, Tablet Holder Water Rowing Machine

I bought this after trying to score a US-made one on Craigslist, where they wanted $500-1500 used. This machine at under $300 (coupon applied) is real hardwood, with quality hardware. Assembled in five minutes; filled in five minutes (I used a simple siphon hose, not the wanky supplied pump), exercising in fifteen minutes from box delivery, which in classic Amazon fashion was delivered unannounced a day early. Folks saying how hard it was to get it out of the box simply needed to turn the box over and slide it out easily. No leaks, looks great. fold up and stores easily. Resistance is not Olympic caliber, but is smooth, quiet and adequate to get a rhythmic workout. I filled the water to the MAX line and it is adequate resistance. Great value.

This looks a bit intimidating when you take it out of the box but it's actually easy to assemble. Attractive, good tension, comfortable seat. Fold away feature makes it easy to store. Our assembly manual was out of date, so it looked like we were missing parts, but we contacted the seller, and they were very responsive until the issue was resolved to our satisfaction. (We weren't missing a part; we just received an older manual.)

This is my first time using a rowing machine so I have no comparison to judge by, but so far I find it makes for a nice, intense but low impact workout. I love the fact that I don't have to leave home to get in a good workout, and as much as I enjoy a nice walk/jog/run, July is HOT as F**K in Savannah and this machine allows for a comfortable inside workout. It's also quite a bit easier on my knees than a walk/run workout.As a 5' 4" female it is a bit hard to fold up and unfold, but I like the fact that I can put it out of the way when needed (it is in our guest room). The screen is helpful to see strokes, time on the rower, etc.. however the calorie counter is significantly different than the one I get from my Oura Ring as I am rowing. This morning I rowed for 43 minutes, 1000 stokes (I learned this morning that the counter stops at 999, then resets and starts back at 1) and the machine stated 330 calories burned. By comparison my Ring showed 174 calories. Not a huge deal breaker, but hard to know which is more accurate as my goal is to loose about 10 lbs by Christmas. Today was only my 3rd day using the machine, perhaps I'll update again in a few months. : )To fill the water reservoir they include a pump which you are supposed to fill a bucket then pump the water into the machine. I simply used a small kitchen funnel and filled a pitcher and poured the water via the funnel into the tank. Took me about 10 pitchers to get to the min fill line which is where I am starting out for resistance. I will however keep the pump for changing out the water as recommend by Joroto every 3 months.Rower arrived packaged well, however it is missing the right front wheel so that makes it hard for me to move once folded up. I tried to contact JOROTO support (via Amazon) and the chat wanted to send an entire replacement (!) which seems very wasteful when all I need is a small wheel and its few connecting parts. Based on the parts diagram included (which is very detailed), I need the following. Parts; 86, 43, 90 x 2, and 76. Needless to say I will figure out a way to add a 4th wheel, even if it means I have to replace all 4 to match. This is the reason for the 4 vs. 5 stars.All in all I would highly recommend this JOROTO MR380 rower!

This rower is made of well finished, solid wood. The plastic and metal bits seem well made and assembled. The handle is a good size and nicely padded and allows good reach. Good, adjustable footplates and straps, very similar to Concept2 plates. Water tank didn't leak and seems well made. The line pulls and returns smoothly. It folds easily and doesn’t take up much space when folded.The resistance at max recommended water level seems a bit low to me, but I am not an experienced rower. Filling to the max line takes about 2.75 gallons, which may be why the resistance seems low as I notice other machines take up to 5 gallons.The machine is substantial, but not too heavy. About 75lbs when filled with water. This is a benefit for moving the unit, but does mean it can shift on the floor depending on how heavy the user is, how vigorously they move, and the type of floor surface. This can be addressed with a floor mat if needed. The wheels are positioned so it is great for folding, but a bit awkward for rolling it around once folded. There is a narrow window you need to tilt it to in order to roll it around smoothly. I am considering replacing the rubber stops that it rests on when folded with caster wheels to make it easier to move.It comes very near fully assembled. The entire assembly process is basically two steps: Put the seat on the rails and then install the ends tops with two bolts ( hint: The angled end faces the seat). Then you put in the supplied batteries and add water and you are done. It comes with an included water pump. It’s very cheap but works. TIP: The bellow part screws into the body, mine leaked a little until I twisted it down to tighten the connection. The fill hole is also easy to access with a funnel if you prefer to do that.It’s likely too small for taller people. I have a 30in inseam and at full extension the seat comes within an inch or two from the end stop. I think a 34” inseam person would have trouble, let alone the claimed 39. It also has some of the drawbacks inherent in this type of rower design: Narrow footplates, low seated position, and resistance cannot be adjusted easily.Instructions are not great. They are fairly well written but lacking in information. For example, it doesn’t say how much water you’ll need or the kind of water to use. There is no mention of the included chlorine tablets at all, how to use them or how/what to buy when they run out.The manual gives some basic info about the monitor, but literally the only line about the included heart rate chest strap is in the description of the “Pulse” section of the monitor that says to “prepare and wear the included chest strap monitor.” and then a disclaimer that it is not a medical device. There are no instructions on how to wear the strap, and the strap itself is almost entirely unmarked, which makes looking for instructions online difficult. So far I’ve found the strap to be very unreliable, perhaps because I am not using it properly.The monitor itself is basic. It gives the basic info you need, strokes, time, distance, 500 splits. I think you can set time, distance, stroke goals as well but haven’t played with it much. It is a bit clunky to use and will take some time to figure out, but it also has bluetooth connectivity so you can avoid using it and instead use fitness apps.The instructions also tell how to connect the monitor to the Kinomap app and that worked well. Unfortunately this is a subscription service and there is no information on using the monitor with any other app or service. The marketing material on amazon says it is an FTMS compatible system so that may help in finding other apps that work.The monitor itself acts as a phone holder (and the device display shuts off when paired with an app, so you lose nothing by covering it). But the location makes it unsuitable for holding larger devices like a tablet. This is a tradeoff for making it more compact when folded.Overall I am very happy with this purchase. I ordered it when there were no reviews on the site and I could find almost nothing about the model online. But I have a Joroto spin bike that is well made and the specs seemed good so I took a chance. It also helped that I ordered it around black friday and there was a $150 off coupon on the site so my final price was only three hundred dollars.