This is a review of the 950 Dual Resistance Wood Rower from Merach.
Getting exercise into a schedule filled with work and family can be difficult. Previously before owning a rower, I had always used a treadmill for my cardio workouts or, when I got the chance to run outside, I would run outside. Then I had a lull in my exercise routine, and when I came back I decided I wanted more. So I spent a week and started brainstorming a main workout I could enjoy that would be interactive while also giving me more of a full-body workout, and that’s when I found out about rowers.
There are multiple types of rowers, and the one you will want to buy will be determined by your own requirements. At my local gym, they have Concept2 rowers which are the de-facto standard for off-water rowing. Concept2 rowers are air-powered and can have the resistance adjusted through a damper. I use a Concept2 rower when I go to the gym to start my workout with cardio. These are great rowers, but air-powered rowers produce noise. This is where water rowers come in, they are less noisy and have a more natural feeling, with the drawback of traditionally having the resistance being changed via adding or removing water. I hadn’t considered a water rower until I found out about the noise detail since my younger kids nap most of the time when I work out at home. I also saw them used in the Apple Fitness+ rowing classes so the instructor can be heard more clearly, which I use for interactive workouts at home and the gym. There are also magnetic rowing machines, but I won’t get into those in this review.
After I found out about water rowers, I started researching them. The main things I was looking for in a rower were build quality, easy-storing, resistance control, and not being tied to a specific subscription service. Affordability was also important but I would rather have long-lasting quality than a short-lived product. I started coming across the higher-end rowers like WaterRower by Norhd, and Row HX Trainer by Life Fitness, but those all had issues with ease of storing because they were stored fully extended upright. Then I stumbled upon a brand called Merach which makes various rowers and other fitness equipment. They had multiple water rowers that folded up nicely. Being able to store the rower is important as it stays in my garage along with all the other family stuff like bikes, kids’ stuff, and various random things.
The water rower on the Merach site that caught my attention the most was the 950 Dual Resistance Wood Rower. It is the highest-priced one but still cheaper than the other premium brands mentioned above. I noticed it was dual resistance which means it also offers magnetic resistance along with the natural water resistance allowing the user to adjust the resistance without adding or removing water through the use of electricity and magnets. It also has a nice basic digital display as well as a tablet/smartphone holder. The build quality is sturdy as well since it’s made with red oak wood and steel.
The 950 Dual Resistance Wood Rower rows great and provides a great workout. It has 16 levels of magnetic resistance which I use for adjusting resistance along with natural water resistance and it gives me a good full-body workout. It takes me about 5 minutes to set up the rower from its compact state from being stored in the back of my garage. I usually row for 20 minutes at a time using Apple Fitness+ along with my Apple Watch which provides a great interactive experience. The rower comes with a free membership to their own fitness app you can use too, and that app provides competitive rows against other users, training workouts, and nature-based workouts. The benefit of the Merach app is it can auto-adjust your resistance, otherwise, you have to manually adjust it, which I usually set at a 6-8 with the Apple Fitness+ session I am doing. After my garage workout is done, it takes 5 minutes to fold back up and put away.
If I had to say what I don’t like about this rower, it would be the fact it has to be plugged in and the sliding rail can become loose if you don’t tighten it enough. The rower has to be plugged in because it has magnetic resistance which requires electricity, so this is more of an annoyance rather than a dislike. The sliding rails come loose when you don’t tighten the clamps enough for when you extend the rower for use from storage. This is so minor though and I definitely will put up with this to have the great storage ability this rower provides.
Overall, I give this rower a score of 4.5 out of 5. This is a great rower for the price and the quality as well as easy storage is great. The price on this rower was phenomenal; the rower is (at the time of this writing) $980, but with the discounts and welcome coupon I got this rower down to $510 with tax. So far this rower has given me amazing rowing sessions for a full-body workout and I share it with my wife who also uses it. If you are looking for a water rower and want a good deal, get the 950 Dual Resistance Wood Rower by Merach. The rower can be purchased here.
