WaterRower Gronk Fitness Champion Hi Rise Water Rowing Machine | Special Edition Low Impact Cardio Workout Machine | Commercial Grade Water Rowing

OK, admittedly the Gronk name added a certain cachet to the equipment - if it was good enough to have Gronk endorse, it has to be pretty decent. Fortunately I didn't leave my decision solely to a celebrity endorsement. I have a friend who is a coach at Orange Theory Fitness, where their rowing equipment is manufactured by WaterRower (Water Resistance). Her boyfriend is with another gym where they use the Concept2 equipment (Magnetic Resistance). After reviewing and discussing the pro's and con's for each piece of equipment, I ultimately decided on the WaterRower - my friend from OTF liked the one at her gym well enough that she bought one for her home. That is a pretty strong testimony for the quality of the equipment from a professional with experience.Product was delivered in 3 boxes. Not overly heavy, though I would not like to have lugged up 3 flights of stairs.The equipment was pretty easy to assemble with provided Allen wrenches, and the directions are pretty straight forward to follow. Of note, though, if you opt for the optional Leg Extensions (which I strongly recommend) you will need a Phillips Head screwdriver, and would benefit from a drill.The monitor is not fancy, but delivers the information you need to know how well you are doing. There is no tablet rest or place to put your phone, but heck, you are here to exercise, not play games or scroll your social medial pages.The amount of rowing resistance is determined by the amount of water you put in the tank and the strength of your stroke. There is something zen-like about gliding in the seat, pulling on the handle, and hearing the swoosh of the water with each stroke.It is not inexpensive, but you truly get what you pay for - a solidly build piece of equipment that will last you through all of your workouts. Strongly recommend.

Purchased this Waterrower on the Gronk Fitness website, packaging of the item is handled by Waterrower and not Gronk Fitness. Gronk Fitness ships it out, or has it shipped from Waterrower located in Rhode Island (U.S). I don't have anything negative to say about Gronk Fitness. I love the all black design on this Waterrower, stickers peel right off - but not a big deal (look better off anyways). Gronk Fitness appears to sell excellent workout equipment, their Jacob Ladders look fantastic in particular. Gronk Fitness is owned by the Gronkowski family, and Rob Gronkowski is a former NFL player (from the New England Patriots).Quick point review:Waterrower: 4/5 (Waterrower is over priced, along with the $275 sensor necessary for SmartRow app)Customer Service: 2/5 (You should receive the products you order, although service is below average for what you would expect when buying something in this price range in the United States).Overall: 3/5When I received this item in late June 2019, the item arrived in two packages (two packages is normal, one has the long rails inside). Packaging for the Waterrower is cardboard only. The stability of the packages and overall protection leaves a lot to be desired, and I am sure it’s possible to receive damage. I did not receive any damage, but the boxes were falling apart as they were carried in with all the weight of the wood and the tank. The packaging for the box with the tank in it - is the main problem, it needs to be made entirely differently to avoid damage. Waterrower should re-think their packaging strategy with this product.As for the Waterrower itself, I received one that was defective from the start. As shown in the pictures the bolt holes, were inserted backwards (the picture of the far right of different rower shows the proper mounting). This was extremely disappointing from the start with the expectation of using a 1300 dollar machine right away. I purchased some longer bolts the next day and solved the problem. I wasn't sure at the time if it was the bolt socket, or if the bolts sent were too short. I called Waterrower the next day to find out.The people at Waterrower, the two people we (my wife and I) talked to were very rude from the start. The first representative my wife talked to, mentioned how "they only make the bolts one size". The mindset for the representatives of Waterrower is of extreme arrogance, and are not communicative. One of the representatives even asked my wife if she had put "food coloring" in the Waterrower. Water dye was used in the tank (used in computers), researched to make sure it was safe to use with plastics. The representatives of Waterrower are difficult to deal with because they are not communicative, and have the mindset that "there is nothing wrong we do". It was difficult for Waterrower to find out what was wrong with the rower they sent me. Finally, after sending pictures they decided to send out another tank. It was sent out a week later, and when I receive the new tank (and wood) - the wood was damaged, it was cut uneven, and generally looked like a rejected part - sent out quick. I decided to keep the old part in the picture, even though the bolts sockets are upside down - performance is not affected. Waterrower is also slow to respond by email, if they respond at all. For a big company who sells expensive exercise equipment, this is far from acceptable. I've had better conversations with most sellers on ebay, then this huge company. Needless to say, it was good feeling to be done talking to the people at Waterrower. Out of all the customer service people I've talked to in my life, Waterrower is by far the worst (and its not even close).As for the Waterrower itself. I love it. The sound of water is fantastic. The machine looks to be built well, and smartly engineered. The computer is decent, but it's a little outdated. Waterrower offers a sensor for $275 that will work with an app called "SmartRow". The sensor and new app will enable the Waterrower to be a much more modern piece of workout equipment, displaying lots of new information with the ability to save the information to a cloud service and transfer your workout data to other apps.My advice for people who are interested in the Waterrower is to know you are spending on a good piece of equipment, and very fun to use. Watch a lot of videos to find out the proper technique for rowing before you start. Then when you start rowing pay attention to your technique, practice it, and watch more videos. It's important to row properly in order to get the most out of this machine. It's 60% legs, 20% core, and 20% arms. There is the "power" phase the pulling, and then there is the catch or "patience" phase. If you decide to buy from Waterrower, know that this company is very conscious of "taking your money" and not with their customer service. It's evident in the price of their products, and the people they hire.9/4/19: I will update this review in the future. The Waterrower has held up from moderate use after a little over two months. Everyone who uses the machine loves it. I am thinking of purchasing the "SmartRow" sensor for $275 for advanced statistics. The new sensor upgrade puts the machine on par with the Concept 2 with the data available, and app functionality (connects via Bluetooth with a smartphone or tablet). Hopefully, Waterrower's customer service is more communicative/positive in the future.2/13/20: I am still loving my Waterrower the same as when I first purchased it. I feel like this is the best work out for me on a regular basis, it truly is an awesome machine to use on a regular basis. Sometimes I work out multiple times a day for over thirty minutes, never get tired of the machine. It feels like basically a full body work out when you use it. Of course, it works out certain muscles more than others. Typically the back of your thighs is where people feel it. One important tip with any indoor rower, make sure you reach the same distance ahead with you extend your arms forward each time. This is important to ensure your rowing stroke remains the same, and this will allow you to work out your legs more. If you do not reach ahead far enough, your legs will not get the proper work out. So that's a big thing to remember.As for the 3 star review. I still stand by what happened with the Waterrower company, they were horrible to deal with. The product itself is not perfect (as nothing is), but it's pretty darn good. If you have to deal with the company you should at least receive your items you ordered. Still 3 stars there.Also, from what I've read online the Waterrower "Smart Row" sensor with the APP is horrible. You buy the sensor for nearly 300 then you go through a pretty complicated process to install it. Then it will connect to your smart phone or tablet via blue tooth. It will give you access to their "Smart Row" app, and from what I've read the app is horrible. Is not worth the money, and adds very little with its statistics. It appears Waterrower decided to put out the Smart Row feature to earn money, instead of developing a well made product. So the Waterrower still remains far behind the Concept 2 with statistics and advanced features.After finding that out, I decided to purchase a Garmin Vivoactive 3. The watch is compatible for tracking indoor rowing. The watch will track your stroke rate, total strokes, and your heart rate. It's puts your information on a graph that is easy to read. You can also use the watch to attach a proper HRM strap for more accurate heart rate monitoring. So far the watch (with a HRM strap) has worked out the best for me to track my workouts and compare my workouts to previous ones. You can get the watch for about $100-130 on sale. There is a new Vivoactive 4 version available, and both will have the rowing feature included. It's the only watch I am aware of that can track rowing. I definitely recommend the watch to go with the Waterrower.5/11/2022: Still using the same Waterrower, no problems with it. I stand by my original review. Awesome machine, and after years of use is still working exactly the same. Make sure to keep using the aquetabs (purification tablets) every few months to protect the plastic tank. I've had zero issues. Durability is extremely high for this machine, few machines can compete with it. I could bump my review score to 4 stars, value is strong. I still love the workout I get with it. Caution, people who have shoulder issues, should be aware of how this machine can be hard on your shoulders. If rowing properly, the workout is real for many different muscle groups. I've noticed a lot of people who use this machine have problems with the shoulder area (people who are not built in this area, and that can be the main issue with using the Waterrower on a daily basis over a long period of time). Take the time to allow your shoulder muscles to heal, before attempting another row. Is some of the best advice I can give.The company Waterrower was horrible, although the actual machine is amazing. I've never experienced worse customer support in my life (especially considering the price of the machine, and the size of the company). They deserve the bad review here, 1000 times over. I still remember how horrible it was talking to the people who worked there. Most snobby people you could ever encounter.I've dealt with hundreds of seller's on Amazon, Ebay, etc. and have never experienced worse customer service. They clearly did not give a sh*t. Slow to respond to emails, clueless on what was wrong, rude, arrogant, poor communication-social, and very little compromise etc. Waterrower actually gave me a value of 25$ dollars of free stuff, two phone holders for the Waterrower arm, and blue dye. Obviously, after spending $1300, receiving a damaged Waterrower from the start, and the replacement was a crappy rejected part...receiving $25 of free stuff was a slap in the face. They should have sent out a nice finished replacement part (not a crappy rejected part), and I should have received a $100 to $200 refund (minumum, for wasting my time). Not classy at all, complete waste of time.The Vivoactive Garmin 3 has been perfect in conjuction with the Waterrower (still going strong after a few years). I've had some have had issues with the Garmin watch. They are not perfect, overall good value though. Customer support has been decent. I will be upgrading to Vivoactive 4 or a newer model in the future. I find Garmin products to be reliable overall and worth the money.I have not tried the new Waterrower model. I know it exists, but the Waterrower I have works fine and does what I need it to do. Perhaps, in the future I will consider purchasing a newer Waterrower model.

I'm totally satisfied with my purchase - the Gronk Fitness model Water Rower is exactly what I wanted for my family's fitness plan. The product is top-notch and the service from Gronk Fitness and Water Rower was also top-notch. The rower initially arrived quickly, but with an incorrect part included. The seller corrected the mistake quickly and got the replacement part to me in short order. Everything went together without any problems and I'm enjoying the rowing exercise.

I only have two problems with the machine. The wheels on the one side keep rubbing and shaving off tiny pieces. Second, the display is not user friendly.

We bought the ho-rise attachment for the water rower. The screws stripped before the brackets would tighten. After ZERO response for @GRONKFITNESS, we contacted the company. @WATERROWER had staff that gave us solutions and are assisting us to make the product functional. I've ordered recovery drill bits without success. At least the company sent us new rails so maybe we ditch the high-rise and use the base model. Either way, TERRIBLE customer service from the seller and an overall disappointing product. I'll be contacting my bank for a full refund.

The water rower is fantastic. Far batter looking than concept 2, the swish and pull of real water is better than a loud, buzzy fan, and the Gronk customer service is second to none. My rower arrived with minor shipping damage, and Gronk worked with me to resolve the issue with white glove customer service. I cannot stress too much how good their customer service is and what a difference this makes. Perfectly satisfied with the Gronk water rower!!