Maxkare Water Rowing Machine Review: Still one of the best budget water rowers

The guys at Maxkare always deliver when it comes to quality, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing a lot of their cardio machines over the years, and they rarely fail to impress. Bang for buck, these guys are right up there with the market leaders Sunny Health & Fitness. Their budget rower, the MaxKare Water Rowing Machine, is one of the cheapest you’ll find out there, but they haven’t cut on quality or features.

However, the MaxKare water rower is still a long way from gym quality, so we can’t get too carried away, and at this price point, I’d expect to be. But, it’s easily good enough for a home gym, and considering it $100 cheaper than most of the other steel frame rowers, it’s certainly worth taking a closer look at.

Why Do We Like The MaxKare Rowing Machine?

Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of steel frame water rowers hitting the market, which is a good thing because steel is less labor-intensive than wood, which brings the price of water rowers down.

Still, the Maxkare water rower costs under $400, which is surprising considering nearly all the other steel frame rowers with the same features as the MaxKare cost around $500.

$100 Cheaper Than Most Water Rowers but Shares Same Features

The MaxKare water rower doesn’t cut on any features either it uses the same heavy-duty steel frame, shares the same monitor and resistance system as all of the other budget water rowers, and weighs close to 85lb. Hence, it’s just as heavier or even a few lbs heavier than some.

That extra weight will help keep this rower planted to the floor, and thats what we want from a home rower. Stability is important. It’s not going to feel lightweight and cheap. Also, Maxkare thought to include adjustable levelers. The levelers are built into the stabilizer bar; these are handy for keeping the rower stable on uneven surfaces.

Countoured Seat To Prevent Slips In The Leg Push Phase of The Rowing Stroke

Something else I liked about the MaxKare rower is its seat, it’s perfectly contoured to prevent slips in the leg push phase of the rowing stroke, plus it runs on three rollers with high-quality ball bearings which allows the seat to glide effortlessly across the rail.

Unboxing & Assembly – MaxKare Water Rower

Dynamic Resistance System – Mimics The Feel of OutDoor Rowing

The faster you row on this rowing machine, the stronger the resistance you will feel from the rowing handle; this is the MaxKare rowing machine’s best feature: its resistance is dynamic! Just like rowing outdoors, the pace of your workout will determine how much resistance you feel.

Soothing Sound of the Blades Pushing Through the Water

And it’s not only the dynamic resistance that mimics the feel of outdoor rowing. We also have blades pushing through the water in the tank, which really adds to that natural feel of rowing, and it’s an awesome sound. If you’ve never used a water rower before, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how soothing it can be.

Suitable For Any Fitness Level

Because the resistance of the MaxKare rower is dynamic, anyone can reap the benefits of rowing using the Maxkare rower. From beginners right through to seasoned rowers, you’ll be able to find a rowing pace that suits your fitness level.

Filling The Water Tank

As I just mentioned, the primary way to control resistance is through your workout pace, but the amount of water in the rower’s water tank can also affect resistance strength.

The general rule here is that filling the water tank 1/4 full is the same as rowing with three people in a boat and filling just under half full is the same as rowing with a boat full of people.

The amount of water in the tank doesnt affect resistance strength nearly as much as your workout pace. Still, I find filling the tank just under half full provides a smooth, strong resistance at a medium stroke rate, perfect for a 30-minute cardio session.

Decent Monitor For Pirce Range

I was surprised when I saw this monitor on the MaxKare Water rower because it’s the same monitor that features on most of the $500 steel frame rowers, and it’s not bad for the price.

Its best feature is that it’s compatible with HR chest straps, a great bit of kit if you want to monitor your heart rate accurately. It includes a recovery button to watch how quickly your pulse returns to normal at the end of your workout, giving you a score from very bad to excellent.

The screen is large, so it’s nice and easy to read, and it’s easy to set up and use, which is always a good thing. It tracks all your essential workout data such as distance, time, strokes per minute, total stroke, and calories burned.

And I should mention the monitor is height adjustable and lastly includes two workout modes, race, and manual.

Anything Else Worth a Mention?

Some of you might be wondering if this thing folds for storage? There’s no folding feature, but it can be stored vertically, which is better than a folding system because when stored vertically, it takes up less room than a folding rower, just 0.20 square meters of space.

There are also transport wheels built into the front stabilizers, just tilt and roll to move.

And the belt drive system, something we dont see featured on all home rowing machines, belt drives are much quieter than chain drives and require little maintenance, and, when combined with a water resistance system, provide a smooth, uninterrupted rowing stroke.

If you live in an apartment and are looking for a quiet rowing machine, the MaxKare is a good choice. The only noise you’ll hear is the water whooshing from the tank, which isnt too loud.

Assembly – Average Build Time 50 minutes.

I wouldn’t say this rowing machine is easy to assemble as rowers are large and heavy, so id recommend two people for assembly.

The good news is most of the complicated stuff comes pre-assembled, such as the drives systems, water tank, and frame. All you’ll need to do is add the front base, the rail, the seat, the rear base stabilizer, and the exercise meter. This shouldn’t take more than 50 minutes.

Alternative

Sunny Health & Fitness Obsidian Surge Water Rower

Sunny are another company that always delivers in this price range. They’ve been around for a couple of decades and are No.1 when it comes to budget cardio gear.

The Obsidian Surge is their flagship low-cost water rower. It’s the best seller right now, and it’s an impressive machine, but I wanted to compare it with the MaxKare because it doesn’t really offer anything more than the MaxKare, yet it costs $530.

It might surprise you how similar these two steel frame rowers are as both share the same water resistance systems, both use belt drives, both weigh around 85lb, so are of very similar quality, both include ball bearings and three sets of rollers for the seat, and both have the same monitor with the same functions.

The only difference is here is that the Obsiean surge has a slightly longer rail, so it can accommodate users up to 6’5″, so it’s a better choice for larger uses, but thats about it.

So for an extra $130, all you really get here is a longer rail. It just shows what a good deal the MaxKare is.

To Sum Up

The MaxKare is another excellent steel frame water rower. There’s a lot of them around at the moment, so we’re split for choice, but if you want to save yourself a few bucks, the MaxKare Rower is a gem for around $400. It’s well built, provides a smooth rowing stroke, and utilizes a dynamic resistance system so is suitable for all fitness levels.