Home > Reviews > HCI Fitness Sprint Outrigger Scull Rowing Machine

HCI Fitness Sprint Outrigger Scull Rowing Machine

List price: $599.00
Amazon price: $348.00
You save: $251.00 (42%)
Prices subject to change.

Used price: $200.00

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Product Details

Binding: Sports
Brand: HCI Fitness
EAN: 0718122002795
Label: HCI Fitness
Dimension: 0.22 x 55 x 0.3 inches
Manufacturer: HCI Fitness
Publisher: HCI Fitness
Release Date: December 10, 2008
Studio: HCI Fitness

Features and Descriptions

The ultimate experience in piston rowing
Simulates actual rowing while in the comfort of your own home
12-levels of hydraulic resistance
Quickly folds into an ultra-compact unit
LCD display shows you time, stroke count, total strokes and calories

Product Reviews (Overall: 3.5

)

- Piston broke, leaking hydraulic fluid
The same thing that happened to a couple other people here also happened to me, namely the left piston broke and started squirting out hydraulic fluid.

Up until now (about a year after purchase) I had worked out on the machine relatively lightly, with no problems. But recently I decided to get in shape and my sessions, for the past couple weeks, have been longer with higher resistance. Then it broke.

I do like the machine, but it doesn't seem capable of handling anything but very light workouts. Which doesn't do me much good, really. Hopefully I can return it.

- The Honeymoon Is Over
PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE REVIEW. I BOUGHT THIS MACHINE JUST OVER A YEAR AGO. THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY.

I've had this HCI rower for just over a year and at first it was great. Shipping, assembly, and use was a breeze and I used it 5 days a week for a solid year...right up until about the 6 month mark when one of the oars broke off. Not at a weld, not at a joint or hinge, but right in the middle. It just broke off in my hand. So being the self reliant type I took it to a friend and we welded it back on and it was fine again...right up until the frame broke. It's hard to explain what it looked like, but long story short the main beam of the machine pretty much peeled away from the front supports. So, since it's no longer under warranty I carried it down the stairs and on my way to the dumpster decided to put it in the garage until I figured out what to do with it even though I know it's useless.

Please don't mistake this for a completely negative review of the machine. It's a good machine at a good price for someone who is looking to get started with a fitness program. If you are looking for a long term heavy duty piece of equipment this may not be the machine for you. I'll always be glad I bought this machine because it was my gateway into taking better care of myself...but if I had it to do over again I'd have dropped a few extra bucks on something that would last.

Other issues with the machine. The counter/computer seems to be alright, but the calorie meter is just about useless. I have a hard time believing that 100 strokes at a low setting and 100 strokes at a high setting burns the same number of calories.

Also, during periods of extended rowing the pistons get very hot causing the oil inside to expand and this restricts the amount of travel in the oars which makes it very hard to use proper form.

The rubber grips like to twist off, but a little duct tape fixed that.

At the pivot point of each oar some kind of powdery substance (I think a rubber bushing)is ground up a tiny bit at a time as you row and over time it will turn the carpet underneath it a dark color. It can be cleaned up with some carpet cleaner and a little scrubbing, but I'd suggest getting an oversized mat that will sit under the oars as well as the frame to avoid damaging carpet.

The machine folds up like a champ and is far more compact than other rowers I have seen. It is perfect for apartment living as far as size, but durability is another issue.

In the end I would say this is a good rower for a beginner or someone who doesn't plan on using it that often, however I would tell a friend to spend a couple hundred dollars more and get something that would last and at least have some resale value in the event they chose to get rid of it.

Hope this review helps.

- Sprint Scull Row machine
I am very happy with the swift delivery and excellent condition in which the product presented. It now resides in front of my TV for nightly (or rainy day) workouts.

- Great design and function. Not so good quality.
My purchase was based on several great reviews and a fair price for the rower. It is the perfect size for an average room, easy to use and a very solid machine. However, after the first use, one of the hydraulic shafts (that sets the amount of resistance) began to fail. So, the resistance setting on that rowing arm needs to be reset after only a dozen pulls. I contacted HCI fitness and their affiliates to get a replacement part - There were none and/or they were less than willing to help after several attempts. I still can't find a replacement part anywhere. Too bad. Overall the unit would be great, but based on this failed part and total lack of help getting a replacement part from the manufacturer or distributor, I DO NOT recommend this product.

- Poor Quality, Very Disappointed!
I had this rower for about a week, and I have to say it was a big disappointment. I chose it mainly because of all of the good reviews, and the price. I had been using a concept 2 at the gym and I was really excited about having a rower at home.

Shipping and Assembly:

As usual, Amazon's shipping was great and the box arrived in great condition. Everything inside was well packaged, and it all seemed very solid and well put together. It assembled really easily and I was up and running within 15 minutes of opening the box.

The computer:

Completely useless as anything but a clock. The sensor that counts your rows basically picks up on the seat sliding over a certain spot. So instead of a full row counting as a pull back and then a slide forward, each motion is counted leaving it looking like you're a super-fast rower :). As with most calorie counters, I have no idea where the numbers are coming from on this thing . For how simple the functions of the computer its ridiculous how non-intuitive it is. The button layout is confusing and i felt like I was just randomly button mashing to get the clock to start or for the data to reset. Its worth noting, I'm very computer savvy and this thing was stupid-ridiculous.

The hydraulics:

So here's were the problem starts, the hydraulics on each side have their own dial to twist for resistance. Now I'm cool with that, except that the numbers on the dial aren't the same resistance on both sides. So if you have the left set at '5' and the right set at '5', your left side may be getting much more, or much less of a workout than your right. So again, I'm a relatively reasonable person, I do a little trial and error, and I figure out what feels the same on both sides and set each dial to whatever arbitrary number gives me the same level of resistance, and off I go.

The problem:

So here's where the problem starts. As you work out, the hydraulics get hot, and as they get hot the friction changes, and lo and behold, the friction doesn't change evenly on both sides. So throughout your workout, you are constantly changing the resistance on the hydraulics on both sides so that you can keep going at the pace you're going (oh, and during all this the thing is squeaking like two steroid-induced mice in a cage match). The other problem that happens as it gets hot is the range of motion, everything gets tighter. So where you used to be able to push each "oar" well in front of you as you were coming in to end a rep, the "oars" are now hitting you in the shins. So I tell myself, this thing isn't a gym-quality machine, so you get what you pay for. Even though its not exactly cheap, in the realm of workout equipment, it is. I decided to resign to my fate of having a subpar workout machine, it wasn't great, but boxing up a 60lb workout machine and shipping it back seemed like more trouble than it was worth. As fate should have it on workout #4, about 26 mins into a 30 min workout,( "oars" hitting me in the shins and deafening squeaks waking the neighbors) , the left hydraulic explodes and pours hydraulic oil all over the place. I mean, I AM a fitness god, and no machine can tame my manly athletic prowess, but really?!?

The replacement:

So now its boxed up and on its way back to amazon. Needless to say the thing was a lot easier to unpack than it was to repack, finally a workout. I ended up ponying up a bit more dough and picking up the LifeSpan rw1000 rower, and so far so good. It hasn't exploded hot oil all over the place, so I'll call it a win.

Not to knock the positive experiences that many other reviewers had, but I definitely would not recommend this puppy to anyone. In general, quality rowers seem to be hard to come by in the entry-level price range (under $500) so I can see the appeal of this unit, but trust me this is not the rower you're looking for.

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