Sunny Health & Fitness Full Motion Magnetic Rower

''''''' I HIGHLY RECOMMEND '''''''' This was a winter gift for myself. And probably the best money I will have spent this year! ''''''' PACKING / PRODUCT PACKAGE '''''''' The packing was very safe, parts all nestled safely in Styrofoam. And covered in plastic. The box was tall and somewhat thin, with 4 packing straps around it for grabbing to move the heavy box, think it weighed in over 90 lbs after packing. ''''''' QUALITY '''''''' Absolute quality, once together the machine feels very stable. Each part felt quality, nothing flimsy. Plastic parts are thick, solid and good quality. Its what you would expect for a $300 + machine. ''''''' USE '''''''' ASSEMBLY - putting it together took well over an hour, however my guy went at it, at a casual pace (in asking him, he said you could probably do it in a half hour, he was half watching a movie I had on for him). I am sure if you hurry, it could go faster, but we were in no rush. He did comment that step 4 is confusing because it says your removing screws and your not, he says the wording made it confusing. TOOLS INCLUDED - He said, they are not bad at all (see photos) and I noticed he didn't need any other tools then those provided. He said, it was real easy to put together, I figure hes right. When he put my bike together, there was a lot of cussing LOL LOL. But not one peep on the rowing machine!! It feels solid to use! SUPER QUIET. Whisper quiet really, seat glides easily and quietly. The arms although you can use them for different kinds of rowing strokes, They feel nice and solid when in use. I LOVE their range. Roll your stroke out on pull back and in on return and you REALLY feel those biceps light up! Keep them together and it burns the abs. That kind of thing, really AWESOME machine. Use those foot straps, yeah I didn't at first, but if you do, its easier to push back for the down strokes as it dosn't pull the bars back, very natural to rowing as your working every bit of the way. They are a heavy duty Velcro strap, felt solid! SMOOTH - My guy did comment that the chain or rope kind are smoother, but honestly I found it extremely smooth and I figure he just needs to get used to the fact that the arms have full motion. Once your used to that, it pulls very nicely. RESISTANCE - It has 8 different resistance settings. Level 1 is like rowing a kayak, a personal boat thats light on the water. Level 8 I feel would be like, one of those big heavy ceremonial boats with lots of rowers. Very heavy to move. Moving between each step is quick and easy, the resistance differences are a smooth transition. You can feel its harder then the step below, more to pull and push but not so stark as to shock you into a struggle. It is all VERY nice in transition and over all gives you ample levels to really work with. When I hopped on, I went full on, fast and furious. Very stable, he did the same and commented he was surprised at how stable it was, since hes used to the ground ones. GRIPS - are a nice heavy plastic covered metal, the arms are metal. The covering is a grippy plastic, very easy on the hands, will be easy to clean as they are not rough at all. SEAT - appears thin visually, but once your on its VERY comfortable! I was surprised by that, because when we pulled it out of the box I thought "wow, thats comfort huh"... However, once on I was fully comfortable and focused on the workout. DISPLAY - is digital, runs off of battery? There is no need to plug this into a wall at all, which I am very happy for. ''''''' NOTE '''''''' BUY THIS MACHINE. I tried out a lot of machines at the gym before buying this one here. Honestly I am HAPPY!! The gym lost a member, this bad boy is all I need!