There's a rather important caveat tucked away in a corner of the instructions, which says that this model has a maximum weight limit of 90kg, which will make it unsuitable for many. If you've got an aversion to IKEA-style assembly schematics you should look elsewhere, as putting this together requires a lot of screwing. But it's compact, easy to store and simple to use - you just get on and go. But you can't vary the resistance and on the recovery stroke you are almost on top of the machine, meaning you won't get as demanding a workout as you would on a more expensive model.

This is very heavy, which means it's less likely to slip around on the floor, but also could be a pain if you need to move it a lot. Realistically, you would need a dedicated space in your home for this because it has not been designed to be stored. In use, it's compatible with Polar heart monitors and the workout computer is simple enough to get to grips with and includes a pacer feature that allows you to race your old times in the form of an animated icon which moves across the screen. The action from the flywheel is very smooth, with adjustable resistance, though the seat seems to drag a little on the rails.

If you're a gym member it's likely you've already used one of these as they're something of a gym staple. And you can see why - they're hard-wearing, suitable for anyone and straightforward to use. You can vary the resistance, while the performance monitor is simple to use, displaying everything from calories burned, strokes per minute, distance, estimated distance and time elapsed. A nice side-effect of the flywheel being slowed by airflow is that the harder you row, the more air seems to cool you. Probably the only drawback - if you're a home user - is its size and lack of storability.

On the plus side, this rower is compact, has a decent, if pared down workout computer, and a handy extra back rest that you can place over the rails and use to perform resistance exercises such as the cable pull-over. But the major drawback of its size is that the flywheel housing actually impedes a full recovery from a stroke. This means you can only row to a certain level of intensity because you have to modify your form to avoid slamming the handle into the front of the machine. So perhaps not the best choice for more regular users.

This certainly stands out from the crowd with its Scandinavian styling and, though it's big, it's not that heavy and has been designed to be stored upright, so it would be possible to stash it in a tall cupboard and roll it out when you fancy a session. At first sight the water tank seems gimmicky, but the gentle swishing as the paddle goes through the water is strangely rhythmic and soothing and the rowing action feels very close to the real thing. You can't change the resistance - for a more intense workout you simply row faster - but that's what you'd have to do on a real river after all...