Kona2 wrote:The Fanny Factor
Now here's a subject that near and dear to your....heart. Sooner or later, you may find your rowing time limited by pain....you are SURE that your bones must be punching through to the erg seat. Bruises at least. A couple of months ago, we revisited discussions about seat pads for the Concept2 erg. Gina first brought these to our attention (I think) when she went to a regatta in Long Beach. JL Racing was the supplier for the Sore No More sorbothane seat pads and gel seat pads. Just to be fair, and in recognition of our fine association with Concept2, I'm also including the Concept2 foam pad in the mix.
Barbara wanted to know if a seat pad was something that permanently adhered to the rowing machine seat – because, if so, she was out of luck since she uses a rower at a gym. Portability can be a good thing! Looks like both the Sore No More Sorbothane and the Jel Pad are portable. Jel Pad is portable and floats.
So the benefits we're looking for are:
* Reduced pressure points on sit bones.
* Added comfort that improves rowing experience and increases endurance.
* Portability
* If you're an on the water rower also, then maybe it should float....
The Contenders
Sorbothane Sore No More Seat Pad $ 40
The Sore-No-More Advantages: Sorbothane Seat Pad review by Tom on Epinions
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1. Durability. The half life on this substance must be over 10,000 years. Made out of a rubber-like substance, you can roll, bend, fold, and crunch these pads without tearing them. At the end of the day, it folds back out to its original shape.
2. Thin yet comfortable. Everyone's seen those seat pads that raise you up about 2 inches on your seat. Good luck clearing your hands and balancing the boat that way! The sore-no-more is amazingly thin -- less then 1/4 of an inch -- and yet it is softer than any foam pad I've ever used. Plus it won't grow compressed and hard on the pressure points like foam pads.
3. Sticky. The sore-no-more manages to stick to every seat I've ever placed it on -- no need for tape to keep this guy attached. Sticky like a post it note as Gina says.
Jel Pad $ 25
Now bicycling has certainly had its moments to teach about gel seat covers, and gender specific seats (I won’t go there). As such, I was particularly interested in the JeL seat pad offered by JL racing. Here's what JL racing has to say about its JeL seat pad:
We developed this Gel-filled beauty, just for your butt! And the great news is, IT FLOATS!!!
* Rugged polyproplene laminated to neoprene seating surface.
* Non-skid backing on bottom, stays put on your seat
* Gel-filled inner core with permanent memory
* Gel-filling distributes pressure evenly.
* 11 3/4" at widest part
* fits on both sculling and sweep seats
* It floats!
* Tag with space for your name.
* Webbing loop so you can tie it to your axle for extra security.
The flip side of the gel pad shows that it has a grippy kind of material (and a name tag so that when you leave it on the seat of the rower, someone will return it to you!). It doesn’t permanently adhere to the seat, but it doesn’t slip around either.
The Jel pad floats - has that been mentioned? Unless we have a flood in the basement, I’m probably safe in not needing that feature, but these are designed to be used by people like Karyn who get out on the water. And Chris, if AJ loses the gel seat over the side of the kayak, well it will be easier to find as it floats on by. I wanted to have options of using this in outdoor rowing.
Concept2 Foam Pad - Self Adhesive Backing $ 3.50
Concept2's foam pad is about 3/8 inch thick, very inexpensive....yet requires that it be stuck to the rowing machine seat. That was a deal breaker for me.
I've just received the JeL Pad, and will see if it falls in the plus column or the minus ....since this column is all about the bottom line.
Fanny Factor Indeed!!!
I just recently ordered, received and have been using the gel seat pad from gelsport.com
Love it!! Not a permanent add on..removes easily and WORKS fabulously.
Pat
TimbukTOO
Bart with 27,500 m and a half moon
23 is a prime number which seems appropriate for a numbers guy...
a supernova designates that the individual has rowed the equivalent of 100,000 m in a 24 hr period (yep....we have one who does this)
a red giant designates that the individual has rowed the equivalent or more of 50,000 m in a 24 hr period
a full moon designates that the individual has rowed the equivalent or more of a full marathon 42,195 m in a 24 hr period
