Recommended cushions for C2 Model D seat?

[RowRinseRepeat]

Just came back to rowing after years away and loving it - but feeling the hard seat after more than 30 minutes! Which cushion do you recommend that will work well shared for two years, a 170 lb male and a 125 lb female?

[Ombrax]

The pad C2 sells (for not much $ at all) works well for me on my Model C seat.

Another data point: I don't know if it's my imagination or not, but the seat on Model E at the gym doesn't seem to be as hard as the one on my C, so I don't use a pad there. I don't know how they compare to the seats on the Ds.

[froque]

C2 pads are best, they are washable! also a piece of yoga matt works fine.

But the best thing is just to let your body adapt just like you get used to your bicycle saddle.

And yes, C2 seats tend to harden over the years (or might be that new versions are softer, but not that much softer). I just replaced mine with a new seat, not very expensive nor difficult to install.

Cheers

[RowRinseRepeat]

Thanks Froque and Ombrax. Is the C2 seat made of regular foam, memory foam or gel? I'll look it up. Also plan to visit C2 HQ this fall as it's in a favorite area of ours for hiking, bicycling and skiing.

Have a very beat up old yoga pad - I'll cut two layers to the shape of the seat and place inside a washable fabric pillowcase for now.

[sekitori]

I don't care very much for the C2 seat pad. It just doen't feel very comfortable. I instead use a one inch thick high density foam rubber cushion cut to the same size as the C2 pad. I much prefer it to the C2 pad. Any store that sells foam rubber should be able to make one for you and it shoudn't cost very much. Remember to ask for high density foam. Medium density is too soft and the highest density, closed cell foam, is way too firm.

Another alternative is a couple layers of bubble wrap. It works just about as well as the foam cushion. The only negative is that because it flattens out after some use, it has to be replaced fairly often.

[RowRinseRepeat]

Thanks Sekitori, that's pretty much what we're doing. We'll use a cut up old yoga mat for now and look for some good closed cell foam. Will probably order a C2 seat for an easy cut-out guide, especially for where the sit bones fall.

[Cyclist2]

All good suggestions, but I'll add this; you can measure your own sit bones width pretty easily and cut a pad to fit you specifically. All you have to do is get a piece of corrugated cardboard, put it on a hard surface (or on the C2 seat on your rower) and then sit on it in the catch position. Your sit bones will dent the cardboard and you have the exact positions.

I've used various pads. I've found it isn't the thickness, but the shape that matters - get the sit bones and tailbone cutouts right and you don't need a lot of padding. I don't use a pad on a regular rowing shell seat, they are the right shape to start with.

[Slidewinder]

The subject of seat comfort and seat pads is oft repeated in this forum. I find it interesting that no one ever asks, "Why doesn't Concept 2 design, manufacture, and install a more ergonomic and comfortable seat?" C2 certainly has the capability. I replaced the seat on my model D with one I salvaged from a cheap piston-style rower - a huge improvement.
It is a bizarre part of the "C2 family" culture that criticism of any aspect of the C2 rower is not tolerated. To do so is to risk personal verbal attacks and group ostracization. Therefore no one dares to point out the obvious fact that the C2 seat is an ergonomic abomination. Instead, users kindly advise each other (as they do in this thread) to use a seat pad, or better yet, "Just get used to it."
Concept 2, rather than re-design the seat, exploits the above described group-think mix of fear and complacency by selling seat cushions - thereby wringing profit from poor design. Of course, this opportunistic offering is interpreted by glazed-eyed users as more evidence of C2's care and concern for their well-being.

[Citroen]

Why do you have to be so damned negative? If you hate C2 so much sell your rower and buy a Brand-X replacement. Then you can leave the forum to fester in its own juices.

You won't be missed.

[Slidewinder]

+Citroen: Your reply is perfectly illustrative of what I wrote - to criticize any aspect of the C2 rower "is to risk personal verbal attacks and group ostracization." I guess you love that seat. Many (probably most) don't.

[Slidewinder]

Addendum to last posting: Maybe Concept 2 should consult Brand X on seat design. As I wrote, the vastly superior seat now fitted to my Model D was salvaged from a cheap Brand X piston-style rower.

[Ombrax]

The subject of seat comfort and seat pads is oft repeated in this forum. I find it interesting that no one ever asks, "Why doesn't Concept 2 design, manufacture, and install a more ergonomic and comfortable seat?" C2 certainly has the capability. I replaced the seat on my model D with one I salvaged from a cheap piston-style rower - a huge improvement.
It is a bizarre part of the "C2 family" culture that criticism of any aspect of the C2 rower is not tolerated. To do so is to risk personal verbal attacks and group ostracization. Therefore no one dares to point out the obvious fact that the C2 seat is an ergonomic abomination. Instead, users kindly advise each other (as they do in this thread) to use a seat pad, or better yet, "Just get used to it."
Concept 2, rather than re-design the seat, exploits the above described group-think mix of fear and complacency by selling seat cushions - thereby wringing profit from poor design. Of course, this opportunistic offering is interpreted by glazed-eyed users as more evidence of C2's care and concern for their well-being.

I don't think the C2 seats are half as bad as the "abominations" you claim them to be.

Butts vary from person to person, so what might not work for you is fine for someone else, and vice-versa. A corollary is that you can be sure that no one design will work for 100% (or even 99%) of the population.

[Slidewinder]

+Ombrax: The "quote" feature is used far too much in this forum. What is the point of quoting in full my first comment? Make your reply, and if anyone wishes, they can refer back to what I wrote. While true that no one design will work for everyone, the flat, hard Concept 2 seat works for almost no one. That is the reality. As cyclist2 writes, "I don't use a pad on a regular rowing shell seat, they are the right shape to start with."

[Anth_F]

Why do you have to be so damned negative? If you hate C2 so much sell your rower and buy a Brand-X replacement. Then you can leave the forum to fester in its own juices.

You won't be missed.

I usually keep out of the crapolla but i'm 100% with Doug here.

Every post i see from that guy is full of nothing more than taking cheap shots @ C2 with nitpicky garbage.

[Slidewinder]

+Anth-F: The C2 rower seat is flat, hard, and uncomfortable. There is nothing nitpicking about this factual observation. Why am I a bad person for pointing out the obvious?