Loading information, please wait...

close this window

Loading information, please wait...

WalkingPad WR20 foldable rowing machine: review/test

---

Published on: 20-10-2025 / Modified: 20-10-2025

I mostly test products that fall into the digital leisure category, but I'm not a geek who does photosynthesis in the glow of screens; I also go out and exercise. I mainly cycle, without any great pretensions, and that’s what led me to also test bikes on this blog. To keep cycling in winter, I bought a magnetic exercise bike and later a Decathlon treadmill. I’ve never really liked running but I wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately, this Decathlon treadmill was really very bulky to the point of becoming a problem for my living space.

Last year (in 2024), WalkingPad contacted me to test one of their foldable treadmills. This product potentially offered a solution to my space issue, but it still had to be sturdy enough to support my 100 kg and long strides. I was quickly won over by this treadmill for its flexibility of use, and I soon got rid of my Decathlon treadmill. I’ve now been using this treadmill occasionally for over a year and it still works just as well.

This year, I have the opportunity to test another WalkingPad product, but this time it’s a rowing machine. I’m interested in this type of product because it allows you to work several parts of the body at the same time; the main drawback, however, is once again the bulk. When I saw WalkingPad’s foldable rower, I thought it might be the solution to limiting the footprint without sacrificing sturdiness.

So I set up the rower in my living room long enough to take all the photos and run the first tests, then move it to the same room as my bike and treadmill. That was the initial plan... Barely installed, the rower immediately caught the attention of my wife and my son, who decreed they were going to row too... so we’re going to suffer as a family!

Where to buy?

The WalkingPad WR20 foldable rower is available on the official website with a €150 discount, reducing the price to €749 instead of €899 as shown in the following screenshot:


To get this promo, simply click the following link:
Activate €150 discount
This link will take you back to the homepage; you’ll see your discount appear in your cart as in the previous screenshot.

Then to purchase your rower:
WalkingPad WR20

Unboxing

I usually don’t devote much space to unboxing in my reviews because I don’t find it very interesting. I’ll make a small exception for this rower because you need to be aware of the size and weight of the packaging. The WalkingPad WR20 rower is very compact when folded, but it is very heavy. The rower alone weighs about 40 kg. With the packaging, the weight rises to almost 50 kg. So unless you’re particularly strong, you’ll need help to carry the crate to your home. The courier helped me bring it into my entry hallway and from there I managed on my own.

Weight is therefore an important factor, but so are the box dimensions. The box measures 80 x 62 x 56 cm, so remember to check the clearance of your doors. Even though I was able to get the box into my house easily, I still preferred to do the unboxing outside because once unboxed and folded, the rower is easy to move.

The rower is particularly well packed and protected to the point that you’ll probably need to break the box to get it out. Despite the weight, I was able to lift it out of the box without breaking everything, but I’m not sure everyone will be able to do the same. So if you’re the type to keep all the packaging, you might have to make an exception here.

Overview

After taking the rower out of its box, you’ll quickly notice that the WalkingPad WR20 is a product with excellent finish. Its entire aesthetic emphasizes sturdiness. All moving parts of the rower are supported by metal plates and numerous screws to hold everything together without the slightest gap between parts. The wood used is also of good quality; it doesn’t sound hollow and it’s supported by a metal frame wherever possible. Only the front part containing the impeller is made of plastic.


Once deployed, the rower is a little over 2 meters long and 44 cm wide. This rower is therefore perfectly suited to tall people; as you’ll see later, at my height of 1.94 m I never ran into any problems. You could even be taller without encountering the slightest issue.


All the joints are reinforced with metal plates and numerous mounting screws. Everything is solidly anchored to the chassis and I don’t notice any gaps between the parts; there are also no places that could generate vibrations.


Feet are distributed here and there along the frame and keep the rower balanced even under intense effort. This is one of the biggest differences with the WalkingPad X21 treadmill I tested. That treadmill tended to deform at the fold because the feet weren’t as well distributed as on this rower.




The rower is equipped with two small wheels at the front; these wheels do not touch the ground. This means you’ll have to lift the rower from the back to move it. There are two handles here to help you lift the rower.



As I already mentioned, the rower weighs 40 kg (without water) but don’t worry, moving it won’t require you to carry 40 kg. The handles are on the lightest part of the rower and a tilt of about 20° is enough to bring the wheels into contact with the floor. With this tilt and the weight distribution, you’ll actually only need to lift around ten kilos. It’s a bit like a wheelbarrow where all the weight is distributed toward the front and the effort to move a heavy load is much lower.



The seat is wide enough for a tall person. It’s probably made of some kind of firm foam like what you find on other types of saddles. The seat is wedged at the end of the rower thanks to a screw on the frame that prevents the seat from moving when you open/close the rower.


The strap system is quite well designed and easy to use. I have large feet, size 47/48, and if I don’t wear shoes, my foot fits perfectly into the cradle provided for this purpose. If I decide to put on a pair of training shoes, then it’s a bit tight. If your shoe size is smaller, you’ll probably be able to use training shoes more easily. The straps hold the foot perfectly; we’ll have to see over time if they wear out.


There is a locking system at the front of the rower to prevent the front from lifting when you pull on the handle. If you forget it, the rower will continue to work but you’ll probably see the front lift and then drop at the end of the stroke. Don’t forget to loosen these locks before folding the rower.


The rower has a fairly basic LCD screen displaying basic data such as speed, calories, time, etc. This screen runs on two AA batteries supplied with the rower. It’s also possible to connect the rower with the KS Fit app to track your performance.


On the upper front part of the rower, there is a holder to place a phone or a tablet. This will allow you to track your performance on the app or watch a video during your workout. This holder is stable enough to prevent the phone from falling when you’re in full effort.


The rower works with 12 blades that will spin inside the plastic bubble at the front. You can train without water if you’re not used to rowing, but you can gradually fill the tank depending on the desired difficulty level. Water level is the only element to adjust the difficulty, which means that all users of the rower will have to adapt to the same resistance setting. I find that a bit of a shame; I would have liked additional magnetic resistance to provide variation.

You can fill the tank on the side; the rower comes with a small pump that will allow you to draw water from outside to inside and vice versa to renew the water. It is recommended to use distilled water to prevent dirt from accumulating inside. I don’t think it’s possible to open the container for cleaning, so it’s essential to put absolutely pure water in it.

Muscle impact

Before getting into the rower test, I’ll take a short detour into the muscle impact of this kind of product, and I found an interesting illustration on the WalkingPad website.

As you can see, the rower’s impact is quite global and it’s important to make the right movement to benefit from it. Here you need to keep your arms straight until your legs are fully extended; otherwise you’ll reduce the impact on the legs. On the return movement, it’s the same; your arms should be straight to work another muscle area in the legs.

Since the water level determines resistance, the other factor to consider in determining effort is strokes per minute. The rower’s manual provides an overview of the type of effort according to the difficulty level.

There are 6 resistance levels (determined by the amount of water) and each resistance level corresponds to a load. This resistance will also depend on the number of strokes. Below I indicate the resistance for 25 strokes per minute and then 29 strokes.
Level 1: 50 kg / 55 kg
Level 2: 55 kg / 60 kg
Level 3: 60 kg / 65 kg
Level 4: 70 kg / 75 kg
Level 5: 80 kg / 85 kg
Level 6: 85 kg / 90 kg

The difference between level 1 and level 6 is huge, so don’t go too hard if you’re not used to exercising. For cardio, you should either stay in levels 1 to 3 or 5–6; the other levels are designed for high-intensity training.

Rowing therefore has a fairly global impact and, unless you have time to swim, it’s probably one of the most complete machines for working out at home.

Workouts

To test the WalkingPad WR20 I will gradually increase the difficulty level and measure the impact on my heart rate with my Polar chest strap. The KS Fit app doesn’t allow you to collect heart rate data, so I won’t dwell too much on this app. Since I don’t know how long it will take me to reach a good level, I will update this article progressively.

To give you a “frame” for this test, I should specify that I’m 1.94 m tall and weigh about 100 kg. I’m not a great athlete but I cycle regularly. So I’m not an athlete, but I’m in good shape.

Below you’ll find my test program with the results obtained; it will probably take me a few weeks to complete this section, but I’ll share my impressions to help you make your choice.

Level 1
Duration: 31:45
Max heart rate: 102
Average heart rate: 83
Calories: 131
% fat burned: 51
Number of strokes: 555

Level 2
Duration: 31:48
Max heart rate: 111
Average heart rate: 98
Calories: 217
% fat burned: 39
Number of strokes: 626

Level 3
Duration: 30:52
Max heart rate: 129
Average heart rate: 113
Calories: 305
% fat burned: 39
Number of strokes: 521
I had done 30 minutes of cycling before rowing; that may explain why my heart rate was higher. We’ll see at the next level if the average comes back down.

Level 4
Duration: 37:00
Max heart rate: 120
Average heart rate: 106
Calories: 325
% fat burned: 32
Number of strokes: 702
I was right about the previous test: heart rate was influenced by the 30 minutes of cycling done before rowing.

Level 5
Duration: 35:00
Max heart rate: 121
Average heart rate: 111
Calories: 333
% fat burned: 28
The increase in intensity is gradual because heart rate only goes up by a few beats each level, and that helps define the type of effort where you slowly leave the fat-burning zone to enter a performance zone.

Level 6
Duration: 34:00
Max heart rate: 122
Average heart rate: 109
Calories: 338
% fat burned: 29
Number of strokes: 698
I didn’t really feel a difference between the last two levels; they’re both in the same heart-rate zone. The lower levels are therefore the biggest fat burners while the next levels are more effective for performance.

Impressions

I received the WalkingPad WR20 on September 21, 2025, so I’ll add my comments with each update.

21/09/2025
First test session without water to get familiar with the machine. The connection with the app is almost instantaneous. I find the screen contrast a little low but the indicators are sufficiently visible. The seat movement is very smooth and I have enough room to fully extend my legs. My height has a negative impact on my movement because my knees are in the path of the handle; I therefore have to bring the handle over my knees to continue the stroke. It’s the same in the other direction.

The fact that water is the only resistance factor will probably force me to adapt to the rhythms of the other users of the rower at home. Everyone understands the potential of this kind of machine, but we don’t all have the same level.

Overall the rower is very stable and even if I pull hard, it doesn’t move and I don’t hear creaking or plastic noises; the build is really solid.

22/09/2025
I didn’t have much distilled water left; I filled the tank to a little below the first level. I’ll top it up when I have more water to add. I did a first half-hour session and found it very easy; I didn’t have any soreness the next day. With water, however, the rower is much noisier.

Time: 30 minutes
Max heart rate: 106
Average heart rate: 95
Calories: 177
% fat burned: 44
The difficulty level is clearly too low for me here; it’s a heart rate comparable to a brisk walk. When I cycle I burn between 500 and 600 calories in 30 minutes, and for running I’m closer to 800.

At this stage I have two small observations about the rower. The first concerns the screen position. It’s in the middle of the front panel of the rower where the strap passes, so the screen is never fully readable. This isn’t a problem if you use the app, but if you prefer not to use a phone you’ll have to lean left or right to read what’s on the screen. The other observation concerns the handle you have to pull. I find it a bit too narrow for my size, so my arms are angled inward rather than straight in front of me. It’s related to my height, but I would have preferred a wider handle.

27/09/2025
I chained together two sessions of just over 30 minutes with difficulty levels 1 and 2. I still find it too easy and you can see that quite clearly in the heart rate. I also didn’t feel any soreness the next day. I tried rowing in socks but it’s not a very good idea because the friction with the footrest is unpleasant and causes redness. It’s better to use training shoes unless you really have a very large foot. With my shoe size, I’m a bit at the limit of the straps.

Despite the fact that the front of the rower is attached with two fasteners, it still lifts a little when I pull hard on the handle.

After the two sessions, I also had some hand discomfort due to friction; the material used is a bit rough for long sessions.

05/10/2025
I reached the 5th difficulty level; I felt my abs a bit more than usual but not to the point of having soreness the next day.

App

To control this rower, you need to download the KS-Fit app; the app is free. It’s the same app used for other devices from the KingSmith / WalkingPad brand; I had already used this app with my WalkingPad treadmill. If you don’t already have an app to track your workouts, this KS-Fit app will probably be very useful to you because it syncs with the rower and lets you track your effort live on a better screen than the rower’s. You can start and stop your sessions from the app and compare your performance with other users. The app can also update your rower, but I don’t know how often that happens with this kind of device.

The KS-Fit app is simple to use and will let you track your performance, but it’s fairly basic; for example, you can’t measure your heart rate by connecting your watch or a dedicated chest strap. That’s actually why I didn’t use the app much; I focused all my workouts on the Polar app because I use a Polar H10 to measure my heart rate.

If you take a look at the rankings you’ll see that some users spend their day on their rower; I regularly saw users exceed 40 km per session. When I use the rower my speed varies between 5 and 8 km/h, so even if I went very fast, that’s at least 5 hours of rowing!

Conclusion/Opinion

I was looking forward to this rower because this type of product would let me work the upper body, which I can’t really target with cycling or running. The fact that the rower is foldable was also a very important argument for me because given the footprint of the rower once open, I didn’t want to clutter my house even more with products I test—there are already enough boxes everywhere. And to complete the context, I chose the WR20 because it was the model offering the highest difficulty.

The rower quickly made a very good impression on me in terms of finish and build quality. All moving parts are very solidly attached and there’s no creaking plastic during use. The loudest noise comes from the movement of the water in the rower; I measured about 50 decibels near the rower, so it’s not a very discreet activity. It never really bothered me because by closing the doors, this noise is hardly perceptible in other rooms of the house.

The physical sensations provided by this rower are different from what I imagined. I expected to suffer from the very first sessions and end up with soreness the next day, but that never happened. Cycling, even if not intensive, probably played a role in the low impact on my heart rate. I obviously feel that the upper body works much more than with a bike; the arms and abs are much more solicited. I didn’t really feel much work in the legs; the seat rollers are so smooth that you don’t have to push hard to extend your legs. I tried pushing from the balls of my feet to work the calves or pushing on the heels, but cycling is more effective for that part of the body.

I could probably get the same effect—and an even more intensive one—with weights, but you need to have all that equipment and devote time to it (which I don’t have). The advantage of the rower is that it covers several body areas more easily and more safely. Injury risk is very low and the joints aren’t put under strain. You’re not going to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger with this kind of device—that’s not the point. You should see it instead as a condensed set of exercises on the same machine that lets you work multiple body areas in the same session.

Will I continue to use it? Yes, clearly, and especially in autumn/winter when I can’t cycle outdoors. My son will obviously continue to use it as a complement to swimming. I don’t yet have enough distance to observe effects on the upper body; I’d probably need several months to really see a change.

Who is this foldable rower for? I wouldn’t really distinguish by age, height, or gender because this product is flexible enough to be used by a very wide audience. It’s an excellent product to start getting into sport and perhaps move on to another sport later. If you’re already athletic, the difficulty level will probably not be enough to imagine boosting performance in other sports, but it does make a good alternative for general conditioning.

I took a look at other rowers, particularly at Decathlon, and I find that this rower is well positioned price-wise. You’ll have no trouble finding rowers under €300, but not with this level of quality and probably not with the same ease of storage.

Strengths
- build quality
- reduced footprint when folded
- plenty of legroom
- realistic feel with water
- sync with the app
- no power needed (apart from batteries for the screen)
- fairly comprehensive upper-body work
- smartphone/tablet holder

Weaknesses
- weight, but offset by good mobility (2 wheels)
- screen position
- screen contrast
- front lifts a bit despite the fasteners
- only one resistance level at a time
- handle a bit narrow for tall users and a bit rough for dry hands

---

Privacy Policy | Terms and conditions