Yowza Navarre Elliptical Machine

One buyer of the YOWZA Navarre Elliptical commented, “Strange name, great machine!” He went on to say that having owned four different ellipticals that this one by YOWZA Fitness was by far the best built. “All pivot points have roller bearings not cheap sleeve bearings like other manufacturers, a fact YOWZA should promote more. Over all a very sturdy well made machine and one of the best warranties in the business.”

High praise indeed, especially for an elliptical that at $1,199 is considered to be in the low price range. Perhaps the most surprising thing is that the YOWZA brand is not already better known considering their commitment to deliver high quality products at “...up to 60% off comparable retail items”.

Despite its exotic name, YOWZA Fitness is an American company which designs and tests its products in the US and then has them manufactured to a high standard in Taiwan. The company uses environmentally friendly recycled plastics and paint which together with other environmentally friendly materials helps keep costs down and meets the company’s own green manufacturing commitments.

YOWZA Fitness is the only online seller of fitness equipment that is actually owned by the manufacturer. It is selling direct from the factory with no middleman price hikes along the way and this goes a long way to explain the high-value price points of its products.

Pricing aside, some buyers may be hesitant to buy a YOWZA Fitness elliptical because of the apparent newness of the brand but there is no need to worry on that score because YOWZA Fitness is actually the trading arm of Greenmaster, a manufacturing company whose top dogs have a fitness equipment pedigree that goes back for nearly 50 years.

The chairman of YOWZA Fitness is Mr. Leao Wang, who has been designing innovative fitness equipment since the ‘80s. He is backed up by the Executive Vice president, Allen Ting, who was involved in the brand building of Reebok, Diadora and Greenfit. As the driving forces behind YOWZA these two have many years of experience and they are intent on carving a new brand name based on high quality at fair prices in this direct factory- to-consumer business model.

The YOWZA Navarre is the perfect example. It is well-built with a powder coated, robotically welded steel frame, a weighted fly-wheel and smooth rear-drive motion with resistance provided by an electromagnetic braking system.
It is a sizable beast with a length at full extension of 71” and a unit weight of 170lbs. It feels sturdy and solid, more than capable of taking the 330lbs user weight limit. The Sure-Fit pedal system allows the foot to flex gently with the motion of the stride path in a perfectly natural and comfortable motion.
There are pulse sensors in the handlebars and a built-in Polar heart rate receiver. A Polar heart rate belt can be bought as an optional extra from YOWZA for $39.99.

The Navarre stores nine different user profiles which makes it a good family machine and it comes with twelve preset programs including interval, endurance, fat-burning, target calories, target distance and target time.
No matter how comfortable the workout, many home users like to ‘zone out’ to music while they are training and the Navarre makes this easy with built-in Hi fidelity speakers and an iPod dock.
Many rival ellipticals use a ‘roller track’ design which requires frequent maintenance and cleaning. The roller-less design of the Navarre makes this constant attention to the roller track a thing of the past and is a point much appreciated by buyers.

YOWZA offer three shipping options. The first is ‘free to curbside’, which means you will have the elliptical delivered in a large box to the roadside nearest to your house. Please note, if you live down a small road or off the beaten track in some way, curb side delivery would necessitate you meeting the truck at an accessible point and transferring the box to your own van. Even when delivered right outside your front door, you are still advised to have a couple of hefty friends waiting with you to get the box inside.

The second option costs $79 for ‘inside room of choice’. The truck will arrive with two drivers who will take the box inside and leave it in the room you specify (as long as it is on the first or second floor). You must them assemble the machine yourself. The Navarre is not complicated to put together and YOWZA estimate 60 – 120 minutes from unpacking to full assembly.

If messing about with packaging, screws and fiddly bits is just not your cup of tea, ‘white glove’ delivery will have the machine installed in your room of choice, put together and ready to roll for $199. The helpful drivers will then even remove all the packaging at no extra charge should you request it but you are best not to do so. YOWZA offer a 60 day return policy which requires the original packaging, so hang on it until you are 100% sure that you will be keeping the Navarre.

The YOWZA warranty is very good, better than most others in the market. It covers the frame and electromagnetic braking system for lifetime, five years on parts and electronics and two years on in-home labor.
So, if you are looking for an elliptical in the $1,000 to $1,500 price range, the YOWZA Navarre Elliptical is a good choice. Don’t be put off by the unfamiliar name because there is a great deal of history that has gone into the launching of this brand and as the retail arm of the manufacturer it would be hard to find better value for the money.