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EmPower Oarlock

$499.00

Get simple technical feedback while you row with the EmPower Oarlock system. Install in minutes with no special tools, and see information about your length, engagement and power right on your SpeedCoach Model 2 with Training Pack.

The EmPower Oarlock requires a SpeedCoach GPS Model 2 with Training Pack firmware. If you have a SpeedCoach GPS 2, but it doesn't have the Training Pack firmware upgrade, you can upgrade now.

Please note that Empower Oarlocks are not designed for use with a Swingulator®

Not sure if the EmPower Oarlock will work on your boat? View the EmPower Oarlock Compatibility Chart.

Availability: Out of stock
SKU
#018

How do you want to improve?

Row Efficiently with the EmPower Oarlock

Row Efficiently

Improve technique stroke-by-stroke

Train Effectively with the EmPower Oarlock

Train Effectively

Improve power capacity through each training cycle

Optimize Lineups with the EmPower Oarlock

Optimize Lineups

Quickly find your boat movers

Coach yourself at any level

Provides Immediate Feedback

With Real-time technical feedback and effort measurement, you can make sure you are hitting your targets for technical proficiency and training effectiveness when you need it most: while you are rowing.

Quantifies Technique

Rowing faster is a game of increments- "quicker catch", "more compression", "less layback", "longer leg drive", etc. Getting a feel for these subjective concepts on the water can take hundreds of hours By Quantifying catch, finish and force application into simple numerical targets, technical changes become much easier to learn and maintain.

Measures Training Effort

Achieving peak fitness requires an optimized training load, and the EmPower Oarlock takes the guesswork out of determining training effort. By quantifying work, power and heart rate, you can consistently perform within suggested training zones to maximize physiological training benefits.

"It makes rowing more intellectual, conscious, better control. What we feel is very different from what we really do. This measurement tool is objective."
-Dr. Valery Kleshnev
Founder Bio Row

A coaching tool like no other

Set Clear Targets for your Athletes

Supplement your words and drills with measureable targets for each rower's technique and capabilities. "Sit up at the catch" becomes, "Catch at 55 degrees". "Row half-pressure" becomes, "Stay between 150-175 watts for 20 minutes".

"You certainly have something there that athletes will like! Your system is actually quite a good help for us at this stage. Everything works so easily and without changing anything on the boat, it is indeed helping us!"
-Volker Nolte
Assistant Professor Biomechanics and Coaching and Head Rowing Coach at University of Western Ontario

It's Simpler to use than you think

EmPower oarlock installation is as straightforward as changing a traditional oarlock. Realize noticeable improvements within the course of your normal training sessions.

So much more than just Power

Everyone knows that erg power doesn’t correlate exactly with boat speed. Understand WHY and help each athlete maximize their force application through the pin. Synchronize crew power application for maximum effectiveness.

Foundation of a Boat-to-Coach system

The EmPower Oarlock serves as a cornerstone component of NK Sports' Performance Measurement Ecosystem. Using it in combination with LiNK Logbook, SpeedCoach GPS, and/or CoxBox GPS, you create the opportunity for boats to stream oarlock data via mobile phone to the cloud for real-time viewing and feedback, or post-workout analysis and review.

Boat-to-Coach system with an EmPower Oarlock

Get Immediate Insights

View your athlete’s technique and output while they are rowing. Just stay within shouting distance of your athletes to see their real-time technical and effort measurements.

Go Deeper with Data Review

Review Workout Data on the SpeedCoach GPS to establish targets and monitor your athletes’ performance against them. For even deeper insights, upload workouts to LiNK Logbook and analyze per-stroke data from any portion of the recorded workout.

What can you measure?

NK SpeedCoach GPS Classic Screen

Paired with an EmPower Oarlock in Classic Mode, the SpeedCoach GPS 2 with Training Pack still has the same four windows it always did, but now you can customize those windows with any of the following metrics:

  • Stroke Rate
  • Catch Angle
  • Effective Stroke Length
  • Average Work
  • Current 500m Split
  • Slip
  • Distance Traveled Per Stroke
  • Peak Force
  • Average 500m Split
  • Finish Angle
  • Power
  • Oar Angle at Peak Force
  • Stroke Count
  • Wash
  • Average Power
  • Force (average over whole stroke)
  • Total Distance
  • Total Stroke Length
  • Work
  • Elapsed Time
  • Heart Rate

5 Dedicated Skill Screens

EmPower Oarlock can measure Catch and Slip

Catch and Slip

See how the oar angle at the catch affects how quickly the blade is engaged.

Keep athletes in team boats focused on the front end of the stroke so they can align their catch angles better.

EmPower Oarlock can measure Power

Work (joules)

Use a performance metric that is unaffected by current, wind, weight or stroke rate.

Measure individual contribution in team boats to keep athletes accountable and help them improve.

EmPower Oarlock can measure Finish and Wash

Finish and Wash

Quickly determine whether changing the amount of layback is helpful or hurtful to find the sweet spot for back-end length.

Monitor Wash throughout a race or practice piece to make sure fatigue doesn't affect how powerfully you're sending the boat.

EmPower Oarlock can measure length

Length

Stay long and connected in the last 500. See Total Length and Effective Length at the same time to make sure you're getting the most out of every inch of your drive.

EmPower Oarlock can measure power

Power

Continue your dryland training on the water with the same metric used in many ergometer workouts.

Pace yourself more accurately in races with a performance metric that is not influenced by factors outside the boat.

Specifications
Included in Package
  • AA Battery
  • Allen Key
  • Angle Calibration Tool
  • EmPower Oarlock
  • Magnet Bar
  • Pin Bushings (2)
Water ResistanceWaterproof (IP67, NEMA-6).
Control Unit Weightsweep: 0.63lbs (288g) (including magnet bar), scull .55lbs (251g) (including magnet bar)
Unit Dimensions 6.5"x4"x1.75"
ControlsOne waterproof button for pairing/power
Battery TypeAA battery
Battery Life ExpectancyRechargeable AA's can provide 8-20 hours of operation
CaseImpact resistant (MIL-STD-810G, Transit Shock, Method 516.5, Procedure IV). Sun and saltwater resistant.
Warranty Period2 Year Warranty
Measurements
MetricUnitsRangeNotes
Catch Angle Angular Degrees Angle of the oarlock when direction of motion reverses from recovery to drive direction.
Effective Length Angular Degrees Total degrees traversed by the oarlock between the 100N for sculling/200N for sweep slip and wash thresholds.
Finish Angle Angular Degrees Angle of the oarlock when direction of motion reverses from drive to recovery direction
Force Newtons to 1/10 The force applied to the oarlock face averaged over the full stroke.
Max/Peak Force Newtons to 1/10 The maximum force applied to the oarlock face at any point in the stroke.
Peak Force Angle Angular Degrees The degrees of angle at which the peak force occurred in the stroke.
Power Watts to 1/10 The rate of work being output. Power can be increased by doing more work per stroke, or taking more strokes per minute.
Average Power Watts to 1/10 Power per stroke averaged over the entire interval (if using a SpeedCoach). Resetting the clock will reset the average power.
Slip Angular Degrees Angle degrees traversed by the oarlock before the force exceeds 100N for sculling/200N for sweep - a threshold below which the work being done on the oar is doing relatively little to increase the speed of the boat.
Wash Angular Degrees Angle degrees traversed by the oarlock after the force drops below 100N for sculling/200N for sweep – a threshold below which the work being done on the oar is doing relatively little to increase the speed of the boat.
Work Joules to 1/10 The force times the length of the stroke. Work measures the effectiveness of each stroke.
Average Work Joules to 1/10 The average force times the length of the stroke. Work measures the effectiveness of each stroke.
Length Angular Degrees Total degrees traversed by the oarlock between catch and finish.
Effective Length Angular Degrees Total degrees traversed by the oarlock between the 100N for sculling/200N for sweep slip and wash thresholds.

Visit our support page for FAQ and more.

  1. Insights Not Just Data Insights Not Just Data
  2. Watts on Watts: Interval Training with Power On-the-water power meters became widely accessible to rowers with the launch of the EmPower Oarlock in late 2016; but now that we can get one, what do we do with it?
  3. "Working" My Core with the EmPower Oarlock By Alix James I've been working through the real-time measurements available with my EmPower Oarlock connected to my SpeedCoach GPS – exploring the relationships between my rowing stroke and what the numbers on the screen are telling me. I'm lucky enough to row with a coach on a somewhat regular basis as part of Vesper Boat Club's master's program, so I have a very good idea of the many, many ways I need to improve. It has been really interest
  4. Oarlock Q&A with Michael Naughton Michael Naughton, the Director of Product Management here at NK, sat down to answer two frequently asked questions about the new Empower Oarlock.
  5. Getting Your Rigging Right: How the EmPower Oarlock Helps Getting Your Rigging Right: How the EmPower Oarlock Helps by Alix James; photography by Bálint Czucz I've been spending lots of time in team sculling boats the last two seasons, so I loaned my personal single to an aspiring elite in our boathouse. She just got a new boat, so I got mine back full time, but she and her coach had made major changes to the rigging to suit her. Time to re-rig my boat for me – always a challenge!
  6. Length and Effective Length Are Not The Same Thing Sander Roosendaal, Czech masters rower and data guru, created a rowing analytics platform that incorporates data from many on-the-water and off-the-water devices, including the NK SpeedCoach and EmPower Oarlock. The free to use platform and Sander's insights into his own rowing data are available on the Rowsandall website.
  7. Layback Metrics: EmPower Oarlocks and the Science of Finishing Strong Layback Metrics: EmPower Oarlocks and the Science of Finishing Strong Photo Credit: Kevin Light Photography As with everything else in rowing, layback is a balance. Too little and you miss out on valuable length; too much and you waste effort, create technical stroke problems, and put undue stress on your lower back. This leads to the obvious question: what is the perfect amount of layback?
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