[quote]bwhitwell wrote:
I have Powerblocks that range from 10-130 lbs. Easy to adjust weight and durable. I have and old set 10+ yrs old. A good bit more expensive then ironmaster or bowflex, but you get what you pay for. A friend has a set of bowflex DBs that were broken after a few workouts.[/quote]
Listen to this guy. We’ve sold Powerblocks and bowflex. We had so many problems with the bowflex dumbbells (and their homegyms) that we had to quit carrying them. Bowflex is shit just like pretty much all fitness equipment on t.v.
Ive got these, they are ok but i really don’t train at home much. If you do the majority of your working out at home and you want to use them all the time you will have to remember to never drop them otherwise they are great.
The only other issue is the size when using the full 90lbs they are BIG and awkward, forcing you to keep them out wide during presses.
I have the Ironmaster DBs. You can’t get better construction then those. Feel free to just drop them. They will not break unless you drop it off of your roof onto the sidwalk maybe.
I have the 120 lbs per dumbell version. Your post above is very confusing but you seem to say they are too big. I have benched with them them and they aren’t any bigger than a 120 lb dumbell. 120 lb dumbells are large.
Bowflex dbs look very convenient and slick but its going to break and then the $350 price tag won’t seem so cheap. Go with Ironmaster or powerblocks.
[quote]rasturai wrote:
How much did you pay DJS for your 120lb dumbbell version?[/quote]
I’ve had them a couple years with no problems. I forget because I also bought the adjustible bench, mats, and a number of attachments from them. I think the dumbells were like $600-$650 ish.
I did a lot of research when I got them. My opinion is they are the sturdiest ones. They will least forever. Sturdier than the powerblocks as well but you can change the weight faster on the powerblocks. That is the trade off.
Here is my set so you can see how small the footprint is for dumbells from 10 lb all the way up to 120lbs. Each one is 20 lbs in this pic. The stand comes with it for free. The others charge. So you have to factor that into the price as well. None of these adjustable DBs will be as convenient as if you had a full rack of DBs to quickly choose from. Everything has a trade off.
We’ve got a nice sportings goods store locally that sells the powerblocks and the bowflex adjustable dumbbells. I’ve messed around with the display units and this was my take.
Powerblocks: Very quick changing weight with the pin pull stacks…I liked that. The con for me is the small gap in the block that you reach through to grab the center spindle. I have very large hands and wrists so when I would grab and lift the powerblocks, my wrist is actually touching/rubbing on those two rods that frame the hand opening. I found it uncomfortable and it would be a deal breaker for me.
Bowflex Select Tech Dumbbells: When I saw the infomercial on TV I thought these would be a big improvement over the powerblocks; because it looks more like a traditional dumbbell and I wouldn’t have the same problem I do with the powerblocks. I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED WHEN I PLAYED WITH THEM AT THE STORE HOWEVER. When you dial in a weight, because of the design, it doesn’t balance the weight evenly. At some weights it would have maybe two or three “plates” spaced out at different points…there was no simetry in the design. So one end may have three plates while the other has two…they didn’t feel completely balanced to me; but that in itself isn’t a deal breaker for me. It was the slop in the design that really turned me off. As I’m lifting [curling] around 50# I can feel the weight shift in my hands and the “plates” made some rattling noise…just like when the screw collars come loos on the ends of my standard adjustable dumbbells I have at home. They don’t seem to be precision engineered and have loose tolerances for their moving parts. I can totally see how if you were to drop them on the floor they’d break.
Good luck finding what you need. If you don’t have a problem with the feel of the powerblocks in hand, then I’d recommend them. They felt like much better quality. I may have to try out their adjustable kettlebells someday.
[quote]rasturai wrote:
Nice, thanks man. Nice setup you got there![/quote]
Thanks. I wish i had room for a power cage. Someday. I stumbled onto this review of powerblocks vs ironmaters that I think is pretty accurate. Agrees with what i said about ironmaster being more durable and powerblocks being quicker to change. But the author goes into a lot more detail.
My other thoughts are: There is a video on the ironmaster site where they show the guy changing the weight. But he only changes one side of one dumbell. It would take him four times as long to change all of them. So thats a bit misleading but its still pretty quick. I preffer the handle on the ironmasters to the power blocks cage handles. The knurling on the DBs is really awesome as well.
Either way… you’ll get a good product with either of these should you chose one. The bowlfex DBs are garbage.
Yeah I have my own set-up as well…power cage is definately essential…I don’t even have a very good one but I bought it years ago in highschool and it’s good enough for me…can do dips on it as well.
Too bad cable machines aren’t cheap…I’m trying to find a cheap machine to do seated rows and I have had absolutely no luck finding one.
It is so much nicer working out at home though, I hate going to the gym.
I also have the ironmaster db’s and I love them. I have actually dropped them a couple of times from a few feet onto my cement floor. They do take a little longer to change the weight, but the trade off for the durability is worth it to me.
As a side note, for heavy pressing I got a set of the power hooks (or something like that) that attach to an olympic bar. You can hang them from the bar to start, and then place them back on the bar when you finish a set. Some people have said they don’t care for them, but when it’s your floor and your db’s, throwing them around isn’t as fun.
We use the PowerBlocks in our Studio for 15 hours/day, for the last 5 years. I’ve seen many people drop them, and they work just fine. We have 10-45 and 15-120 (with attachments). We have only had to replace one set of pins since I have been there.
