Drop tests and mechanical breakdowns are for YouTube reviews and not actual use cases when it comes to adjustable dumbbells. At this point, everyone who has a home gym knows the pros and cons list. The biggest cons to the most durable and high performance dumbbells are the cage. Dealing with the conditions of an irregular shape was not a compromise I was willing to make. Noubells are one of the few that don’t force you to make that decision. I don’t drop them. The slight slop when doing more dynamic movements like a fly or curls gets annoying, but not as bad as similar dumbbells, this style. Up to 80 is perfectly fine for most movements and most people. I’m 100% ok with purchasing pairs of hundos and heavier separately when I want them.

Got the 100lb one. First found these at the USAF SERE gym and it gave me the strongman itch I’ve never gotten rid of. This was the first addition to the home gym that wasn’t a plate, rack, or bar. Great for conditioning. It’s just heavy and awkward enough to force you to respect it. I love this thing.

Upgraded bar from a whippy Tru Grit OLY bar that I had with no center knurling, so this was a definite upgrade. Came in clutch peaking for my return to the powerlifting platform. Quality do-it-all bar that had minor damage of the sleeve from holding chains or something before my turn with it. I failed a bench on it and tried to dump it. The counter weight of the plates levered it out of my hand and the plates knicked the sleeve for a minor gouge. But it barely made a dent.

Does anyone really know what they’re doing with these functional movement pieces? Cant beat trying to see if it’s for you with something this cheap. It’s basically a bat with a collar. I leave a handful of change plates on it at all times and I swing it around like a sword to warm the shoulders a bit on OHP days. There’s no texture difference on the handle for grip or the loading area, but that’s not a problem. I haven’t lost grip and tossed it across the gym, yet.

Got mine secondhand and these simple things have very little parts to lose or get damaged. Every now and then the plastic end-caps come off or I find them around the gym. Mildly annoying but not at deal breaker (it still deadlift jacks). Weirdly, the UMHW likes to rotate in space by like 90 degrees. Doesn’t affect anything. Just looks kind of dumb. But it does the job. What more do you want?!

Thought I got one helluva deal of FBMP at $800 until I’ve seen many others getting away with theirs for much much less. Still, at my price point I may have paid a “reasonable” amount. Nothing to lose sleep over. Very solid and simple machine with all the big pivot points being commercial grade machinery. It’s way over built. The only issue comes from. Changing heights on the J-hook. Can feel clunky. Not usually a problem in a home gym. Band pegs of added resistance is nice. With being able to load plates vertically this really is probably the best belt squat out there that’s no the Rhino or Squatmax

Saw this one come by on FBMP and thought it was a little out of my price range. Met the local strongman meet director and found out it was his. Upgraded from very thin gauge, 4-post, rack and never looked back. This thing is a tank. Mine specifically came with fabricated j-hooks and spotter arms that I might upgrade. The cons fall where they always do with heavy duty 3x3 racks. Depending on bar, just off thickness of the rack alone, sometimes you can run into the uprights. Such a minor thing. Just get better at unracking. It’s a good solid rack that doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. It’s a cornerstone to the gym.

I was considering getting rid of some barbells before this was gifted to me a Christmas or two ago. Surely an improvement over a 2 bar holder, or even a gun rack (in my use case). The holes are spaced enough for my SSB, log, and Swiss bar without much thought. Heavy and solid enough to do the job, but worth the roguey-rougieness of it all? I can’t complain.