The sleeves are short. Like super short. If you have thin plates like the Weight it Out plates, you'll be able to load a good amount on this bar but if you're using regular Olympic plates on this, you won't be able to load it passed 495 and that's without collars since you'll run out of room on the sleeve. If you're using bumpers, you won't get passed 315 on the bar, again, without collars. The welds are okay. They're not the tightest of welds but they're good enough. If you like Trap Bar lifts, skip this bar and go with something else from a more familiar company.

I'm pretty sure when these were new, these were amazing. I got my pair from a garage sale for 75 cents and I'm sure that the guy that was selling them either didn't know what he had or was so sick and tired of trying to get these to work that he was willing to let them go for under a dollar. I actually didn't know the material inside was leather. I thought it was just rubber. Again, these just sit on a shelf looking cool but they get zero use because I can't get any use out of them.

These are a nightmare to use. However, they are pretty to look at. These are more of a talking point than a tool to use in my gym. I found this pair at a garage sale next door and the guy didn't know what he had so he sold them to me for a dollar fifty. Understanding the value of these collars, I probably won't ever sell these or trade them for something that actually performs well. They just sit on a shelf in my gym looking all nice and pretty. Outside of pure aesthetics and history, these collars suck.

These plates fit tight. Like, there is absolutely zero slop with them. When I use my Ivanko set, I don't even bother with tossing collars on my bar since they fit so snug. I primarily use my Texas Power Bar for reference. I got these used from a local used equipment store that closed down without knowing how much they currently retail for so I'm not too keen on the value of these guys. All in all, this a great set to have and they're super easy to grip because of the plate cut outs. Zero issues when picking them up when they're flat on the ground. Because they fit so snug, racking them on a storage pin is an exercise in geometry.

Along with my York vintage round heads, these plates just sort of fell into my lap. Again, I'm not a collector but I do understand the history and value of older pieces of equipment build when this used to be a proper country. However, unlike the York round heads, I actually use these plates in my daily rotation. These can take as much of a beating as I impose on my newer plates and in some instances, they out perform my newer, non-vintage plate sets. They are not only great to look at but they're even better to lift with. I'll probably never sell these or trade up for another vintage set. All in all, this is a great set to have if you're a collector, a serious lifter, a combination of the two, or if you like equipment with an interesting back story.

Of course these are nice. Of course they have a well documented history and of course these are collectable and look amazing. However, performance-wise, these fall short. Non-knurled and skinny handles make heavier movements sketchy. You can always chalk up but that's just an extra step to achieving the same goals that a knurled dumbbell can accomplish. My set now just sits on the rack as a show piece since I'll never get rid of them. Yes, they look really cool and they have a great backstory but that's the only thing that these have going for them. When visitors come by to get a lift in, they often gravitate towards them but I steer them to my CAP dumbbell set since those can take an actual beating whereas the York's can't since the heavier ones have more potential to bend if they were to drop them. I'm not much of a vintage collector as these just sort of fell into my lap but knowing the value of these and the history that these have, I'll never get rid of these. Maybe when I'm long and gone and when these get passed down to my kids, they'll get a nice paycheck out of them.

These collars fit tight. I specifically use these collars for my specialty bars. I got them for free so I actually don't know what they retail for. The tension knob counters any slop that some specialty bars have and I have zero complaints about these collars. The only potential improvement that I can see with these collars is for Hampton to make these magnetic but other than that, these collars are great. They do take up a lot of space on the bar though.

Absolutely love these plates. I saw these plates as a stepping stone to hopefully sell and get a better made plate set but for the life of me, I can't justify replacing them. They've held up quite nicely. I've beat these to hell and back and they still perform well. They're pretty accurate to their stated weight.