I think these are phenomenal. Very thin, maybe even thinner than the normal 25s. I like that they’re made in Kentucky. They’re a little greasy when you get them but a quick wash with hose water and dawn dish soap will get them sorted out. Unlike a lot of import rubber bumpers / hex DBs, these don’t smell horrible.

I was given these at Home Gym Con 2025. They’re both unnecessary and sweet at the same time. Would be cool if they made thicker ones that are a more useful weight (like 1.25s or 2.5s). I have to keep them up high so my four year old doesn’t wreak havoc with them.

I bought this one of the many sales that BoS used to have. I benched with this as my main bar for a few months and sometimes use it for OHP, but I haven’t used it in a while. It’s a little odd to have the bar so light (~ 20 lb), and I’ve only loaded it up to about 185 lb but no problems. The arch helps stabilize the load much better than a normal football style bar. I like it for close grip bench sometimes too. My style is to get entry level versions of things if I’m not certain I’ll use them a lot. And this perfectly fit my needs for a specialty bar that won’t be used all the time.

When I started weight training I bought Bowflex DBs and this kettlebell. I liked using the kettlebell for goblet squats and Bulgarians. At one point I even bought two and would do front squats with them. The jump from 25 to 35lb felt really big at the time. I don’t remember them being as expensive as they are now. I’d definitely rather buy a better kind that goes heavier, or get a cheaper knock off of this one. Just wouldn’t bother with this, even though I still have one in my gym.

Incredibly fun way to train grip strength. First time breaking the floor and first time hitting lockout were magical feelings. I bought a legacy half 75 from Big Curt and might need to buy some more. Downside is that they are only useful for one thing. Upside is they are fun and look cool.

My shoulders don’t like getting into position for squats, so I trained with a generic SSB for a while. I have a reimbursement for workout equipment from my job, so I splurged on the Marrs Bar 2.0. I liked the lighter starting weight so it was easier to move around my small basement gym. I don’t squat 400lbs so I didn’t worry about the max capacity, and decided that if I ever make it to a 400 lb squat that I’d be more happy about that than annoyed at having to get the “big brother” version of the bar. I typically wear a sweatshirt when using this; without the extra padding it sometimes hurts my AC joint. The powder coat gets a little scraped up on my Darko Anchors, which are an almost mandatory way to store this bar. Overall this has helped me keep progressing my squat so I’m pleased with the purchase.

I bought this before the Rep x Kleva version with the swivel, and before Rogue’s rotating v bar. These are beautifully made, premium knurling, etc, but I’d be happier with a rotating attachment.

I put the 4000 version on my Monster Light rack, since the Rogue ML straps don’t have any UHMW. I had to sand the UHMW to make them fit, which was annoying but I knew that was a possibility. I had to remove quite a bit of material and wound up using carpet tape to hold the UHMW on. They’re handy units but I might have done something different if I knew how much material I had to remove.