It holds barbells securely, feels solid, and does exactly what it’s supposed to do. My only real complaint is the threaded screw and bullet knob are way too long. Once mounted, it sticks off the upright a pretty good distance, and it takes about 89 turns to fully tighten or loosen. A quick-release style mechanism would make this thing nearly perfect. Minor complaints though — overall it’s a great piece of equipment and works really well.

Absolutely love this bar. In a small garage gym where every inch matters, the shorter length is honestly perfect. The short sleeves haven’t been a problem at all, mainly because I’m not benching numbers that require a spotter, ammonia, and a crowd. The camber is also absolutely dialed in. The stretch at the bottom of presses feels incredible — like your chest is getting opened up by a medieval torture device designed specifically for pec gains. Some specialty bars feel gimmicky after a week. This one has earned permanent rack space in the Lab.

Perfect for attaching things in ways that probably shouldn’t work, but do. Great product.

Bought this off Facebook Marketplace, which in hindsight probably should’ve been the first warning sign. When someone is urgently trying to unload a “Booty Sprout Hip Thrust Machine,” there’s usually a reason. Unfolding and setting up all the bands feels less like gym equipment and more like you’re preparing a medieval trap for your hips. The resistance bands are awkward, the positioning is weird, and the entire experience somehow feels both ineffective and deeply uncomfortable at the same time. I tried to give it a fair chance. Adjusted the bands. Changed foot positions. Tried different tensions. At one point I looked less like I was training glutes and more like I was attempting an interpretive dance routine with industrial bungee cords. Maybe this machine works great if you’re built like a Kardashian and your entire lower body operates on influencer physics. But for me? I’ll stick to loading plates onto a barbell like back when we were a proper country. To be fair, it does technically work your glutes. But so does every squat, deadlift, lunge, step-up, hill sprint, and carrying groceries from the car. Except those don’t make you feel like you bought exercise equipment from a soccer mom named Carolyn during a Facebook Marketplace meetup in a Target parking lot.

Bought these because the entire internet talks about them like they were hand-delivered by the back day gods themselves. Every review is basically: “These changed my life, fixed my posture, cured my taxes, and added 40 lbs to my lat pulldown.” So naturally I bought a pair. Got them in. Tried them on pulldowns. Rows. Different grip angles. Neutral grip. Wide grip. Weird grip angles that made me feel like I was attempting ancient martial arts forms. And honestly? I just… don’t get it. Maybe I’m using them wrong. Maybe my lats aren’t spiritually evolved enough yet. Maybe there’s a secret initiation process I missed. But for me, these things currently function best as extremely expensive modern art hanging on my wall control. 5/5 wall control decoration 1/5 actual attachment

Absolutely love these things. I somehow own 8 of them now, which feels excessive until you actually start using them… then suddenly it feels completely reasonable. The length is basically perfect for almost every application. Some mag pins I’ve used before always seem just a little too short, but these hit the sweet spot. The magnetic hold is also dialed in perfectly — strong enough to feel secure, but not so strong that you need obsessive grip strength to remove them. Another underrated feature: the faces are flat and smooth, which made it super easy to add custom branding.

Nobody needs urethane-coated plates this nice… but once you use them, regular plates feel like peasant equipment. They look incredible, feel premium, and the urethane coating makes me feel way more sophisticated than I actually am while loading a barbell in my garage. The built-in handles are legitimately awesome — moving plates around no longer feels like wrestling manhole covers. The 45s also double as elite farmer’s carry implements, so technically I’m getting cardio equipment too. That’s how I justify the price to myself anyway. Fair warning: buying one pair “just to try them” is how you accidentally end up collecting every size.

Absolutely love this thing. I paired it with my Ares 2.0 and a very scientific “custom engineered” setup consisting of a makeshift 4x4 crossmember with a pulley and a rounded calf block for calf raises… and it works ridiculously well. The retractable feature alone deserves 5 stars. Being able to get in and out quickly without performing a full Olympic gymnastics routine is a game changer. Once you use it, you realize there’s really nothing else out there quite like it.