I purchased a custom Watson Adjustable Bench as a secondary bench to compliment my Rogue Manta Ray, as I was looking for something more lightweight and nimble. As a bench, it performs exactly as you would expect from a true "commercial grade" piece. It's stable, fairly easy to adjust via the ladder system, and maneuvers well around my space. In addition to its reliable performance, it's (in my opinion) the best looking bench on the market. Watson does an exception job with their materials (steel & leather upholstery), welds, powder coating, and moving components. The standout feature of this bench is definitely the degree of customization offered by Watson. I selected a gold frame, clear coat moving parts, stainless ladder system, black leather with gold "church window" stitching, and my gym's logo in gold stitching. While I wouldn't select this as my first or only bench, it is a true work of art, and a beautiful centerpiece to my gym. It's not versatile compared to FID adjustable benches with attachment ecosystems, and it certainly wouldn't be classified as "affordable" given the very steep price tag of nearly $3,000 CAD before shipping... but it's very nice nonetheless.

The Oak Club Don is a truly innovative rack attachment that offers easy setup during dumbbell press variations. It accepts a wide range of dumbbell types and sizes, while offering a smooth swivel under heavy loads via the oiled bronze bushings. The 1/4” UHMW protects your dumbbells, which is an important consideration when your dumbbell heads are frequently brushing against the concave cradle while racking/unracking. While I don’t use the Don often, it’s a nice option to have, especially for heavy decline presses and standing overhead presses where getting into position for the movement is especially difficult.

If I had to choose one bench (and one bench only) to use for the rest of my life, it would be the Rogue Manta Ray. All FID adjustable benches I’ve tried have produced some degree of wobble under load, especially in incline/decline positions - all with the exception of the Manta Ray. Not only does the bench remain stable while in use, but the wide/grippy vinyl also allows you to lock into position for exceptional control during heavy presses. In terms of movement and adjustments, modifying the degree of incline/decline via the ladder system is incredibly easy. With all of the great qualities of the Manta Ray it isn’t without its minor faults. The first is the weight, which could make maneuverability difficult for some trainees. With that being said, the felt weight is not as significant due to the wheel base taking the bulk of the load. The only other minor issue is the bench’s versatility. While many competitors have invested in a bench attachment ecosystem, the Manta Ray has just one attachment, and that’s the decline foot catch. It would be great to see Rogue expand this bench’s compatible attachments, which would likely be enough to increase my value rating.

I purchased the Oak Club Monroe (with Dual Voltra Mounts & 11" gap foot plates) as a solution for doing belt squats. While heavy and somewhat difficult to maneuver, the Monroe performs exceptionally well as a belt squat platform. The grip tape on the platforms offers a tactile and secure stance, while the adjustable angle feet allow for greater variation, similar to using squat wedges. For Landmine rows it provides the same stability, extends the bottom range of motion, and offers a perch to load and unload the barbell sleeve. A big improvement over rowing from the floor. The only criticisms I have of the Monroe would be the non-existent assembly instructions and level of difficulty when propping the unit up to adjust the feet. Otherwise it's an excellent product.

I've tried and tested a number of different mag pins and these are the ones I keep coming back to when I need a new set. They're low profile, have a strong fit, and are aesthetically pleasing.

Across Performance, Value, and Build Quality, the Voltra Fixed Mounts deliver. I have several of these mounts set up around my gym where I'm frequently attaching the Voltra in specific positions on my uprights and crossmembers. These (and the adaptive rack mounts) are also the only mounts that work with my Stall Bar uprights where I only have access to the front and back holes, as the sides are occupied by horizontal bars. The only criticism I have of these mounts is that they occupy 5 x 1: holes with 1" spacing. In some cases this can limit access. Otherwise they fit tight to your uprights, are well built, and perform as intended.

At a glance, it's a brilliant design with everything you'd want in a split squat stand. It offers multiple height adjustments, stows away with a small footprint, and is made with quality steel from a reputable premium manufacturer. The only immediately noticeable downside was its price tag, but as a less price sensitive buyer I didn't mind paying for a piece that would drastically improve a frequently programmed movement like split squats... or so I thought. Unfortunately the Commander suffers from two major flaws. First, is its ease of setup. For any space saving, collapsible piece, you have to consider the time and effort required for setup. Because the Commander is so heavy due to its 3x3" tube HSS construction and multiple components, it's a pain to pull out for use. This issue is compounded when you need to detach and reattach the crossbar, swivel the stand, and remove/insert magpins while balancing the heavy unit. Once unfolded it's also difficult to move into the perfect position before you start performing Bulgarian Split Squats... but this isn't the worst part. The second, and most fatal flaw of this piece is the kickstand/leg design. Because the Commander has a T-shaped base when deployed, it easily tips under heavy load. The whole point of a Split Squat Stand is to provide real-leg stability during split squats so you can focus on generating force via your front leg. In order to counter the inevitable tilt, I will rotate the unit 180 degrees to align my back foot with the heavier/stable end of the stand. This improves the stability under load, but because of the heft of the unit, it is especially difficult to achieve consistent positioning from set to set when you are constantly rotating it into place. Some other critiques include the need to buy a separate pad and MagPins, but I didn't factor these into my rating.

The Prime Stability Pad is one of my most used rack attachments. As advertised, it improves stability on a variety of exercises, increasing control for rows, presses, flies, and a variety of other accessory movements. The stock design of this unit would be adequate for most users, but benefits from some small modifications. One is the guide/limiter pin. By removing this, you can store the unit vertically when mounted to a crossmember, as I've done. The second modification I made was swapping out the stock green pop pins for the JD Gym Equipped 'Green Delete' knurled pins. This is a strictly aesthetic modification, but is a huge visual improvement over the default green plastic pins. Modifications aside, there are some other qualities that leave much to be desired. The first is the tolerance on true 3x3" uprights or crossmembers. The unit tends to shift and move under significant load, which causes friction against the rack, undesired play during the movement, and creates an audible squeak with each rep. The second, and arguably worst quality is the pad. I'm not a fan of Prime's padding or slippery vinyl, but that's not my complaint. What really bothers me is the pad's back plate. It runs in a narrow strip down the middle of the pad, and will inevitably pull off the plywood backing, while straining the stitching - especially if load is unevenly distributed across the pad, which is inevitably the case with some movements. Storage is another shortfalls, as it's quite large, oddly shaped, and relatively heavy. Instead of storing the unit off of my rack, I've permanently mounted it to a retrofitted crossmember on my Stall bars. Overall, the product performs well, and I was very close to rating it 4 stars in the category. As much as I want to love the product, these small design deficiencies leave much to be desired. It's only a matter of time until a competitor develops a much better version of this product.