This is a decent bar for tricep pushdowns and cable curls, but lacks the end ROM you can get with ropes for things like facepulls and overhead extensions. Probably holds up well in a home gym setting, but the one at my local Y gym has rapidly shown the effect of heavy use, with fraying rubber ends, so not durable in commercial setting.

Shiny little standard plates. They work the same as black iron, and shouldn't cost you more... they are commonly found on the used market and generally aren't worth more than $1/lb.

Largely indistinguishable from all the other vulcanized rubber bumpers, but well made nonetheless. I picked mine up years ago at the Camp Lejeune BX and put them through heavy use for years. There's no looseness around the hubs, no significant wear on the rubber. They lived outdoors year round in the Southern heat and humidity but there's no sign of cracking or chipping (they were under a canopy, so no direct sunlight). Inexpensive but tough. Hard to beat that.

Thick, robust old standard plates, usually heavier than face value. Commonly available in old garage sales and marketplace listings on the East Coast. They have a much smaller diameter than most modern Olympic equivalents, so if you bore them to 2" they are great for deficit DLs, RDLs and BB rows, giving you room for extra stretch in the eccentric phase. Mild collector value due to their age, but still pretty easily available for entry level prices.

For something that is over 100 years old, the build quality is superb... but it doesn't stand up to modern versions if you're looking for something to use aggressively for kinetic movements. I am confident the value of these will only continue to climb in the future, as they are a foundational part of the modern Strength Culture movement, iconic in many ways. If you're into early Iron Game history and equipment, a Milo KB is a must have. Alan Calvert, found of the Milo Barbell Company, is widely thought to be the "father" of the modern, plate loading barbell. Vintage Milo barbell equipment is in very limited supply; the prices reflect that scarcity and the desire among collectors to hold these pieces. I don't really use mine for too much lifting, just some gentle stuff. But it sits on display in the gym, emanating over a century's worth of Iron Game vibe.

I have this in my gym but I plan to get rid of it and get a more stable power tower. I picked it up used for dirt cheap off marketplace but I still feel like the money wasn't super well spent. This thing is wobbly and just feels cheap in every aspect. It has filled a need for a while but it won't be a permanent gym fixture. I weigh 250 and when I try to do dips or pullups, there is a ton of lateral back and forth motion; it always feels like the thing is about to tip over. This is only made nominally better by keeping a couple sandbags and 120 lb DBs across the base stabilizers in back and a 100 lb plate on the front to hold it to the ground. If you weigh 150 or less, perhaps you'd have a better experience with it... but if you're full grown, get something more solidly built.

affordable shipping scale that is robust enough to weigh heavy vintage plates and other gym materials on. I use it every time I get a new set of plates into the gym. Can toggle between kilograms or pounds with the push of a buttonand I've been very pleased with its overallfunction.

Not fancy but definitely won't hurt your budget, either. A simple no-frills solution for wide grip landmine rows. I wish they weren't quite so long in the drop... to get a good deep stretch at the bottom of rows, you'll need to stand on an elevated block (I use one built with 2x6s, which gives enough height to compensate for these long arms and the diameter of 45lb plates), otherwise the ROM is limited by the plates hitting the ground. The plastic handles are cheap; would be better with knurled iron there instead. I've used mine for several years now with no significant sign of wear aside from a couple scratches from it falling off the wall hanger (entirely my own fault).