Performance wise, I have no issues with this bench. It feels solid, is easy to change angles, and always feels "locked in" during use. The seat pad can wiggle a little, but typically only when adjusting it or moving it with no weight on it. Also, once you use the bench enough, you completely get used to the "extra" step of the pop-pin adjustment when you need to move the seat down, or pulling the other know when you need to move the seat in and out to change the seat angle. It could be faster if the seat used a ladder system as well, but at the time I got it, I didn't think it was worth giving up the attachment port. The Nighthawk from Rep is also a great option with the best of most things, but the fit and finish isn't quite as good I think. And if you're tall like me, I appreciate the extra pad length you get with the Blackwing. Value is good too, especially when you compare to American made options. I know the attachment eco-system is pretty much as basic as it gets, but I'm mostly here for the core lifts anyway. Though I am looking forward to that Dialed Motion collab cable driven leg developer. For build quality, It is built like a tank, and heavy like one too, but who cares when you're strong (or relative to sedentary folks anyway).

I had this for about 2 years, then sold it due to it not getting much use, and even when folded up, it still takes up a decent amount of space, which is at a premium for small gyms. When I did have this, it was great though. Sure, you're not going to be able to go super heavy (that's the reason for taking a star off on performance), but it works great to get the blood flowing in the low back, and did help me get through a particularly stubborn back tweak. The feet will bounce back and forth a bit if you go over 180 pounds or so. That's definitely scary the first time it happens, but I never felt like it as going to tip over unless I got well beyond 180 or so. It is built great, and is pretty good value for what it is. I think it's harder to design something of decent quality when it needs to fold up with relative ease, and they nailed that part I think. Long story short, it's nice to have for tweaks or minor injury rehab, but if you're looking to boost your deadlift by pushing the weight way up with this, look for a beefier, heavy, non-folding unit.

Now that I'm used to getting the hooks latched during lifts, and on getting the hooks into the exact right spot on the barbell when doing the initial setup, performance is great. I docked it a star though, as there is definitely a learning curve. It can also still be a pain occasionally, especially when you're struggling on that last rep to get the latches into the holes on the uprights. I have safeties at the bottom of the lift, and that's definitely a must if you either go heavy, or often push to failure. Finding that hole can be tough...That said, I think it's a genius design, and works really well once you're used to it. Value wise, a big part of my taking points off here is dealing with Bulletproof. I got my original unit pretty quick, but they screwed up with boxing my units and they forgot the latch hooks entirely. They took a few days to respond, and then it took almost another two full weeks before I got the latch hooks in hand. It seems like after acknowledging their mistake, they drug their feet "fixing" the mistake. I also ordered the plastic protectors for the latch hooks at the same time I ordered the VTS Lite unit. Those were projected to ship the first week of March, but didn't end up shipping until the last week of February. I realize that shipment windows pushing out are common in this industry, but just know that's something you'll almost for sure deal with when ordering anything from Bulletproof. And none of my order was a "pre-order" by the way (other than the plastic hooks, as they were just out of stock). Build quality I have zero complaints. The powder coat seems good, and the rollers are very smooth. All the adjustable pieces adjust very easily. If you don't need the unilateral aspect of a smith, the VTS Lite is a great alternative to the bulkier VTS. I kind of wish I would have waited for the "VTS Home", but if I did I probably wouldn't have gotten a unit until the end of this year. I'm happy with what I have.

It does sound a little creaky (metal/powder coated carabiners on metal chain will do that, especially when used with a cable machine), but it's pretty cheap. I think the combo of value and function make this a winner for me.

I love the functionality of this, and how it helps relieve strain on my elbows especially. It also helps relieve wrist strain, but that wasn't as big a problem for me for the key lifts this is good for (tricep push-downs, overhead tricep extensions, curls, lat pull-overs). Value is where this one takes a hit. It has increased a LOT in price over the past year or so, and it was already pretty pricey for what it is. I think it used to be around $100 or so on Etsy, and always had a $15 plus markup on Amazon. Now it's almost $170 I think which is insane for what you're getting. I probably could have made my own with some 1" metal pipe from a hardware store, but I ended up still buying one direct from Etsy with some Christmas gift money. It was still over $100, but not the crazy markup on Amazon for it (on top of it continuing to rise in price). It's a shame another company isn't making this for a reasonable price (there's an overseas company making one for almost $300 before not cheap shipping cost I think), but if you can get it around $100, I still think it's a decent deal if you look past how simple it is, and focus on the functionality if gives you. I've heard some people complain about the foam padding. It does slide, but others have said they need more padding due to discomfort, and I disagree. The padding was plenty for me. It is very cheap padding though, so I'm sure it won't last long. That's the only point I took off is I'm sure the foam pads will need to be replaced after a year or so of use.

I love the functionality of this, and how it helps relieve strain on my elbows especially. It also helps relieve wrist strain, but that wasn't as big a problem for me for the key lifts this is good for (tricep push-downs, overhead tricep extensions, curls, lat pull-overs). Value is where this one takes a hit. It has increased a LOT in price over the past year or so, and it was already pretty pricey for what it is. I think it used to be around $100 or so on Etsy, and always had a $15 plus markup on Amazon. Now it's almost $170 I think which is insane for what you're getting. I probably could have made my own with some 1" metal pipe from a hardware store, but I ended up still buying one direct from Etsy with some Christmas gift money. It was still over $100, but not the crazy markup on Amazon for it (on top of it continuing to rise in price). It's a shame another company isn't making this for a reasonable price (there's an overseas company making one for almost $300 before not cheap shipping cost I think), but if you can get it around $100, I still think it's a decent deal if you look past how simple it is, and focus on the functionality if gives you. I've heard some people complain about the foam padding. It does slide, but others have said they need more padding due to discomfort, and I disagree. The padding was plenty for me. It is very cheap padding though, so I'm sure it won't last long. That's the only point I took off is I'm sure the foam pads will need to be replaced after a year or so of use.

There are so many different versions of this bar, and have been in the past, that it's hard to really pinpoint a review on it. The version I have is the import version, and was made about 2 years ago. I got it for very cheap ($180 or so including tax), so my value judgement is more based on the current price of camber bars they offer. The version I have is fine. It looks like the cheaper, super shiny chrome plating, but it's supposedly stainless steel. I haven't had any issues with it flaking, it's just a different stainless steel look than I've ever seen. Performance wise, my only issue is the camber angle. It's funny because as far as how it feels lifting, it's probably better, but the sharper angle makes it a pain to load weights onto. I even have the duffalo block inserts with the Rogue version of the ghost J cups, and it still gives me a heart attack every time when loading the first couple plates on each side as it will slide over to the other side of the rack. I tried it with normal j cups a couple of times too, and it flipped on my with just a 45 on one side, hence my investment in the duffalo blocks. The angle being more steep though doesn't give it full contact with the duffalot block. That in combination with me having a Rep rack instead of Rogue, the angles aren't perfect enough for my piece of mind to use this bar all that much. I did end up finding a hack solution of sorts so the bar can't slide as far over, but it still feels like it's going to flip. It's not worth the potential damage to my car parked right next to my gym. Some of this I think is inherent with all duffalo bars, unless you have a very specific rack, rack width j cup style setup. It still feels great to lift with, but pre-lift, weight loading and unloading can be "stressful".

I got this free (Instagram giveaway, woohoo!), but otherwise there's no way I would have bought this myself. If this weren't built as well as it was, I'd give it 1 star for value. You're basically paying for the R&D of a truly unique design. Don't get me wrong it works awesome, exactly as intended. But you're basically getting a barbell and collars for about double of a great quality Rogue curl bar plus collars. You get some extra convenience, sure, but then again, you also don't get as tight a fit on the bar as they will always rattle a bit (where as a nice collar on a regular curl bar won't). The only "performance" issue I've seen is for weight plates with slightly wider than normal diameters, they can slide right off the bar. True, if you buy a barbell like this, you probably have super nice low tolerance inside diameter plates too, but it seems like they should have accounted for this a little better.