This is a recent upgrade for me and I really like it. Before I was using the tennis ball on the end of a barbell and crammed in the corner trick (which works great). The pivot action to this gives you more range of motion than some brands. The protective plastic on the inside to protect your barbell sleeve is a great touch. I also don't know why every landmine doesn't come with a magnet to keep it out of the way after using this. The magnet could be a tad stronger as there has been one instance where I had a hard re rack and it knocked it down. Not a big deal, but I don't see why it would be bad if it was stronger.

Pin and pipe safeties are about as bare bones as you get for safety options. Unless I was on a budget and was at the end of it I would not use these as my spotter of choice. If you have any real failures you will for sure bend the pins. They will likely still work, but will be a pain to move around. No one wants to buy these on FBMP so I keep mine and use them for viking press. I put a U clip on them so that way I don't have to put it on a barbell. It still chips up the coating over time, but the pin has held up very well to that unintended use.

I was tempted to go all in on these plates, but decided to go with the deep dish plates and use the change plates from this set. I stand by my decision, but these look so clean. Rogue has essentially changed their calibrated lineup to match this design so someone on their design team must think so as well. I do find the black on black a bit bland so I use a white paint pen to fill in the numbers. About 3 coats is what you need to do. It is a lot of work and they will eventually chip, but a touch up here and there and they will be good to go. One thing that drives me crazy about these plates is they have a .25 listed, but I have not seen that thing go on sale for 3 years. I look more than I care to admit. I have a pair of all the other change plates and have a full weight tree, plus added horns. Like I said, it is silly, but I would love to complete my set!

When I saw Rogue come out with the deep dish plates for the elephant bar deadlift at the Arnold Strongman Classic, I wanted to eventually have them in my home gym. They have come out with an Arnold version of these plates, but I like the standard set since they better match the other plates in the set. The 45s are the show stopper for these weights. In all honesty the 35s and 25s are pretty normal when it comes to their “dish”. I do wish they modeled the other plates after that more pronounced lip. The lip on the 45 is great and makes them incredibly easy to move around. They are loud and I could see that being a negative for some, but I find that to really sing in the gym in a positive way. For my change plates I go with the USA olympic plates. They have a very similar look and fit right in the mix. I will say that Mayhem strength has done a good take on modern deep dish. They would be another option to look at if these are of interest to you. As for these plates. I see them being my daily driver till I can't pick up that bar one more time.

Fractional plates at this level are a bit unnecessary in my opinion so having them in a fun form factor is a good way to include them in the gym. These are at a good price range for a home gym gift.

I did a first impressions video on these so you can check on my youtube for that if you’d like. After some more time with them, my opinion has not changed. They are really nice plates that are similar to other brands with the chrome outer and colored band on the edge. Feel and look is great. A big issue I have is the weight on the plates. The 55, 45, and 10 is normal, but the other 2 weights are… 20 and 30. Not 25 and 35 . 20 and 30. Also, they are in pounds, which is okay, but typically this style of plate is wanted for powerlifting and the preferred weight is kilograms. I don’t know what their idea with that is, but it is really odd. To top it all off, they are as expensive if not more than other brands who have approval by federations and a more established history with lifters. I don’t recommend these. I got them free with a gift card I won. I have use for the 20s since they fit well on the log, but I can’t see any reason someone would buy these.

Great budget option for accurate training plates that are still a good price. They have held up well over the 4 years I have had them. Plenty of drops and mishaps. They still work like when I got them and they look pretty close to it too. The feel of the rubber material is a lot harder than other comparable plates, but not necessarily a bad thing. I just prefer a softer feel. That might not even be indicative of the quality, but I do assume it is a lesser quality material. That all is a big nit pick and should not factor much into someone's decision.

I am not a huge fan of these as compared to the versions that have a curve that matches your chest a bit more. I got these for cheap so I am okay with them, but I don’t think these are the pick for what to put in your plate carrier. I still use them as intended, but another fun use I have found is using the reds as an autograph board at the HGC, Arnold, and other events. It catches people by surprise that the thing you give them looks like a clip board, but is a heavy piece of metal. That makes those worth it to me, but not something that changes my opinion on recommendation. On a silly, but true note. These will not make it through airport security. It will freak them out and you will get a lot of questions. I kind of get it, but also seemed like a security theater.