Medium Sized Craig's Reviews (90)


(5.00)
3/30/2026
I just *enjoy* these plates. Look at the text on them, the THOR fades down to the right, like the typesetter just got sloppy (apparently the whole set is similarly sloppy). There is a whole story with these plates being an unapproved re-cast of the standard York milled plates by York CA, and that they got shut down when York USA noticed. They're 45s. Mine have some casting faults but are close enough to 45 that I don't care. I like them mainly because they're weird, and the THOR looks cool.
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(4.33)
3/29/2026
These are really high quality kettlebells. That said, I had a pair and got rid of them for three reasons: 1. Takes time to change, Allen key and a big nut to take off. Probably 60-90 seconds, which may not feel like a big deal but I find it quite annoying in the middle of a workout. 2. There is no visual indicator on the outside what weight is in there. I don't do too much kettlebell work, so generally forgot what was in there and had to open them up and check (see point 1) 3. In kg, unlike every other weight in my gym, and unlike my training programs. These didn't work for me, but they're really high quality items, and somebody who interacts with their kettlebells differently (or has a better short term memory than me) would probably love them.
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(4.00)
3/28/2026
These weights are not the most accurate in the world (I have a 43 and 46lbs set), actually not complaining about that since I wanted them for hub lifting, and now I have a baby 45 to work up to the full one. I think the whiskers look cool and three plates are one of the best looking in my small vintage weight collection.
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(5.00)
3/17/2026
Bought these after reading the gray matter "Best carabiners" article. Love 'em. Relative to getting normal carabiners on and off equipment, these are just a breeze, and I tend to do most things one handed now. Ended up buying these in bulk and clipping them basically everywhere. Note, not for climbing, there is no locking mechanism. For the gym they're perfect though. Also they claim to hold 3372 lbs, which I have not verified. Will update this review when I deadlift that much.
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(4.00)
3/17/2026
It does what it needs to, and is one of the only lat pulldowns I have found that is short enough it will fit in my basement. The downside of this is that if I want to do lat pulldowns with full range of motion, I have to remove the chain from the upper pulley, use the smallest carabiner I have, and kneel on the ground. I'm not especially tall, either, at 5' 9". That said, I'm not knocking any points off for that, it fits in my basement, and no pulldown machine could avoid having that problem with the basement constraint. Other than that, build quality is *OK*, you get what you pay for with a machine that's around $150 new. It feels a little unsteady sometimes, but it works and gets the job done. The included attachments were terrible and immediately went in the bin.
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(4.00)
3/12/2026
OK. So. These look really cool, but I'm not buying any more of them. I really like lifting with vintage weights, and the Roundheads are a great addition on that front. However, relative to modern dumbbells, these ones didn't really stack up: No knurling, can be bent or snap off the head on larger weights, handle is surprisingly small. That said they look really nice. I decided to stop my collection at 5-25 and use other DBs above that.
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(5.00)
3/12/2026
The gateway drug to vintage plate collecting. Affordable, cool, and do what they need to do
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(4.67)
3/11/2026
I have been a big Ironmaster fan for a long time, and this is one of my favorite pieces of theirs. I feel like it gets mentioned a lot less than other similar attachments like the Black Widow, but it achieves all the same things. Neutral and pronated grip, adjustable from the widest of wide to extremely narrow. Hole at the top allows it to be threaded onto a 2" barbell and used for landmine rows. Extremely versatile. One nitpick, I had to keep my close-grip rowing extension because the neutral grip handles don't align perfectly with the cable you're attaching too, so they twist forward or backward at a slight angle when you pull and your grip can begin to slide off the handle. Also, I personally would like more aggressive knurling.
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90 total