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Rogue Fleck plate vs Fractional plates

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Jul 6, 2020 9:00:00 AM

Rogue Fleck plate vs Fractional plates

This is a comparison between the Rogue Fleck plate and the fractional plates including pros, cons and alternatives. Follow the links for more details

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Overview and review of Rogue fractional plates

The Rogue fractional plates will set you back about $33 dollars. These plates are especially good to use for lifters who want to microload. This overview has originally been published in the article "Which rogue plates to buy" which you can find on this blog.

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Overview of the fractional plates

 
Rogue Fractional plates come in pairs of 0.125kg and 0.250kg. They are a helpful tool for the most advanced athletes to steadily increase the weight being lifted. They can also be used on beginning athletes or anyone who is facing a plateau. These plates allow you to increase the weight on the bar in increments which are smaller than 2.5kg and therefore provide more options for your training.
 

Pros of the fractional plates

 
Fractional plates are a great tool when you know how to use them. For programs like Jim Wendler, you want to use them as they break down the weight increments very finely. 
 

Cons of the fractional plates

 
These plates get easily lost or stolen. Also most people in your gym will not know how to use them probably and scatter them all over the place as they are so small.
 
 

Overview and review of the Rogue fleck plate

The Rogue fleck plates are Rogue's compromise between competition bumper and regular bumper plates. Here are the pros and cons.

 
The Rogue Feck plates are the newest edition to the line up of Rogue plates and range from $50 for a pair of 10LB plates to $625 for a 350LB set. This puts the price to $0.56 per pound. The distinguishing factors of the fleck plate are its claimed precision in weight and the fleck design. With this, these bumper plates add some color to your gym without breaking the bank as competition bumper plates would do. The specs of these plates are:
 
Plate Breakdown: Weight, Color & Width
  • 10LB - Black & Grey, 0.85”
  • 15LB - Black & White, 1.2”
  • 25LB - Black & Green, 1.6”
  • 35LB - Black & Yellow, 2.08”
  • 45LB - Black & Blue, 2.76”
  • 55LB - Black & Red, 3.02”
 
Specifications:
  • Diameter: 450mm (+/- 3mm) / 17.72 inches
  • Collar Opening: 50.40mm / 1.98 inches
  • 304 Stainless Steel Inserts
  • Weight Tolerance: +/- 1% claimed weight
  • Durometer: 90
  • Minimal Bounce
  • Black + Color Fleck Finish
  • Imported from Chin
This is a good option if you want some color, but not spend too much money on your bumper plates. 
 

Pros of the fleck plate

 
The pros of the fleck plate are:
 
  • Unique design
  • Value for money
  • Bumper
 
The design of the fleck plates is very unique. As long as you like you will be hard-pressed to find something comparable. I personally like them as a compromise between black bumper plates and colored competition plates. 
 
For the color and precision, you are getting these plates are relatively cheap compared to other rogue plates available. If you insist to see easily from a distance which plates you have, this is the way to go. 
 
As these plates are bumper plates they come with the benefit of being outdoor-friendly. You can also drop them regularly without wrecking your barbell, platform or floor. 
 
Cons of the Fleck bumper plates
 
The cons of the fleck bumper plates are:
 
  • Sleeve space
  • Precision
  • Made in China
 
The challenge that all bumper plates have is that they take up more real estate on a bar sleeve than steel plates. If you want to maximize the amount of weight you can put on your barbell, this is not the right set of plates to get. 
 
While these bumper plates claim high precision, I would be inclined to test that first. The reason being is that they are not manufactured by Rogue themselves and do not have inlets for high precision adjustments like calibrated plates. A blanket statement on shipped bumper plates from china with 1% is a tall order with no inlets for micro-adjustments. It won't matter if you buy them for your Crossfit gym or commercial gym, but if you are training for weightlifting or powerlifting competitions stay with the calibrated plates.
 
While the design and price are very tempting some might not want to support products that are made in China based on principle or legal requirements as a government agency. In this case, you might refer to other Rogue plates.
 

Alternatives to the Rogue fleck plates

 
Alternatives to the Rogue fleck plates are:
 
 
Rogue bumper plates are the same idea as the fleck plates minus the color. They are cheap, can be used everywhere and forgiving to abuse and toes. 
 
The precision machined steel plates from Rogue are the best choice for powerlifters who want precision but do not want to break the bank with calibrated plates. These Olympic plates are slightly more costly than the fleck plates.
 
 The Rogue Fleck plates are the newest edition to the line up of Rogue plates and range from $50 for a pair of 10LB plates to $625 for a 350LB set. This puts the price to $0.56 per pound. The distinguishing factors of the fleck plate are its claimed precision in weight and the fleck design. With this, these bumper plates add some color to your gym without breaking the bank as competition bumper plates would do. The specs of these plates are:

Summary of the fleck plates 

Fleck plates are the right choice if you want colored plates from Rogue at a reasonable price. 

Topics: Rogue, Plates