TITAN Drop-in rack bench vs Rogue westside bench 2.0

This is a comparison between the TITAN Drop-in rack bench and Rogue westside bench including pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which TITAN bench to get? Follow the links for details.

Overview and review of the Rogue Westside bench 2.0

The Westside 2.0 comes in at $725 and are a great addition to your existing gym to widen the possible exercises you can do. This article was originally published in "Which bench to get to from Rogue".

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the Westside bench 2.0

The Rogue west side 2.0 is a bolt-together version of the Westside bench to bring down the cost in production and shopping. You will have more moving parts, but it is still a 1000+ pound bench press set up for the serious athletes. One of the main features of this bench is that you can adjust it in 1” increments and use it with bands and chains effectively. If you are a fan of the west side training method and benching big this is a great option. The specifications of the Westside 2.0 bench are:

Made in the USA
2x3" 11-Gauge Uprights with Westside hole spacing
Total Height: 54.625"
Bench Height: 17.5” (adjustable up and down by 1" increments)
1000+LB weight capacity
Your choice of either a 12" wide standard bench pad or a 14.5" wide Thompson Fat Pad™ (at additional cost)
NEW Bolt-Together Design with 0.625" Hardware
NEW 7-Gauge Reinforced Steel Spine Under Pad
NEW Laser-Cut Rogue Side Panels
Infinity J-Cups with UHMW inserts to protect the bar knurl
24" Pin/Pipe Safety Set
4 Adjustable Band Pegs
NEW Optional Spotter Decks (at additional cost)
Color: Black

If you are into the Rogue setup for west side benching, this is the way to go.

Pros of the Westside 2.0

This is a lower-cost version of the west side bench and is probably one of the most cost-efficient setups in the market I which you can comfortably go to 1000 pounds for the bench press.

Cons of the West side 2.0

Compared to other bench stations or combos you will have little to no plate storage and no support for heavy incline or decline bench presses. If you care about a 1000 pound bench press you will probably more than this.

Alternatives to the Westside 2.0

Alternatives to the Westside Bench 2.0

If you care about a west side bench I would conveniently assume that you already own a normal bench press setup or just don’t care about getting a portable bench.

The west side bench is the big brother of the 2.0. You will have fewer moving pieces and bigger beams which brings the cost up but also means that you get more integral stability. If you have the money and do not want to transport the bench often, why compromise?

The reflex incline is an alternative to consider or even an additional purchase to the west side bench 2.0. If you are equipping a gym with a west side bench I know you mean business, so where are your freaks going to do their incline bench presses? Same goes for the decline.

Summary for the Westside 2.0

The west side 2.0 is a great option for the serious athlete who wants to train at home with a buddy. If you are equipping a professional gym you might as well go for the big one.

Overview and review of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench

This is an overview of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench including pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which TITAN bench to get? Follow the links for details.

Overview of the TITAN Drop-IN rack bench

Price: $159

A drop-in rack bench is a solution to a specific problem. It is an ok solution, but maybe not for everyone. If you already own a TITAN rack and want to have a competition-sized bench setup, this is the perfect fit your you. Especially if you own gym ith multiple racks you can sacrifice one instead of buying a combo rack for $999 to achieve the same goal. Another example is a home gym owner who is annoyed with their bench setup at home as it is always slightly off. For these two scenarios, the drop-in bench is a very cheap solution to this problem. Otherwise, it is a bit cumbersome. The full specifications for this bench are:

Installs directly into your power rack to provide increased stability
Comes with pins to install the bracket – or use your power rack band pegs
17-in height allows athletes to train with competition bench standards
Tough steel construction will last for years with proper use
Powder-coated paint job protects against rust and early scuffing
Bench height: 17-in
Bench pad length: 51-in
Bench pad width: 11-in
Bench pad thickness: 2 1/2-in
Connection bar width: 42”
Overall weight: 50 lbs.
Weight capacity: 1,000 lbs.

This is a solid drop-in bench that almost can't be beaten on price. If you have the problems mentioned, this is an easy and cheap fix.

Pros of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench

Pros of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench are:

Price
Consistent setup
Easy to install if you have two people

As with all TITAN products they can almost not be beaten on price. This also goes for the drop-in rack bench. If you want to save money and upgrade one of your racks to a competition bench press setup for temporary max tests, this is a great solution. Just pop the bench in for the weekend for your mock meet and you are ready to go.

With this bench, you have nor problems in terms of positioning towards the bar. Distances are the same as in competition and you will always be dead center under the bar. This makes training for competition easier as you do not have to go one inch left, right, forward, and backward each time you want to bench heavy.

If you have two people at hand, this is also an easy install. The pins provided slide in easily and the whole construction is easy to lift in and out of the rack.

Cons of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench

Cons of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench:

Hard to handle for one person
Takes up the entire rack
Can not be used on its own
Problems with the finish

If you are by yourself, this is an annoying setup. You have to put it in the right place, then put the pins in, then something will misalign and you repeat the process all over. With two people this is very easily fixed as you just give instructions to the other person holding the bench while you put the pins in. By yourself this can becomes tedious.

Once installed, the rack can not be used for squats, deadlifts, or most other exercises anymore. The structure stretches over the entire rack space and therefore makes it impossible to be used for anything else than bench press related exercises. To buy a power rack for $300-$400 and then to invest another $$150-$200 to make it less versatile is not good economics or space management. In these departments, the drop-in fails, even though it does address an easy competition bench press set up perfectly.

The drop-in also can not be safely used just on its own. You can not bolt it down and you will also have some balancing issues.

As this is a TITAN product that is retrofitted into their racks after they have been delivered it is ver likely that some things ill not align smoothly. This is one of these products that need attention to detail to work properly and provide the convenience you are buying with it. As these are all finishing related topics, TITAN might not be the best place to go for this kind of idea to buy a highly specialized product at a dumping price.

Alternatives TITAN Drop-in rack bench

Alternatives to the drop in rack bench are:

The TITAN combo rack is a good alternative to the Drop-in rack bench if you have a gym that is spacious. Here you can rather get a proper full competition setup, if your clients demand it, rather than sacrificing a rack to turn it into a bench setup on occasions. This strategy will give you more satisfied clients and less hassle changing setups around. The only downside is that a combo rack can be intimidating, especially if you have to operate by yourself.

The hefty bench is a good alternative to the drop-in rack bench for any home gym owner with a serious flat bench press. If you weigh over 120kg you might want to consider to beef up the bench you are pressing on. The same goes for anyone who benches more than 300lbs for repetitions.

The TITAN bench press rack is a good alternative for anyone who wants a very sturdy, competition bench press setup who does not want to shell out 1000 for an extra station and needs convenience. Compared to a combo rack you get the same bench press setup, but it is way easier to handle. Especially for board presses and other specific partial repetitions, the bench press rack is better than a combo rack.

Conclusion for the TITAN Drop-in rack bench

The TITAN drop-in rack bench is a good option if you occasionally do mock meets in your own professional gym with multiple members attending. In this scenario, you save yourself quite a lot of money, while still having a good bench press setup to work with. When you are not doing a competition you can remove the drop-in and make the rack more versatile. Home gym users might find this to be too cumbersome, even though the very low price is tempting. Anyone who regularly benches heavy and has space might want to consider the bench press rack instead. It costs a little more, but basically takes up the same space if not dissembled and is a lot more convenient.