Overview and review of the Rogue Charlie Crossfit package

The Charlie Crossfit package gives you 9 different items at a price of $975 to cover your Crossfit needs. Learn more in this overview and find out about alternatives if you don't have the budget or need for such a big pack. This overview has originally been published in "Which Rogue equipment pack to get for an individual".

Overview of the Charlie Crossfit package

The Charlie Crossfit package is the mid-range package from Rogue for individuals and includes:

With this, you can cover your basic needs for your training while still making progress. Some of the items available in other packages have been stripped like the Abmat, Jump Rope, and an additional kettlebell.

Items of the Charlie Crossfit package

Here is a detailed overview of each of the items for the Charlie Crossfit package.

1) 230LB ROGUE HG BUMPER SET

The Charlie Crossfit package includes following bumper plates:

(2) 10LB
(2) 25LB
(2) 35LB
(2) 45LB

Bumper plates are a great tool for all situations as they can be used outside or indoors. You can drop them from overhead and they will not chip. They will also be forgiving when they make contact with fingers or your shins. While this is the good news they lack in design, precision and space requirements.

To keep cost low bumper plates are made from old tire rubber which gets remolded. This gives them a good bounce and makes them more or less impossible to destroy by hand (which surprisingly can not be said of steel plates). This comes at the price of fewer design options as they are only available in black to save cost. If you want more color in your life, look at the colored training plates from Rogue.

In terms of presiding Rogue allows more variance with their bumper plates than with the competition and calibrated steel plates. While the former will only be off the mark for a couple of grams, bumper plates might be up to a kilo off the stated weight in the plate.

The last point is space. You will need more storage to put away the same amount of weight in bumpers than in Olympic plates. On most barbells, you can also only for up to 400 to 500 pound in bumpers. If you have a lot of beasts in your gym you will need some extra metal.

(1) ROGUE OHIO BAR

The Rogue Ohio bar is one of the first barbells Rogue ever produced. It is the backbone of the Rogue barbell portfolio and has been continuously improved to stand the test of time. You will get 190,000 PSI steel bar with dual knurl marks. This is the best value for money barbell you can get from Rogue for any situation.

If you want to add a splash of color and inspiration you might want to go for the Froning, Fraser edition of the Ohio bar or design your own with Zeus. The Pyrros bar is a great option for weightlifting enthusiasts and the Thor bar for powerlifters.

(1) ROGUE KETTLEBELL

The Charlie Crossfit package includes one kettlebell

(1) 53LB / 1.5 pood

Which is cast iron steel with the Rogue branding in front. With this kettlebell you can cover your swings, cleans and snatches. If you do a lot of cleans and snatches you might want to look into the rubber-coated and competition versions of the kettlebell. The cast iron can be hard on your forearms over time.

(1) SET OF ROGUE HG 2.0 COLLARS

The HG collars will protect your bar from scratches compared to spring collars, look and will be easier to take on and off. These collars will keep your plates in place when you are dropping the bar from overhead, deadlift or squat.

(1) SET OF ROGUE WOOD RINGS

The Rogue wood rings are American made and get you ready for your gymnastics. They come including the straps to hook them up to a rack or under the ceiling. If you want to get their full value hanging them from the ceiling is recommended. You will not get the anchors for the ceiling with your purchase, so think of the setup during your next trip to Home Depot.

If you want to get some chalk with them also get yourself a bag to store it in.

(1) ROGUE MEDICINE BALL

Medicine balls are a great tool to take care of your conditioning. Just look up some boxing routines which make use of a medicine ball. These medicine balls are made in the use and have a 14” diameter. With the Charlie Crossfit package, you can choose between 4LB - 20LB for your ball.

Pros of Charlie Crossfit package

The Charlie Crossfit package strips it to the bare bone for your CrossFit starter pack. This is good to save money while still being able to do things from home. You will also not be left with the absolute cheapest equipment that Rogue has to offer for each item.

Cons of the Charlie Crossfit package

With this package, you will get no pull up bar, speed rope, Abmat, and only one kettlebell. You can usually swing a lot more weight than you can do a Turkish get up with. Also, the plates are a little on the light side if you are already a beast.

Alternatives to the Charlie Crossfit package

Alternatives to the Charlie Crossfit package are

Summary of the Charlie Crossfit package

The Charlie package is the low budget option which still gives you good quality material. It will get you fit but you might feel the urge real soon to add to your arsenal.