REP fitness competition plates vs Rogue calibrated steel plates

This is a comparison between the Rep Fitness competition plates and the Rogue calibrated steel plates. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Rogue Calibrated steel plates

The Rogue calibrated steel plates will set you back about $885 dollars or $5.56 dollars per kg. These plates are especially good to use for powerlifters who are serious about competing. This overview has originally been published in the article "Which rogue plates to buy" which you can find on this blog.

What else to consider from Rogue

Most popular Rogue plates

This is an overview of the most popular Rogue plates on Marathon-Crossfit.com in 2020 based on views and click thoughs for purchase on Rogue Fitness. If you want more detail on how the data was collected and what the strengths and shortcomings of the data set are you can dig deeper on what were the most popular rogue products in 2020.

These were the most popular rogue plates on Marathon-Crossfit.com. On the plates, I would caution between overall popularity and the popularity of my site. The plates listed below are more niche than the Rogue bumpers, the calibrated steel plates, and competition bumpers. If you want a safe bet for your use case these three might be better, as more people buy them.

The Fleck plates are a variation on the Rogue bumper plates which have been infused with red, blue, yellow, and green to indicate the weight of the plates. The splash of color also makes them more fun compared to the regular bumpers. If you find the rogue bumpers too bland but also do not want to shell out more than $1000 on calibrated steel plates or competition bumpers to get color coding then the Fleck plates are for you. You can read the full review of the Fleck plates via this link.

The Rogue Urethane plates are color-coded and also claim the best durability in the Rogue plate portfolio. Whether that warrants the high price tag compared to regular bumpers is a question you have to answer for yourself, but I personally don’t think so. If you want to spend more money on plates, spend it on precision rather than durability in my personal opinion within the Rogue portfolio. Rogue equipment is known to be more durable than the competition so I would not put too much focus on this unless you run an Olympic training center where the plates will go through hundreds of heavy drops per day. You can read the full review of the Rogue Urethane plates here.

The Rogue black training plates have the best dead drop in the Rogue portfolio which means they bounce the least when dropped from overhead. These are the plates which I use most often as I like the design because black does not show marks as easily as other plates. You can read my full review of the Rogue black training plates via this link.

The 6 shooter plates from Rogue are often overlooked as a good option for commercial gyms. They are relatively cheap compared to other Rogue plates and easier to handle in a gym setting where you have a lot of them flying about. The downside is that you can not use them for overhead drops as this will wreck the plates, floor, and barbell in the process. You can read the full review of the rogue 6 shooter plates via this link.

Overview of the calibrated steel plates

The Rogue calibrated steel plates come in KG and LBS nominations. They are popular for powerlifting purposes as they can fit a lot of weight onto a bar. They are also approved by the IPF and therefore be used for official powerlifting competitions based on their high level of precision.

In the manufacturing process, each plate will vary in weight when it is finished. The cheaper the plate, the more variance you will have. Calibrated plates are made with better quality machines and add one production process at the end which is the calibration. What happens here is that the plates are weighed and then there will be a disc placed into little holes at the back of them to adjust to within 10grams of the desired weight.

Further specifications for the Rogue Calibrated steel plates:

Weight / Color / Diameter / Thickness / Price per pair

50kg / black / 450mm / 50mm / $386.50

25kg / red / 450mm / 27mm / $225

20kg / blue / 450mm / 22.5mm / $182

15kg / yellow / 400mm / 21mm / $140

10kg / green / 325mm / 21mm / $99.50

5kg / white / 228mm / 21.5mm / $82.00

2.5kg / Black / 190mm / 16mm / $55

1.25kg / Chrome / 160mm / 12mm / $42.50

0.5 kg / Chrome / 134MM / 8mm / $35

0.25kg / Chrome / 112mm / 112mm / $25.75

Available sets

159kg, pair of each plate except 50kg $885

459kg, pair of each plate 0.25kg to 20kg & 7 pairs of 25kg $2060

Calibrated steel plates are very good when you want to fit as much weight in as little space as possible. As long as you do not want to drop your weights this is great.

Pros of the calibrated steel plates

Calibrated steel plates are the ones you will use in competition in a powerlifting meet. They will also take up less space in your gym than bumper plates for the same amount of weight. The color coding looks cool and gives any gym a little extra feel of being professional when it comes to getting results. With these, you can train like a real champion.

Cons of the calibrated steel plates

Steel plates are not ideal for overhead lifts. They spin differently than competition bumper plates and behave differently when you switch direction during the lift. They also suffer from dropping or heavy use a lot more. Especially the calibration discs can come loose and start to rattle or fall out over time altogether.

Alternatives to the calibrated steel plates

Alternatives to the calibrated kg plates are:

Calibrated steel plates with LBS nominations are the same plate style but take out the thinking for you when you prefer to lift in pounds. If you do not want to compete this might be an option, as the international standard for the IPF is to measure the weight lifted in kilograms.

Competition bumper plates can be a good alternative if you focus more on weightlifting than powerlifting in your local gym. These plates are specially designed to be used in Olympic lifts. Dor this purpose they have a metal core and bumper surroundings. The only downside with these plates is that you can not fir as much on the bar as with steel. But you were not planning on overhead pressing 400kg soon, weren't you.

The most durable and high-quality plates you can get from Rogue are the Urethane plates. Therefore, they are also the most expensive. You can basically think of these as the steroid version of the competition bumper plates which last longer. If you will drop your plates often and use them outside for overhead lifts, this might be the way to go.

Overview and review of the REP fitness competition plates

This is an overview of the REP fitness competition bumper plates including pros, cons, and alternatives. The original was published under which plates to buy from rep fitness. Follow the links for more details.

Rep competition bumper plates $125

The competition bumper plates are the crown jewel of any vendor's plate lineup. They combine color coding with high-quality rubber to be bounced from overhead and an inner metal disc for stability during the clean and jerk and snatch. The REP fitness competition plates are no exception to this design and are a solid option for someone who has high standards but does not want to lose a leg and an arm on a budget to obtain the standard. The full specifications for these bumpers are:

Low Bounce
Zinc Coated Steel Disc Insert
Collar Opening: 50.5mm
+/- 10 grams of claimed weight
450mm Diameter (IWF Standard)
Shore Durometer Ratings: 92 ShA
Follow international color standards (Red/25kg, Blue/20kg, Yellow/15kg, Green/10kg)
5-year warranty on all plates.
Factory tested to 30,000+ drops.

Plate Thicknesses:

Green - 1 3/8"
Yellow - 1.6"
Blue - 2 1/8"
Red - 2.6"

Plate Sets:

90 kg set (2)Each 20-15-10 Plates
110 kg set (2)Each 25-20-10 Plates
120 kg set (2)Each 25-20-15 Plates
140 kg set (2)Each 25-20-15-10 Plates

The good thing about these bumpers is their price. If you don't mind imported plates then this is a good option to save on one of your major items on your shopping list for your home gym or commercial gym.

Pros of the Rep competition bumper plates

The pros of the REP fitness competition bumper plates are:

Price compared to other vendors
Low bounce
High durability
Color coding

When you are considering buying these plates you are most likely very dedicated to your hobby or sport. The direct comparable competition of these plates is the Rogue Competition bumpers and the Eleiko competition bumpers. Both of these are certified by the International weightlifting federation to be used in their competitions to count towards qualifying for the Olympic games or other events regulated by the IWF. Based on this I think these plates are a good option for a dedicated hobby lifter. If you are a professional and want to do everything you possibly can to simulate competition as close as possible in your training I would save a little more and get the Eleiko or Rogue plates depending on how you fit out the entire gym. The cost difference will be substantial, but can also be very motivating for you to do well with the hard-earned equipment.

These plates also have a very low bounce which is a feature of the high-end bumper plates. When you get cheaper ones without a metal insert disc they will bounce higher. If you are training in a confined space or with a very heavy-weight (100kg or more overhead) I would consider upgrading to competition plates for safety and convenience. Not a must, but definitely a great nice to have.

These plates have higher durability than regular bumper plates as they are less likely to come apart at the hole where the sleeve of the barbell inserts. The only downside is that they are not really fit to be sued outdoors as the metal discs will start to corrode. If you want outdoor plates, get the cheapest bumpers possible and just replace them as they will suffer a lot anyway.

The color coding is cool and fun when you are training. I was happy when I got my Rogue color-coded training plates even though I did not want to buy them at first but needed to because of availabilities. Gives your training a different level of seriousness.

Cons of the Rep competition bumper plates

The cons of the Rep competition bumper plates are:

Price compared to other plate options
Metal disc
Busy design
Not IWF approved

The main argument against competition bumper plates is their price per kilogram. Most people will do more than fine with getting bumper plates or iron plates. If you mainly do powerlifting movements, don't bother with bumpers and get iron plates. They are cheap and you can load up your barbell to the brim. If you are planning to train Crossfitting style, then bumper plates are a good option. For commercial uses, it really depends on what you want to convey to your clients. Gyms which a huge floor place will be best advised to get the cheapest per kilogram they can possibly get their hands on unless they are a collegiate gym flush with cash. Boutique gyms and CrossFit boxes should take into consideration that your dedicated clients will definitely know whether you bought the cheap stuff or the good equipment for your members. I would not be too pleased to exercise on York barbells when I am forking more than$200 a month over to you for my membership.

The metal disc is a plus for stability and balance on heavy lifts. It is not great when you work with axle bars or want to use the plates outdoors. In this case, simple bumper plates are better. Don't use iron plates outdoors. They will chip, rust, and rack anything you have mounted them on.

This is a personal style question, but I personally think these competition bumpers are very busy. They would look cooler if REP fitness just put "REP" on them like with their racks. Here Eleiko and Rogue win in my book with a less busy design. But that is just me when I would fork out extra money for something nice I would also like it to be as pleasing on the eye as possible.

If you are preparing for international competitions, you will use different plates. If simulation of big events is what you are after, bite the bullet and save a little more to get ELeiko or Rogue.

Alternatives to the Rep competition bumper plates

Alternatives to the REP competition bumper plates are:

REP bumper plates
REP Iron plates
Rogue competition plates
Eleiko competition plates

The clue is in the name. If you do not compete in Crossfit or Olympic weightlifting the REP bumper plates or Iron plates will do more than fine depending on whether you drop them from overhead or not.

The Rogue competition plates and Eleiko competition plates are very similar in design and function but come at a higher price rate. In return, you are using equipment that got the blessing from the IWF to be used in their competitions.

Conclusion for the Rep competition bumper plates

These are great plates for a dedicated enthusiast in Crossfit or Olympic weightlifting for their home gym or a boutique gym that wants to show their clients that they take them seriously while not shelling out the money for a full Eleiko or Rogue setup. Athletes and collegiate gyms are probably better off opting for the Eleiko and Rogue plates, as long as the budget allows. Gyms with big floor space and a lot of plate trees to fill should immediately look at the other end of the price scale.