REP fitness competition plates vs Urethane coated plates
This is a comparison between the REP fitness competition bumpers and the REP fitness Urethane coated equalizer plates. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the REP fitness Urethane coated Equalizer plates
This is an overview of the REP fitness Urethane coated equalizer 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 Urethane Coated Equalizers $15
The REP Urethane coated Equalizer plates are a great way on how REP fitness thought about innovation in the fitness space and applied to their product line to make something that saves cost while still being durable. Urethane plates are said to be one of the most durable plates you can have for a gym. The problem is that it is costly to produce dumbbells or plates completely made of Urethane. So rep took their successful equalizer plate design and applied a Urethane coat to them. What you get is a very affordable, cool-looking plate for your home gym or for commercial use that is also durable. The full specifications of these plates are:
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Six (6) precision-cut holes so athletes can move these plates comfortably from any angle.
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Cast iron plates are coated in a commercial-grade ultra-durable CPU urethane that is highly impact-resistant and shock absorbent.
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CPU Urethane has virtually no odor.
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Attractive embossed logo and weight markings with white inlay.
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Grip cutouts for easy handling.
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3% weight tolerance.
Plate Dimensions (width/diameter)
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2.5LB: 6.25” / 0.9"
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5LB: 8” / 1”
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10LB: 9” / 1.4"
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25LB: 12” / 2"
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35LB: 14” / 2"
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45LB: 17.6” total diameter / 1.8" thickness
These plates are great for commercial use as they are easy to pick up from the floor and handled all kinds of exercises. If I owned my own gym for clients instead of a home gym, I would probably get these plates.
Pros of the Rep Urethane Coated Equalizers
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Easy to handle
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Forgiving
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Cool design
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Attractive price
These plates live up to the "better, faster, cheaper" credo that often cited in business to create a better solution. These plates are easy to put away, pick up from the ground, and load onto the barbell based on their six holes. The design also makes them look cool as the holes are not round but hexagonal.
The Urethane coating makes them more forgiving than regular iron plates so you will not have sharp edges or rubbing off other equipment in your gym. All of this at a very attractive price point makes this a serious contender, especially for commercial use.
Cons of the Rep Urethane Coated Equalizers
The cons of the REP Urethane Coated Equalizers:
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Iron plates inside
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The Integrity of the plates comprmised
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No color options
I personally think these are a lot better than the regular Equlizer plates and absolutely worth the extra money compared to these. But you still have to keep in mind that you are buying an iron plate with a Urethane coating, not a Urethane bumper. This means that these plates will take a bigger toll on your floor and equipment when dropped from overhead than an actual Urethane or bumper plate. Don't believe that this behaves just like a bumper for your lifts. It behaves like an Iron plate with a bit of cushioning. If you ever have used an Iron kettlebell with plastic coating you get what I mean.
While the holes are great for moving the plates around, the integrity of these plates is compromised. They are more likely to crack or warp under heavy use than plates that have a full disc. In a mass use scenario where you have spare plates and can have a rollover contingency for a franchise that does not matter that much, but for your home gym it does matter when one or two of your 55s crack and you are short for your heavy cycles.
Compared to other bumper plates you have no color options on the equalizers. If you wanted to get black anyway, no harm done.
Alternatives to the Rep Urethane Coated Equalizers
Alternatives to the REP Urethane coated equalizers:
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REP rubber coated Olympic plates
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Rogue HI temp plates
The REP equalizer plates are an alternative to save a little money for more or less the same thing. Especially if you are not intending to use the plates for Russian twists or other exercises where you hold the plates you might as well go for the non-coated option and get some spare change to buy something else.
The Rep rubber-coated Olympic plates are an even more budget optimized option out of the REP plate lineup. You can also carry these around very easily and they do the trick of providing weight to your barbell. I personally don't like their design and would rather buy the Coated Equalizers. But that's just me.
The REP HI Temp bumper plates are in my opinion the better option for someone who is intending to do a lot of CrossFit or Olympic lifting at home but is on a tight budget. For this type of training, you need on average less weight on the bar than for powerlifting so the thickness of the plates does not matter as much. What does matter is the damage to your equipment and floor when dropping weights from overhead which will be considerably less with the bumpers than with the equalizers. Yes, the rubber coating does help, but you are still dropping plates with a metal core from overhead.
The Rogue 6 Shooter plates are in my opinion the right plates for someone who mainly does powerlifting at home, but is fed up with how hard iron plates are to handle. These will be easier on your back and you will be delighted that it has become a lot easier to load and deload your barbell with those 700 pounds you pull in meet preparation. They also make that nice rattling metal sound that anyone who can lift more than three wheels for reps loves. They are not great for commercial use as they are simple iron plates with holes in them. For that scenario, the urethane-coated equalizers are still better.
Rogue HI temp bumpers are an alternative to consider to the REP HI Temp bumpers if you are mainly into oly lifting. Stay away from the equalizers if you are intending to drop your plates from overhead often and compare the low-end bumper options for your need between different vendors.
TITAN is the friend of everyone who wants to make their home gym dollar stretch as far as possible. As long as you do not mind minor quality issues and know how to assemble things without instructions or sand down / widen some drilled holes, TITAN is your best option to get the most home gym for your buck.
Conclusion for the Rep Urethane Coated Equalizers
The REP Urethane Coated Equalizers are from my perspective some of the best plates in the market for commercial use. They look good, are practical, do not cost a lot and will not be wrecked by the average joe in your gym. You also can get quite a lot of them on a plate tree which is also important for commercial use. If your clientele is heavily into Oly lifting you might get real bumpers instead. For a home gym, I also think that they are nice, but I would lean to more upmarket plates or something really cheap like simple iron plates in this scenario.
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:
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Low Bounce
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Zinc Coated Steel Disc Insert
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Collar Opening: 50.5mm
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+/- 10 grams of claimed weight
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450mm Diameter (IWF Standard)
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Shore Durometer Ratings: 92 ShA
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Follow international color standards (Red/25kg, Blue/20kg, Yellow/15kg, Green/10kg)
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5-year warranty on all plates.
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Factory tested to 30,000+ drops.
Plate Thicknesses:
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Green - 1 3/8"
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Yellow - 1.6"
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Blue - 2 1/8"
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Red - 2.6"
Plate Sets:
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90 kg set (2)Each 20-15-10 Plates
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110 kg set (2)Each 25-20-10 Plates
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120 kg set (2)Each 25-20-15 Plates
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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
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Price compared to other vendors
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Low bounce
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High durability
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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:
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Price compared to other plate options
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Metal disc
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Busy design
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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:
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REP bumper plates
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REP Iron plates
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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.
