REP fitness Hi-Temp bumper plates vs Rogue Technique plates

This is a comparison between the REP fitness hi-temp plates and the Rogue technique plates. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Rogue Technique plates

The Rogue technique plates will set you back about $125 - $160 dollars. These plates are especially good to use for beginning weightlifters. 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

Overview of the technique plates

Technique plates are special plates which have the same diameter of 450mm than regular competition plates but at a much lower weight. This is achieved by using high-density polyethylene Plastic (HDPE). These are the right plates to teach beginners, juniors or getting rehabbing athletes back to lifting. These plates combined with a technique bar can lower the weight of the bar for a beginner to 15kg to enter the sport of Olympic weightlifting. If you work a lot with children or very unfit beginners, this is a good plate to add to your arsenal.

The technique plates are available in red and white in 2.5kg, 5kg, 5lb, and 10lb versions. They have the following specs:

450mm Diameter
50.2mm Center Hole Diameter
Grooved edge for easier handling

Pros of the technique plates

Technique plates help to ease into the sport and to hone your lifts to perfection. If your gym or yourself are serious about Olympic weightlifting they will be a great addition to your arsenal to grind on technique without wreaking your body.

Cons of the technique plates

These plates have a very narrow and specialized use case. If you do not enter the realm of Olympic weightlifting you will probably only get very little use out of them.

Alternatives to the technique plates

Alternatives to technique plates are:

Fractional plates and change plates help you to work with lower denominations in work and to microload. In most cases you will get more use out of these for everyday training than out of technique plates.

Overview and review of the REP fitness Hi-Temp bumper plates

This is an overview of the REP fitness Hi-temp 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.

Hi-Temp Bumper plates $25

If you are feeling eco-friendly the Hi Temp bumper plates are the way to go for you. HI-temp bumpers are made from recycled material under very high temperature and are there also very durable. They are available from REP fitness in the following sizes:

5lb
10lb
15lb
25lb
35lb
45lb

Good, budget-friendly option.

Pros of the REP Hi-Temp Bumper plates

The pros os the Hi-Temp bumper plates are:

Price
Durability
Can be used outdoors
Don't stain easily

These are the ideal plates for someone who decides to do a lot of work with their plates outdoors. If you need to outfit a gym that is in a base camp or at a movie set in the middle of nowhere, then these are great. They also do not get stained as easily as colored plates which is a bonus in a dirty environment.

Cons of the REP Hi-Temp Bumper plates

Cons of the REP HI-Temp plates are:

High bounce
Sleeve space
Hard to pick up
Inconsistencies in color

The lifting mechanics of these plates are more or less identical to regular bumper plates. This means that they are not great when you lift a lot of weight in the range of 200kg plus on a regular basis and they also don't do great for oly lifts. Lacking a metal core they spin more than competition plates on an oly lift and take up more sleeve space for the same weight.

These plates also lack an extra lip to be easier to be picked up from the ground. A MInor inconvenience, but still...

I think the biggest con of HI Temp bumper plates is that you are dealing with reheated and melted tires. While this is great for saving money and I guess the environment, even though I question whether reheating old rubber to form it into weight plates is really that eco-friendly, it is a nightmare for quality control. While these plates are black in general, they are way more likely to have different shades of black compared to newly produced black bumper plates. But I guess that is not really high on your priority list if you are already considering the cheapest plates in town, which is cool.

Alternatives to the REP Hi-Temp Bumper plates

Alternatives to the REP HI-Temp bumper plates are:

The REP black bumper plates are basically the same thing, except they are not recycled and therefore easier to quality control. This means that you are more likely to get a consistent black color without any shading. The downside is that they are more expensive and also do not give you the warm feeling of buying something that has been recycled.

The REP competition bumper plates are the right choice if you have a generous budget and you are serious about your Olympic lifting. This is the best that REP has to offer in terms of precision and stability during an oly lift for plates. The downside is the price which starts at $129 for the cheapest plates instead of $25 for the HI Temp bumpers.

The Rogue HI temp plates are Rogue's cheap line of plates for the budget-conscious buyer. Of course, budget-conscious and Rogue Fitness do not really go well together in the same sentence, but if you were to get a good rack and barbell from Rogue, but want to save a little on bumpers, then these are a good option to throw in your cart. They are the closest match on the Rogue plate lineup compared to the REP Hi-Temp bumper plates.

TITAN is the cost leader in this business, so if you want to get together a whole gym with the lowest possible cost you can also get their bumpers into your cart and build an entire gym from that. The downside is that they seem to have more issues with quality control than REP fitness and Rogue fitness.

Conclusion for the REP Hi-Temp Bumper plates

The Hi Temp bumpers from REP are a good option to save some cost and make you feel better about yourself as long as you don't mind that they won't be in one continuous shape of black.