REP fitness PR-4000 rack vs Rogue HR2 half rack

This is a comparison between the Rep Fitness PR-4000 and the Rogue HR2 half rack. Follow the links for more details.

Rogue HR 2 Half rack

The Rogue HR2 half rack comes in at $655 and is one of the low-range options for under $1000 from Rogue. Learn more in this review which was originally published in the Article "Which Rack to buy from Rogue for under $1000".

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What else to consider from Rogue

Most popular Rogue racks in 2020

Attached you find which Rogue racks have been most popular on Marathon-Crossfit.com in terms of views of their reviews and click through rates to Rogue Fitness for purchases. If you want to learn more about the details of the composition of the data you can read the full analyses under what were the most popular Rogue products in 2020.

Overview of the HR2

The HR2 is a half rack that leaves you with a pull-up station and a lot of storage. If you own a Monster lite squat stand and want to take care of your plates you can use Rogues' conversion kit to have more storage.

The HR2 is built in Ohio, Columbus and comes in black. It is 49'' long and 48'' wide. This brings the HR2 to a total footprint of 48''x49''. You can choose between a 110.375'' or 90.375'' height option. It also provides Westside spacing in case you want to work in small increments for your bench press. The HR2 is compatible with the Infinity and MOnster lite series. The steel notes for the uprights come in 3x3'' 11 gauge steel while the base is made of 2x3'' 11 Gauge steel.

The HR2 is a versatile small option to either upgrade your existing squat stand or store a lot of plates away while providing a small squat and bench station.

Pros of the HR2

The HR2 provides a lot of storage in a very small space. This makes it a good option if you want to compress your entire gym and storage plates into as small a space as possible.

Cons of the HR2

You will most likely do all of your exercises outside of this rack and therefore be less safe for powerlifting. Space between the beams is just too small unless you are very petite.

Alternatives to the HR2

Alternatives to the HR2 are

The RE4 is a full rack from the Rogue Echo series. This will put you in the position to have more space to squat and be safe at the same budget. The downside of this deal is that the Echo series has smaller steel notes and there also fewer upgrades made to this line of production of Rogue.

RML3WC is a good option for anyone who wants to save space in a garage. This rack can be folded to the wall so that you can park a car in front or simply safe space when you are not using the rack. This is a great option for the gym and garages who want to be able to convert their workspace depending on changing needs.

The SM1 squat stand is the simplest version of the Monster squat stands and has no pull-up bar. If you want to pear it back maximally to save cost and still be in the top range of Rogue, this is the way to go.

Overview and review of the REP fitness PR-4000 rack

This is an overview of the REP fitness PR-4000 rack including the pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in which rack to buy from REP Fitness. Follow the links for more information.

Overview of the REP PR-4000 Rack $623

The PR-4000 line of REP fitness is their answer to the Rogue Monster lite series. While it uses the same 3x3 uprights as the PR-5000 the holes are smaller and therefore the nuts and bolts are also smaller. This makes the rack slightly cheaper but leaves you with fewer options for attachments. Some of the specs are:

3x3” 11 gauge steel

1” hole spacing through the bench zone

5/8” pinholes

This is a good rack if you want to stretch your budget as far as possible without compromising on quality too much. Especially if you are not planning on upgrading your initial purchase.

Pros of the REP PR-4000 Rack

Pros of the REP PR 4000 are:

Excellent value for money
Westside bench spacing
Smallest depth option from REP

If you are already on the “slight compromises for savings” train you might as well ride it all the way and get the PR-4000 instead of the PR-5000. With this, you are optimizing for brand and within the brand for a product for savings.

Westside bench spacing is relevant if you train with the west side method. With this, you can work better with partial ranges of motions for the bench press or with bands on the squat and bench press. Don’t make it a reason to buy this rack if you are not regularly training westside already. Chances are high you will regret that decision.

I personally think the strongest reason you swing it for this rack is that this is the smallest depth REP fitness provides for a 3x3 gauge steel rack. If you have to optimize for space and budget, but don’t want to go into the low-quality range where you might as well go to a random Amazon seller instead then this is a great option.

Cons of the REP PR-4000 Rack

The cons of the REP PR-4000 rack are:

Smaller holes
Numbering
The backplate of nameplate
Colors
Imported

Quite a few people like to save on the price for a rack compared to the Rogue Monster series and then get some of the Rogue accessories like the Rhino or lever arms from rogue fitted with the PR-5000. With the PR-4000 this little trick is not possible as it runs with the Monster lite series from Rogue. There are also fewer attachment options out of the REP fitness line up for this rack than for the PR-5000.

The uprights for this rack are only partly numbered. If you are not OCD that is probably not a big issue for a home gym. For a commercial gym, it might better to opt for the slightly more expensive since PR-5000 has full numbering for the convenience of your clients.

This is a rack that has to cut some corners on production quality compared to Rogue to be a high-quality competitor at a lower price. One way of doing that is to have the logo on the nameplate just on the front. You will not have a logo at the back. If you are planning to place the rack against a wall that might not be an issue. But in a middle of a busy commercial gym, it will come across a little cheap. Of course, that depends on whether or not you think that your clients will care. I would.

Colors are another great way to save some cost while still keeping a good quality rack. REP fitness uses colors with a slightly lower pigmentation than Rogue fitness which makes the color cheaper by the liter. Anyone who paints Warhammer miniatures knows exactly what I am talking about when I mention pinkish reds ( that means the color manufacturer is cutting cost). Nothing to be hugely worried about, but still worth mentioning.

Probably the biggest con for REP fitness is that their racks are imported for China to keep the lower price. If you care about that, chances are high that it is VERY important to you that everything comes from the US. If that is the case rep fitness is not an option for you and you are better of with Rogue Fitness who made it an integral part of their brand to keep as much of their production in the US as possible. If you are not that patriotic REP fitness is a great choice. Kind of a similar decision as to the one between Volkswagen and Skoda or Honda and Acura.

Alternatives to the REP PR-4000 Rack

Rogue RML 490C
Rogue RML390C
Rogue RML 390WC

The REP PR-5000 is the big brother of the PR-4000 and comes with bigger holes, nuts, and bolts. The PR-5000 is the bread and butter rack from REP fitness to rival Rogue’s monster series. It is fair to assume that this rack will get a lot of love from product development at REP Fitness in the future and as you are already deciding to save money by going through REP Fitness, rather than Rogue you might as well upgrade as long as you have the space to do so.

The REP PR-4100 is the foldable version of the PR-4000. This is a great budget option to get a 3x3 foldable rack for your garage gym to still be able to park your car after you are done training. The same would go for a playroom for the kids or basement that also is used as a hobby room.

The Rogue RML series is the most comparable to the PR-4000 out of the Rogue portfolio. Within the Rogue Monster lite series. The main options are the 690c, 490c, 390c, and the 390WC. All of these racks come with a choice of color, Westside spacing, and numbering on the uprights. The 690c is a six post rack, 490c a full rack, 390c a half rack, and the 390WC is a foldable rack. The main differences to Rep Fitness are the higher quality colors used and that they are made in the USA, not China. So if you want the best in the industry while feeling good about yourself keeping production local, then Rogue is the right choice.

The TITAN T3 series is the TITAN fitness 3x3 steel version with smaller holes running along the lines of the Monster lite and the PR-4000 series. This comes also as a finding rack of that is your preferred choice to save money and space. TITAN fitness usually bears the highest risk of minor quality flaws compared to REP Fitness and Rogue. In return, they are the cheapest. Decking out your Homegym / garage gym with TITAN gear is an especially good choice when you are a handyman and know how to fix minor issues and want to build a big gym that combines machines and free-weight sections. TITAN has a vastly wider range of gym machines available than the other two vendors.

Conclusion for the REP PR-4000 Rack

The REP PR-4000 is a great choice to maximize your budget if you do not intend to do many changes once you are up and running. It is also the right choice for anyone who wants a good rack with a minimum depth. Personally, I would use the choice to go for REP to upgrade to bigger and better things for the same budget rather than fitting more things into the same budget. But that is the question you have to ask yourself between the PR-4000 and 5000 when you depart from Rogue.