REP fitness PR-4000 rack vs Rogue R4 rack
This is a comparison between the Rep Fitness PR-4000 and the Rogue R4 rack. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the Rogue R4 power rack
What else to consider from Rogue
Overview of the Rogue R4
The
Rogue R4 is one of the flagship racks out of the older
Rogue Infinity series. With the
R4 you get a full
rack which is made in Columbus, Ohio. The available color is black and it weighs 250LB.
The R4 Infinity rack is 90'' high and comes in at a footprint of 53''x53''. It is compatible with the Infinity accessories and lines from Rogue. It ships with J CUps,, Pin/Pipe Safeties and band pegs for the westside method. It is also designed with Westside hole spacing to enable you to use the bands for your lifting appropriately.
If you want the best of one of the outdated series from Rogue this is the one for you. It will cover all of your basic needs, just don't expect too many product upgrades as the focus of Rogue is clearly with the Monster and Monster lite series for eh time being.
Pros of the Rogue R4
You get one of the best from a bygone era of
Rogue. This is reflected in the amount of real estate you get for the price for
Rogue standards. It can also be an advantage
to get an
R4 over a Monster or Monster
rack if you have
to move the racks often. This comes in at 100LB less than its bigger brothers.
Cons of the Rogue R4
Going into the Infinity series is probably not a wise decision if you want to protect your investment long term. The rack will hold for a lifetime, you just will not find a lot of new products for it to entertain your clients. For home use, this is completely irrelevant, but if you are buying this rack to use with clients you might want to reconsider.
Alternatives to the Rogue R4
Alternatives
to the
R4 are
The
RM4 comes out of the flagship Monster series of
Rogue. With this
rack, you can choose the color and height of your purchase and have access
to Monster accessory series. This is definitely the better option if you work with a client and want
to keep adding
to your
rack in the future. The downside is the price.
The R6 is the big brother of the R4 in the Infinity series. This
rack combines a full
rack with a half
rack to provide more space for
plates and storage room. With this
rack, you will upgrade the footprint from 53x53
to 53x80.
The
R3 is the half
rack version of the Infinity series. This might be a good choice for you if you want
to save space and money. Especially if you are a smaller athlete this might be a really viable option as you don't need as much space around you.
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.
Related articles
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
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
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
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.