REP fitness sports plates vs Rogue black training plates

Written by Pascal Landshoeft | Jun 14, 2021 4:00:00 PM

REP fitness sports plates vs Rogue black training plates

This is a comparison between the Rep Fitness sports plates and the Rogue black training plates. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Rogue Black Training plates

The Rogue black training plates will set you back about $985 dollars or $7.03 dollars per kg. These plates are especially good to use for all purposes in gyms 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 black training plates

The Rogue Black training bumper plates have a unique design with a color-coded stripe to identify the weight easily. All of Rogue's top engineering is combined in these plates. The little things do make a difference, even in something so simple as bumper plates. These plates raised rubber around the center and at the outskirts. This makes them easier to pick up from the ground and avoids wear and tear at the middle metal discs. In addition, these plates are normed to the same diameter. This is great for weightlifting purposes. If you want a good, cheaper alternative to the official competition plates, this is the way to go.

Based on the Durometer they score a 94, which means that they are pretty hard and have therefore less bounce.

Weight / Color / Diameter / Thickness / Price per pair

25kg / Red / 450mm / 66mm / $275

20kg / Blue / 450mm / 55mm / $225

15kg / Yellow / 450mm / 42mm / $190

10kg / Green / 450mm / 29mm / $140

Available sets

90kg, 2x 10-15-20kg $655

110kg, 2x 10-20-25kg $770

120kg, 2x 15-20-25kg $825

140kg, 2x 10-15-20-25kg $985

The black training plates will be an eye-catching feature for your gym which enables you to train Olympic weightlifting at a lower cost per station than the official competition plates. You will have all of the quality and luxury of competition and a well thought out design which is user-friendly.

Pros of the black training plates

The extra features of these plates make them less prone to get wrecked than the competition plates. They will also continue to lock nicely even if they get abused. The hard bounce will make you train like a champ. On top of that, you will save a little money compared to getting the full-blown competition plates.

Cons of the black training plates

These plates have a pretty high price tag for a piece of equipment that will be thrown around in your gym on a daily basis and abused. If you specialize in powerlifting these plates will also take up more real estate on the bar for the same amount of weight.

Alternatives to the black training plates

Alternatives to the Black training plates are:

The black training plates are also available in LBS denominations. If you run a gym where people prefer to calculate their weights in LBS and you still want to provide the best bumper plates there are, this is the way to go.

The Rogue competition plates are what is being used on the platform in official competitions. The main difference to the black training plates is that their colors run through the entire plates. They are also more prone to get broken when abused, as they do not bear all of the extra features that the training plates have to protect them from harm.

If you want to save money and know that your clientele does not care that much, bumper plates are your go-to option. These are a lot cheaper than the black training plates and can also be dropped from overhead. If you train outdoors or in a wet dungeon/cellar, I might get these as the plates well get wrecked anyway.

Overview and review of the REP fitness sports plates

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

Sport plates $69

The REP sport plates fill the gap between competition plates and bumper plates by being super durable, forgiving when you use them outside, and still being decent when dropped from overhead. The only two negatives about these plates are price and how they travel during an Olympic lift. The full specifications of these plates are:

Ultra-durable. Seriously.
Textured rubber around the outer edge for easy handling.
Low bounce.
Great for commercial use.
Up to 10% quieter than standard black bumpers when dropped from overhead.

If you are intending to outfit a boutique gym and want to impress your clients without getting competition plates, then these are the ones. For a home gym, I would be a bit more specific about what you mostly do what your plates and make my investment from there.

Pros of the REP Sport plates

The pros of the rep sport plates are:

Rubber plates with a competition design
Color-coded plates
Durable
Price compared to competition plates

These rubber plates have been done from a mold that emulates the shape and feel of competition bumper plates. The only big difference is that there is no metal disc in the middle. This makes them easier to ease outdoors and more forgiving when used for anything else than Olympic lifts.

Compared to regular bumpers these plates are also color-coded. This looks cooler and also has some practical value to keep the plates apart when you are training.

As these plates are full rubber they really can take a punch. If you are expecting these plates to be maltreated a lot, then go for these instead of regular bumpers.

The price on these plates compared to competition plates is about half. If you rebuilding a home gym that trains everything under the sun give these plates a serious look before you buy competition bumpers or regular bumpers.

Cons of the REP Sport plates

The cons of the REP sports plates are:

Not IWF certified
Lifting dynamic on Oly lifts
Price compared to regular bumper or Iron plates
Bar space

These plates are not IWF certified and hit differently for Olympic lifts than competition plates. When you clean or snatch these pates there just a little different from how they fight gravity compared to competition plates. This is minimal, but minimal counts if you are an elite Olympic lifter. Still, that does not apply to most of the population out there.

Compared to regular bumper plates and iron plates these are still a lot more expensive. So ask yourself if you really really need plates with a low bounce and 10% less sound when dropped. 10% less sound still means loud enough to wake the kids and annoy the neighbors without a drop pad. If you get a drop pad, why get the sports plates? If you don't lift overhead, why not just get iron plates?

Compared to iron plates these plates take up more space on the bar. If you lift more than 5 plates on each side on a regular basis this becomes and you should opt for iron plates. Again the exception, rather than the norm.

Alternatives to the REP Sport plates

Alternatives to the REP fitness sports plates are:

If you want to stay with REP seriously ask yourself what you use your plates for. Chances are high that you should get bumpers or Iron plates instead based on your use case. The only exception is a boutique or strength gym that charges a high membership. This is the plate to get to keep clients happy without breaking the bank.

If you would like black plates with color coding and a metal insert, then the Rogue black training plates are for you. I have these plates myself as they were the only ones available when I started my Rogue-themed gym and they were a bit of an indulgence. But I train 5 times a week, run a fitness blog, and try to impress people on my social media channels. Unless you don't care that much about the money they are not really for the average joe. If you want to indulge yourself as a personal lifter, have a look at the mechanized Rogue iron plates.

TITAN also offers competition plates iron plates and bumper plates. TITAN is cheap and has more quality issues compared to Rogue and REP based on my research. I personally think TITAN has to be seen as an "I want the best package deal on my home gym" approach.

Conclusion for the REP Sport plates

The REP sport plates are a great option for the boutique gym that wants to tell their clients "this is why you train here and not around the corner". A dedicated all-around athlete at home will also appreciate the money saved compared to competition plates and not feeling cheap for getting regular bumpers. IN most cases Iron plates or bumper plates are the better choices based on what you are using them for to save money for things like kettlebells, a nice barbell, or an adjustable bench on your cart.

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