REP fitness sports plates vs Rogue machined plates
This is a comparison between the Rep Fitness sports plates and the Rogue machined plates. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the Rogue Machined Olympic plates
The Rogue machined olympic plates will set you back about $582 dollars or $5.24 dollars per kg. These plates are especially good to use for home gyms who want some extra precision. This overview has originally been published in the article "Which rogue plates to buy" which you can find on this blog.
Related articles
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.
-
-
Urethane plates
-
-
-
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.
Overview of the Rogue Machined Olympic plates
These plates are Rogue take on the standard metal plate. They have come up with a great design which combines grey hammertone with black writing. Many lifters love the sound of multiple metal plates clanging together when they post a new pr. These plates are made to precision with a 2 to 3% tolerance which sets them apart from the rest of the industry. These are the type of plates which a no-nonsense dungeon gym will hold. You get quite a lot of weight for your dollar with these ones.
Weight / Diameter / Thickness / Price per pair
45LB / 448mm / 1.50'' / $160
35LB/ 360mm / 1.50'' / $128
25LB / 300mm / 1.50'' / $ 105
10LB / 228mm / 1.22'' / $48.50
5LB / 195mm / 0.83'' / $32
2.5LB / 162mm / 0.63'' / $23
Available sets
245LB one pair each size $582
Pros of the Rogue Machined Olympic plates
The biggest pros are the price and machine precision. Compared to the
calibrated steel plates and high-end bumpers you get the same amount of weight for roughly half the price. Metal also feels different when you move it around. It makes more noise and just feels rawer. You will also be able to fit more weight onto your
barbell.
Cons of the Rogue Machined Olympic plates
These plates have no color coding and you can not always be sure what you put on the
bar. This makes it more likely to
misload
a lift. If you do not have a platform these plates are also a lot more likely to eat into your floor on deadlifts than
bumpers. They will also not sustain constant dropping of the weight from overhead. Especially your
barbell will suffer and deform quickly if you use them for Olympic lifts. In addition, they will also not age well in damp places as they will oxidate.
Alternatives to the Rogue Machined Olympic plates
If you still want that metal feel, can tolerate a bit more variance on the finish and prefer black, the Rogue
Olympic plates might be for you. They will also come in at an even lower price point.
Bumper plates are the alternative for the home gym warrior who wants to protect their floor and lift overhead. You will fit less weight on the
barbell, but you can train without a platform without wrecking the floor.
The
calibrated steel plates come with color coding and are IPF approved. If you want to prepare for your next
powerlifting meet and train like the pros, this is the option for you.
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:
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 r
egular 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 c
ompetition bumpers or regular bumpers.
Cons of the REP Sport plates
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 r
egular 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
-
REP Iron plates
-
-
-
-
TITAN competition plates
-
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.