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REP fitness sports plates vs Rogue Urethane

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Jun 20, 2021 9:00:00 AM

REP fitness sports plates vs Rogue Urethane

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

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Rogue Urethane plate

Overview and review of the Rogue Urethane plates

 

The Rogue Urethane plates will set you back about $1150 dollars or $7.46 dollars per kg. These plates are especially good to use for gyms who want long lasting plates. 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.

Most popular Rogue plates 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 Urethane plates

 
The Rogue Urethane plates are the second most expensive ones in the Rogue portfolio per kg. What you get in return are the longest lasting, all weather plates you can obtain from Rogue. These plates are 450mm in diameter and made to IWF specs. They have a chrome insert and dead bounce on the drop. The chrome piece provides easy loading on the bar and reduced friction on the sleeves. This is the plate to buy if your last competition plates fell apart at the chrome insert. 
 
Weight / Color / Diameter / Thickness / Price per pair
 
55LB / Red / 450mm / 58mm / $310
45LB / Blue / 450mm / 53mm / $260
35LB / Yellow / 450mm / 48mm / $220
25LB / Green / 450mm / 40mm / $160
10LB / Black / 450mm / 20mm / $70
 
Available sets
 
210lb, 2x 25-35-45LB $750
300LB, 2x 25-35-4x45LB $1050
320LB, 2x 25-35-45-55LB $1100
340LB, 2x 10-25-35-45-55 $1150
 

Pros of the Urethane plates

 
This is an all-purpose plate which will last a long time and is hard. It will take the abuse of many users of different experience levels and still look good. This is a great plate for high demands and someone who does not want to replace the plates as often compared to other plates with a chrome insert.
 

Cons of the Urethane plates

 
The biggest con is the high price. If you go for Olympic or bumper plates you will get a lot more kilograms per $$$. You might be buying twice in this scenario and you will also know that you took the cheap road to success. I personally stopped doing this and it yields great results.
 

Alternatives to the Urethane plates

 
Alternatives to the Urethane plates are:
 
 
Competition plates will not last as long as they have a tendency to pull apart between the rubber and the chrome insert. They also bounce more. Still, if you want to get as close as possible to the real world championships, then these are the plates to go for instead with the slight risk that they might fall apart after years of heavy use. 
 
The black training plates are a great design from rogue which combines the bumper plate effectiveness with the excellence of Rogue's competition grade plates. You will find color coding and extra touches to make the plates more user-friendly and robust. This is the elegant choice of the professional.
 
Calibrated steel plates are the plates for anyone who wants to put the maximum amount of weight possible on the bar while still having color-coded plates. These plates are also approved by the IPF and are used in competition. If you want to get serious about powerlifting, this should be your choice.

 

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.

Topics: Powerlifting, Plates, Garagegym, Home Gym, Bodybuilding, REP Fitness