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REP fitness Urethane coated Equalizer plates vs TITAN cast Iron plates

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Jun 22, 2021 9:00:00 AM

REP fitness Urethane coated Equalizer plates vs TITAN cast Iron plates

This is a comparison between the REP fitness Urethane plates and the TITAN cast iron plates. Follow the links for more details.

 

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Overview and review of the TITAN Cast iron plates

This is an overview of the TITAN Cast iron plates including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which titan plates to get. Follow the links for more details.

 
 

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Overview of the TITAN Cast iron plates 

Price $24.99 - $419.99
 
Cast Iron plates are some of the cheapest and most durable plates you can buy if you tread them well. TITAN has a full range of plates from 2.5lb up to 45lb. Take care that the biggest plates are sold as singles and not in pairs when you fill your cart. There is nothing really fancy about Cast Iron plates. They are reliable, do not take up a lot of space, and make a nice clanging and banging sound. The full specifications of these plates are:
 
Simple, classic design built tough for daily use
Fits standard Olympic barbell sleeves
Durable silver hammered finish

Collar Opening: 50.5 mm
Material: Cast Iron
Weight Tolerance: +/- 2%

2.5 LB SPECIFICATIONS:
Plate Diameter: 162 mm
Plate Thickness: 15 mm

5 LB SPECIFICATIONS:
Plate Diameter: 178 mm
Plate Thickness: 21 mm

10 LB SPECIFICATIONS:
Plate Diameter: 228 mm
Plate Thickness: 29 mm

25 LB SPECIFICATIONS:
Plate Diameter: 300 mm
Plate Thickness: 38 mm

35 LB SPECIFICATIONS:
Plate Diameter: 360 mm
Plate Thickness: 38 mm

45 LB SPECIFICATIONS:
Plate Diameter: 448 mm
Plate Thickness: 38 mm
 
These are great plates to start a budget gym if you do not intend to do any Olympic weightlifting. They can also be a good addition to your plate collection if you start training with more than 400lb on a regular basis and want to save sleeve space.
 

Pros of the TITAN Cast Iron plates

 
Pros of the TITAN Cast Iron plates are:
 
  • Price
  • Sound
  • Space efficient
  • Long-lasting
As with all TITAN fitness products, one of the main reasons to consider is their price. On almost all items they undercut the direct competition from Eleiko and Rogue by about half. That is their strategy is a company and if you do not mind minor and occasional major quality issues with your purchase, TITAN is a good bet. You definitely will get a lot more stuff from TITAN for the same budget, that is guaranteed. 
 
Cast Iron plates are also nice compared to rubber plates as they make that clanging and banging noise when you train. Some people just love the dungeon feel and sound about these plates. If you get a particular pump and motivation out of training with iron plates, do not hesitate. They are not expensive and will at forever if treated well. 
 
Cast iron plates also have an advantage in being space efficient. As they are made from iron they can be cut thinner than rubber to achieve the same amount of weight. The result is that they will take up less space on a plate tree and instead of maxing out most barbell sleeves at about 400 to 500 pounds you can now easily go up to 700 - 800lbs. That is not relevant for many athletes, but if you are a beast, this becomes very important. 
 
The last thing about cast iron plates is that they will last forever if you treat them well. Competition and rubber plates will come apart at some stage between the different materials. Cast iron steel plates are just one big lump. If you do not drop them on the floor constantly or leave them in the rain over the weekend, this is a purchase for life. 
 

Cons of the TITAN Cast Iron plates

 
Cons of the TITAN cast iron plates are:
 
  • Finish
  • Not all weather compatible
  • Harsh on your body 
  • Design
If you push your product out at half the price of the competition you will need to cut some corners to still make a profit. Therefore you will find a higher rate of negative reports about TITAN fitness equipment than about Eleiko and Rogue. TITAN fitness equipment is more likely to have sharp edges, inconsistent finishes, or loose ends where the material is put together. There are also more reports about incomplete deliveries or rude customer services. This being said, you have to expect some shortfalls if you want to save half of your money. All of these aspects do not mean that you can not train, you will only have to either live with minor quality issues or apply some elbow grease to your equipment to oil, sand or adjust it. 
 
All cast iron plates do not very well in damp environments. If you keep them outside or in a basement with moisture they will start to rust and turn weird colors. They are also not great for use outside as they either get damp or too hot to touch, depending on where you use them. Of course, hardcore training enthusiasts will say just get on with it, but it depends on who you are and what you want to use the plates for. 
 
Cast iron plates are very unforgiving on feet, toes, fingers and other body parts they get in touch with. While rubber plates give in a little and therefore do not hurt as much when you land them on your toes or get your fingers between the in plate tree, cast iron plates surely will. If you have little ones at home who have access to your home gym or if you run a commercial establishment where it is sure that some idiots will handle the equipment, rubber is usually the safer bet to make injuries less likely. 
 
The last point about cast iron plates is their design. It is basically non-existent unless you like the Brutalist approach. If you like raw metal that makes clanging noises you will feel like in heaven. Everyone else will get that kind of dungeon Rocky Balboa torture chamber vibe of them, which is not for everyone. 
 

Alternatives to the TITAN Cast iron plates

 
Alternatives to the TITAN cast Iron plates are:
 
 
If you do not want to spend more than $500 on a good set of plates your options are the Cast Iron plates and the two economy rubber plates from TITAN. If you do not work with more than 400lbs on a regular basis the rubber plates will probably be the better purchase. These are more forgiving on the users and also do not rust. Between the black and colored ones, it is mainly a matter of taste as the price does not defer a lot. 
 

Conclusion for the TITAN Cast Iron plates

 
The cast-iron plates from TITAN are a great budget option for anyone who starts their home gym and already moves a lot of weight. If you are a complete beginner the economy rubber plates might be a better choice, as you will not max out your bar sleeve anyway and might want to use the plates outside and not always start to curse when you get your fingers between them.

 

Overview and review of the REP fitness Urethane coated Equalizer plates

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

 
 

Rep Urethane Coated Equalizers $15

 
The REP Urethane coated Equalizer plates are a great way on how REP fitness thought about innovation in the fitness space and applied to their product line to make something that saves cost while still being durable. Urethane plates are said to be one of the most durable plates you can have for a gym. The problem is that it is costly to produce dumbbells or plates completely made of Urethane. So rep took their successful equalizer plate design and applied a Urethane coat to them. What you get is a very affordable, cool-looking plate for your home gym or for commercial use that is also durable. The full specifications of these plates are:
 
  • Six (6) precision-cut holes so athletes can move these plates comfortably from any angle.
  • Cast iron plates are coated in a commercial-grade ultra-durable CPU urethane that is highly impact-resistant and shock absorbent.
  • CPU Urethane has virtually no odor.
  • Attractive embossed logo and weight markings with white inlay.
  • Grip cutouts for easy handling.
  • 3% weight tolerance.
 
Plate Dimensions (width/diameter)
 
  • 2.5LB: 6.25” / 0.9"
  • 5LB: 8” / 1”
  • 10LB: 9” / 1.4"
  • 25LB: 12” / 2"
  • 35LB: 14” / 2"
  • 45LB: 17.6” total diameter / 1.8" thickness
 
These plates are great for commercial use as they are easy to pick up from the floor and handled all kinds of exercises. If I owned my own gym for clients instead of a home gym, I would probably get these plates.
 

Pros of the Rep Urethane Coated Equalizers

 
The pros of the Urethane Coated Equalizers are:
 
  • Easy to handle
  • Forgiving
  • Cool design
  • Attractive price
 
These plates live up to the "better, faster, cheaper" credo that often cited in business to create a better solution. These plates are easy to put away, pick up from the ground, and load onto the barbell based on their six holes. The design also makes them look cool as the holes are not round but hexagonal.
 
The Urethane coating makes them more forgiving than regular iron plates so you will not have sharp edges or rubbing off other equipment in your gym. All of this at a very attractive price point makes this a serious contender, especially for commercial use.
 

Cons of the Rep Urethane Coated Equalizers

 
 
  • Iron plates inside
  • The Integrity of the plates comprmised
  • No color options
 
I personally think these are a lot better than the regular Equlizer plates and absolutely worth the extra money compared to these. But you still have to keep in mind that you are buying an iron plate with a Urethane coating, not a Urethane bumper. This means that these plates will take a bigger toll on your floor and equipment when dropped from overhead than an actual Urethane or bumper plate. Don't believe that this behaves just like a bumper for your lifts. It behaves like an Iron plate with a bit of cushioning. If you ever have used an Iron kettlebell with plastic coating you get what I mean.
 
While the holes are great for moving the plates around, the integrity of these plates is compromised. They are more likely to crack or warp under heavy use than plates that have a full disc. In a mass use scenario where you have spare plates and can have a rollover contingency for a franchise that does not matter that much, but for your home gym it does matter when one or two of your 55s crack and you are short for your heavy cycles.
 
Compared to other bumper plates you have no color options on the equalizers. If you wanted to get black anyway, no harm done.
 

Alternatives to the Rep Urethane Coated Equalizers

 
Alternatives to the REP Urethane coated equalizers:
 
 
The REP equalizer plates are an alternative to save a little money for more or less the same thing. Especially if you are not intending to use the plates for Russian twists or other exercises where you hold the plates you might as well go for the non-coated option and get some spare change to buy something else.
 
The Rep rubber-coated Olympic plates are an even more budget optimized option out of the REP plate lineup. You can also carry these around very easily and they do the trick of providing weight to your barbell. I personally don't like their design and would rather buy the Coated Equalizers. But that's just me.
 
The REP HI Temp bumper plates are in my opinion the better option for someone who is intending to do a lot of CrossFit or Olympic lifting at home but is on a tight budget. For this type of training, you need on average less weight on the bar than for powerlifting so the thickness of the plates does not matter as much. What does matter is the damage to your equipment and floor when dropping weights from overhead which will be considerably less with the bumpers than with the equalizers. Yes, the rubber coating does help, but you are still dropping plates with a metal core from overhead.
 
The Rogue 6 Shooter plates are in my opinion the right plates for someone who mainly does powerlifting at home, but is fed up with how hard iron plates are to handle. These will be easier on your back and you will be delighted that it has become a lot easier to load and deload your barbell with those 700 pounds you pull in meet preparation. They also make that nice rattling metal sound that anyone who can lift more than three wheels for reps loves. They are not great for commercial use as they are simple iron plates with holes in them. For that scenario, the urethane-coated equalizers are still better.
 
Rogue HI temp bumpers are an alternative to consider to the REP HI Temp bumpers if you are mainly into oly lifting. Stay away from the equalizers if you are intending to drop your plates from overhead often and compare the low-end bumper options for your need between different vendors.
 
TITAN is the friend of everyone who wants to make their home gym dollar stretch as far as possible. As long as you do not mind minor quality issues and know how to assemble things without instructions or sand down / widen some drilled holes, TITAN is your best option to get the most home gym for your buck.
 

Conclusion for the Rep Urethane Coated Equalizers

 
The REP Urethane Coated Equalizers are from my perspective some of the best plates in the market for commercial use. They look good, are practical, do not cost a lot and will not be wrecked by the average joe in your gym. You also can get quite a lot of them on a plate tree which is also important for commercial use. If your clientele is heavily into Oly lifting you might get real bumpers instead. For a home gym, I also think that they are nice, but I would lean to more upmarket plates or something really cheap like simple iron plates in this scenario.

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