REP fitness Urethane coated Equalizer plates vs TITAN Urethane plates

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

Overview and review of the TITAN Urethane plates

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

Overview of the TITAN Urethane Bumper plate

Price: $66.99 - $1152.99

The TITAN Urethane bumper plates come in sizes ranging from 10lb to 55lb. These are plates with a chrome core and urethane outer ring. Urethane is a lot more durable than ordinary rubber and therefore these types of plates are considered the best in the industry for longevity. In return, the price per plate is a little higher as urethane costs more than rubber as a material. The TITAN Urethane plates come color-coded. The full specifications are:

Color-coded in 5 vibrant colors for easy identification
Raised plate lip making picking up the plates easier

Durometer rating of 90 for a minimal bounce on a drop and a durable design
Hard Chrome Insert

Collar Opening: 50.6 mm
Plate Diameter: 415 - 450 mm
Plate Width: 24 - 56 mm
Durometer Rating: 90
Weight Tolerance: +/- 1%

10 LB
Plate Diameter: 415 mm
Plate Width: 24 mm
Color: Black

25 LB
Plate Diameter: 415 mm
Plate Width: 38 mm
Color: Green

35 LB
Plate Diameter: 415 mm
Plate Width: 44 mm
Color: Yellow

45 LB
Plate Diameter: 415 mm
Plate Width: 51 mm
Color: Blue

55 LB
Plate Diameter: 415 mm
Plate Width: 56 mm
Color: Red

These are good plates when you train a lot with Olympic lifts and abuse the hell out of your equipment. These would be the right plates for Olympic training facilities or professional gyms that want to save on plates, but not constantly replace them.

Pros of the TITAN Urethane Bumper plate

The pros of the TITAN Urethane bumper plates are:

Low price
Stability
Low bounce

The biggest pro of most TITAN equipment is its low price compared to the same products from the market leaders Rogue and Eleiko. You usually can get the same amount of material for half the price or twice the plates for the same price if you go with TITAN. Depending on whether you buy for your home gym or a commercial facility that leaves you with more options. Especially as plates are a big item on the bill, but commodity as they are not touching off the athlete's body directly and do not need to be of a very high-quality finish.

The Urethane plates themselves have advantages in the durability and a low bounce compared to regular rubber plates. The metal insert in the middle of the plate makes them more resistant for drops from overhead. Urethane is more durable than standard rubber.

Cons of the Urethane Bumper plate

The cons of the TITAN Urethane Bumper plates are:

High price
Finish
Sleeve space

Urethane bumper plates have a higher price tag than regular training plates with a metal core or rubber plates. If you compare the TITAN Urethane plates to the Elite or Economy bumpers from TITAN you pay quite a bit more for the same amount of weight. Especially when you are not doing a lot of overhead lifting and do not care that much about the color coding, you might lean more towards cheaper options from TITAN.

AsTITAN always offers a very low price on items compared to market leaders like Rogue and Eleiko they do need to cut some corners to save cost. This is usually reflected in the finish of their products. The welding might not be top quality on some of the specialty bars, the colors might not be as vibrant, or where rings are inserted they are not completely flush. There are also some reports along these lines for the Urethane plates. If you want everything in your gym to be absolutely perfect, TITAN might not be the best brand for you. But that mindset comes at a considerably higher price tag with little to no impact on your actual training, except maybe mentally.

The last thing about Urethane plates is that they take up more space than cast Iron plates on the bar. If you regularly move more than 400lb on the deadlift, bench and squat, you might want to consider getting cast iron plates instead. These are more cost- and space-efficient than Urethane plates, but can not be dropped from overhead. Cast Iron plates are also less forgiving on fingers, toes, and shins when you bang into them.

Alternatives to the Urethane Bumper plate

Alternatives to the Urethane bumper plates are:

Cast Iron plates
Economy Bumper Plates
Elite bumper plates

The classic cast iron plates are an iconic staple of lifting allover the world. Especially when you start using three plates and more on each side they start to make that iconic clang and bang noise. They are cost and space-efficient and can be a good alternative to start your gym. Some disadvantages of cast iron plates are that they can not be dropped from overhead, that you need to prepare your floor for training, and that they are less forgiving on flesh and bone when you bump into them.

Economy bumper plates are a good option for starters of a home gym or commercial gyms who want to keep the cost very low. These plates can be used indoors or outdoors and you will also not feel too sorry if they break or get dirty. They also take up quite a bit of space on the sleeve just like the Urethane plates. Compared to the Urethane plates they are more likely to break when being dropped from overhead and have more bounce. Economy bumper plates are a good option for an all-around home gym that wants to keep the cost low. They are also good for big Crossfit classes where the athletes are mainly beginners.

The elite bumper plates from TITAN are a compromise between the Urethan plates and the economy bumper plates. They are priced in the middle between the two and or not as durable as the Urethanplates, but still have a metal core for overhead drops. These are the right plates for ambitious home gym owners who regularly lift overhead, but also do not take their plates through massive abuse. If you are not training for the Olympics or the Crossfit games, but still like to treat yourself, these are the right plates for you.

Conclusion for the TITAN Urethane Bumper plate

The TITAN Urethane plates are well positioned in the market as a good budget option if you need Urethane plates. In most cases, people will not need Urethane plates and would be better off to save some money by getting the Elite or economy bumper plates from TITAN. Only if you want to simulate Olympic weightlifting competition scenarios as close as possible at home without shelling out the money for an entire Eleiko set than I think you have a good case for Urethane plates. Another one would be a commercial gym in which these plates will be dropped from overhead all day long. If you just ran a class once or twice a week, the elite bumpers will more than suffice.

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

The 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:

REP equalizer plates
REP rubber coated Olympic plates
REP HI temp bumper plates
Rogue 6 shooter plates
Rogue HI temp plates
TITAN bumper plates

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.