Rogue cube sandbag vs rubber atlas stone

This is a comparison between the Rogue cube sandbag and the rubber atlas stone including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which rogue sandbag to get. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Rogue Atlas stones

This is an overview of the Rogue Rubber Atlas stones including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

Overview of the Rogue Rubber Atlas stones

Price $125 - $915

The Rogue Rubber Atlas stones are another take on Rogue's team to make hardcore strength equipment more accessible for the mainstream. These Atlas stones are basically big medicine balls with a rubber mold and an iron core. This makes them more accessible for beginners and easier to maintain than concrete Atlas stones. The specifications of these Atlas stones are:

Construction - Overmolded Rubber, Cast-Iron Core
Sold a la carte or in full sets (225 LB or 450 LB)
5 Available Weight Increments: 50, 75, 100, 150, 200 LBS
Embossed Weight Indication and Rogue logos on one side
Recessed edges to prevent rollaway
Color: Black

The different models are available in:

50 LB (10" diameter)
75 LB (12" diameter)
100 LB (14" diameter)
150 LB (16" diameter)
200 LB (18" diameter)

and can be purchased in two different sets. One is lightweight up to 100lb while the other is heavyweight up to 200LB. These are great tools if you do a lot of Atlas stone movements and you are getting fed up with remolding the ones you break on a constant basis.

Pros of the Atlas Rubber stones

The pros of the Atlas rubber stones are:

Easy to maintain
Lower injury risk
Ready-made

Compared to concrete Atlas stones this is a step forward to make Atlas stones a mass marketable product. In the past, you would get a concrete mold and make the stones yourself with cement and/or concrete. Not everyone is familiar with this process and the quality of the result can suffer. In addition, concrete is very unforgiving on the hands and anything you drop it on. Therefore the injury risk is higher. Concrete Stones also take less abuse, especially if you drop them directly on the floor. You usually need to pair them with some gymnastic mat which makes the setup cumbersome. The rubber Atlas stones take care of this problem.

Cons of the rubber Atlas stones

The cons of the rubber Atlas stones are:

Not an official strongman competition tool
Get hot in the sun
Can not be changed in weight
Storage

If you are a strongman who is looking to prepare for competition, there is no way around using actual stones rather than rubber. The handling of a concrete ball is different from getting a grip on rubber. If you have a home gym and just want to simulate strongman training, these are a great option. If you are a strongman who wants to compete, get a mold.

As these stones are black rubber they can be a problem in the hot Californian sun. They have a big surface to soak up the heat and you might burn your hands if they are left outside for too long. Of course, you have the same problem with all equipment, but as these are likely to stay outside for a long time because they are hard to store and the fact they are black does not help.

Compared to other options for a home gym that just wants to simulate strongman training, rather than create competition like conditions, the rubber Atlas stones have the disadvantage that they can not be loaded with different material. If you buy a set of different strongman sandbags from Rogue it leaves you with a lot more options to play around with the weight. They are also easier to store after use if you can dispose of the sand or led you filled them with.

The last disadvantage of Atlas stones is that they are hard to store. Most racks and storage options offered by Rogue or you already have will not fit them. Therefore you will most likely keep them on the ground and they are not small. Combine that with the fact that they are more often than not a gimmick rather than the main staple of your daily training, this can get annoying. Unless you throw them about every single day.

Alternatives to the rubber atlas stones

The alternatives to the Rubber Atlas stones are:

Slater stone molds
Rogue Strongman sandbags

The Slater stone molds range from 8" - 24" in diameter, 23lbs to 586lbs in weight, and $50 to $220 in price. With these molds, you can make your own stones for use in your gym or anywhere in the world for competition purposes. Usually, it is cheaper and easier to make the stones for a competition on the spot, rather than transporting the heavy stones across the country. If you do not know your way around mixing concrete and pouring it into a mold, this might not be for you. There are good instructions out there, but it is a DIY job.

The Rogue Strongman sandbags come in various shapes and sizes in price ranges from $85 to $155. Thes bags have the advantage that they can be filled with different materials to get different training results. You can use Play sand, Crumb rubber, and lead shot to get weights ranging from 40lb to 2000lb. The lifting experience is not the same as with stones, as you are onto military grade fabric. These bags are also more likely to deform during the lift making the structure more challenging or forgiving depending on whether it hits you or you want to wrap yourself around the bag.

Conclusion for the Atlas Rubber stones

If you are a strongman who needs to work on speed on small Atlas stone weights, then this is worth the investment. It will make the setup a lot easier, you do not have to worry as much about an injury or the stones deforming. For your maximum attempts or heavy lifts to shoulder, i think there is no way around a concrete stone to do competition justice. If you are a home gym owner who is just starting their home gym I think that these combined with boxes of various heights are a better option than a dumbbell rack. If you have the space for a dumbbell rack, you have the space for a small Atlas stone ladder. Get the loadable dumbbells from Rogue and use the saved space for the rubber stone setup. That is what I will do when I upgrade my space that currently only houses a power rack and a bench.

Overview and review of the Rogue cube sandbag

This is an overview of the Rogue cube sandbag including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which rogue sandbag to get. Follow the links for more details.

Overview of the rogue cube sandbag

Price: $85 - $127.50

The rogue cube sandbag is one of the multiple sandbag variations for strongman training from Rogue. This sandbag enters at the lower price range and is available from 100lb to 200lb when filled with play sand. The cube shape is slightly more challenging as the original cylinder shape because of the corners. While they are good to hold on to, they can make it harder to balance the weight once you have lifted it. The full specifications of the Rogue strongman cube sandbag are:

Made in the USA
Patent Pending Design
Sold Individually
1000D MIL Spec US Cordura construction
New CUBE Shape
Filler Capacity (3 Sizes): 100LB, 150LB, 200LB
Built-In Filler Bag
Zipper and Hook-and-Loop Closure
Filler Material Not Included
Color: Black with White Rogue logo on the flap
Recommended use on rubber or nonabrasive surface - not intended for slams

This is a good bag to get together with a cylinder bag to get started and still have a little variety for your lifts.

Pros of the Rogue cube sandbag

Pros of the Rogue cube sandbag are:

Portable
Symmetrical load
Robust design

The Rogue cube sandbag is made of military-grade fabric just like the entire rogue strongman sandbag line up. As you can fill these bags with sand or other media and empty them they are also easier to transport than a bunch of medicine or slam balls, nevermind atlas stones. As this bag forms a cube the load is symmetrical and therefore easier to lift than the other, asymmetrical bags from Rogue. All in all the cube strongman bag is a great starter in Strongman training, especially when paired with a cylinder bag.

Cons of the Rogue cube sandbag

Cons of the Rogue cube bag:

Limited weight range
Not for slams
Slightly harder to handle than a cylinder

The rogue cube sandbag comes with a limited weight range compared to the original cylinder bag. This is not the end of the world as you can play around with lead shot and play sand mixture, but still, big cube bags are currently not available from rogue. They are also not designed for high-velocity slams, which might make the structure of the bag suffer, especially if filled to the brim with crumb rubber and smashed at full velocity. That is not what these bags have been built for and a ball might be the better choice for this intent.

Alternatives to the Rogue cube sandbag

Alternatives to the Rogue cube sandbag are:

The original rogue strongman sandbag has a cylinder form and is available from weight denominations of 100lb to 400lb. You can also pick some color variations. If you are getting your first bag this might be the better choice than the cube as the cube is slightly harder to handle.

The MK D ball is Rogue's slam ball option on steroids. These slam balls scale up to 150lb at roughly the same size. As the filler gets more expensive to keep the same dimensions, the biggest D balls come in at a hefty price. Still, if you want to slam heavy, these are the best option. Especially in the mid-range from 30lb to 100lb.

The Rogue medicine balls are a valid alternative to the sandbags if you want to throw the balls against a wall or from person to person. The sandbags are not ideal for this purpose.

Conclusion for the Rogue cube sandbag

The Rogue cube sandbag is a good option for ambitioned starters in strongman to get together with a cylinder bag. This gives you symmetrical loads of different shapes. Experienced strongman athletes who want to train everywhere or just do not have the space to have multiple stones lying around can get a set of all the different shaped bags to keep training varied and prepared for competition. For maximum lifts, you can still keep reasonably weighted stoned around (but not a full set) to also address the different challenges to grip when you hold onto cement or cold stone.