Rogue Fleck plate vs Bumper plates

This is a comparison between the Rogue Fleck plate and the bumper plates including pros, cons and alternatives. Follow the links for more details

If you want the most up-to-date news or ask direct questions, then you can follow me on Instagram.

Which plates to get from Rogue?

This video discusses which plates you might want to buy for your home gym from Rogue Fitness. Good options are their bumper plates or simple cast iron plates if you want to save money. I personally own the Black training plates from rogue and like them a lot.

Overview and review of the Rogue Bumper plates

The Rogue bumper plates will set you back about $565 dollars or $3.76 dollars per kg. These plates are especially good to use for all purposes in commercial gyms. This overview has originally been published in the article "Which rogue plates to buy" which you can find on this blog.

Related articles

Overview of the Rogue Bumper plates

The HG Bumper plates are the workhorse in the plate portfolio of Rogue. If you want cheap plates with a three-year warranty which do the job, this is your place. These plates will last, can be abused in any kind of way and will perform. The disadvantages of these plates are that they are harder to handle than 6 shooters and do are as plain as they come. They score 88 points on the durometer scale and have therefore slightly more bounce than the high range options from Rogue. The only color option for these plates is black.

Weight / Diameter / Thickness / Price per pair

25kg / 450mm / 3.5'' / $162.50

20kg / 450mm / 3.25'' / $130

15kg /450mm / 2.625'' / $97.50

10kg / 450mm / 1.75'' / $63

5kg / 450mm / 1'' / $52.50

Available sets

90kg, 2x 10-15-20 kg $370

110kg, 2x 10-20-25 $437.50

120kg, 2x 15-20-25kg $460

140kg, 2x 10-15-20-25kg $525

150kg, 2x 5-10-15-20-25kg $565

This is the no-nonsense choice if you are starting out and just want weight.

Pros of the Rogue bumper plates

These plates will not oxidate and can be used outside. If they reak your heart won't sink and you just replace them. They will be forgiving when dropped on feet or on the skin. Hurting your fingers is less likely than with other plates. You can drop them from overhead. Take your pic.

Cons of the Rogue bumper plates

These plates look dull and you can not see what you have exactly loaded. You also will not fit as much weight on the bar than with higher price ranged options from Rogue. It is also more likely with these plates, tat th weight varies more considerably compared to what is stated on the plate.

Alternatives to the Rogue bumper plates

Alternatives to the bumper plates are:

The 6 Shooter Urethane plates are another workhorse option with a different design. The six holes make it easier for athletes to handle the weight. These plates can also be used for workouts without a barbell, which is hard to do with bumper plates.

Olympic weights are the ultimate plate for getting as much weight as possible on your bar at minimum cost. These metal plates are not fancy, but weigh a lot while not taking up a lot of space on the bar. If your gym should make clanging and banging noises, this is the plate to get.

Competition plates are the Nascar version of bumper plates. These plates are color coded so you can easily see how much weight is on the barbell. They also have a steel core which makes them behave better when you change direction for the Olympic lifts.

Overview and review of the Rogue fleck plate

The Rogue fleck plates are Rogue's compromise between competition bumper and regular bumper plates. Here are the pros and cons.

The Rogue Feck plates are the newest edition to the line up of Rogue plates and range from $50 for a pair of 10LB plates to $625 for a 350LB set. This puts the price to $0.56 per pound. The distinguishing factors of the fleck plate are its claimed precision in weight and the fleck design. With this, these bumper plates add some color to your gym without breaking the bank as competition bumper plates would do. The specs of these plates are:

Plate Breakdown: Weight, Color & Width

10LB - Black & Grey, 0.85”
15LB - Black & White, 1.2”
25LB - Black & Green, 1.6”
35LB - Black & Yellow, 2.08”
45LB - Black & Blue, 2.76”
55LB - Black & Red, 3.02”

Specifications:

Diameter: 450mm (+/- 3mm) / 17.72 inches
Collar Opening: 50.40mm / 1.98 inches
304 Stainless Steel Inserts
Weight Tolerance: +/- 1% claimed weight
Durometer: 90
Minimal Bounce
Black + Color Fleck Finish
Imported from Chin

This is a good option if you want some color, but not spend too much money on your bumper plates.

Pros of the fleck plate

The pros of the fleck plate are:

Unique design
Value for money
Bumper

The design of the fleck plates is very unique. As long as you like you will be hard-pressed to find something comparable. I personally like them as a compromise between black bumper plates and colored competition plates.

For the color and precision, you are getting these plates are relatively cheap compared to other rogue plates available. If you insist to see easily from a distance which plates you have, this is the way to go.

As these plates are bumper plates they come with the benefit of being outdoor-friendly. You can also drop them regularly without wrecking your barbell, platform or floor.

Cons of the Fleck bumper plates

The cons of the fleck bumper plates are:

Sleeve space
Precision
Made in China

The challenge that all bumper plates have is that they take up more real estate on a bar sleeve than steel plates. If you want to maximize the amount of weight you can put on your barbell, this is not the right set of plates to get.

While these bumper plates claim high precision, I would be inclined to test that first. The reason being is that they are not manufactured by Rogue themselves and do not have inlets for high precision adjustments like calibrated plates. A blanket statement on shipped bumper plates from china with 1% is a tall order with no inlets for micro-adjustments. It won't matter if you buy them for your Crossfit gym or commercial gym, but if you are training for weightlifting or powerlifting competitions stay with the calibrated plates.

While the design and price are very tempting some might not want to support products that are made in China based on principle or legal requirements as a government agency. In this case, you might refer to other Rogue plates.

Alternatives to the Rogue fleck plates

Alternatives to the Rogue fleck plates are:

Rogue bumper plates are the same idea as the fleck plates minus the color. They are cheap, can be used everywhere and forgiving to abuse and toes.

The precision machined steel plates from Rogue are the best choice for powerlifters who want precision but do not want to break the bank with calibrated plates. These Olympic plates are slightly more costly than the fleck plates.

The Rogue Fleck plates are the newest edition to the line up of Rogue plates and range from $50 for a pair of 10LB plates to $625 for a 350LB set. This puts the price to $0.56 per pound. The distinguishing factors of the fleck plate are its claimed precision in weight and the fleck design. With this, these bumper plates add some color to your gym without breaking the bank as competition bumper plates would do. The specs of these plates are:

Summary of the fleck plates

Fleck plates are the right choice if you want colored plates from Rogue at a reasonable price.