Rogue LT1 50 cal lever arm vs Flipdown safeties

This is a comparison between the Rogue LT1 50 cal lever arm and Rogue Flipdown safeties including pros, cons, and alternatives. The Original was published in which accessory equipment to get for your rogue rack. Follow the links for details

Overview and review of the Rogue Flip down safeties

The Flip down safety comes in at $385 and is a great addition to your existing rack to widen the possible exercises you can do. This article was originally published in "which accessory equipment to get for your rogue rack".

Overview of the Flipdown safeties

The rogue flip down safeties are the rolls Royce of the safety pins you can get from Rogue. They are easy to adjust in height and provide a better platform for your rack pulls and pin pulls than safety pins or belts. They can be combined with the utility seat and LT1 50 cal short arms to create many different applications. The full set includes:

Made in Columbus, Ohio
Sold in Pairs
3 x 3" 11-Gauge Steel
Holes 2” on center
Protective UHMW plastic to protect the bar
Easy slide-in and lock-down installation
Includes (2) Monster Hitchpins
Can also be used as a pulling platform
Color: Black
Length 43”
Width 3”

If you want to secure yourself in a rack with style this is the way to go.

Pros of the flipdown safeties

The flip-down safeties will take many beatings before they break. While the safety pins will warp slightly after a full drop of a weight, the flip-down safeties will stand tall. For pin squats and rack pulls they will also provide a better and more stable platform than pins and belts.

Cons of the flipdown safeties

The flip down safeties are more expensive and weigh more than the safety belts and pins. This can be of disadvantage when you have to buy multiple units or have many beginners working out at your gym.

Alternatives to the flipdown safeties

Alternatives to the flip-down safeties are

Most rogue racks ship with safety pins as a standard. Pay attention to the detailed descriptions and if you are in doubt ask their customer support before the purchase.

Safety belts are another variation on pins. Their advantage is that they will not warp when you drop a weight from a high height in them. I personally find them hard to adjust for pin squats and rack pulls and prefer the pins or flip down safeties.

Summary of the Flipdown safeties

The flip-down safeties are a great investment, especially if you do not have to but multiple racks and can use the budget for yourself only.

Overview and review of the LT1 50 cal lever arms

The LT1 50 cal lever arm kit comes in at $995 and is a great addition to your existing rack to widen the possible exercises you can do. This article was originally published in "which accessory equipment to get for your rogue rack".

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the 50 cal lever arms

The LT1 50 cal lever arms are one of the latest innovations of Rogue. The idea is to press most of the machines you find in a gym into a rack. The lever arms can be used for lunges, snatches, squats, rows, incline bench presses, and many more setups. If you want to get the maximum out of your rack these are a good addition. I especially like the snatch and push movements which can not be performed with a barbell in this way. The uniqueness is the ease of adjusting height without using a wrench.

The lever arms are available for the Monster and Monster lifelines from Rogue. The monster version has a stainless steel finish, while the Monster lite version is powder-coated. There are two versions in 48” and 35” length. Be aware that you can only use the short arms inside a 43” rack. The specs are:

Made in the USA
Color: Black
71LB per arm
48” standard 35” shirt length
3x3” Gauge Steel

The package includes

2 lever arms
2 Trolleys
2 handles with loading pins

If you want to hold your plates in place you will need to purchase some axle collars as regular spring and HG collars will not work with this setup.

Pros of the LT1 50 cal lever arms

The LT 1 cal lever arms are a great addition to a home gym, especially if you are a bodybuilder. With the help of these arms, you can recreate most of the isolated machine exercises in your home gym without increasing its footprint. It will also add some interesting push variations to your repertoire of you play football or rugby.

Cons of the LT1 50 cal lever arms

As with all Rogue innovations, the price is usually a hump to get over. With $995 you have some alternatives you can get instead to simulate some of the activities. But there will be no full replacement and these items will take up more space in your gym.

Alternatives to the LT1 50 cal lever arms

These are the alternatives for the LT1 out of the Rogue portfolio.

If you are mainly interested in the LT1 to keep deadlifts safer for beginners you can also use a trap bar. Rogue has updated its trap bar design and there are two different designs available.

If you find the LT1 appealing to create a monolift for bench presses you can also get the adjustable monolift kit for a third of the price.

To cover the uses of the LT1 as a rowing machine you can also get the Lat pull down and row combination.

If you want the LT1 and you have the spare change in your first Rogue order you might as well go for the rolls Royce of Racks from Rogue. The RM8 includes the lever arms and the Rhino belt squat with a Cerakote finish. If you only want the best, that is your place to go.

Summary for the LT1 50 cal Lever arms

The LT1 is probably the most versatile attachment you can get for the Monster and Monster Lite series as long as you are willing to pay the price of a full rack for them. The RM4 fortis and the LT1 are almost the same price. The LT1 will probably not be your first purchase unless you go for the RM8 which includes the lever arms.