Rogue Monster Lat pull down vs the difference strike pad

This is a comparison between the Rogue Lat pull down and the difference strike pad including pros, cons, and alternatives. The Original was published in Which Strongman equipment to get from TITAN. Follow the links for details

Overview and review of the difference striking pad

The difference striking pad comes in at $950 and helps especially when you specialize in football training. This article was originally published in "which accessory equipment to get for your rogue rack".

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the difference striking pad

The difference striking pad is a training tool specialized for the needs of footballers. It will enforce correct hand placement for striking in a football match with various levels of resistance. The specs of the striking pad are:

Made in the USA
Color: Black
Length: 18.5”
Width: 3”
Height: 18.5”
Distance from rig or rack 19”
0.1875” steel nodes

The difference striking pad comes with four different springs which enable you to adjust the resistance. The options are:

Green Spring (Lil Rookie = 15LB – 35LB) – Great for young athletes, introducing technique, rehab, punching.
White Spring (Rookie = 35LB – 70LB) Great for Junior High and High School Athletes.
Gray Spring (Challenger = 70LB – 105LB) Great for High School, College, and Professional Athletes.
Black Spring(Champion = 105LB – 150LB) Great for College and Professional Athletes.

With this, you are sorted for an entire team and different age groups to get them to train their striking skills. You might even attach one of their least favorite persons image to the difference strike pad, but that is just a personal tip from my end.

Pros of the difference striking pad

This is a specific movement which needs to be trained for football players either on the field or in the gym. Preferably this is trained in real-world circumstances, but if you have especially strong or weak players you might want to have them train on the striking pad. The extremely strong players might wreck your team otherwise while the weak ones just need the extra hours to catch up to the rest of the team. Of course, it is also a good toy to have for the eager beavers to let off some steam after the training session or particularly shoddy away match.

Cons of the difference striking pad

If you are not a footballer, bouncer or coach you have little use for this and are probably better getting a good boxing bag. $950 can even add another rack to your gym.

Alternatives to the difference striking pad

Alternatives to the difference striking pad are:

The LT1 is the better attachment than the striking pad and I would take it over the striking pad any day unless I was an institution or NFL Star who do not have to care about cost. I wouldn’t recommend simulating strikes against the LT1 but you can definitely simulate some of the tackle or a scrum movement and so much more.

If you want to punch something on a regular basis why not do it with your fist. Now I would not recommend doing this with your boss, client or other people. That is what punching bags are for and Rogue has the right attachment for your rack. The speed bag also only costs $265 and is a bargain compared to the striking pad.

If you don’t like punching things and belong to the group of gentle giants you might want to squat heavy without a barbell. The Squat Max MD is for you and it costs only slightly more than the striking pad.

Th fortis RM4 is the vest rack from Rogue which you can get for under $1000. This is a solid addition to your gym and if you are a college that is not flush with cash I probably would prefer to add another rack to my gym than the striking pad.

Summary of the difference striking pad

The difference striking pad is great for what it was designed for. The application is very niche and probably only suitable for elite athletes or facilities which want to create elite athletes in football. I think the price is fair as you get four metal sponges with it to adjust for different needs. As I am not into football I would spend almost $1000 bucks on something different for my gym. But if you are Tom Brady you probably spend $1000 like i spend $10. It just doesn’t matter and the striking pad is cool.

Overview and review of the Rogue Monster Lat pull down stand alone

Price: 2.950

This review was originally posted in the longer article "Which strength equipment to buy from rogue" in which you can read about 25 products of Rogue which cost more than 1.000$. The Rogue Monster lat pull down will create more bats in your gym. See the details in this article.

Overview of the Rogue Monster Lat pull down

The Monster Lat pulldown Standalone is a lat pulldown machine for the expert athlete. As with all Rogue equipment this machine is built like a tank. The lat pulldown machine is a great example of how Rogue takes pride in what they do and takes their customer feedback series.

If you read between the lines you can see that the pulley, the bar, cable, and Steel eye were not up to Rogue's standards in the V1 of this machine. All of these parts have been consequently brought in-house and are not bought from 3rd parties anymore. These things are normal when new production lines are being built, a new market is tested and new processes build around them.

At least Rogue took the right learnings from this and perfected their Rhino launch. The prone leg curl and the ISO leg press have not gotten a V2 overhaul yet whereas the Lat pull down has. Be aware of this when you buy from Rogue. I am positive they will accommodate valid feedback, especially on big orders. If you buy for your home gym, maybe wait on the leg press and curl until there is more feedback available or find a gym nearby to test them.

The Rogue Lat pulldown weighs 605lb and offers up to 300lb resistance in plates in 10lb increments. It has a footprint of 40'' by 60''. It is 60'' long, 40'' wide and 96'' high. The steel notes are 3x3 11-gauge steel just like the rest of the Rogue Monster series.

Pros of the Rogue Monster lat pull down

This lat pulldown is also a rowing machine so you get two for the price of one. The difference to many other rowing machines is that Rogue came up with an idea that does not make the bench longer. By positioning a footrest under the seat this lat pulldown machine turns into a rowing machine without adding extra length.

Another big pro is that this machine allows the use of bands with the lat pull. This is very unique and I have not seen many machines like this. Especially when you have experienced athletes you will appreciate that you can work with bands.

Cons of the Rogue Monster Lat pull down

A lat pulldown is a big machine. It will take up quite a bit of space where a pull-up bar might create a similar effect. Especially in a home gym scenario, you might be better off getting dumbbells and a pull-up bar which takes up less floor space. As with other machines, the pulley system takes maintenance. Oiling this system and keeping it in check might not be for everyone.

How many clients do you need for the lat pull down?

If you think that the Lat pulldown will bring you 10 new clients who pay you 50$ on a 1-year retainer it is worth the investment. This will yield 6.000$ net new revenue against an investment of 2.950$. Adjust the numbers for your own gym accordingly.

Alternatives to the Lat pull down from Rogue

Here are some alternatives to the Rogue lat pull down

1x Rhino belt Squat Rack @ 2750$

The Rhino belt including the half rack will give you a better pulley system and the necessary rack to play around with it. It will not exactly be the same and the workarounds might be not ideal, however, it is possible. I would also be very surprised if Rogue did not capitalize on the opportunity to deliver a system that combines the RM6 and Rhino to a fully built all-purpose gym station. Stay tuned for that one.

1x Monster Lite Rig @ 2.495$

A monster lite rig will provide you with

4 Squat/ Bench Stations
8 Pull up Stations

For less than the price for one lat pulldown machine. If you are aiming to open a small CrossFit gym this is the way to go. This also shows you that Rogue still has to work on optimizing their costs on building machines. The upshot is that you will get a machine that is fully made in the US. If you work for the government this might even be a requirement for purchase.

Conclusion

The Rogue Monster lat pull down is a very solid machine for your gym. If you do not want to compromise and attract the biggest and best athletes to your gym, this is the one to go for.