Rogue neutral grip vs Rogue cannonball grips

This is a comparison between the Rogue neutral grip and the cannonball grips including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Rogue cannonball grips

This is an overview of the Rogue Cannonball grips including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.

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Overview of the Rogue cannonball grips

Price $47.25 - $67.50

The Rogue cannonball grips are a great tool to develop better grip strength. They are versatile and can be attached to a rack, kettlebell, dumbbell, or barbell. They come with a 3" diameter and in black or tan color. You can opt to get a carabiner and strap set with it or just the balls themselves. The full specifications are:

3" diameter spheres with signature Rogue powder coat
1/4” thick steel tab with a hole to mount to a carabiner
Length: 12" strap

These are a must for any gym that is serious about strength. Versatile, cheap, and fun to use.

Pros of the Rogue cannonball grips

The pros of the Rogue cannonball grips are:

Versatile
Cheap
Fun

I am personally a huge fan of the cannonball grips as they are good for beginners but can also be used by pros in as many setups as you can come up with. By having less and less of your hand and fingers touch the cannonballs while doing your exercises you can modulate how hard this exercise becomes. Look beyond just gripping the ball in full and you will have a training tool for life for as cheap as a big feast at the fast-food chain of your choice.

Cons of the Rogue cannonball grips

Cons of the Rogue cannonball grips are:

Set up
Organic weight lift
Easy to lose parts

As these need to be set up with straps and a carabiner this is not for everyone. The weights can sometimes hang awkwardly from the balls, depending on how symmetrical the load is. Some people will welcome this as an additional challenge while others will smash in their chins. In addition to that, the parts can be easily lost, especially when people do not take care. If you want to offer grip training without these hassles, the rack attached spheres are a better option.

Alternatives to the Rogue cannonball grips

Alternatives to the Cannonball grips are:

The Rack mounted spheres are a little more expensive and work with the Monster lite and Infinity series of Rogue. These spheres will be stable and also will not get lost. If you want a stationary setup for grip training with spheres, this is the better option, as long as you have something to attach them to.

The crown pull up bar is the king attachment for straight pull-ups. If you are all about improving your straight pull-ups with different grips, this attachment for the monster lite or monster rack has it all. It comes in at $225 and is a great piece of equipment for a home gym to cover all the bases. The only downside is that it is not great for kipping pull-ups.

If you are into climbing and consider the cannonballs for this purpose you might be better off with the wall climbing cross-member for $85. You get a lot more grip variations than with the cannonballs for just a little more money. The downside is that they can not be attached to other weights.

The pinch blocks and the grandfather clock grip attachments can be seen as separate purchases. The grandfather clock is a little easier while the pinch blocks are a lot harder. I see them as one set. If you consider the cannonballs you want to get a better grip. Then you can get a great system with the pinch block, grandfather clock, and cannonball attachment. Of course, that pushes the price tag to $300 - $500 depending on what combination of loading pins and attachment you get. Worth it. Just pay attention to detail with the straps when your order.

Conclusion for the Rogue cannonball grips

The cannonball grips are a must-have for anyone who wants to get a great grip. Home gym owners can start with this for all kind of carries and pull-ups. Commercial gym owners will find that the cannonballs are the most accessible tool for beginners to get into grip strength training. The grandfather clock grips can be too slippy and not everyone likes using chalk. Captains of Crush grippers can be harsh on the hands and too challenging.

Overview and review of the Rogue neutral grip

This is an overview of the Rogue neutral grip including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.

Overview of the Rogue Neutral grip

Price: $65

The rogue neutral grip is an addition to Rogue racks that come standard with the fat skinny bar. With this attachment, you can do neutral grip pull-ups for a small price of $65. Compared to other options it is probably one of the cheaper ones. The full specifications of the Rogue neutral grip are:

Handle Length: 7"
Handle Diameter: 1.25"
Overall Height: 11"
Not compatible with Rogue monster

This is a good quick fix if you do not mind some scratches on your equipment.

Pros of the Rogue neutral grip

Pros of the rogue neutral grip are:

Fast
Cheap
Small

This is an easy setup to quickly do neutral pull-ups on Rogue setup that otherwise would not allow for pull-ups or would need a wrench to swap cross members/attachments. Just throw them on and get going. With a little bit of tale attached to them, you can also avoid the scratching through the metal to metal contact.

Cons of the Rogue neutral grip

Cons of the rogue neutral grip are:

Unstable
Metal to metal contact
Not versatile

These grips will go into your monster lite or infinity rack but will not be as clean and secure as a proper pull-up bar. It can shift a little and therefore also scratch your rack. In addition, it will be cumbersome to attach these hooks to any other weight to lift it which makes them pretty much single-use.

Alternatives to the rogue neutral grip

Alternatives to the rogue neutral grip:

The Rogue XM43 neutral grip rotating pull up attachment is a full specialized pull-up attachment for the monster lite and monster series. Compared to the neutral grips it can be wrenched onto a cross-member, has rotating handles, and several positions to work from. This is the professional tool from Rogue for a neutral grip from a rack rather than the makeshift pins for $60. with $445 it also costs more than seven times more than the simple grips.

The crown pull up bar is an attachment for the rogue monster lite and monster series that provides a neutral grip pull up setup amongst others. You will also get several other pull up setups and two different sized spheres. If straight pull-ups are your jam, this is a very good attachment to invest in. The crown would be an investment of $225.

A multi-grip cross-member is an option that can be attached at the top of your rack. With this, you have several grip width options for a neutral grip in a stable setup. As long as your ceiling is high enough and you want to neutral grip pull-ups this comes in at $182.50 and is, therefore, great value for money option as an alternative to the neutral grips. In this setup, you will also not scratch the existing rack.

Conclusion for the rogue neutral grip

The Rogue neutral grip is a good quick fix when you have quite a few of the parallel fat/skinny bars which Rogue used to deliver with their racks in the past. With the monster lite and monster racks series this item becomes shipped far less and therefore did not age well. The fact, that the neutral grips scratch the existing material does not make it a preferred option if you can invest a little more money. I would always prefer to attach a crown pull-up bar or XM 43M multi-grip cross member to achieve the same result.