Rogue Oly Ohio Lifting belt vs Echo belt
This is a comparison of the Rogue Oly belt and the Echo belt including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details
Rogue Echo 10mm Lifting belt
The Rogue Echo 10mm belt can be had for $52.50. It is one of the cheapest leather belts you can get from Rogue. If you want to know more about the entire Rogue belt portfolio you can read my article "Which belt to buy from Rogue" in which this overview was originally published.
What else to consider from Rogue
Overview of the Echo belt
The
Rogue Echo belt is 4'' in width and 10mm thick. Production for this belt takes place outside of the United States. It comes with a single prong and in black color. The Rogue logo is stitched on in white. It provides 10 precision-spaced holes. The
Rogue Echo belt might not a lot of breaking in based on the quality of the leather and the production process.
Pros of the Echo belt
A big pro is the price tag. You get a 10mm leather belt for 52.50$. This is nothing to be scoffed at when you are only a weekend warrior or want to get belts for the entire family for Christmas for the home gym. Same goes for equipping a commercial gym. If I was to open a gym I would get one per rack and invest the money saved compared to the Ohio belt in putting my own gym branding on them.
Cons of the Echo belt
For a leather belt, the finish is poor.
This belt is mass produced in a machine in China with lower quality leather. This saves money and comes at the cost of longevity. This belt is more likely to fall apart and let moisture seep in where the finish is imperfect. If you are only using it occasionally or keep it for group use that is fine. If you want to go pro in lifting maybe wait and invest $100 to $150 bucks into something you can be proud of.
Alternatives to the Echo belt
This is the belt at the chasm between hobby and passion. If you only want to protect your back a little for occasional workouts you can also look into
Nylon belts which save you even more money. These also can be worn with greater ease.
Rogue Oly Ohio Lifting belt
The
Rogue Oly Ohio lifting belt can be had for $115. With this you will get a solid belt based on the original best selling Ohio belt that has been adapted for Olympic weightlifting. If you want to know more about Rogue belt read my article "
Which belt to buy from Rogue" in which this review was originally posted.
What else to consider from Rogue
Overview of the Oly Ohio lifting belt
The Rogue Ohio Oly lifting belt is a special adaptation of the Rogue Ohio lifting belt. The front has been cut out. This helps for the snatch and clean and jerk to not get in the way. The belt is made in the USA from vegetable tanned leather. At is 4'' wide at the back and tapers down to 2'' in the front. The Rogue Ohio Oly lifting belt is 10mm thick and comes in brown as a result of the tanning process.
Pros of the Oly Ohio lifting belt
The
Rogue Oly lifting belt has a big advantage, that it is less bulky than the
Ohio lifting belt. This gives you more freedom for explosive movements like the snatch and clean and jerk. The single prong design also helps to get the belt on and off easily.
Cons of the Oly Ohio lifting belt
The belt is not approved for weightlifting competitions like the
Rogue 13mm belts. This means that this is a gym only belt. Its specialization also means that it is less versatile than the
Ohio lifting belt which costs $5 less. Make sure that your main interest is Olympic weightlifting before buying this belt and that you know what you are doing on the platform already.
Alternatives to the Oly Ohio lifting belt
The all-around standard option is the
Rogue Ohio belt. This is the midrange product from rogue I would recommend to everyone. If you want to spend a bit more money go for the
Premium Ohio belt. If you are a small lifter you might want to get the Rogue Ohio 3 belt.