Rogue sandbags vs froning medicine ball

This is a comparison between the Rogue sandbags and the froning medicine ball including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which rogue sandbag to get. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Rogue Froning medicine ball

This is an overview of the Rogue Froning medicine ball including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

Which grip strength tool to get from Rogue

Overview of Rogue Froning Series medicine ball

Price: $110

The Rich Froning series medball is an interpretation of the Rogue Standard medicine balls in Black and red. It is only available in 20lbs and comes with the same specs as the standard black balls from Rogue. These are a nice addition to your gym if you want to tip your hatto the CrossFit legend or just like the colors red and black. The specifications of this medicine ball are:

Part of the Rich Froning Signature Series
Made in Columbus, Ohio
Weight: 20LB
Diameter: 14”
Coated Vinyl Shell – moisture and scuff resistant
Soft Shell safe to use at high speeds, but strong enough to maintain stable shape
Double-stitched paracord threading on seams
Color: Red with Black and White Branding (Rogue and Froning logos)

A nice Christmas present for anyone who already owns a home gym and no medicine balls.

Pros of the Rich Froning medicine ball

The pros of the Rich Froning medicine balls are:

Red and black color scheme instead of black
Double-stitched

This is a nice little customization on the standard medicine ball to get a pop of color into your gym. The standard Rogue medicine balls only come in black. That is not for everyone, especially if it is off-brand for your gym or the color scheme in your home gym.

Cons of the Rich Froning medicine ball

The cons of the Rich Froning medicine balls are:

Only available as 20LB
Higher cost than standard ball

These balls are $5 dearer than the standard ball of the same size. This can make a difference if you are trying to outfit multiple gyms and buy somewhere between 20 - 100 medicine balls. For your home gym, it will probably be more a question of personal taste rather than pricing.

Alternatives to the Rich Froning medicine ball

The alternatives to the Rich Froning medicine ball are:

The standard for most CrossFit WODs for males is a 20lb medicine ball. For females, this drops to 14lb. If you like the color blue and want to equip yourself with an inspiring medicine ball you can get the Camille Le blanc version of the medicine ball which comes in 14 lb instead of the 20lb the Froning version has.

Dynamax is the market leader in the US for medicine balls. While Rogue at first resold these medicine balls they went on to produce their own brand to maximize profit margins on low price tag equipment produced in masses. There is not a big difference between the two. Still, if pressed, I would always go for the product that is core for the company. The core competency of Rogue is to work with Steel to build first-class racks and barbells. Dynamax focuses on perfecting the stitch on their medicine balls.

The standard Rogue medicine ball is a good alternative to Dynamax if you want to buy a lot of medicine balls and do not care that much about the design. If you like black, you can save some money on bulk buy compared to Dynamax balls the same size.

Slam balls are a great, cheap alternative to medicine balls. If your medicine balls are used 90% of the time to be thrown on the ground, save yourself some money and yourself/or clients some injuries. These balls are cheaper to make and do not bounce back from the floor to hit you in the face. If your training is more about throwing against walls or to each other, stick with the classic medicine ball.

Conclusion for the Rich Froning medicine ball

This is the right medicine ball for the dedicated CrossFit individual with great ambitions or the one's around him who want to give something nice. Anyone who buy in bulk is probably better off to either trade up in quality by buying Dynamax or compromising in price and getting a lot of Rogue standard medicine balls

Overview and review of the Rogue sandbags

This is an overview of the Rogue sandbags including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which rogue sandbag to get. Follow the links for more details.

Overview of the Rogue sandbags

Price: $100 - $200

The Rogue training sandbags can be loaded from 16lb to 220lb depending on which configuration you get and whether you fill them with rubber or sand. These bags are meant to be carried over the shoulder or by hand. because f the handles and sturdy design they leave you with many options for conditioning and strongman training alike. As they can be filled and emptied using the filler bags it they are also more modular and faster to adjust than the strongman bags. The full specifications are:

Made in Columbus, OH, USA
1000D MIL spec Cordura brand nylon construction
7 exterior High-Strength Handles
Double-stitched, reinforced seams
Heavy-duty zipper and reinforced Velcro flap closure
Velcro is sewn into interior walls to align with and stabilize Funnel Filler Bag
Color: Army Green
Rogue Branding and “Made in the USA” tag
Size Options: S (40LB), M (80LB), L (160LB), XL (220LB)

These are solid bags for conditioning in military-style training or just any conditioning. They are easy to adjust and handle and do not intimidate any first tie user.

Pros of the Rogue sandbags

The pros of the Rogue sandbags are:

Very versatile
Easy to change the load out
Good shape and handle for easy carry

These are the right sandbags to get if you want to load your conditioning training in terrain. With the different filler bags, you can also quickly change from a light to a heavy bag without having multiple bags around. This makes it a great option for single users who want to preconfigure things and swap and change.

Cons of the Rogue sandbags

The cons of the Rogue sandbags are:

too easy to handle
Modular design can be confusing
Pricing

As with many modular purchases from Rogue, the devil is in the detail and you can quickly overspend. While it is great to have different filler bag options that you can just prepare and swap out, I recommend going easy on your first purchase and try things out, before you go all guns blazing. Especially if you are intending to buy in bulk. These bags are also not great for strongman training. The weights you have to handle in the competition are usually awkward to grip and weirdly shaped. These bags tick neither of these boxes.

Alternatives to the Rogue sandbags

Alternatives to the rogue sandbags are:

If your main goal is to load your conditioning workouts than the Tactec plate carrier might be an option. Especially for runs and rogue echo bike cycles, you might get a similar effect with less fuss. It will not simulate having to carry on extra load in your hand or on your bag, but if more resistance is all you need, the tactec plate carrier has many options while still keeping you mobile. The only downside is that it will not load up to 220lbs.

The Rogue strongman sandbag is a good alternative when you are more looking into strongman training. These bags have no handles and are shaped similarly to atlas stones. This makes them a bad choice to carry for long distances, but great to train grip strength and coordination for picking up heavy things which not have been built to be picked up. Additionally the loading system on these bags a little more straight forward than the modular sandbags.

A simpler and cheaper option than the Rogue sandbag is the Rogue feed sack. Available in a 50lb and 100lb version when filled with sand these sacks can be easily carried for distance on your back. They are not as modular as the sandbag but simpler to use and sturdier.

Conclusion for the Rogue sandbags

The rogue sandbag is a great option for an individual who works out with sandbags a lot and wants easy adjustments in weight for their training. Especially if you have to simulate a lot of military-style carries, this bag is versatile and easy to use. If you own a commercial gym or home gym and do not want to change the weights around as often, the feed sack is probably the easier option with very similar effects.