TITAN change plates vs Rogue calibrated plates

This is a comparison between the TITAN change plates and the Rogue calibrated steel plates including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which titan plates to get. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Rogue Calibrated steel plates

The Rogue calibrated steel plates will set you back about $885 dollars or $5.56 dollars per kg. These plates are especially good to use for powerlifters who are serious about competing. This overview has originally been published in the article "Which rogue plates to buy" which you can find on this blog.

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the calibrated steel plates

The Rogue calibrated steel plates come in KG and LBS nominations. They are popular for powerlifting purposes as they can fit a lot of weight onto a bar. They are also approved by the IPF and therefore be used for official powerlifting competitions based on their high level of precision.

In the manufacturing process, each plate will vary in weight when it is finished. The cheaper the plate, the more variance you will have. Calibrated plates are made with better quality machines and add one production process at the end which is the calibration. What happens here is that the plates are weighed and then there will be a disc placed into little holes at the back of them to adjust to within 10grams of the desired weight.

Further specifications for the Rogue Calibrated steel plates:

Weight / Color / Diameter / Thickness / Price per pair

50kg / black / 450mm / 50mm / $386.50

25kg / red / 450mm / 27mm / $225

20kg / blue / 450mm / 22.5mm / $182

15kg / yellow / 400mm / 21mm / $140

10kg / green / 325mm / 21mm / $99.50

5kg / white / 228mm / 21.5mm / $82.00

2.5kg / Black / 190mm / 16mm / $55

1.25kg / Chrome / 160mm / 12mm / $42.50

0.5 kg / Chrome / 134MM / 8mm / $35

0.25kg / Chrome / 112mm / 112mm / $25.75

Available sets

159kg, pair of each plate except 50kg $885

459kg, pair of each plate 0.25kg to 20kg & 7 pairs of 25kg $2060

Calibrated steel plates are very good when you want to fit as much weight in as little space as possible. As long as you do not want to drop your weights this is great.

Pros of the calibrated steel plates

Calibrated steel plates are the ones you will use in competition in a powerlifting meet. They will also take up less space in your gym than bumper plates for the same amount of weight. The color coding looks cool and gives any gym a little extra feel of being professional when it comes to getting results. With these, you can train like a real champion.

Cons of the calibrated steel plates

Steel plates are not ideal for overhead lifts. They spin differently than competition bumper plates and behave differently when you switch direction during the lift. They also suffer from dropping or heavy use a lot more. Especially the calibration discs can come loose and start to rattle or fall out over time altogether.

Alternatives to the calibrated steel plates

Alternatives to the calibrated kg plates are:

Calibrated steel plates with LBS nominations are the same plate style but take out the thinking for you when you prefer to lift in pounds. If you do not want to compete this might be an option, as the international standard for the IPF is to measure the weight lifted in kilograms.

Competition bumper plates can be a good alternative if you focus more on weightlifting than powerlifting in your local gym. These plates are specially designed to be used in Olympic lifts. Dor this purpose they have a metal core and bumper surroundings. The only downside with these plates is that you can not fir as much on the bar as with steel. But you were not planning on overhead pressing 400kg soon, weren't you.

The most durable and high-quality plates you can get from Rogue are the Urethane plates. Therefore, they are also the most expensive. You can basically think of these as the steroid version of the competition bumper plates which last longer. If you will drop your plates often and use them outside for overhead lifts, this might be the way to go.

Overview and review of the TITAN change plates

This is an overview of the TITAN change plates including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which titan plates to get. Follow the links for more details.

Overview of the TITAN change plates

Price $19.99 - 134.99

Change plates are essential for good training to do micro loading. Micro loading basically means that you always try to lift more in your last session, even if it just a couple of grams. With the traditional nominations of plates, you can only jump in increments of 5 - 10kg. CHange plates make this range even smaller to keep a positive trajectory for your gains. The full specifications of the TITAN change plates are:

Available in pairs of 1.25 LB, 2.5 LB, 5 LB, and 10 LB
Rubber Coated Steel
Color-coded for easy identification

Plate Diameter: 6.75-in – 12.5-in.
Plate Width: 17 mm – 25 mm
Collar Opening: 51 +/- 0.2 mm
Color-Coded: 1.25 LB-White, 2.5 LB-Green, 5 LB-Blue, 10 LB-White
Finish: Matte Black
Total Weight: 37.5 lb.

The TITAN change plates are good, cheaper option to what you find elsewhere in the market.

Pros of the TITAN change plates

Pros of the Titan change plates are:

Price
Black color

If you want change plates in all black that is something TITAN can provide. Also, as with all TITAN products, you pay about half of what you would pay elsewhere in the market.

Cons of the TITAN change plates

Cons of the change plates are:

No color coding
Finish
Easy to steal

These plates are getting quite small so it can be easy to put the wrong weight on without color-coding. As these are change plates it is also very likely that you will use them outside the collar. This needs a very snug fit for the bar. As TITAN has its quality issues here and there and change plates are not the most expensive item in your cart, you might want to opt for a vendor with tighter quality control on this item.

For commercial gyms, it is also to consider that these plates are very easy to steal. I have been in several gyms and I use change plates often for my training. It just always seems that after 2 -3 months these keep disappearing. So keep them in a space where staff can directly see them.

Alternatives to the TITAN change plates

Alternatives to the TITAN change plates are:

TITAN Color change plates

If you can afford the little extra money I would definitely recommend going for the colored change plate option.

Conclusion for the TITAN change plates