TITAN Drop-in rack bench vs Rogue combo rack

This is a comparison between the TITAN drop in rack bench and Rogue combo rack including pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which TITAN bench to get? Follow the links for details.

Overview and review of the Rogue combo rack

The rogue combo rack comes in at a price of $2500 and is the ultimate rack for your powerlifting meet. This overview was first published in "which rack to buy from Rogue". See for yourself whether this rack is the right choice for you or you might want to steer to other options from Rogue.

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the combo rack

The Rogue combo rack is the gold standard from Rogue for powerlifting meets. It has been designed for the environment of a powerlifting meet where you have professional athletes of different sizes stepping up to the platform. The Rogue Combo rack is IPF certified and manufactured in Columbus Ohio. Special features are the lever arm jack, telescoping uprights which can be angled and the removable bench.

The rogue combo rack comes in black and weighs 505lb. It is 77.25'' long when the bench is attached. The total width is 80.25'' and the inside width comes to 43.5''. When it is fully extended the maximum height is 78'' for the squat and 17.5'' for the bench press. The Notes are cut from 3x3 Gauge steel as with all products from the Rogue Monster series. The overall footprint of the combo rack is 77.25'' x 80.25''.

This is the flagship rack of Rogue that has been built for showing off the best national and international athletes. That the IPF put its stamp of approval on it shows that Rogue means business. If you want to organize one big meet or multiple meets throughout a year this rack is for you. If you are serious about competing on an international level you might want to get this for your home or local gym, so that you can simulate competition as close as possible.

Pros of the combo rack

This rack is sturdy and can be easily adjusted. It also does not need to be bolted down to the ground as Rogue is making use of their flat foot design. This is handy if you are putting up a competition in a local hotel or on any stage where you are not allowed to bolt a rack into the ground. Another advantage is that the uprights can be angled. This is great when you have very big athletes competing who want to grip the bar outside of the J Cups as they are so massive. The removable bench will safe time for your meet is you do not have to haul off one piece of equipment of the stage and replace it with another. You will also get a westside Monster bench and squat stand in one purchase. This saves money if you are serious about power and strength and know what you are doing.

Cons of the combo rack

The first con is the price. For 2.500$ you can also get an RM6 from Rogue or two midrange RM4 or R4 racks. This rack is also not user-friendly. It has been designed with a powerlifting meet in mind. To operate it most effectively you need 2 - 4 spotters who get everything ready for the athlete. Great in a powerlifting meet. Suboptimal when you are training by yourself or have a gym where beginners will just wreck themselves with the setup. There are also no safeties for the squat as a spotter crew is assumed. This is the right piece of equipment for someone who wants to get a powerlifting meet organized and done with as little waiting time for the crowd and athletes between lifts as possible. The home gym or commercial gym owner will make their lives unnecessarily hard.

Alternatives to the combo rack

For 2.500$ you can get the following other options from Rogue

If you are looking at the Combo rack I am quite sure that you are serious about lifting and probably already own a gym or seriously consider to build a massive home gym. If you are not planning to become the local powerlifting meet go to point or you do not have a serious team of powerlifters around to work the combo rack while someone lifts, consider getting something else.

The Rogue RM6 rack is a great option for anyone starting a home gym who wants storage and rack space combined in one rack. You can also upgrade this rack with the Monster Lat pull down and Rhino belt Squat Drop in. Innovation at Rogue also always comes first for the Monster line and trickles down from there. If you have the budget and want the best for your home gym, this can be an excellent choice instead of the combo rack.

The Rogue Rhino monster Belt Squat saves you money compared to the combo rack and is a great option for someone who has space and already owns a rack to squat and bench press in. If you own a gym think about what your clients need. If your clients are mainly powerlifters who compete often, you might want to get the combo rack. If your gym has a more mixed clientele and many older powerlifters with lower back problems, you definitely want to get the belt squat.

If you are opening your first gym or a new gym you will probably be better of investing the money in a Monster or Monster lite rig. For 2.500$ you will get one of the shorter ones. This will give you more options to create revenue streams, as the rig can be used for more different styles of training. A rig sets you up for powerlifting, CrossFit, Weightlifting and Tabata classes. The combo rack is for powerlifters only.

The Prone leg curl can be an option for a commercial gym or home gym owners who want to present more options for leg development. If you have a lot of bodybuilders or footballers in your gym this might be the better option than the combo rack.

Overview and review of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench

This is an overview of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench including pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which TITAN bench to get? Follow the links for details.

Overview of the TITAN Drop-IN rack bench

Price: $159

A drop-in rack bench is a solution to a specific problem. It is an ok solution, but maybe not for everyone. If you already own a TITAN rack and want to have a competition-sized bench setup, this is the perfect fit your you. Especially if you own gym ith multiple racks you can sacrifice one instead of buying a combo rack for $999 to achieve the same goal. Another example is a home gym owner who is annoyed with their bench setup at home as it is always slightly off. For these two scenarios, the drop-in bench is a very cheap solution to this problem. Otherwise, it is a bit cumbersome. The full specifications for this bench are:

Installs directly into your power rack to provide increased stability
Comes with pins to install the bracket – or use your power rack band pegs
17-in height allows athletes to train with competition bench standards
Tough steel construction will last for years with proper use
Powder-coated paint job protects against rust and early scuffing
Bench height: 17-in
Bench pad length: 51-in
Bench pad width: 11-in
Bench pad thickness: 2 1/2-in
Connection bar width: 42”
Overall weight: 50 lbs.
Weight capacity: 1,000 lbs.

This is a solid drop-in bench that almost can't be beaten on price. If you have the problems mentioned, this is an easy and cheap fix.

Pros of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench

Pros of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench are:

Price
Consistent setup
Easy to install if you have two people

As with all TITAN products they can almost not be beaten on price. This also goes for the drop-in rack bench. If you want to save money and upgrade one of your racks to a competition bench press setup for temporary max tests, this is a great solution. Just pop the bench in for the weekend for your mock meet and you are ready to go.

With this bench, you have nor problems in terms of positioning towards the bar. Distances are the same as in competition and you will always be dead center under the bar. This makes training for competition easier as you do not have to go one inch left, right, forward, and backward each time you want to bench heavy.

If you have two people at hand, this is also an easy install. The pins provided slide in easily and the whole construction is easy to lift in and out of the rack.

Cons of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench

Cons of the TITAN Drop-in rack bench:

Hard to handle for one person
Takes up the entire rack
Can not be used on its own
Problems with the finish

If you are by yourself, this is an annoying setup. You have to put it in the right place, then put the pins in, then something will misalign and you repeat the process all over. With two people this is very easily fixed as you just give instructions to the other person holding the bench while you put the pins in. By yourself this can becomes tedious.

Once installed, the rack can not be used for squats, deadlifts, or most other exercises anymore. The structure stretches over the entire rack space and therefore makes it impossible to be used for anything else than bench press related exercises. To buy a power rack for $300-$400 and then to invest another $$150-$200 to make it less versatile is not good economics or space management. In these departments, the drop-in fails, even though it does address an easy competition bench press set up perfectly.

The drop-in also can not be safely used just on its own. You can not bolt it down and you will also have some balancing issues.

As this is a TITAN product that is retrofitted into their racks after they have been delivered it is ver likely that some things ill not align smoothly. This is one of these products that need attention to detail to work properly and provide the convenience you are buying with it. As these are all finishing related topics, TITAN might not be the best place to go for this kind of idea to buy a highly specialized product at a dumping price.

Alternatives TITAN Drop-in rack bench

Alternatives to the drop in rack bench are:

The TITAN combo rack is a good alternative to the Drop-in rack bench if you have a gym that is spacious. Here you can rather get a proper full competition setup, if your clients demand it, rather than sacrificing a rack to turn it into a bench setup on occasions. This strategy will give you more satisfied clients and less hassle changing setups around. The only downside is that a combo rack can be intimidating, especially if you have to operate by yourself.

The hefty bench is a good alternative to the drop-in rack bench for any home gym owner with a serious flat bench press. If you weigh over 120kg you might want to consider to beef up the bench you are pressing on. The same goes for anyone who benches more than 300lbs for repetitions.

The TITAN bench press rack is a good alternative for anyone who wants a very sturdy, competition bench press setup who does not want to shell out 1000 for an extra station and needs convenience. Compared to a combo rack you get the same bench press setup, but it is way easier to handle. Especially for board presses and other specific partial repetitions, the bench press rack is better than a combo rack.

Conclusion for the TITAN Drop-in rack bench

The TITAN drop-in rack bench is a good option if you occasionally do mock meets in your own professional gym with multiple members attending. In this scenario, you save yourself quite a lot of money, while still having a good bench press setup to work with. When you are not doing a competition you can remove the drop-in and make the rack more versatile. Home gym users might find this to be too cumbersome, even though the very low price is tempting. Anyone who regularly benches heavy and has space might want to consider the bench press rack instead. It costs a little more, but basically takes up the same space if not dissembled and is a lot more convenient.