TITAN Economy color plates vs Rogue calibrated steel plates

This is a comparison between the TITAN economy color bumper 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 Economy color plates

This is an overview of the TITAN economy 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 Color bumper plates

Price: $64.99 - $474.99

The economy bumper color plates are a nice addition to the lower range of plates from TITAN. Most vendors only offer the rubber plates in black which might not be to everyone's liking. With this option, TITAN provides bumper plates at a slightly higher price with the official color coding for different sizes and weights that is used in international competitions. The full specifications are:

Very low bounce with a durometer rating of 88.
Extremely durable rubber used.
Fits Olympic barbells.
Color-coded for easy identification.
Quieter than steel plates.

Material: Rubber with Steel Insert
Diameter: 17 3/4"
Collar Opening: 2”
Durometer Rating: 88

10 LB:
Plate Width: 1"
Color: Green

15 LB:
Plate Width: 1 3/8"
Color: Black

25 LB:
Plate Width: 1 7/8"
Color: Yellow

35 LB:
Plate Width: 2 3/4"
Color: Blue

45 LB:
Plate Width: 3 1/2"
Color: Red

These plates are a great start for a home gym when you do not like black and want to mix it up a little. They only cost a little more than the black economy plates and make things a little more interesting, if you like the international color coding with red, blue, yellow, and green.

Pros of the TITAN Color bumper plates

Pros of the TITAN Color bumper plates:

Low price
Design
Outdoor / Indoor

The main argument for TITAN Fitness is the low price. Most of their free weight equipment comes at about half the price of their direct competition from Rogue and Eleiko. These two brands are usually considered as the golden standard when it comes to free weight lifting equipment. If you are building a home gym on a budget and either want to get twice as much weight or the next quality of plates up, TITAN is usually a good pick. Especially if it is equipment that is more of a commodity and not a high health risk, like plates.

If you think that black plates are ugly and boring the color economy plates are a great option. They will also not break the bank like other color options as competitive Olympic plates.

Generally, cheap bumper plates are great to be sued indoors and outdoors. They are ideal to be used on a sled or yoke as you will not feel guilty when you leave them in the heat, cold, or rain as much as with a plate set that costs you $2000 to acquire. I would not put my calibrated plates outdoors or on a sled unless I was an NFL or NBA team. Then the plates are peanuts compared to what you pay the athletes.

Cons of the TITAN Color bumper plates

Cons of the TTAN color bumper plates:

Steel Inserts
Can not be dropped from overhead
Sleeve space
Dirt / Markings

As you have to cut some corners when you offer your product at half the price of the competition you will often find some little quality issues with TITAN. It might be the finish of the plates, customer service being impolite, or a certain rubbery smell of the plates. These will not keep you from training with these plates but might irritate you or lead to the plates breaking sooner than other products. Still, especially for plates, half the price is great.

If you are planning to do a lot of Olympic lifting these plates are not the right choice. For this purpose plates with a full steel disc in the middle are better as they can take more of a beating. TITAN has the Elite bumper plates and competition bumper plates in their range which fulfill these criteria but also come at about twice the price of the color-coded economy plates.

As with all bumper plates, they will ake up more sleeve space on your bar than cast iron plates. If you work with 400lbs and more on a regular basis on the bar, cast iron plates are usually a better choice. Keep in mind that when you work with iron plates the weights can not be dropped from overhead and the floor should have some mats or gym flooring to protect the plates and floor from damage when you work out.

The last thing to mention is that you will see markings on these plates sooner than on black bumper plates. If this is the kind of stuff that irritates you, save yourself some money and get the black ones instead, as the markings will not be visible as quickly.

Alternatives to the TITAN Color Bumper Plates

Alternatives to the TITAN color plates are:

If you are shopping for plates on a budget of $1000 and came from a different vendor to TITAN you might treat yourself and get the elite color plates on the same budget instead of the rubber economy plates. These plates have the same color-coding, but can also be dropped repeatedly from overhead. Think of this as an upgrade to the better technology with the same amount of money. Still, you can also go for the colored rubber and save half the price.

The Titan economy bumper plates are black instead of color-coded. The price difference is minimal and will not matter to home gym buyers. COmmercial buyers might have an interest when they buy 1000s of pounds, but that is a very exceptional scenario. If you want the black or colored ones is mainly down to how much abuse you put them through. If you are looking for plates to use outdoors and band around a lot, the black ones are probably the better option, as they will age better optically.

The cast-iron plates from TITAN are a good option when you need to pack a lot of weight on your bar. Iron plates save space in storage and are also quite cheap compared to the fancier rubber versions of plates. The disadvantages with cast iron plates are that they hurt more when you bang off them and that they will definitely wreck your floor if you do not take the necessary precautions. Cast iron plates are not recommended for any type of Olympic lifting.

Conclusion for the TITAN Color bumper plates

The TITAN color economy plates are a great option for a home gym that wants more color in their training and life and just thinks that black plates are boring. They are also good to test colored plates out for your gym before you go all-in with the more expensive competition options. Still, I think that these are more of a niche product, as the workhorse plate in any gym will remain the black rubber plate. This is mainly because they will just age better than the colored ones when the first scratches and dents appear.