TITAN Husafell stone vs TITAN Farmer's walk handles
This is a comparison between the TITAN Husafell stone and TITAN Farmer's walk handles including pros, cons, and alternatives. The Original was published in Which Strongman equipment to get from TITAN. Follow the links for details
Overview and review of the TITAN Farmer's walk handles
This is an overview of the TITAN Farmer's walk handles including pros, cons, and alternatives. The Original was published in Which Strongman equipment to get from TITAN. Follow the links for details
Farmer's walk handles $100
Overview of the TITAN farmer's walk handles
The
TITAN farmer's walk handles are a classic and simple design to strengthen your grip and core. Standard plates can be attached at each end and you lift them to carry the weight as far as you can. As the weight is not fully centered with your body it will challenge your core to avoid straying of the a straight line. The farmer's walk has been a solid part of many strongman competitions for years and if you are serious about Strongman training it should be a regular part of your schedule. The full specifications for the
TITAN Farmer's walk handles are:
This is a good product to buy in bulk for group training for a commercial gym. Home gym owners might want to upgrade to a
upright handle frame as they can invest a little more per item.
Pros of the TITAN farmer's walk handles
The
TITAN Farmer's handles are simple, compact, relatively cheap and easy to store. This makes them a great option for anyone who wants to have multiple pairs to compete against each other. Most people have seen and used one of these in their fitness journey, or at least have seen someone else using them. Not a lot you can do wrong at this price point if you have the space for them.
Cons of the TITAN farmer's walk handles
The cons of the TITAN farmer's walk handles:
The cons of the
TITAN farmer's walk handles are that they wreck the plates you use with them as you can not easily adjust. What usually happens with these
handles is that they got set up once with a certain weight and rarely adjusted. After that they will stand on these plates for days and also get dropped on different surfaces. Over time the plates will suffer and ultimately break. As you put the plates at the front and the back, you will also not adjust often as it is inconvenient. Especially if you are by yourself. Compared to
Upright farmer's walk handles this is inferior as these are easier to adjust and can also be built into a deadlift /carry frame which becomes more common in Strongman competitions for carry events.
Alternatives to the TITAN farmer's walk handles
Trap bars are a good alternative to farmer's
walk handles as you can also use them as a deadlift training tool. Using the frame of a
Trap bar it is a bit safer to go at speed than with the farmer's walk
handles. The
Rogue trap bar and
TITAN trap bar are two alternatives which have about $100 in price between them while the Rogue one has the higher quality finish.
The
TITAN Upright farmer's walk handles are my personal favorite. They keep the nature of the farmers walk alive by putting the plates further away from your body while making the setup safer and more convenient. As a bonus you can also build them into a deadlift / carry frame if you get some extra parts from TITAN. I personally think, especially for a home gym, the few extra bucks are worth considering.
The TITAN rickshaw farmer's walk as a cheaper alternative to a
trap bar which is also more convenient to load. If you have been considering a
trap bar to do carries and deadlifts you might look int the
rickshaw as a cheaper alternative which is also more convenient to use.
Heavy kettlebells are always a great alternative to to farmer's walk
handles as they can be used for so much more than just carries. You can use them for swings, Turkish get ups, and floor presses alike. Only a few tools give you as many possibilities as
kettlebells in this compact size. To be fair, for carries they are not an accurate representation of a farmer's walk,
yoke or frame carry as the center of gravity is close to your body and the
handles are usually more convenient to grip.
Conclusion for the TITAN farmer's walk handles
Cheap and cheerful for carries.
Overview and review of the TITAN Husafell stone
This is an overview of the TITAN Husafell stone including pros, cons, and alternatives. The Original was published in Which Strongman equipment to get from TITAN. Follow the links for details
TITAN Husafell stone $180
Overview of the TITAN Husafell stone
The
husafell stone from TITAN is a simple design that simulates strongman carries where you can not use a handle to move the weight. Inspired by the 186kg (409lbs)
Husafell stone which is located in Iceland, you can hardly wrap your arms around this weight which is part of the challenge. The design is open at the top so that you can either fill it with plates or some other medium of your choice. The
TITAN Husafell stone is advertised as 110lbs empty. The full specifications of this big boy toy are:
- Loadable with bumper or steel plates, chains, or anything that fits!
- Laser cut carry handles for easy transport.
- 17.3" Opening for loading weight.
- Solid steel construction for durability.
- Weight: 110 LB empty
- Height: 30"
- Width: 28.9"
- Depth: 5.98"
- Opening width: 17.3"
- Bottom width: 8.5"
Pros of the TITAN Husafell stone
-
Easy to load
-
Easy to maintain
-
Robust
-
Hard hull
This is a simple, no-nonsense design which needs no explanation. Anyone who sees this in a gym will immediately now how to load it and how to use it. Whether they actually can move it around is a different matter. You can drop it, maltreat it and leave it in the dirt and rain. It might not look pretty afterwards, but will still function. What is also a great benefit is that the hull is hard and does not give in. This makes it hard to get a grip on this weight which is closer to simulating actual stones compared to sand bags which flow more with the medium you fill it with.
Cons of the TITAN Husafell stone
As TITAN manages to save you a lot of money on most purchases compared to other vendors, they have to find a way to get their. This is usual by saving labor costs in form of quality of the finish. The
TITAN husafell stone is no exception. One way to safe on this is to not thoroughly sand it down after it has been built. This means that it can leave sharp edges for you. When you load this with a couple of hundred pounds this is the last thing you want. Once you get your shipment from TITAN always check whether all parts have been included and whether all parts fit or have sharp edges. Usually you have to use some elbow grease to bring TITAN products to their final stage. Nothing major, but still a flaw.
Another disadvantage of the
Husafell stone is that it is very unforgiving when someone falls or drops it accidentally on themselves or the gym floor where there are no mats. It is almost certain that it will take a chunk out of the athlete or the floor depending on what it hits. This is common for real strongman objects like kegs, stones, and
circus dumbbells, but still might not appeal to the broader audience. If you want a similar experience that is a bit more user friendly you can get the
Husafell sandbag from Rogue.
As with some most Strongman objects, the
Husafell is also cumbersome to store. If you are strapped for space in your home gym, this might not be the ideal purchase. It might end up as one of these toys that will just gather dust and you have to dance around between the
rack and your pile of strength shame which this one will be added too.
Alternatives to the TITAN husafell stone
A good alternative to almost any strongman device are heavy
kettlebells. Once you pass 60kg on
kettlebells they are almost as big as a small stone and still have a handle. This leaves you open for carries, lifts and other strongman activities while still being able to use the
kettlebell for floor presses, swings and maybe even Turkish get ups.
Another alternative for carries are
trap bars which can also be sued for
trap bar deadlifts. Rogue and TITAN both offer their own
trap bars. While the
Rogue trap bars have a slightly better finish at slightly higher cost you will get the
TITAN trap bars for less money, but with a higher risk of minor blemishes or bad shipping attached.
If you want to lift heavy and work your core you can also go for simple farmer's walk handles from wither Rogue or TITAN. The center of gravity is away from you with this exercise and you will also have a clear grip. In return you can walk faster and work your cardiovascular system a little more in exchange for less activation of your back muscles from the
Husafell stone.
If you want to keep the idea of the
Husafell stone lift, but make it more secure, than the
Rogue Husafell sandbags might be the right thing for you. Rogue has recently expanded their
strongman sandbag line up with new shapes. The
husafell bag is the newest, which weighs 100lb to 200lb if you fill it with sand. If you want to go heavier lead shot is also an option.
Conclusion for the TITAN Husafell stone
The
TITAN husafell stone is a good option for serious strongman competitors and aspirants who want a loadable
husafell stone that is very close to the original challenge. For anyone who wants to minimize injury risk and make the handling of the weight more convenient the
Rogue Husafell sandbag version is a better option.