TITAN loadable Strongman keg vs Yoke

This is a comparison between the TITAN loadable strongman keg and TITAN Yoke 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 T-3 Series Yoke

This is an overview of the TITAN T-3 series Yoke including pros, cons, and alternatives. The Original was published in Which Strongman equipment to get from TITAN. Follow the links for details

TITAN T-3 series Yoke $380

Overview of the TITAN T3 series Yoke

The TITAN T3 series Yoke is the Yoke version of the best selling TITAN T3 rack. With the yoke you get an additional fat crossbar to use it as a yoke, feet, and four uprights four plate storage. This unit also easily breaks down for storage and is very space efficient. Yokes are often overlooked as a very good, cheap alternative to a squat stand or rack. What you will need to purchase in addition is a pir of spotter arms and J cups to use the Yoke in this way. That bring the overall investment nearer to the $500 to $600 mark. Still, I highly recommend yokes, especially if you place it in a garage gym. The full list of specifications for this yoke is:

- Great alternative to a Power Rack - Serves the same purpose with other functions in one.

- Use as a Squat / Press Stand, Push or Drag Sled, or Yoke.

- A staple for Strongman training.

- Adjustable crossbar to custom fit your height.

- Integrated vertical plate storage.

- 2" hole spacing on uprights | 1" Westside spacing through the bench zone.

- Compact 72" design means you can use the Titan Yoke anywhere you train.

- 2.95" Crossbar Diameter.

- Now compatible with competition plates!

- Weight: 166 LB

- Height: 72"

- Inside width: 45"

- Footprint: 51" x 52"

- Uprights: 2"x3" 11 gauge steel

- Weight capacity: 750 LB

This is a great budget option for a commercial gym or home gym, that wants to get the maximum out of their dollar. Apart from yoke carries this yoke can be used for stone lifts over the bar, be used as a regular squat stand and plate storage. It also comes with feet so that you do not need to bolt it to the ground to be safe.

Pros of the TITAN T-3 series Yoke

Pros of the TITAN T-3 Yoke are:

Versatility
Price
Compact design

The TITAN comes with a wide range of possible exercise you can do it with it. You can use it as a squat stand, pull up bar, plate storage and create a complete gym in itself at a lower cost than a full rack. The price of TITAN T-3 Yoke is great compared to other rack options from TITAN, but also compared to the Rogue Y1 which costs $495 instead of the $380 ask price from TITAN. The compact design also helps to collapse and store it away quickly if you need to. This makes it a good option for a garage gym setup, where you also want to use the garage for its original purpose or as a workshop.

Cons of the TITAN T-3 series Yoke

Cons of the TITAN T-3 series Yoke are:

TITAN finish
Bigger footprint compared to a half rack
No Full safeties, only spotter arms
Spotter arms and J-cups not included

The TITAN finish means that TITAN generally as a higher risk of the coating being not optimal or the welds being a bit sloppy compared to other brands in the market like Eleiko and Rogue Fitness. As most of the TITAN equipment costs considerably less than the competition they need to cut corners by hiring part time or summer workers, or a bit more lenient quality control. That doesn't make the equipment unusable, but if you want consistent quality with your purchase and not have a bad feeling about how it might turn out on delivery, Rogue and Eleiko are the safer bet. That being said, for a yoke it is a great price.

If space is a concern you have to keep in mind that the four uprights including the plates you might store on them make the footprint f a yoke considerably larger compared to a simple half rack. If space is a concern for you, but you still want to train heavy, you might want to look into a half rack rather than a yoke to save some space. The trade off is that a half rack can not be used for any carries or sled pushes.

The last thing is that Yokes only have two instead of four uprights. This means that you can only use potter arms as a safety. I personally hugely dislike spotter arms as this is the only piece of equipment I have manged to break with rack pulls. It was not pretty. I also find that you are easy to miss the spotter arms on a bench press or squat. The longer the spotter arms, the easier it is to actually hit them on a fail, but the more likely they become to break at the fixation point. If you want to squat heavy by yourself and know that you fail from time to time, you are better of getting a half rack or full rack with safety pins.

What is a bit of a shame is that the J-Cups and spotter arms are not included with the purchase at $380 which would make it a really sweet deal to build a home gym. The matching T-series spotter arms are an additional $100 and the J-Cups another $70 to complete a home gym setup that can also be safely used for squats and bench presses.

Alternatives to the TITAN T-3 series Yoke

Alternatives to the TITAN T-3 Yoke include

The TITAN T3 rack is made of the steel gauges than the Yoke. IT can also be purchased in color and various heights, depending on your needs. The TITAN T-3 is a long staple of TITAN and a solid option for a home gym when someone is bench pressing and squatting heavy on a regular basis. If you do not like spotter arms or dropping weights when you go all balls out, this is the better option from TITAN. The price will be about $100 to $200 higher than for the yoke as you will get more steel in your delivery.

The X-3 series from TITAN is one step up from The T series and uses thicker uprights which makes these racks more stable. Compared to the T-3 Yoke you will probably invest $200 to $300 more depending on what you ultimately decide for. The X-3 line also has racks which offer feet on the bottom of the rack so that it does not need to be bolted to the ground. This is a good option for home gym for someone who does not only lift heavy, but also will do a lot of pull ups, band pulls and other exercises where you pull the rack in different directions. The extra thickness of the tubing makes this rack more stable for these scenarios than the T-3- line. This is not relevant if you only squat and bench press as this doesn't shake the rack as much.

The Rogue RML 390 rack is a half rack from Rogue comes in various colors and starts at a price of $1.015. While the price is considerably higher than the TITAN racks and yokes, you will get some of the finest fitness equipment that money can buy. Rogue is not the best option when you are on a budget but is almost unmatched in quality, customer service and forward thinking in the market. If you want to make sure that some american veterans get paid for the making your rack, you have a way higher chance of your equipment being made by someone who is fairly paid and in a stable job by buying Rogue equipment. If you only want the cheapest price tag, Rogue is the wrong place to look.

The Rogue Yoke is the original from which TITAN made a lower cost copy. Rogue offer their Yoke in two different heights at a price point of $495 and $560. While Rogue caters a little more towards the crossfit crowd and suburban dads, TITAN caters a little more to the ones who want to build a steel dungeon in their basement for cheap. I am a huge Rogue Fan and therefore biased and would get the Rogue Yoke if it was only between a Yoke from Rogue or Yoke from TITAN as the prices are fairly close together. $100 bucks for piece of mind that a might not have to force some components, have some missing screws on delivery or any other funny business is worth the while for me. However, if you are intending to build a steel dungeon and also buy a bunch of plate loaded machines on the same ticket / outfit an entire home gym on a budget, than TITAN is a serious contender as you can save a lot and also have a wider choice in machines.

Conclusion for the TITAN T-3 series Yoke

The TITAN T-3 Yoke is a great option for building a simple home gym. In fact, Yokes are often overlooked for this purpose, especially if you have quite a bit of space to play around with. Be careful to also put the spotter arms and J-Cups into your basket when you are purchasing as it can be frustrating to buy these things piece meal and then have to wait and pay for shipping twice. It does what it says on the tin, but if you are lifting several hundred pounds of weight regularly by yourself, get a full cage instead. I know there is many people out there who do it just with a squat stand, but better to be safe than sorry.

Overview and review of the TITAN loadable Strongman keg

This is an overview of the TITAN loadable Strongman keg including pros, cons, and alternatives. The Original was published in Which Strongman equipment to get from TITAN. Follow the links for details.

TITAN Loadable strongman keg $460

Overview of the TITAN plate loadable strongman keg

The TITAN loadable strongman keg starts at 136 pound and can be loaded up to 500 pounds with traditional iron Olympic weight plates. This keg has a pin inside on which you can stack plates and secure them with a stopper that you screw onto the plates. This prevents them moving during your exercise for carries, throws and lifts to the shoulder. The design is simple and sturdy and there is not a lot you can do wrong with these. Compared to other kegs it is also easier to work with plates rather than water or sand to get an exact weight for any kind of exercises you will be doing with the kegs. The full list pf specifications for this model includes:

- Olympic weight plate sleeve

- Loads cast iron or bumper plates

- Laser-cut handles on either side and on top and bottom

- Removable steel spacers to keep plates stable and secure

- Dual handled turnstile ensures plates are secured during your workout

- Easier than loading and unloading sand, lead shot, water, etc. and much more precise

- Overall Height: 24-in.

- Overall Diameter: 22-in.

- Keg Wall Thickness: 0.125-in.

- Sleeve Length: 14.75-in.

- Finish: Powder-Coated Black

- Material: Steel

- Weight Capacity: 500 lb. (varies by thickness of plates used to load)

- Product Weight: 136 lb.

This is a simple product which does what it says on the tin, a keg you can load with plates.

Pros of the TITAN plate loadable strongman keg

The pros of the TITAN plate loadable strongman keg are:

Different weight varieties
Space efficient
Safe
Easy to handle

This keg makes you live considerably easier and safes a lot of hassle, if your mainly training by yourself in your home gym with a focus on maximum strength for throwing or lifting kegs. Loading and deloading the plates is much safer and quicker than adding sand or water to a keg. It is also less likely that you will have a spill or explosion in case you throw the keg on a stone or similar sharp object from a height. With this keg you can continuously work up the weight you are lifting while being precise and micro loading.

Cons of the TITAN Plate loadable strongman keg

Cons of the plate loadable strongman keg are:

Price
Only one keg

If you intend to train with kegs chances are high that you already have a bit of space available. The strongman competition that you see most often is throwing multiple kegs of various weights over a high bar or throwing a maximum weight over the high bar. Occasionally you see keg carries, but not as often. For the throws the weights goes usually up to about 100 pounds. Therefore, you might be better off by getting multiple smaller legs that you will with water or sand and just leave them there for training rather than having one adjustable keg for $450.

Alternatives to the TITAN plate loadable strongman keg

Alternatives to the Titan plate loadable strongman keg are:

Regular kegs
Rogue Strongman throw bag

You can get regular used kegs from a local pub or distributor. It will take a bit more time to resource, but look for ones that have a defect on the closing mechanism and therefore do not regulate the pressure correct anymore. Get those at a discounted price, fill them with water or sand and seal them tight. This needs more DIY skills and some connections, but it will be the cheaper and better training tool to simulate what happens at a strongman competition. Especially if you have a little army of these.

An alternative that is more user friendly for the masses is the strongman throw bag from Rogue. Especially if you mainly use legs for throw training. For carry events these might be a little too light if you are a 140kg and more monster, but for throws they are great. They cost $145 and are a lot easier to handle than a keg. If you want to bring over the bar throws to the general population, is the better choice than the loadable keg.

Conclusion for the TITAN Loadable Strongman keg

The TITAN loadable strongman keg is a good option if you are training for maximum lifts and carries with kegs. Whenever you need one heavy keg to train this is a good, clean and safe option over any kind of do it yourself keg filled with water or sand. Usually, the events for throwing kegs are lighter and involve smaller kegs. In this scenario you are better off to work on a line up of kegs which you can easily swap, change and throw consecutively to be more effective with their your training. If you are considering to buy a leg for $450 i am quite positive, that you already have a home gym and considerable space. You might as well take a bit more time to source some kegs locally from a distributor and do them up yourself.