Ranking EVERY Adjustable Dumbbell from WORST to BEST!

This is the Adjustable Dumbbell Tier List. All of the best. All of the worst. Enjoy!

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Copyright © 2024 Garage Gym Reviews

[Jonathan_]

S TIER:
17:40 PEPIN FAST SERIES + REP x PEPIN FAST SERIES

A TIER:
14:10 Core Home Fitness dumbbells
14:47 REP Quickdraws
15:32 Snode AD80s
16:10 Ironmaster dumbbells
16:45 Nüobells

B TIER:
8:50 Trulaps
9:35 Kensui AdaptaBELL Pro
10:35 PEPIN HD SERIES
11:21 MX55 dumbbells
11:38 NordicTrack 55
12:23 Powerblock Elite USA
13:13 Eisenlinks

C TIER:
4:49 BAADASS dumbbells
5:39 MX85 dumbbells
6:49 PowerBlock Pro 100 EXP
7:45 Ativafit 1166

D TIER:
2:47 Flybird adjustable dumbbells
3:41 Bowflex SelectTech 1090s
4:08 Bowflex SelectTech 552s

F TIER:
1:41 Loadable dumbbells

[amfitness]

I started my garage gym 8 years ago. I purchased a pair of IronMasters with the extension set. I’ve had them for 8 years. They are indestructible and will outlive me (I’m 45 now) and my kid will use them in his garage gym. Yes it’s not super convenient to change weight plates but I’ll take the simplicity and durability of them. Plus the knurl is 🔥. A bonus made in the USA! My favorite piece of home gym equipment I’ve ever bought.

[DanFromGym]

Here's one thing to consider for adjustable dumbbells: when my arms are FRIED from a set and I need to change the weight for the next set, I CANNOT set that heavy weight precisely into a weight stand. I love that the ironmasters it's actually separate. Yeah, it's slower to adjust, but it's ok with me. Think about when you're at the gym and you need to put the dumbbell back on the bottom shelf and that shelf is too far under the shelf above it. If that's a big pain for you at the gym, you might not like trying to slot a dumbbell into a weight stand either!

[cvalue]

Coop, you’ve a blind spot on loadable dumbbells: for a small home gym, they’re great for a few reasons you’re not considering: first, the weights can be used generally in the gym, on other barbells, curl bars, on the Bulletproof VTS, etc. Second, the barbell weight is highly adjustable using e.g. changeplates (that again, are also used in the rack). Third, they’re indestructible (and can be dropped without second thought). Fourth, the form factor adds other versatility elsewhere in the gym, such as eg throwing them on a deadlift bar for deficit deadlifts. All-in-all, with loadables you’re not buying only dumbbells, and that versatility is valuable when you have a small space (which small space is why anyone is going adjustable in the first place).

[dumbbellpepin]

Thank you for the shootout Coop ! It's very much appreciated,
David.

[ChanceYoung]

Ironmaster should be in S tier. They feel the most like a real dumbbell, they go heavy, they are super durable, and there are no little parts that will wear out or break. The only disadvantage is that they are slightly slower to change than some but still reasonable. Definitely should be S tier.

[jonmacbuff]

I think the “barbell-style” adjustable dumbbells are underrated. Features:
-Use barbell attachments.
-Increasing weight capacity is as easy as picking up some 5 or 10 pound plates.
-Asymmetric loading options is a feature for controlling how reps feel.
-As hard to break as a barbell.
-SUPER CHEAP. I got a pair of handles for $40 new.
-Practically no limit on weight loading when you can use Olympic plates.

[deanradley]

The comment about loadable dumbbells not being cheap is baffling. They are cheap, you could get a set with up to 80lb per dumbbell for way under a half the price of even the worst adjustables. And then they're even cheaper to go heavier. They do have the major downside of being very clumbersome once you're putting plates that are above 20lbs each but you can't say they're not cheaper.

[arnharchik]

COREs have served me well since building my home gym during Covid. 50lbs is fine with me. Love ‘em.

[chadwaldrop]

Great video. I have had the Bowflex dumbbells for 8 years, but will finally upgrade to the Rep Peppin’s in early 2025. Great to see the product progression in this space.

[thefreakholdy]

Love my Powerblock Pro series. I know being square shape and all felt a bit strange at the beginning especially pressing them but once you get used to it then you feel like a bad ass lol they just look mean! Quality Dumbbells 🔥

[jaydecampbell]

Bowflex are not bad for the 'on sale' money. Had some for over a decade and still work well. Obviously technology and competition has developed things like the Repin's which are unbelievable, but the Bowflex are great if they are all you have.

[MeatbalMommy]

As someone who casually works outs, the NordicTracks are a steal. Really compact and super quick to switch up during a workout. Price isn’t terrible either.

[MB-jkjk]

Like the fact that you keep us up to date with the the latest ones while still considering the more classic adjustable dumbbells

[garr]

Totally get the rankings, but man, I have had my Bowfex 1090 dumbbells for ~15 years now and legit have never had any problems. Not sure if the originals were made with better equipment, or I just took really good care of them, or got lucky. They have met and exceeded their value vs the initial cost. That being said, I want some REPPINs lol

[MR-vygn]

Just jumped of the Ironmaster band wagon and purchased the 75lb dumbbells during their Black Friday sale. These dumbbells are awesome and wish I would have made these my first purchase in 2015 instead of my Powerblock Sport 9.0

I have owned my Powerblocks (70lb kit) for over 9 years and they have served me well. They are awkward for lateral raises and curls, but awesome for push and pull exercises. They’re very quick to add and drop weight, but time does increase when you need to remove the 2.5lb cylinders, probably takes around the same amount of time as switching weight for the Ironmasters. During the 9 years I made my first claim (2024)on replacing a 10lb increment because one of the welds broke, and this is only because my sons friend didn’t know how to treat them and dropped them after a bench set. After this minor mishap, this caused to look into a more sturdier dumbbell for my son and his friends.

I came across Eisenlinks and IFast, which is another version of Eisenlink. They looked very promising, but I could not pull the trigger because I’ve never heard of the company, so I don’t know how their warranty claim would be in the future once people truly start using them and running into issues. Plus after Ironmaster’s Black Friday sale the price was around the same as Eisenlink from Amazon.

I looked at Pepins, but this was before the linked with REP and they were still being sold from Canada, so spending nearly 2k for dumbbells was out of the question

Now that they joined with REP the price has decreased, but still $1100 for the 85lb dumbbells. After testing them out at the Moreno Valley warehouse, that was my deciding factor to stick with the Ironmasters. Call me crazy and I’m FOS, but RepxPepins reminded me of my Powerblocks. They still had the cage feel with the rails, they made similar amount of noise, and still had to position them into the cradle. Yes they maybe indestructible, but still did not have the same feel as the Ironmasters or traditional dumbbell. Everyone says there’s no way their knuckles can hit the push pin out during lifts, I wouldn’t put past it we’ll be seeing more post later that they did. I don’t have large hands, but during my lifts using 50-70 options I did brush against the pin on the knuckle side. A quick fix of reversing the pin would solve the issue. Now to the 2.5 add in weights, they were a little snug to slide into the slot around the handles and I can see where people can scratch their hands on those spring pins too.

Overall each dumbbell is going to have pros and cons and everyone has their own preferences. I personally wanted gym style dumbbells that would outlast me. I still couldn’t see spending $1100 on dumbbells that had a similar feel to my Powerblocks. So I would group the Ironmasters at or above RepxPepins

[royaluk]

Just bought Eisenlinks they are solid. Getting the 80# set for $400 on a Black Friday deal was definitely a bonus!

[m.l.s.]

I just received my Ironmasters. Love them.

[kamer]

Really appreciate this video, man. Commenting because this is the third time I came back and watched in tariff world where the Reppins are up $300 over last year.

[xlrnrg]

Just got my Ironmaster dumbbells (w/heavy handle kit) and Super Bench Pro V2 bench on Black Friday, both are S tier.