If you are like me, you probably got tired of reading promotional articles out there that only try to endorse that a particular set of dumbbells is the one and only, the beston the market or that it will make every single one of your wishes come true.
And, guess what? Every single product claims that it is the best.
Because they claim to be the best based on reviews someone else made?
Or should you rather try to take a different approach at this whole matter?
After a long search and many failures, I got to a point where I was sick of all the so-called-advice those articles gave me. And, yes, I arrived to the conclusion that a product can be excellent for me and horrible for my neighbor, and that it is the buyer the one who should acquire information on more than one product and then decide which one is truly the best for him/ her.
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And, in my search for my perfect set of dumbbells, after researching and reading a lot of customer reviews, I narrowed it down to 3 products that offer true quality for their price:
- Bowflex SelectTech 552
- Ironmaster 75 lb Quick-Lock
- Weider SpeedWeight 120
Top 3 Adjustable Dumbbells Comparison
If you want to make the best decision for yourself, then you must take into consideration both the pros and the cons of a certain product. Believe me, there’s nothing out there 100% perfect, but some of the adjustable dumbbells can actually get pretty close.
So, here you have a comparison of the technical specifications of each of the 3 products, as well as their Amazon rating and their price:
| Parameters | Bowflex SelectTech 552 | Weider SpeedWeight 120 | Ironmaster 75 lb Quick-Lock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Rating | |||
| Customer Reviews | 768 Reviews | 3 Reviews | 79 Reviews |
| Number of dumbbells | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Weight Range (min-max pounds) | 5-52.5 | 15-60 | 5/1/75 |
| Increments (pounds) | 25 | 5 | 2.5 |
| Number of weight settings | 15 | 10 | 28 |
| Handle | Rubber, ergonomic | Ergonomic | Chrome plated |
| Package Inclusion (stand/manual/video) | No/No/No | Yes/No/No | Yes/No/No |
| Warranty | 2 Years | 90 Days | Lifetime |
| Our Review | Read Our Review | Read Our Review | Read Our Review |
Top 3 Adjustable Dumbbells Reviews
Here are our brief reviews on the top 3 products:
Bowflex SelectTech 552
On the one hand, what I like the best about this product is about its value. As the most affordable one among the three products, it can provide superior weight training for anyone. This is especially true for those who are just beginning to tone their muscles. Aside from that, you are also able to select lower increments compared to Weider. This is the reason why I pick this as among the best adjustable dumbbells.
This is very important in order for you to have a gradual progress in your weight training. You do not want to start with 15 pounds abruptly, right? This is because aside from the fact that you might not handle it, lifting a heavy dumbbell that your body is not yet used too might cause some injuries and muscle pains. This property also helps you to not struggle on the next weight setting for you weight training. For example, if you first used 10 pounds, but the next increment is for 25 pounds, your body might just be shocked. It is too abrupt. So, it is best to do your workout step by step and slowly.
Aside from that, the following are some of its advantages that are worth nothing:
- Quick changing functionality for the weigh increments
- Only 5-10 seconds to change the four (4) dials and get a new weight.
- It will only take you 15-30 seconds to set it up for your next workout.
- It has the most number of weight settings, which means that you can do more.
On the other hand, however, what I like the least about this product is its length. This is because it has around 15 inches of length, which I kinda don’t find handy. It is a little bit bulky, I guess, most especially with 8 and 9 inches width and height, respectively.
Check out the Bowflex Selecttech 552 at Amazon.com
Ironmaster 75 lb Quick-Lock
The second spot on my list of top adjustable dumbbells is the IronMaster product. What I like the most about this item is that it is very sturdy. When you grab it, there is a feeling of balance that you cannot feel on the other options. Maybe this is because it is made from USA. Aside from that, the following are the other things that I like about the IronMaster dumbbells:
- It offers the widest range of weight that you can lift from 5 pounds up to 75 pounds, which make it very ideal for people who want to have an extensive workout in the future.
- Very comfortable grip
- It is the most compact of the three (3) products because it is only 14.5 inches long
- This is highly recommended for press exercises
On the other hand, however, it takes a little while to change the weight settings of the dumbbells. This is very important if you are doing curls, as well as other exercise that require quick change of the weight setting of your dumbbells. There is also no locking mechanism for the screen in pins. If you are worried about your safety in using it, then this would be a major issue. Well, this is because if there are no moving plates when you use it, it will give you a notion that it is really safe to use and the plates will not fall to your face. Since it is not present, then it might cause you some worries. Nevertheless, there has been no major issue report yet on any casualty due to that.
Check out the Ironmaster 75 lb Quick-Lock at Amazon.com
Weider SpeedWeight 120
Thirdly and lastly, this Weider product has some good properties too that made me include it in my list of the top adjustable dumbbells. What I like the most about this product is the fact that it has the smallest diameter among the three (3) products on my list, with only 6 inches. This makes it look a little smaller than the other. Aside from that, the following are its properties that are also worth noting:
- It is a very robust product with a locking system on the metal sliding.
- You can already buy it with a very high quality stand.
So, if you are looking for a good investment, then this would probably be your best option. However, it has some disadvantages too. For example, it is the most inferior among the three (3) in terms of the number of weight settings. It only has 10 weight settings while Bowflex has 15 and the IronMaster has 14. Aside from that, the following aspects are some of the things that its manufacturer need to improve about the product:
- It has a higher increment of 5 pounds. This is not advisable for people who want a gradual progress on their workout. A 10-pound interval for both hands might overdo your muscle and may result to pains and injuries.
- It is also the longest among the three (3) products on my list of the top adjustable dumbbells. For some people, this is not an issue at all. However, if you are worried about its storage, than this could be a problem that you must take into consideration. Aside from that, lifting dumbbells that are that long is a little bit awkward in the feeling.
Check out the Weider SpeedWeight 120 at Amazon.com
How To Find The Best Adjustable Dumbbells
You don’t have to take my word for granted regarding these 3 sets of adjustable dumbbells. You can find your own top 3 products by using the criteria I used for making my own list. Some of the most common aspects you may want to include in your search are the following:
- Price
- Weight settings
- Increments
- Durability
- Dimensions/ sizes
- Warranty
- Packaging
In my opinion, the most important 3 factors are price, weight range and settings and the satisfaction shown by other customers.
Moneywise, people tend to look for the cheapest product on the market. However, this should not be the case, since there are some adjustable dumbbells out there whose real worth is close to 0. The most rational thing you can do is calculate the value of these dumbbells for each pound. In this case,BowFlex wins with $5.7 per pound, and then it is followed by $7.05 per pound for IronMaster and by$6.7 per pound for Weider.
When it comes to the weight range and settings a set of adjustable dumbbells offers, you will have to be very careful, since it will turn out to be very important in the long run. Don’t just look at the nominal number, since it may tell absolutely nothing. Instead, try to find the one pair of dumbbells that fits you and your needs. For example, in my opinion, the BowFlex ones are the best because they allow one to start from as little as 5 pounds and go as high as 52.5 pounds.
Believe me, unless you want to become a professional bodybuilder, this range is more than enough since it will offer you the work out your muscles need in order to become lean and well-shaped. Furthermore, the 2.5 pounds increments weight change that BowFlex comes with will allow you totake everything gradually and it offers the largest number of weight settings (15, unlike 14 and 10 in the other two cases).
The customer satisfaction should be a trigger for you as well, regardless of whether you are buying an ashtray or the best adjustable dumbbells. Looking for Amazon reviews will help you gain a better understanding of the products, so that you can make the best decision in the end. What other people say about the product is an essential step you shouldn’t miss.
Looking at the rating only may not be the best thing to do though. On the other hand, looking at each and every review made by customers might take a lot of time, and you may not be able to spend it so much on simply reading reviews.
When time is running short on you, the best thing you can do is to look at all the 5-star reviews and their value. Be careful, though! If something is simply rated with a 5-star, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s also the best. For example, if you are looking at ratings nominally, Weider would appear to be the best solution. But this doesn’t paint the entire picture!
Look at the exact number of ratings and reviews. Using the same example, Weider has a 100% 5-star rating, but if you take a look closer, you will see that it comes from only one customer! If you look at IronMaster and BowFlex, for example, you will see that the first has a 4.8-star rating, while the second has a 4.5-star rating.
In this view, BowFlex appears to be the worst product, but this is not true since it has the largest number of reviews among all the 3 products (564, as compared to 78 for IronMaster and 1 for Weider).
That being said, which one would you actually prefer? The one with over 560 positive reviews or the one with one positive review? Which one is more credible to you? For me, it is the one with the largest number of good ratings, not the one that has the largest average rating.
Conclusion
My personal vote goes for BowFlex SelectTech 552, as it showed a very good set of advantages and only minor disadvantages. Furthermore, when 564 people recommend it, you cannot simply ignore the fact that it is actually good. Vital factors + lots of excellent customer reviews have convinced me that this set of adjustable dumbbells is really the best one out there!
The other 2 products I presented are fine as well, and you will get good value for the price, but I believe the BowFlex adjustable dumbbells should be among your top choices!
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