“The dumbbells are fantastic. Fast weight change, comfortable to use, clearly built to outlast me. I was worried the 38 mm knurled handle would be too big for me (I have relatively small hands) but they feel great for pushing movements, decent for pulls. The stand is sturdy as hell, and great for all my little accessories. Kettlebell is great to use, and the ability to adjust its orientation is useful. I haven’t really used the straight bar that much, but I can see it adding some value when I want to add in different exercises, and it’s really the only thing I feel is a bit less useful to include.”
“Durable and easy to use. I also own another set of adjustable dumbells from another manufacturer. They've been replaced twice, thankfully under warranty, but they just aren't as durable as PowerBlocks”
“The equipment is easy to use and I am thrilled that the bundle has allowed me access to an incredible range of equipment in a very small footprint with tons of opportunity to develop as a weightlifter or adjust my goals without having to buy more and more equipment. There are 2 areas that I think you can develop to really be a one stop shop:
As a beginner and a woman, my only complaint is that you do not make a 5lb micro weight. The 2.5 lb micro weights are great but they force you to go up by 5 lbs at certain points in your progression on the dumbells and by 10lbs on the barbell. If you made a 5lb micro weight, users could go up by 2.5 lbs consitently through their whole progression on the dumbells and never have to make more than a 5lb leap on the barbells.
As it stands, I had to by another $160 worth of micro weights from another company in order to have the progression flexibility that I really wanted. Also, as a begginer, I was a little lost and in the dark about the use of micro weights until I actually recieved my equipment and started using it. It was a project to figure out what other product to buy and if it would work with the Powerblock system. It would have been really wonderful if Powerblock had their own solution available or partnered with antoher company so that I had confidence that I was buying the right product.
Another suggestion for really rounding out your products to be THE WHOLE PACKAGE would be developing a rack system and/or rack attachments for the barbell. Without a rack that accomodates your system, there is a point at which you are prevented from using your barbell to it's full weight.”
“Set up is great, and adjustments are easy. Only limited complaint is the handle of the kettlebell is a slightly awkward size. To big for a single hand swing but not bit enough for a double. Otherwise the set is perfect.”
“My 50-pound dumbbells weren't heavy enough anymore and I needed more weight to keep progressing.
I found this quick adjustable system that goes up to 100 pounds per hand and converts between three types: dumbbells, kettlebells, and barbells. It's the only product like this on the market.
After two months of use, I've already achieved 60% of my fitness goals. The design is smart and the construction is solid. It's expensive, but it's the only weight system you'll ever need to buy.”
“Awesome bundle! It’s a big upgrade from the previous equipment I had. My one complaint is that it would have been nice to have physical instructions rather than scanning a QR code.”
“Very Good Set worked as well as I had hoped very tight nothing losses easily interchangeable not just at the dumb bell level but back and forth to the kettle bell and barbell as well top notch equipment nothing lacking!”
“I’ve been using a pair of SelectTech 552 dumbbells for over 20 years, so I was pretty excited to try out the Powerblocks. The biggest frustration I’ve had with the SelectTechs has always been the plastic discs—they’re the parts that wear out fastest, and I’ve replaced a bunch of them over the years. So when I needed to go heavier, I seriously looked at the SelectTech 1090s, but ended up picking the Powerblocks instead. They were a bit more expensive, but I figured they’d be a step up.
Now that I’ve used the Powerblocks for a couple of months, I wouldn’t really call them an upgrade. Honestly, they’re more of a sideways move.
Yes, they feel sturdy and seem well built overall, but don’t expect them to be all-metal. There’s still a fair amount of plastic involved.
A few issues I’ve run into:
• The knurled handles are terrible. I picked them thinking they’d give me better grip, but the knurling is super light and basically useless once your hands get sweaty. To make it worse, the handle diameter is huge—much bigger than a normal barbell—and unless you’ve got giant hands, they’re just uncomfortable and can cause fatigue or cramping. I’ll be swapping them out with aftermarket grips eventually, but honestly, I shouldn’t have to at this price.
• Changing weights is painfully slow. I work out 6 days a week for about an hour, and my workouts move fast. With the SelectTechs, I can switch from 20 to 22.5 to 25 in seconds. With the Powerblocks, not so much. Anything that’s not a round number (like 10, 20, 30) involves pulling out cylinders, adding stuff, and yeah—it’s a hassle. If you’re not in a rush, maybe it’s fine. But for quick-paced workouts? It’s a real bottleneck.
• They’re awkward for some exercises. Stuff like chest press or curls? No problem. But if you’re doing anything where you need to hold both hands on one dumbbell—sumo squats, for example—it gets uncomfortable fast. It doesn’t feel secure or natural. And if you need to switch hand positions mid-rep? Forget it. That just doesn’t work with these.
Bottom line: They’re not bad. The construction seems solid and they definitely get the job done—but I really regret tossing the packaging, because if it weren’t such a pain to return them, I’d probably go for the SelectTech 1090s instead.”
