“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.”
“It feels like all of the basics for a small, one-room home gym. I live in an apartment in a large city and use up about 10' x 10' for all of my weight training. I love using the barbel for deadlifts and military press and the weight stand is great to free up floor space. The knurled grip on the dumbbells and barbel are also really good, way better than padded rubber grips. I wish the 2.5 lb adder weights didn't move around as much inside of the dumbbells (they slide by a few millimeters) but it isn't an issue during any push/pull movements. Overall I'm super happy with my purchase and I recommend it to others who want a "full" home gym but have limited space.”
“Incredible product, albeit a bit pricey. Definitely have been using them daily as a home-workout routine, and found that the products are of really high quality. I love how the weights are swappable super easily, and the whole bundle shipped pretty quickly considering how heavy it is.
Would definitely recommend getting the set if you're planning to start working out at home, 100 pounds in each hand for ANY exercise is no joke.”
“Pro 100 DB's are awesome! Love them and they feel really good to lift with (much better than the classic 50). I gave this a 4/5 as I find the barbell with attachment difficult to use with any meaningful weight. It doesn't balance perfectly and as I do reps, I find the bar rotates in my hands, which is uncomfortable. I'll definitely use the DBs, stand and kettlebar... probably won't use the barbell very much.”
