Rogue Dumbbells vs. REP Dumbbells

When it comes to a pair of dumbbells, two solid options to consider are the hex dumbbells from Rogue and REP Fitness — but which of these dumbbells are the best? Many fitness lovers enjoy the versatility of dumbbells, and have made them a priority when building out their home gyms. While there are tons of options to choose from, we believe these are two of the best options that you could add to your workout space due to their durability, rubber coat, and reliable hex shape. Both of these dumbbells may look identical at first, but as you look more closely, you’ll notice Rogue and REP took a different approach during the manufacturing process.

The hexagonal heads on both of these dumbbells are great for push-up variations, and won’t roll all the way across the room when they’re dropped — plus, the rubber coating on the heads can help decrease the chances of damaging your floors. Both companies used steel for the handles and offer a medium-grade knurling that isn’t too abrasive on your hands. So how are they different? The biggest differences are the shape of the handles, the amount of knurling, the type of rubber used — and you may be surprised to find out that REP Fitness actually charges more than Rogue for their individual pairs of dumbbells. But let’s take a closer look at both of these bells.

Rogue Dumbbell Highlights

The beauty of dumbbells is how versatile they are in the gym, and these Rogue Hex Dumbbells are no exception. They can handle your back and bicep workouts, chest and tricep exercises, shoulder workouts, and even your leg workout. The rubber coating can help decrease any damage to your floors while also protecting the dumbbells. Like the majority of rubber-coated dumbbells, you may want to let these bells air out a bit before you use them, because they do have a bit of an odor.

These hex dumbbells range from 2.5 to 125 pounds, meaning there is an option for virtually everyone. You can choose to purchase a full set ranging from five to 50 pounds, 55 to 100 pounds, or 105 to 125 pounds. Or, you can purchase individual pairs and create your own full set over time. The ergonomic handles are chrome plated, with a knurling that isn’t too abrasive on your hands. You’ll notice that the knurling is isolated to the middle of the handle. Some people may not prefer that, but we were able to get a good grip during our time with these dumbbells. Because these are of such high quality, we see the higher price tag compared to the rest of the market to be worth it.

Rogue Fitness Dumbbells

Rogue Fitness Dumbbells

These Rogue Fitness Dumbbells feature a hexagonal design, and are available in individual pairs or as a full set. The ergonomic handles are chrome plated, which will provide protection from corrosion, while also providing an ideal grip for lifting.

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Main Takeaways

• The ergonomic handle provides a good grip for your lifts, and the chrome plating can help fight off corrosion.
• Since the heads are in a hexagonal shape, they won’t roll away from you when dropped, and the heavy-duty rubber will decrease your chances of damaging your floors.
• Because dumbbells are often used for high-rep exercises, the medium-grade knurling here is ideal as it shouldn’t tear up your hands.

REP Fitness Dumbbell Highlights

Similar to Rogue, the REP Fitness Hex Dumbbells are built to handle anything you throw at them in the gym. The heads are also coated in rubber, with a handle that is chrome plated. These bells are available in sets or individual pairs with weight options ranging from 2.5 to 125 pounds.

Unlike Rogue’s hex dumbbells, REP Fitness has a fully knurled handle that features a uniform diameter all the way across. This is going to provide optimal grip, no matter where you place your hands during your lift. Plus, the knurling is also on the medium side, so you won’t feel like you’re gripping onto a cheese grater while working out. The rubber used on the heads is a low-odor rubber, making these bells ready to go upon unboxing — REP Fitness designed these so that they don’t need to be aired out before use.

REP Fitness Hex Dumbbells

REP Fitness Hex Dumbbells

The REP Fitness Hex Dumbbells range in weight from 2.5 pounds to 125 pounds. You can buy them in pairs or a full set, and they feature a fully-knurled steel handle for grip.

Shop REP Fitness

Main Takeaways

• The fully knurled handle provides a solid grip regardless of where you place your hands.
• The low-odor rubber coating means these bells don’t need to be aired out after unboxing and can also protect your floors from damage.
• The hexagonal-shaped heads allow for use in the push-up and plank position and ensure they won’t roll away from you when dropped.

Rogue Dumbbells vs. REP Fitness Dumbbells Video Review

Our Reviews Writer, Jake, puts the Rogue Dumbbells and the REP Fitness Dumbbells to the test in his in-depth video review. See how these popular dumbbells square up from his firsthand experience.

What Are the Big Differences Between the Rogue Dumbbells and the REP Fitness Dumbbells?

While both companies offer a product that looks nearly identical, there are a few notable differences. From some of the features to the pricing, each of these dumbbells have traits that are unique to their brand.

Ergonomic Handle vs. Straight Handle 

Even though both dumbbells feature a moderate knurling pattern, the overall feel of each handle is a bit different. Rogue went with an ergonomically designed handle (meaning it’s thicker in the middle), while REP went with a uniform diameter.

While the extra thickness on the Rogue Dumbbells may be helpful during your lifts, you may also need to be more precise in your grip before you begin. This is due to the knurling being centrally located (although we didn’t find this to be much of a problem). Since REP opted for a handle with a uniform diameter, you will find yourself able to get the same grip no matter where you place your hands. The REP dumbbells provide a good grip all the way across and feel a little better in our hands, overall.

There’s a Price Difference

The nice thing that both of these companies offer is the ability to purchase their dumbbells in individual pairs, or as a full set. REP’s dumbbells are the more expensive of the two when you purchase them in individual pairs, but you’ll actually save money if you go for a full set. The 2.5’s from REP are around $30, while Rogue charges around $20, and the 25-pound pair from REP is roughly $130, compared to the $90 or so that Rogue charges for theirs.

Rogue Dumbbells

In terms of a full set, you have three options to choose from, the five to 50-pound set, the 55 to 100-pound set, and the 105 to 125-pound set. As you may assume, the five to 50-pound set is the cheapest of the three and will cost you around $1,000. The 55 to 100-pound set is going to run you right around $2,900, and the 105 to 125-pound set is about $2,200.

While these aren’t the most expensive hex dumbbells on the market, and they’re definitely cheaper than a set of urethane dumbbells, they still aren’t cheap. If you wanted your bells to range from five to 100 pounds, you’re going to wind up spending more money here than you would with REP Fitness since you’ll have to purchase two sets for almost $4,000.

REP Fitness Dumbbells

It was a bit surprising to us that REP charges more for their individual pairs of dumbbells, but they do offer a less expensive full set than Rogue. Like Rogue, you have the choice of sets ranging from five to 50 pounds, but you don’t have a 105 to 125-pound set available — meaning you’ll need to purchase those bells individually. The cool thing though is that you can buy a set ranging from five to 100 pounds — something Rogue doesn’t offer in one set.

The five to 50-pound set from REP will cost you around $1,100, the 55 to 75-pound set is about $2,200, and the 80 to 100-pound set will cost you about $1,250. Now about that five to 100-pound set — with REP Fitness that is going to cost you about $3,600, which is less than the combined cost of the five to 50 and the 55 to 100-pound sets from Rogue. Since neither one of these companies include a storage rack for your dumbbells, REP is definitely the way to go if you want that full five to 100-pound set as that extra $300 or so can go directly toward a storage rack.

Rubber Coated Heads

While not all hex dumbbells feature a rubber coating, both of these do, which makes them ideal for at-home use. Rogue used a heavy-duty rubber on the heads, which felt a little harder than the rubber from REP. They also had a bit of a smell fresh out of the box, while REP’s dumbbells had basically no odor. This is by design — REP uses a low-odor rubber, so you can get straight to work with your new bells without having to wait for them to air out.

Center Knurling vs. Fully Knurled 

While both of these dumbbells feature medium knurling — which is ideal for the high-rep exercises you often do with dumbbells in hand — there was a bit of a different feel between the two. Since you get a fully knurled handle with REP Fitness, you may find that you can achieve a better overall grip since you can get the same grip on the ends of the handle, as you can in the middle.

With Rogue though, we felt that the grade of the knurling was a little bit more abrasive, which may give some users a better grip in the middle of the handle. But without the knurling on the ends of the handle with Rogue, we felt the overall grip was better with the REP dumbbells. However, it really does boil down to personal preference, your fitness goals, and how they feel in your hands for the exercises you’re doing.

Head-to-Handle Construction

REP Fitness uses friction welding to secure the heads on their dumbbells. This means that they spin the heads at a fast rate and compress them until they fuse into one piece. With Rogue, they describe their process as “proprietary head to handle construction.” We reached out to their support team to find out exactly what that means, but did not receive an answer. While the REP Fitness process seems fancy, it’s worth noting that Rogue still makes some of the highest quality equipment available, and their dumbbells feel just as durable.

Numbering

This may not be a huge factor, but it’s worth mentioning that the numbers displayed on the heads of the dumbbells do vary a little. While you can still easily see the numbers on the REP Fitness dumbbells, the numbers displayed on Rogue’s do pop a little more — this is solely because they’re raised up from the surface more than REP’s.

Which Brand is the Better Option?

Both of these dumbbells are good options for weightlifters of all levels, so the answer of which is “better” really depends on personal preference. In terms of individual pairs, you will spend more money with REP Fitness. But, you could also wind up saving a little bit of money if you were to purchase REP’s full five to 100-pound set since it costs more to purchase the five to 50 and 55 to 100-pound sets from Rogue separately. The handles on both of these dumbbells are also quite different. Rogue features a classic ergonomic handle with a centrally located knurling, while REP has a fully-knurled handle that features a uniform diameter. You can still get a good grip on both of these bells — you’ll just need to decide what handle shape and how much knurling you want.

The beauty here is that both of these dumbbells offer the versatility needed for your workouts. Whether you’re getting a pump in on arm day, working your back or chest, or maybe focusing on your legs and shoulders, you can easily do it all with these bells. The hexagonal shape makes them ideal for super setting your workout with some push-ups — plus, they’ll stay at your feet when dropped. In the end, you have to do what is best for your financial situation and the workouts you’ll be doing, which is going to help you determine the “better” option to suit both your fitness goals and your bank account.

Does the Design of the Handle on These Dumbbells Matter?

To some people, the handle design is going to be a game changer, and may even be the deciding factor. At the end of the day, the design of a handle alone isn’t going to allow you to add on more muscle compared to a different design. It really just comes down to whether you prefer a handle that is thicker in the middle, or of uniform thickness. Some people may not like that you have to be a bit more precise with your hand placement on the Rogue dumbbells (because of the wider middle), and in turn, may prefer that you can easily grab the REP dumbbells anywhere along the handle, and get right to it.

Since both of these dumbbells offer a medium grip knurling on the handles, they’re both ideal for the type of high-rep exercises that are typically performed with dumbbells. However, in our time with these products, we felt as if the knurling on the Rogue dumbbells was a bit more abrasive than the REP bells. This doesn’t guarantee a better grip though, mainly because REP’s handle is fully knurled, while Rogue’s knurling aligns with your palm, and index and pinky fingers. While we personally liked the grip from REP’s dumbbells the best, it all boils down to personal preference.

Final Word

Both of these dumbbells are solid choices to consider for your gym and will enable you to isolate your muscles in a wide variety of exercises. However, before committing to either of these choices, you need to weigh the pros and cons of each. While Rogue’s dumbbells provide a classic ergonomic feel, REP took a different approach with their fully knurled handle and uniform diameter. If you only need a few pairs of dumbbells and have a large budget to work with, the REP dumbbells may be the ones for you. But if you are on a tighter budget, you may want to consider Rogue for your individual pairs because they are a little bit less expensive.

However, since a full set is the most cost-effective way to go about purchasing dumbbells if you’re filling out a home gym, REP could save you money if you buy the full five to 100-pound set. At the end of the day, both of these dumbbells are nearly identical in what they offer to your workout regimen — so what you’ll really want to consider is the grip you want and the overall price you’re willing to pay.

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