Which Bumpers Do I Buy?

Rogue Bumper Plates By Hi-Temp – Pounds in Black and Kilograms with Color

The workhorse of the Rogue Line. These are made in Tuscumbia, Alabama from recycled tires that are pressed into bumpers with heavy duty stainless steel hubs.

There are many advantages to this design. First the bumpers have a beveled edge that makes them easy to pick-up even at heavy weights, second the outer rim of the bumper is wider than the center so the hubs do not bang against each other. This keeps the hubs from wearing out the way many other bumper designs will. Third, these bumpers are softer than the other types of bumpers we carry, which should make them a little easier on the floor. The softness also somewhat limits the distance that the vibration caused by dropping them will travel through the floor, as the plates bend and then return to their original shape absorbing some of the impact. Forth, these bumpers are virtually indestructible. They can be dropped on bare concrete and will never wear out. With the exception of the full diameter 10 pound plates, which could get damaged if you went out of your way to load up iron outside of them and then drop them repeatedly, you can’t hurt these plates with normal or abnormal gym use.

There are only a few disadvantages to this design. One is that they take up more room on the bar per unit of weight than the other designs so you can only fit around 400 pounds on the bar. However, this can be solved, by adding iron plates outside of the bumpers. Another disadvantage is that since they are soft, and bounce when you drop them, they may bounce somewhat erratically so you need to pay attention to the bar when dropping the weight. This is much more of an issue with weights around 95 pounds and under. The higher the weight on the bar, the less it bounces. Last, there are some people who do not like the rough surface of the plates and would prefer that their plates have a more polished look. However, if you want to buy one set of bumpers and have them last forever, these are the plates you are looking for.

These are an excellent choice for commercial CrossFit Gyms as well as home gyms.

Hi-Temp bumpers are also available in kilograms with colored rims. These great for Olympic Weightlifting, whether you have a nice platform, or you are lifting in your driveway.

HG Rogue Bumpers – Pounds in Black

HG Rogue Bumpers are made in China from virgin rubber with stainless steel inserts. The New HG’s are very durable, the only place that Hi-Temps have the edge are for an outdoor plate. The virgin rubber allows the manufacturer to provide a smooth finish that will look great in even the most upscale gyms. There are other virgin rubber products out there that have brass inserts. The softer brass inevitably gets bent and plates end up a little loose on the bar. With the stainless steel inserts, this will never be a problem. These are also a little thinner than the Hi-Temps allowing you to get up to around 500 pounds on the bar. The rubber is harder than the Hi-Temps, so they bounce a little less and are easier to control when dropped.

Rogue Training Bumper Plates – Pounds in Black

Rogue Full Color Competition Bumpers – Pounds and Kilograms

These are the plates that were used at the CrossFit games in 2010 and 2011.

Rogue Training Bumpers and Rogue Full Color Competition Bumpers are some of the best in the world. They are built to the same standards and in the same manner as the plates used in Olympic Weightlifting competitions. There are several inches of rubber outside of a central steel disk. The rubber is harder than the other types of bumpers, so the plates hardly bounce at all when dropped. They also are much thinner per unit weight than the other types of plates, so you will not run out of room on the bar no matter how strong you or your clients are.

If you have never lifted with competition plates, you are in for a treat. There is a very tight tolerance between the bar and the hubs so your starting position is always completely steady.

No plate leaves the warehouse if it differs from its stated weight by more than 10 grams.

They are available in full color pounds and kilograms as well as black pounds.

Eleiko Disks – Training, Competition and Sets

Eleiko Full Color Competition Discs have long been the standard by which all other Olympic Weightlifting plates are measured. Every batch of Eleiko rubber discs is tested for 5000 drops. High-quality rubber and a special steel hub guaranty durability. Each disc is also calibrated. According to the IWF rules a disc weighing more than 5 kg must be +0,1% and -0,05%. This means that a 25 kg disc can at most weigh 25 grams more than it should. An Eleiko 25-kg competition disc very seldom weighs more than 8–10 grams more than it should.

The black training plates are manufactured to the same standards, but not calibrated.

Rogue  Hi-tech Plates (Training Plates)- Pounds and Kilograms

These plates were an invention of world record holder Mercedes Dickerson. She was looking for good light, but solid training plates. She had a friend of hers cut two disks made out of plastic from garbage can lids and used to bring them to training and meets. Everyone wanted to borrow them or wanted to get a pair, so she put them into production. They are made in the U.S.A. from recycled materials. They are the only 5 pound and 2.5 kilogram plates out there that are full size and rock solid. Due to the fact that they are made out of plastic, they are much wider than other plates of the same weight, so they will stand completely solid like competition plates and will not rock from side to side. They are virtually indestructible. You never have to worry about breaking these plates. Even if you load iron on the outside, at drop them, they will not break. These plates are rigid, so they are loud when dropped, and do not bounce much. However, it is not the deep vibrating type of noise that carries over to your neighbors, it is a higher pitched sound that can be stopped by walls. These plates are excellent for training beginners and children. They are also perfect for experienced lifters, whether practicing form or warming up.

They are available in pounds from 5 pounds to 15 pounds and in kilograms from 2.5 KG to 10 KG.