There is a new product on the market that, in my opinion, is superior to the kettlebell (and many other pieces of exercise equipment). It is fairly new and is called the SandBell. So far, I have not encountered any basic kettlebell exercise that cannot be done better with a SandBell. First of all they are soft, so if you drop it, it's not going to break or damage something (like the floor or your foot!). Secondly, they are filled with sand, so they really help you work on grip strength much more than the kettlebell. In addition, when doing a clean, they will not bang into your forearms. The list goes on and on of what you can do with the SandBells. They are made by Hyper Wear and they have posted a video on youtube showing the versatility of the SandBells:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05dpVirpTLw. You can purchase them at
www.hyperwear.com. Enjoy!