EF Products Power Cage Model EF-7620

[justinluck]

Have you guys ever heard of EF Products? It seems dubious, but the rack looks similar to a BodyCraft F430, except this has J hooks on all three sides, which is nice. A couple things are strange to me though. It says the pull up and dip bars are only rated for 250 and 200 lbs respectively??? This has to be a typo, right? I weigh 200lbs! And I also cannot find any dimensions of the rack. What do you guys think?

http://www.bayoufitness.com/EF7620-1...7&zmap=EF-7620

[wolfdragon]

The rack kind of reminds me of the Keys rack. I asked in their chat about the dimensions. The following is their response.

"We received all of the EF products in a couple of months ago. These are products we had made specifically for us and unfortunately they were delivered with only some of the measurements provided. Our warehouse will be assembling all of the EF products as soon as possible and measuring them for dimensions. This will be happening as soon as our warehouse slows down as they are currently in busy season, shipping out a large volume of orders.

Sorry for the inconvenience but these dimensions will be posted as soon as we have them."

[justinluck]

Hmm, interesting. On the same note, here is their bench which also looks nice. However, once again, the weight capacity rating bothers me...500lbs total?

http://www.bayoufitness.com/EF7604-1062

[oxbeard]

The rack kind of reminds me of the Keys rack. I asked in their chat about the dimensions. The following is their response.

"We received all of the EF products in a couple of months ago. These are products we had made specifically for us and unfortunately they were delivered with only some of the measurements provided. Our warehouse will be assembling all of the EF products as soon as possible and measuring them for dimensions. This will be happening as soon as our warehouse slows down as they are currently in busy season, shipping out a large volume of orders.

Sorry for the inconvenience but these dimensions will be posted as soon as we have them."

Am I missing something? I would think that if they had the products specifically made for them, the products would be to their specs and therefore they should have the dimensions without having to assemble and measure them.

[RHINO240]

All ef products have low weight capacities. I believe they are cheaply made.

[Wildtim]

Am I missing something? I would think that if they had the products specifically made for them, the products would be to their specs and therefore they should have the dimensions without having to assemble and measure them.

Pretty much occurred to me too. If I have something made for me and the guy makes it wrong I don't pay until he gets it right.

I have a feeling "specifically made for" in this case means we had our label put on this shipping container of fitness stuff from China.

[justinluck]

All ef products have low weight capacities. I believe they are cheaply made.

If their equipment is made of 11-gauge steel, it is surprising to me that their weight capacities would be so low when the Powertec rack (constructed with 14-gauge steel) has rated capacities of 400lbs for both the chin and dip bars.

[wolfdragon]

Did you look at the pricing? You can get the Body Solid GPR378 Power Rack for cheaper. Then bench may be cheaper than the BodySolid and Ironmaster benches, but the capacity is far less.

IMO plenty of things can have an affect on the weight limits other than the gauge of steel. The number and diameter of the holes drilled will have some effect. The safety-arms in my opinion (design and material) should decide the rating. I mean they are what catch the weight.

[Wildtim]

I think the thing that has the greatest effect on the weight rating is the optimism of your legal team. In all honesty I really don't give a lot of credence to any weight limit, mostly because there is no industry standardized testing. Really it is just any number the company feels it can defend if ever challenged in court.

[GatorTom]

EF stuff is just rebadged Keys stuff. Don't believe me, google they Keys stuff and compare them. In most cases, it is EXACTLY the same. The guy at BF finally admitted this to me last month when I was trying to find out more about EF.

[Keetman]

I think I'd stay away from this one Justin. I'd always thought the Key's rack looked pretty decent and as you've noticed, it reminds one of the Bodycraft Rack. The Bodycraft is only selling for $600 though and the Bodysolid is the around the same. The only downside to those two compared to the one you're looking at is they don't have outside bar racking capabilities. I have the BC and yea this is a drag, but I have the Crossover attached to the front, so it wouldn't matter anyway. I just do overhead presses sitting or using a pair of squat stands I set up. Not idea, sure....but I like my rack enough to make the sacrifice. If I didn't have the crossover attachment, I've thought about getting a third set of bar holders, welding tabs to the outside of the barholders on the front posts, or just rigging up some kind of hook that I could mount to the outside.........welding the tab is probably the route I'd go, but cant' because the front of my rack is as enclosed as the inside.

Anyway, all that rambling comes from not really trusting a company that can't see that a 200 lb or 250 lb user weight limit on a power cage is useless for dips/pullups for a lot of people that are into this stuff. The equipment would probably be fine with more on it than that, but they're not even being reasonable and there are better alternatives out there. The dip handles and the pullup bar on my BC work fine and me and my wo partner are both about 230lbs or so. I've never even seen a company give such a rating....suspicious imo.

I'm not trying to sell the BC either. I'm sure the Bodysolid or even the Powertec would be fine...heck even the one you're looking at would probably be fine, I just don't like the light rating.

[justinluck]

I'm not sure we can even trust the specifications posted on there. They state that the pull-up bar is 0.5" in diameter. I don't think I have ever seen a bar thinner than 1-inch. It just doesn't sound plausible to me. And if someone really did make a bar that thin...why??? It's hard to tell what the pull-up bar looks like in the product photo, as the front of the rack is turned away from the viewer.

[xephonics]

I think the thing that has the greatest effect on the weight rating is the optimism of your legal team. In all honesty I really don't give a lot of credence to any weight limit, mostly because there is no industry standardized testing. Really it is just any number the company feels it can defend if ever challenged in court.

I think you should put trust in hammer strength as they use ASTM / EN957 standard to test their racks/becnhes/etc

ASTM / EN957 is the industry standard for safety testing weight equip

http://www.astm.org/SNEWS/NOVEMBER_2...ris_nov04.html


granted HS racks are usually way out of the price range of most members here, so my point may be moot anyways lol

[Wildtim]

I think you should put trust in hammer strength as they use ASTM / EN957 standard to test their racks/becnhes/etc

ASTM / EN957 is the industry standard for safety testing weight equip

http://www.astm.org/SNEWS/NOVEMBER_2...ris_nov04.html
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They really need to advertise this better, get customers demanding it. I haven't ever seen an ATSM sticker on any equipment form any common manufacturer.

[justinluck]

Jeanie, from Bayou, sent me a photo of the EF-7620, taken at their factory. I assumed correctly that the pull-up bar is not 1/2" in diameter as is stated on their product overview. It makes me wonder what other specs are off. The bar(s) appear similar to Powertec's, except their span is a bit broader, as they extend to the sides of the rack. Check it out:

[Keetman]

Ok, I'm not an engineer, so if anybody has any experience with this, feel free to correct me.....but that looks about like the stupidest design ever for a pull up bar. It seems like it puts all the load on the bolts, which will then transfer it to those two blocks of steel that are unnecessary to begin with. I don't get why they did it this way at all, a simple bar across the thing tied into the upper structure (exactly like everybody else does) would have been fine. This is not only overkill.....but to my untrained eyes it looks like poorly designed overkill.

Personally Justin, I'd spend the doe on the Bodycraft before I bought that. Then just spend another $50, get an extra set of holders, and get somebody to weld a holder on the front of them for you so you can do overhead standing presses on the outside of the rack. Not pimping the BC, again....plenty of good options out there, I just wouldn't buy this one for sure (obviously just an opinion, but something isn't making me like this rack).

To each his own though.

[justinluck]

Yeah, my other concern is height clearance. I'm 74" tall and I don't want to worry about scratching my head on those bolts. In a way, this cheaper rack (EF-4430) looks better to me (because of the straight bar), although it uses 14-gauge steel instead of 11. My ideal would be a straight bar with the thickness of the pullup bars on the EF-7620.

[hellzlegend]

If their equipment is made of 11-gauge steel, it is surprising to me that their weight capacities would be so low when the Powertec rack (constructed with 14-gauge steel) has rated capacities of 400lbs for both the chin and dip bars.

Actually, Ptec is 12gauge. I think they might just be playing it safe. It looks okay but overpriced.

[justinluck]

Actually, Ptec is 12gauge. I think they might just be playing it safe. It looks okay but overpriced.

Yeah, I don't know why I said that. Powertec has always been 12 gauge. I'm not sure what 14-gauge steel feels like, but it doesn't look very strong in those comparison pics on Bayou's website.

I have been looking closely at the Powertec, Body Solid Pro. and Body Craft racks the past few days. Judging from forum comments posted over the years, these are some of the negatives for each of the racks:

Powertec:
- Paint scratches off easily
- Safety bar design appears to be an after thought (not sure what this means exactly)
- Some dip bars are loose fitting and wobble
- Ergonomic pull-up bar is too narrow for most people's body type

Body Solid Pro:
- Not deep enough for some benches (not sure why)
- Pins for safety bars and j-hooks can fall out or vibrate loose if you're not careful
- Safety bars dent easily if a bar drops on them

Body Craft:
- Wobbles
- Cannot have j-hooks on both sides of front post
- Dip bars and a second pair of j-hooks are sold separately

EF Products
- Strange looking pull-up bar design
- Lacks rubber the strips that Body Craft has for the j-hooks and safeties

Right now, I'm leaning towards the Body Craft or the EF. I see that the Body Craft sells for $600 on Amazon where as the EF sells for $590 on Bayou with the 5% coupon.

One thing I notice is that Body Craft does not list their pull up and dip bar weight capacities, so who knows what they are...? Keetman, or anyone else who owns the Body Craft, how does the pull up bar feel? Is it a knurled 1-inch bar? As for the wobbling, don't the Body Solid and Powertec racks wobble too?

[Keetman]

Body Craft:
- Wobbles
- Cannot have j-hooks on both sides of front post
- Dip bars and extra j-hook sold separately

EF Products
- Strange looking pull-up bar design
- Lacks rubber the strips that Body Craft has for the j-hooks and safeties

Right now, I'm leaning towards the Body Craft or the EF. I see that the Body Craft sells for $600 on Amazon where as the EF sells for $590 on Bayou with the 5% coupon.

One thing I notice is that Body Craft does not list their pull up and dip bar weight capacities, so who knows what they are...? Keetman, or anyone else who owns the Body Craft, how does the pull up bar feel? Is it a knurled 1-inch bar? As for the wobbling, don't the Body Solid and Powertec racks wobble too?

Again, not trying to pimp the Bodycraft, its just what I have and I like it a lot.....so just my experience here. Personally, I'd be comfortable with any of the Bodycraft, Powertec, or Bodysolid Pro. The BC fell into my lap in a CL deal and I wanted a rack with the Crossover attachment that was a quality piece of equipment.....this fit the bill exactly.

On wobbling......they will all sway a bit when you push them unless you get into a commercial model. I can't tell you to what degree the BC does it more or less than others, except compared to the Powerline because that's the only other main stream rack I've seen in person. There is no comparison, the Bodycraft is much sturdier feeling. Personally I don't think it sways much. Hard for me to remember though, remember I have the Crossover on it which makes it almost as sturdy/wobble free as a commercial rack. But the first couple of months I had it I don't remember it being an issues (and I would remember) and when I took it apart to move it last week again, it seemed pretty sturdy. That's something that is going to be best left to the end user though on what they are comfortable with, what bothers me may not bother you. Again, I really don't think you're going to get away from this unless you go up in quality and price.....I saw a rack at Rogue and at the Arnold that did not shake at all........but I'm certain they're both in the $1000 or more range.

On the pullup bar I don't know what the rating is and I'm not concerned about it either. Its at least a 1" straight bar and it has no knurling (the one thing I don't like.....I may tape it some day, not sure). My training partner and I are both >225lbs and we do pullups on it regularly......all I can say is it doesn't worry me a bit. I'd certainly feel comfortably putting on 100lb belt and going to town on it......except I wouldn't really be able to move . The pullup bar isn't an issue.

One thing I will mention because you brought it up about the powertec; the paint will scratch. Now, this really isn't an issue either, but I have noticed. At first I didn't think it would be either because it actually has a very good powder coat to it, for awhile there were no markings on it (it was in almost new condition when I bought it). I have noticed in the last three months or so, the paint is starting to show wear. When I finish squats I pretty much slam the bar into the uprights (controlled, but I do hit them hard). I do this because I don't want any questions about whether the bar is over the holders or not. I'm sure this has caused the wear. Since I got the rack new though, I feel like those are battle scars and well earned......I kinda like 'em.

Point is though, again I don't think if you use a power cage, you're going to be able to get away from scratching. I've seen some pictures of some elite fts racks that were banged all to heck.......its steel on steel.....the paint is usually the weak point....just sayin'.

[justinluck]

You said the Bodysolid had a much sturdier feeling. Is that a typo or is the Powerline sturdier than your Bodycraft?

In terms of paint wear, doesn't the Bodycraft have rubber lining on the J-hooks and safety bars to prevent scratches?

[Keetman]

You said the Bodysolid had a much sturdier feeling. Is that a typo or is the Powerline sturdier than your Bodycraft?

In terms of paint wear, doesn't the Bodycraft have rubber lining on the J-hooks and safety bars to prevent scratches?

Typo, I fixed it. The powerline is wobbly, no doubt about it.....its far more wobbly than the BC. I workout on it though occasionally and even it isn't scary or anything. I would just personally choose a nicer rack unless money absolutely was an issue.

The Bodycraft rack is actually pretty well built, I'm not sure where you picked up its "wobbly" or why someone would think this. Yes, if you push it, it has some side to side give....but they all will as I said. Good rack.

The paint wear isn't on the safeties or holders. Yes, those have the rubber attached and I really like that feature. It protects the safeties/holders and cushions the blow when the bar lands. The wear is on the uprights where, like I said, I make the bar meet them. Unless you wrap your equipment in bubble wrap......you're going to get this.