What is so special about Ivanko brand?

[Vaso123]

Seriously this are just a weights. Just barbells, dumbells, weights and equipment. There is not much technology behind them. Same it could be "Made in Romania #4 factory" or Big Star China . Does it make sense to advertise them and feature them in almost all bodybuilding magazines and movies.

[Wildtim]

They take pride in their product and produce a better higher quality product than most other brands, thats whats so special about them.

I imagine they are featured often because they either pay to advertise in that fashion or even better because the people in those magazines and movies have tried almost everything out there and prefer Ivanko.

If you have never used them and compared them side by side with the other stuff on the market who the hell are you to say they are "just weights"?

[Vaso123]

They take pride in their product and produce a better higher quality product than most other brands, thats whats so special about them.

I imagine they are featured often because they either pay to advertise in that fashion or even better because the people in those magazines and movies have tried almost everything out there and prefer Ivanko.

If you have never used them and compared them side by side with the other stuff on the market who the hell are you to say they are "just weights"?

Dude weight is not a cell-phone or a roller-blades. It cant be of a better quality. Lets say you got an iron road, to which you proop up two round discs and use clippers to hold them. You dont need to be a genious to produce something like that. Its not like the cheaper brand will erode and turn into dust while it is still in your hands.

[elgreek84]

Dude weight is not a cell-phone or a roller-blades. It cant be of a better quality. Lets say you got an iron road, to which you proop up two round discs and use clippers to hold them. You dont need to be a genious to produce something like that. Its not like the cheaper brand will erode and turn into dust while it is still in your hands.

stuff like rust (proper coating) and more durable materials (dumbbell handles, how they are bolted down) could mean having dumbbells that can take abuse and those that begin rusting and become loose.

[Wildtim]

You have no clue.

Bars can be machined out of better steel. the knurling can be cut more evenly, deeper, more cleanly. the measurements to the marks can be more accurate. The bar can be finished better. the sleeves can fit tighter, rotate better and have a higher quality bushing/bearing in them. They can be better finished if there is a finish applied.

As for plates. They can be made out of higher quality castings and be machined to tighter weight variances. The holes can be cut more evenly with tighter tolerances for a better fit to the bar and polished better so they slide on and off smoothly and easily. They can have a higher quality of coating on them so they don't chip and rust.

If you are just posting here to troll you will be infracted.

Otherwise I suggest shutting up and reading rather than posting about things you obviously know nothing about

[Cleveland33]

referencing roller-blades as an example of brand/quality differentiation?

[animalfan]

Dude weight is not a cell-phone or a roller-blades. It cant be of a better quality. Lets say you got an iron road, to which you proop up two round discs and use clippers to hold them. You dont need to be a genious to produce something like that. Its not like the cheaper brand will erode and turn into dust while it is still in your hands.

everything can be made better or worse. everything.

[Tyciol]

Ultimate Warrior owns Ivanko products. He was swole.

[retro_roots]

Im guessing you also enjoy Martinis made with those plastic handles of cheap Vodka you find on the bottom self of the grocery store?

[a7stringkilla]

You are right and have no clue at the same time! Yes, weight is weight and you could get it done with cement filled weights if you needed to. But I own Ivanko plates and crappy plates and there is a difference. Where you can really feel it though is in the bars. once you use a well made bar, lesser quality bars feel like ****. TRUTH!

[PsychoSonny]

your paying for the brand name, same as when you buy anything in life, the brand name effects the price you pay. some brands may indeed offer a better product, its up to you to decide whether or not you think its worth paying the premium for such a product.

in my opinion its best just to get the cheapest plates and bars that do the job you want them to do.

you know some guys that spend $500 on a wallet, when my wallet which cost $40 does the exact same thing.

[AttyGuy]

Seriously this are just a weights. Just barbells, dumbells, weights and equipment. There is not much technology behind them. Same it could be "Made in Romania #4 factory" or Big Star China . Does it make sense to advertise them and feature them in almost all bodybuilding magazines and movies.

Quality, Ergonomics, Construction, Tolerance, Precision.

Weight is weight? Sure and alcohol is alcohol. What are the criteria by which you use either? I can drink Mad Dog 20/20 and get drunk, just like I can drink Opus 1. I'm going to appreciate the flavor of one more and I'm less likely to have a bad hangover too.

[DaveChesser]

Dude weight is not a cell-phone or a roller-blades. It cant be of a better quality. Lets say you got an iron road, to which you proop up two round discs and use clippers to hold them. You dont need to be a genious to produce something like that. Its not like the cheaper brand will erode and turn into dust while it is still in your hands.

Clueless.

I import our fitness equipment to sell at our gym and quality control is a huge issue. You may not have seen bad quality stuff or maybe you've just never used anything that was high quality. maybe you aren't experienced enough to tell the difference. But big brands like Ivanko usually spend lots of time making sure their products are of consistently high quality. That's how a brand gets known in the first place.

Don't like it there's always K-Mart.

[tjp15785]

Same it could be "Made in Romania #4 factory" or Big Star China . Does it make sense to advertise them and feature them in almost all bodybuilding magazines and movies.

Actually Ivanko plates are made in China. It would make sense to advertise them if it created positive revenue.

However the choice is yours, you can buy a different brand and be happy if you yourself don't see the difference. I own several ivanko products and love them. Ivanko has a good reputation and they make good products that people are willing to pay for.

[deadpool9]

As for plates. They can be made out of higher quality castings and be machined to tighter weight variances. The holes can be cut more evenly with tighter tolerances for a better fit to the bar and polished better so they slide on and off smoothly and easily. They can have a higher quality of coating on them so they don't chip and rust.

This.
While I do not have a ton of experience with weight plates, I used to be an inspector for a precision machine shop. There are a lot of small factors that you do not see as a regular consumer.
When we made a part that was flat, you could not just look and see how flat it was. We were able to hold surfaces that were within .001" variance. When we machined a 45° angle, it wasnt 46° or 44°, it was 45.00x°. Surface finishes were not just "smooth", they were polished sometimes to a mirror finish of .5 microinches.

How all this could apply to your weight plates:
How well do your plates "stack" next to each other? How loose are they on the bar? Do they fit or clang and dangle when you bench/squat with them? Are they hard to slide on and off the bar? Does a 45lb plate actually weigh 45lbs?
If you drop one on the floor, will it crack?

[fishingeek]

Dude weight is not a cell-phone or a roller-blades. It cant be of a better quality. Lets say you got an iron road, to which you proop up two round discs and use clippers to hold them. You dont need to be a genious to produce something like that. Its not like the cheaper brand will erode and turn into dust while it is still in your hands.

Chicks are chicks man. You can go out with snaggle-tooth on the corner for $5.
I'm gonna hold out for something better....

[SDSammy]

Chicks are chicks man. You can go out with snaggle-tooth on the corner for $5.
I'm gonna hold out for something better....

Ha! That genuinely made me laugh!

[RemainDieHard]

Everyone has pretty much covered it... but really there is no comparison. The cheap plates fit about as precise as a wet noodle. A weak bar plus sloppy plates = feel like you're lifting a quivering tub of jello.

The cheap plates' condition go to hell just from normal light home use. The finish chips easily... and even chunks of cast metal get chipped off.

There is also much more variance in the accuracy of cheap plates. You could be lifting several pounds more of less than you think you are.

[Skidmarx]

I think yooz guys got trolled

[Vaso123]

This.
While I do not have a ton of experience with weight plates, I used to be an inspector for a precision machine shop. There are a lot of small factors that you do not see as a regular consumer.
When we made a part that was flat, you could not just look and see how flat it was. We were able to hold surfaces that were within .001" variance. When we machined a 45° angle, it wasnt 46° or 44°, it was 45.00x°. Surface finishes were not just "smooth", they were polished sometimes to a mirror finish of .5 microinches.

How all this could apply to your weight plates:
How well do your plates "stack" next to each other? How loose are they on the bar? Do they fit or clang and dangle when you bench/squat with them? Are they hard to slide on and off the bar? Does a 45lb plate actually weigh 45lbs?
If you drop one on the floor, will it crack?

I have read lots of intelliegent comments but once again.. I wanna point out this. It is going to take atleast 10-15 years for the even the worst quality dumbell to rust in home conditions(I mean the non-Ivanko, non-brand stuff is not a complete garbage made by idiots). Feeling like gello can be referencing to barbells, but not lets say exact 45 pound dumbells. About precisioun OK the plate is not 35 but 34.8...do you really feel that, does it effect your bench press?

It seems all the hype about Ivanko because it is Ivan and Ko something like Russian. people think its cool.

Ivanko wieghts, like Under Armour sports wear, like Tipout T-s, like Orange County Choppers logo hats....Are cooool just because

[Kodokan]

If it doesn't bother you when plates are wildly innaccurate to the weight printed on them, have no lip to pick up, and slop around on the bar and don't fit together right when you do deadlifts...then yes ivanko and other expensive but higher quality plates are nothing special and you should save your money.

[TheDude8734]

When I was starting off I might not have known or thought about the exact differences as well. It would have been obvious to me, however, that there's a reason why people are willing to spend a good amount of their hard earned money on certain brands and makes.

For me it's not the lack of knowledge of the good equipment, it's the lack of the budget at the moment with the student loan, truck loan and living expenses . I would love to be able to afford the top of the line complete sets but it's all in due time. I have a pair of 45 OM Series Ivanko plates that were given to me, just need a little TLC. I would love to have all of my plates be new OM series Ivankos, but they will be eventually.

Weights are kind of like cars. Unless your parents buy it for you, your first car is never a Ferrari or Lamborghini. We mostly all start out with the generic weight sets with less than desired pieces (I still cringe when I see plastic coated cement plates)
You work your way up and upgrade, a switch here and there.
I plan on getting the dream home set up like FISHINGEEK someday. (His set up and layout is amazing if you haven't seen his post)

But like I said, all in due time. And remember; you always get what you pay for.

[Cleveland33]

You asked what difference people perceived in the brand and they told you. I'm sure you spend money on the highest quality of something that others here would scoff at.

[cgc]

I have read lots of intelliegent comments but once again.. I wanna point out this. It is going to take atleast 10-15 years for the even the worst quality dumbell to rust in home conditions(I mean the non-Ivanko, non-brand stuff is not a complete garbage made by idiots). Feeling like gello can be referencing to barbells, but not lets say exact 45 pound dumbells. About precisioun OK the plate is not 35 but 34.8...do you really feel that, does it effect your bench press?

It seems all the hype about Ivanko because it is Ivan and Ko something like Russian. people think its cool.

Ivanko wieghts, like Under Armour sports wear, like Tipout T-s, like Orange County Choppers logo hats....Are cooool just because

You obviously have not used a bar or weights like the Cap 300lb set compared to a quality bar (Ivanko or other wise). I have a Cap bar that bent when I had no more than 370lbs on it and the weights that came with it, one pair (25lb plates) has a 6lb weight difference between the two.

Oh, and negged for asking a question, getting good answers then wanting to argue about it. You seemed to have come in here with a mind set of not wanting an actual answer but to sit back and argue for the sake of arguing (IE: troll)
If you're perfectly fine with a lesser brand....use it...but you're sounding very ignorant with your argument and comparisons you're choosing to use.

[sherman]

I wonder how many hard core gyms, where lifters are benching and squatting in the 400-500 range, have top of the line plates. Strong, good quality, bars are essential, but from what I've seen, any plates will do. Of course, precise plates are needed for competitions.

[fishingeek]

I wonder how many hard core gyms, where lifters are benching and squatting in the 400-500 range, have top of the line plates. Strong, good quality, bars are essential, but from what I've seen, any plates will do. Of course, precise plates are needed for competitions.

Most videos on youtube that have guys lifting these types of weights are at gyms using Ivanko, Troy or other quality weights. They may not be revolvers or rubber weights, but you never see them using CAP or similar cheap weights.

[mickfortis]

I understand you OP, I too used to think like this. But now I know better, for example I've used some crap no name dumbbells/equipment, and I currently use the Ironmaster Dumbbells at my home gym, and there is a world of difference. You can just feel that better brands like say IM are highe quality, built more precisely, more sturdy etc.

[havenoego]

Regardless of the OP's intentions, I actually learned a lot in this thread! Thanks for the knowledge.

My only experience with differentiating plates up until now was that the octagonal iron grip ones at my gym really suck for deadlifting.

[Yahweh]

plates themselves? Not a big deal for the casual lifter. Cheap plates won't be cut to the correct diameter, will have wider variation between plates, etc. Cheap bar? NEVER. Bend/break/collars come off. no thanks.

[animalfan]

I wonder how many hard core gyms, where lifters are benching and squatting in the 400-500 range, have top of the line plates. Strong, good quality, bars are essential, but from what I've seen, any plates will do. Of course, precise plates are needed for competitions.

i'm sure there are a lot of gyms (especially private or home gyms) with cheap plates.

Most videos on youtube that have guys lifting these types of weights are at gyms using Ivanko, Troy or other quality weights. They may not be revolvers or rubber weights, but you never see them using CAP or similar cheap weights.

actually, most of the elitefts and westside videos show them using a huge mix of plates, from ivanko to cap.