Edge Mono Lift Attachment Review

[GarageIron]

We received our first shipment of Edge Fitness Systems Mono Lift Attachments. Here is my quick review and initial impressions. Sorry about some of the blurry photos.

Shipping took two days via USPS. I was pretty excited to get these and tore the first box open like a 6 year old on xmas morning.

The box was packed nicely and the units came out well protected in lots of packing material which was strategically placed to protect the powder coat. I saw 2 pieces of mounting hardware and wasn't sure why they were different lengths (at first). Turns out it is to accommodate the various rack dimensions that you may have.






At first I was a bit taken back by the width of the steel used for the hooks. It's 3/4" which is awesome, I was just not expecting it to be that beefy. I had seen a bunch of pictures and expected them to be thinner for some reason.









There are 3 holes in the mounting plates to accommodate any 2", 2.5", or 3" Power Rack. At first the holes look like they are drilled crooked. They are not, This is just to ensure they hit the centre of any of the dimensions of the racks mentioned above. It is a single bolt to mount which takes about 5 minutes or less. Adding a second bolt would be nice but I can see why this can't happen and still make it a universal fit due to the varying hole spacing on various racks.





It looked pretty damn cool. The powder coat matches the R3 well, maybe a bit more gloss but barely noticeable if at all. I tried out a few bars to see if it could rack a swiss or fat bar.

[GarageIron]

I finally gave it a try later on in the evening. My biggest concern for my own rack was the 24" spacing of the R3 uprights. The Mono Lift takes the bar about 6" (almost exactly, I measured) back from the uprights to unrack. That just took my 24" down to 18".

No problem at all. Not even noticeable. I squatted about 5-7 sets, increasing in weight. I admit, I was concerned about racking it. I normally just slam the bar into the uprights on heavy squats and drop it. For some reason thought the angle or hooks were going to reduce the "catching ability"(?) of regular J-Hooks. Not the case at all. It was somehow easier to rack this way. They just grabbed the bar and swung it away a few inches back. I've never used a device like this so it was a bit weird to just unrack the bar and be able to drop into a squat, you just need to worry about squatting the weight, not walking back with it before setting up.

The hooks get out of the way, but not very far. You still need to be aware of them. If you fall forward on the way up, You'll hit them. Its best setup your height to pull the bar back to the right height before you start. This is hard to explain, but the device works like a swing, The further back you are to start, the further you are from the hooks on the way up.

This would be a great addition to any power rack that has the lower cross member below the rear uprights. The starting position sets you back to squat but you can still lean forward to hit the arms and rack it without walking it all the way in.





I tried it out to bench press last. This is where I found a great advantage although I found it awkward to start. You can set up and just press up. I'm used to having to unrack and pull forward to get set or have someone hand off on heavy lifts. This allows you the "hand off". My biggest problem was getting set up under the bar. I have my little rituals as do most to get where you want under the bar before you lift. This device changes the setup position of the bar. It starts where you bench and then the hooks move. I didn't go very heavy here due to weirdness but can see how this will be an advantage going forward.




Pros - Build Quality, Ships fast and cheap, Price ($300), Functionality, Universal fit, adds new variations to lifts, easy to install, looks bad ass, designed and fabricated by one of the best, racks various bars.

Con's - It bolts to the rack so its difficult to move around. A quick release pin would be awesome to move the device around faster. This would add cost so there is some give and take. The offset holes are great, but a slotted hole would have serve my rack best with the ability to add additional bolts (but thus adding to change time). I get why this doesn't work for everyone. But as you can see, would work well in the R3 as the holes align.

[817boy]

thank you for this review.

I will be buying these in a few months. My rack is crap and has 3 inch hole spacing.

Buying some better Jcups for it this weekend

[sherman]

hmmm.......

[KBKB]

Looks cool. Thanks for posting your review.

[ProtienandIron]

Great review! Thats a sweet setup you have there. That thing is extreemly overbuilt, which is nice to see in this day and age. It may be a bit early to tell but, has it increased the working poundage you're willing to lift by not having to manouver the load back to start the set?

[Northernmoris]

I'm interested in a Mono attachment but am gonna wait to see what Dean @ Black Widow TG can do.

Looks awesome though. Dropped for review. How heavy are the counter weights?

[Josephbd]

Hi,
They look great. Do you have their contact info as I'd like to purchase a set.
Thanks
Joe

[Northernmoris]

Hi,
They look great. Do you have their contact info as I'd like to purchase a set.
Thanks
Joe

http://www.edgefitnessystems.com/Equipment.html

[GarageIron]

It may be a bit early to tell but, has it increased the working poundage you're willing to lift by not having to manouver the load back to start the set?

I haven't pushed it yet, but I would imagine this will be the case. The one caution I will put out there is to make sure the safety spotters are set. Once you unrack, there is no going back. The hooks are gone.

I'm interested in a Mono attachment but am gonna wait to see what Dean @ Black Widow TG can do.

Looks awesome though. Dropped for review. How heavy are the counter weights?

I talked to Dean last week and he does have something similar in the works. He actually fabbed me up that Swiss Bar in the pics above.


Here is a video of it in use taken from the Edge site...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTeUcO1zvns

[Accutron]

Good review, thanks for the pics and the write-up.

Thats a sweet Rogue rack, after all this time thinking about racks I really think Im going to go with Rogue.

Take care bro.

[Josephbd]

Thank you!

[GarageIron]

Here is a video I did tonight using the attachment to squat. Not super heavy 285x5 I believe... The camera batteries only lasted long enough for one set. You get to see how it works a bit better. The quality of the shot is not great... actually its terrible. Must have been the lighting.

http://youtu.be/cg5evlR7lJE

[GarageIron]

Hi,
They look great. Do you have their contact info as I'd like to purchase a set.
Thanks
Joe

Rick @ www.edgefitnessystems.com sells them for $299 Shipped in the US and I also have a few of them in Canada.

EDIT: My mistake. Somehow missed Morris' post.

[817boy]

Rick @ www.edgefitnessystems.com sells them for $299 Shipped in the US and I also have a few of them in Canada.

EDIT: My mistake. Somehow missed Morris' post.

Nice, good luck at the fire academy.

I just finished emt-P class and will be going to a fire academy in a year or 2.

BTW, I think they sell 5/8 bolts that have a cotter pin at the end of the bolt where the nut would go. Might want to look into it cuz seems like a faster way to move the monolift attachment.

Not sure how much weight the cotter pins would be able to handle. (JUST AND IDEA)

[GarageIron]

Nice, good luck at the fire academy.

I just finished emt-P class and will be going to a fire academy in a year or 2.

BTW, I think they sell 5/8 bolts that have a cotter pin at the end of the bolt where the nut would go. Might want to look into it cuz seems like a faster way to move the monolift attachment.

Not sure how much weight the cotter pins would be able to handle. (JUST AND IDEA)

Thanks man. Fire academy was a long time ago. I've been a full time Firefighter for some time now. Its just an old hoodie I wear sometimes to train in my garage. I'm not a "fire t-shirt at the gym guy". It just worked out that way tonight.

That's a good idea with the cotter pinned bolts. I was thinking something similar to a hitch pin on a similar application last week. The more I've used this thing the more I realize it needs to be bolted to the rack and I retract my previous suggestion to "quick pin" it. There is no room for slop here. The attachment needs to be one with the uprights (bolted). Yes, there is a downside to it, but I think its worth it. I did notice that having it in the power rack took away my ability to press in there. I'll still be able to bench off the regular j-hooks but the upper part of the rack is now blocked by the counter weights.

[817boy]

Thanks man. Fire academy was a long time ago. I've been a full time Firefighter for some time now. Its just an old hoodie I wear sometimes to train in my garage. I'm not a "fire t-shirt at the gym guy". It just worked out that way tonight.

That's a good idea with the cotter pinned bolts. I was thinking something similar to a hitch pin on a similar application last week. The more I've used this thing the more I realize it needs to be bolted to the rack and I retract my previous suggestion to "quick pin" it. There is no room for slop here. The attachment needs to be one with the uprights (bolted). Yes, there is a downside to it, but I think its worth it. I did notice that having it in the power rack took away my ability to press in there. I'll still be able to bench off the regular j-hooks but the upper part of the rack is now blocked by the counter weights.

Yeah makes sense. I hope he can make them for my rack, i have a crap rack w/ 1inch or 1 1/8inch hole spacing

[GarageIron]

Yeah makes sense. I hope he can make them for my rack, i have a crap rack w/ 1inch or 1 1/8inch hole spacing

Hole spacing doesn't matter. Its one bolt to attach it. If your rack has square uprights that are 2, 2.5, or 3" in width, you are good to go with this thing.

[Andrew_WOT]

Con's - It bolts to the rack so its difficult to move around. A quick release pin would be awesome to move the device around faster.

So if I got it right it pretty much renders rack into dedicated squat station as complete removal or repositioning to different height for bench pressing requires a wrench (two actually).

[GarageIron]

So if I got it right it pretty much renders rack into dedicated squat station as complete removal or repositioning to different height for bench pressing requires a wrench (two actually).

Not at all. You can easily bench with regular j hooks in the rack. If you want to use the monolift attachment to bench, you would need to unbolt it and move it. You would need 2 wrenches and a minute or so to make the change. The entire rack functions as it always has aside from being able to press. It wasnt made to bench with, the ability to use it for benching is just a side benefit of the product design.

[Andrew_WOT]

Not at all. You can easily bench with regular j hooks in the rack. If you want to use the monolift attachment to bench, you would need to unbolt it and move it. You would need 2 wrenches and a minute or so to make the change. The entire rack functions as it always has aside from being able to press. It wasnt made to bench with, the ability to use it for benching is just a side benefit of the product design.

I see, thanks for clarification.