ironmaster im 1500 vs xmark fitness power rack 7620 vs xmark fitness half rack 9014

[clayboy_123]

i do mainly 5x5 training. which would you purchase? i was also going to purchase either the ironmaster super bench or the xmark fid bench, along with vtx rubber weight set and olympic bar. any suggestions/critiques? thanks.

[bobcat255]

Adding links so others can see what you're talking about, plus my opinion

Ironmaster IM1500:
- This isn't a serious half-rack. 14" spotter arms? C'mon.
- The weight storage location is weird and makes loading the bar harder
- I've read about people complaining that it's hard to do pullups because of that center column location

XMark Power Rack XM-7620
XMark Half Rack XM-9014:
- Both have similar construction with 2x3 or 3x3 11-gauge steel
- Half rack has 24 inch spotter arms, which is the minimum you'd want
- Half rack uses drop in system which is nice
- Those J-hooks (on both racks) are crap
- The general build is "meh" for the price

If I had to choose one of the three, I'd go with the XM-9014 half rack.

However, for similar money, I'd rather look into:
- Rogue Racks
- Rae Crowther Varsity Racks
- Dynamic Fitness Titan Racks (Check Maxwod.com for pricing)
- Legend Fitness Racks (Can be found @ IronCompany, GymStore, ChristiansFitnessFactory, FitnessGiant, etc)

Once you're spending over $1k, you may as well get the commercial stuff, even if you have to pay an extra few hundred dollars for it. Don't cheap out on the rack, IMO.

[Peter_Klim]

I got the Super Bench a few weeks back. I don't regret it one bit, even though it is a little high (as a lot of people agree), even for me at 6'. My GF will be using it and she is 4'11'' but loves it. I plan to make a very simple platform to elevate my feet 3 inches that will make the bench everything I am looking for, that for me has everything that no other bench has. And I am not taking about a large number of accessories. The only accessory I really wanted and got was the leg attachment that keeps you from sliding off when doing declines and a lot of other benches do not have anything to keep you from falling off. No other FID bench declines as much as this one (that I looked at). The seat stays 90 degrees at all positions. There is no seat gap. It's strong (handles 1K lbs in flat position). Super easy to change the angles. It's very sturdy. I can easily lay my feet flat when the bench is completely flat, but I feel a little like i am in an awkward stretch and I have a bad back so that stretch aggravates it. But there were just too many positives for me not get it. Until I make the feet platform (where it will be EXACTLY PERFECT for me), I just incline it slightly. This bench is a decent price, but in my opinion also a KILLER value.