Here's a picture of the dumbbell handle/U-50: So for those of you who hate the block shape, this might appease you. Here's a couple pictures of the U-90 Stage II kit:Īesthetically speaking, the U-90s are much better on the eyes than the Elites. In addition to that, the color isn't composed of a plastic piece, but of a powder-coating on steel, which is a great improvement upon durability and aesthetics. As you can see, the color-coded rails go along both sides of the block, not just one side. The gear was in perfect condition no scratches, dents, etc. While the packaging was great, companies like Ironmaster offer much more protection. All of the equipment is wrapped in a plastic layer and completely covered by a very thick styrofoam shell. The packaging was more than enough and the equipment was well protected. The shipment came in 5 packages: Two packages for the U-50s, two packages for the U-90 Stage II kit, and one package for the stand. The facility they ship from is in Minnesota, and I'm in Northeast Ohio, so it only took two days to get here with UPS Ground. I ordered the U-90s over the weekend, and they shipped the following Monday morning. Starting off with shipping, the service was very fast. Seeing as how there appears to be no reviews of this set, I figured I might as well offer one. Five minutes after selling the elites, I went onto the Powerblock website and purchased the U-90s with a stand.
I had a couple of bites on my CL ad, and sold the elites for $600. I decided that it would be in my best interests to sell the elites so that I could buy a new set of PBs with a warranty. You could tell they were a little mistreated though. They were not in the greatest condition, but not in bad condition either. Now, the problem with the elites was the fact that I got them from a fitness club. I sold my IMs on craigslist and proceeded to use the Elites. Since I didn't want to be compulsive, I continued to mix my workouts with both sets of dumbbells for a couple weeks so I could come to a firm conclusion. I mixed my workouts with both the IMs and the PBs, and I enjoyed the PBs much more than the IMs, which was unexpected to say the least. My first workout with the Powerblocks was on a chest day, and I was hooked ever since then. Until they were sold, I figured I would use them to see what I was missing out on, since I bought the IMs without testing the Powerblocks. As soon as I got home, I put the Powerblocks on craigslist for $650.
At the time, I planned on just immediately flipping the Powerblocks for about twice as much since I had the Ironmasters. So a couple weeks back, I scored a nice deal on a pair of Powerblock Elites (5-130lbs) with a stand for $350. Ships in 2 boxes.Here's a little background before I get started with the review. The dimensions of U-90 Stage I Set are 12.5" L x 7" W x 7.25" H.
Powerblock u 70 free#
The U-90 Stage I Set has a weight range of 5-50 lbs per hand and will replace 16 pairs of dumbbells or 825 lbs of free weights. The U-90 Stage I Set is expandable later to 90 lbs per hand with the U-90 Stage II Kit, and again to 125 lbs per hand with the U-90 Stage III Kit. Compare to Urethane coated dumbbells at $2.99 lb costing $3136.51. Value of the U-50 at $379/pair - cost per lb (replaces 1049 lbs) is 36¢ per lb. The U-50 Set has a weight range of 5-50lbs per hand, gives every 2.5 lb increment, and replaces 20 pairs of dumbbells in the space of 1 pair. The overall shape and ergonomics look and bit different, can anyone comment on this? They both offer very similar weight change options, although by just looking at the pic it looks like the U-90 has less colors to choose from. Anyone know the difference between these two? (other than the U-90 can be upgraded to heavier weight)