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To enable me to squat and chest press during this Covid-19 pandemic, I required a rack, although having limited space I needed a compact option, therefore I went for these squat stands due to its ability to also act as a bench rack as well as a squat stand.
Building it
First off, in order to build this, I cannot stress enough that you require a spanner and a quick release ratchet in order to tighten the 48” bolts. If you don’t, you’re going to have a difficult time building it and it may become a two man job as the main beam wobbles while you try and tighten the bolts. Therefore, while I was able to build these myself, I recommend having a second person to stabilise it to make construction easier.
Other than that, building it is very straight forward and it came with all the required components and screws. My only issue is the rubber feet as one came damaged and I had to reshape it using a pair of pliers so that it would fit the legs of the stands.
Design/Quality
The stands are made from heavy duty metal and each stand weighs about 10kg and are relatively light to carry.
Wether this adds to its stability or lack of, the light weightiness of these stands make them an easily portable solution. The stands are rather large as represented in my review photo, contrary to the original photos.
The stands legs are a ‘H’ shape and come with rubber feet which stop the stand from sliding when loading and unloading the rack. The H shape of the stand acts as a counter balance to the weight during heavy loads so that the stands don’t tip over.
The stands also come with heavy duty J-cups which act as spotters during a chest press if one cannot re-rack the weight during a lift, or for resting the bar after bicep curling. They are easily adjustable and do not get in the way during bench press, allowing for full range of motion and can be removed.
The rack itself catches the the bar easily, although my only issue was the welding. While its considered minuscule, one was not completely welded leaving a space which offset the alignment of the bar a little.
One must bare in mind that while these stands are sturdy, they are also independent of each other and bolted, therefore they do wobble under heavy loads and weak screws can damage the integrity of the stand and its ability to hold weight, so my advice is to be cautious with how much weight you use.
Overall, the stands are lightweight, yet sturdy and a do a great job of allowing both squats and chest press.
Adjustability
Both stands are adjustable and stand at a height of 3 ft 8 inches (114cm) and can be adjusted to a maximum height of 5 ft 10 (179cm).
With any telescopic feature, as these stands are adjusted higher, they lose even more stability due to the lack of even weight distribution at its base. Therefore, if you are a very tall person looking to rack a lot of weight, these may not be for you, unless you are able to counterbalance the weight.
Adjusting the bench to size becomes easier the more you do it. Each stand comes with a safety pin to hold the the adjusted height and a screw to hold the jcups.
In order to adjust them, one must remove the screw holding the j cups and then the safety pin. This becomes rather time consuming for switching in-between bench press and squats. However, the more its done, the less of an issue it becomes. If time in-between sets is an issue, I recommend getting a stand with a pull out pin rather than a screw as it would save you a lot of time.
Weight Capacity
The stated maximum weight capacity which these stands hold are tested at 220kg.
One must bare in mind that static load is very different from mobile load, therefore don’t expect to be squatting 220kg on these as it wobbles way too much when racking the bar under heavy loads.
As a 78KG man, I was able to bench press 100kg and squat 140KG, although the stands wobbled a lot when the bar was racked.
This may pose a safety issue for someone if they are not careful when racking the bar. As a way to add stability, while its unconventional for some, I read that others fill the base with sand to add weight. You can also use weight plates at each end of the legs, but this becomes time consuming and ruins your plates.
I found that the best solution for counter balancing the weight was to weigh 20kg+ sandbags at each side of the legs as they cover the full diameter of the legs.
The only other con of these stands is that if you do not have a rack for your plates, loading them on the bar is difficult from the ground.
Conclusion
Overall, these stands are a good solution for individuals that lack space and are not looking to lift a heavy weight load.
While these stands can bare a lot of weight, remember they are bolted and can lose integrity from damaged screws, they are also independent from each other, posing a safety risk of one falling during a lift. Therefore, I recommend these on the basis that one is a beginner or is very careful when using these for lifting.
As time goes on and weight increases, one might look into replace these for a full or half rack.
I hope you found this review helpful, happy lifting.
