Side by Side Comparison of: Best Choice Products vs CAP Barbell

UPDATE:These have held up great. Would highly recommend. Just saw this video [...] and it looks like this beast is using these stands (or something very similar - there are few versions of these stands floating around.) . If that is the case these would hold WAY more weight than I will ever put on them.Original Review:Honestly, I thought these were going to be kind of weak, but they turned out to be just what I needed. I have only put 180LBS so far, but they feel like they could easily hold close to 300LBS. I do lay 45LBS plates on the feet to give them some added stability. Definitely not for the big boys, but for beginners looking to squat or OHP, this will get you started.

Stand was easy to assemble and fits perfectly in my home gym. It holds a good amount of weight and doesn't take up much room. Glad I purchased this than a big rack.

I purchased these adjustable squat racks for my basement. I'm an avid weight lifter but need to workout from home many times due to my work schedule. These adjustable squat racks are perfectly set up for the home weight trainer. They are very easy to put together, needing minimal tools/wrenches, and all hardware is included. The great part is the safety bar is movable and moves very easily. My basement is carpet so I was worried that these racks might "wobble" a little bit on the carpet, so I put them on a workout pad to keep them from matting the carpet, and placed a 25lb weight plate on them to keep them in place; worked like a charm. I've held up to 185lbs on them and they were very secure. I would highly recommend these to anyone needing a home squat station with adjustability.

Affordable and adaptable. I needed this rack to be able to do all of my lifting at home but up until now didn't find a set that worked both for purpose and space. They won't hold the weight a power lifter needs but I'm no power lifter. I am very pleased with the price and their adaptability to meet my gym needs.

Nice product, and easy to assemble out of the box. I workout with lighter weights, with slow reps. I have placed these stands on a carpeted floor, and no problems with stability. These stands are safe, but I wouldn't recommend these for very heavy weights.

Perfect for my fitness room and to help me with my squats. They were reasonably priced, easy to assemble and compact to fit small spaces.

Oh how I love this exercise stand! I can actually squat much more weight now than I thought I could! And I am doing chin ups that I couldn't do before!! I am still working on pull ups but I am so thankful for this stand. I wish it were slightly shorter only because where I put it, it sits barely below the ceiling (laundry room of basement) but that is not the product's fault. It is VERY sturdy, but don't swing on it lol.

I love this power rack. It is heavily made and did not take long to put together. I don't know if it would hold up for a powerlifter, but for someone who is 50 like me, it serves my purposes. The red racks are easy to change out and I love the chin-up bar. Very affordable if you are trying to set up your own home gym.

It does what it's supposed to do. I'm about 210 lbs and built it this weekend. Takes about 90 minutes maybe. Use a wrench, not the tool they give you. Very easy to put together, just a little time consuming with the many bolts and screws. I used it this weekend to squat 250lbs and did pull ups on it. Seemed very stable for my use. I'm done powerlifting, just like to get a few sets in here and there to stay in shape. This is not for a hardcore powerlifter. It's fine if you just want to be a little more fit. Great for moderate lifting and body weight work. The holders are easy to move if you want to bench or something else.

It is great for the price point. I am 190# & 6' and have no problems with it. I can do strict pull ups with a slight knee bend. If you are normally going to be going over its weight limit get something more solid but for a beginner or someone looking to only use lighter weights it is great.I got some chains and carabiners to use as a bench press spot, works well, ~20$ at Lowes no problems. And bicycle handle bar tape on the pull up bar makes it much more conferrable.Assembly was easy. Is plenty solid when used under its weight limits. It being smaller and lighter has let me move it a few times out of the way which is nice.

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite purchases. It is exactly what I was looking for—a free-standing pull-up bar where I can practice static pullups, levers, toes-to-bar, and attach suspended training elements. I would not kip on this bar (I don't kip anyway) unless you do something to stabilize the bottom. I also don't lift weights so I can't speak to how useful this item is for that purpose. But for what I wanted to do, it is perfect!

So, I recently had the grand idea to begin programming my strength training again. After scouring Craigslist for Olympic plates, both rubber and steel, I found myself in need of a Power Rack. Enter the Cap Power Rack.There were three things I wanted out of this piece of equipment:1. Squat Rack. I need something that I can do Front/Back Squats from.2. Bench Press3. Pull ups.4. Leg LiftsCap Barbell Power rack fit the bill. Here's the highlights:1. Shipped right to my house for free and everything was there when it came in.2. It was easy to assemble (simple straight forward directions)3. It took about 90 minutes.4. Came with all the tools (although I used at 11/16 socket/wrench for speed)After assembly, I decided to give it a quick test out and ran a few sets of pull ups. Straight pull ups went fine. Kipping pull ups swung a little bit, so I'll have to use plates to weight it down.Here's a SWOT on the piece.Strength: Price. Shipping. Ease of installment.Weaknesses: Weight (light and needs to be held down for kipping). Holds only 300#'sOpportunity: Allows for pull up, front squat, back squat and bench.Threats: Takes up room in the garage and isn't foldable.Bottomline: For the price, you can't beat it. I paid $150 but I think there was price drop...

this was exactly what i needed at a palatable price point. This isn't really a Squat rack for someone that wants to do heavy lifting. this is more of a beginner bar rack/holder. The assembly instructions needed a little more detail but i was able to figure it out.

Works well as a squat rack but wasn't able to really use it for the bench press like I wanted. I put two 30 lb dumbells at the base to make it stable, otherwise it can get a little wobbly since they are not connected to each other.

The stands are okay if you are not racking much more that 100-125 pounds. Otherwise they seem a bit wobbly. I would not consider them safe around small children, but I guess that should be obvious. They are performing the job I wanted them for - top rack for incline 80# straight bar bench presses and spot bar where I rack a 65# cambered curl bar.

Solid. I've loaded up to 250lbs on here and had no issues. Great purchase

I have been using this squat rack for 3 months twice a week. So far the heaviest I have loaded it was around 200 pounds. At that weight, the bars held steady with a few plates on the base, without movement on top. One of the knobs that hold the weight of the support bar and the position of the spotter has fallen apart several times during loosening, but I been able to put it back together nonetheless. The process of adjusting the height can take longer than I like if I am working out alone, due to the fact the same knob holding the top bar also holds that spotter in place. I will eventually add my own markings to the rack in order to adjust both sides to desirable heights I use for squatting and bench pressing.

Cheap and easy to install. To install all u need is a ratchet set, adjustable rench and about 30 minutes. Good solid construction but I wouldn't load more than 200 lbs on this rack. If the weight racked to hard or fast with the load emphasis either forward or backward this thing could tip over! Great for beginners or someone who properly lowers the bar onto the rack slowly so the higher the rack is set the riskier it becomes. If you are going to use heavy loads or sloppy form just put a counterbalance on the bases like sandbags or Dumbbells etc.it's a great space saver and since I already had a adjustable bench this rack was perfect for me and depending on the length of you bars you can move the racks medial or laterally to suit their length or your hand placement.

- It's difficult to do incline bench press on this thing because there are connecting fasteners that impede you from putting your hooks at the sweet spot. You either have to start out shallow or reach up uncomfortably.- Hard to do seated barbell military presses with an adjustable bench as the back stabilizer bar gets in the way.- trying to get a bar off your back quick will about knock this thing over lol. Be careful quick racking.

It gets the job done. Kipping pull ups/muscle ups aren't happening on this thing unless you bolt it down or stabilize it in some way (which is doable). I don't think i will trust this thing with anything over 250lbs, but thats just me. I can't even squat 250 so i'm safe ;-) ..... but for the money this is a great little home gym rack.

For the price the best exercise stand. Can easily hold 300 pounds safely. The only reason I cannot give 5 stars is because when I do pullups the bar sways so I cannot kip without tipping the stand. 100lb Sandbags placed help a little

It is simple to put together, has everything you need to do the job, and it can be done by one person. It does exactly what I want it to do - it serves as a sturdy pull-up bar. I didn't give it a 5 star because it does wiggle a bit, and there are other products similar to this that have more function to them (there is one here on Amazon that allows you to do dips). I have not used this as squat rack. I think for the price, this is a good product, and I would probably buy it again.I will say this - If you are a tall person (5'11" or taller) you may want to find something else. I'm 5'9" and find my feet touching the ground during pullups.

Hard to find a functional rack at a price like this. Assembly was a pain but it was good to see some actually engineering went into the design. It is not super duper stable but it is actually much more stable than I was expecting for the price and I am quite pleased. I do wish there was some way to add safety bar catches on each side though. I may try to feed some steel bars through the holes on either side and see if that works.

Just received and put together today. A star was taken away because the box was in horrible shape. The straps cut into the box because it's so heavy. This caused the package holding bolts and washers and nuts to break a bit. It was missing 6 washers. I saw other reviews of this product missing some washers as well. You'd think they would change something after multiple complaints. That being said, the construction seems sturdy enough. I will update if I find anything further.

Hard to adjust and has gaps where many folks (myself included) really need to set the bar for squats.

These are built very well and very easy to assemble, but they are a little wobbly. I have them supported up against a wall, otherwise they would tip back too far and possibly topple when placing a weighted bar on them after a set of squats.

Very mediocre. Pay what you get for. My thing is impossible to adjust so have to leave at mySquat height. So I can't bring it down to bench.So I use those safety guard things. They don't move high enough so the bench is perfect. But it's enough where it works and not dangerous. AllYou need some sand bag on the bottom of the pillars. It keeps it from shaking and gives it more stability. Overall it gets the job done. Just make sure you set up safe and don't put on more then 400lbs.

These racks are pretty decent, but not without issues.These are not attached, which was what I wanted. But there are issues with not having them attached. One is stability. You have to have these aligned pretty well to get the bar on properly. you dont want to lift heavy with having an awkward starting position. And also ,lifting super heavy will be questionable when reracking the weight. you want to be careful as to not alter the position of the racks, but lets face it, after doing a set of squats to exhaustion, you sometimes dont have the energy or stability to be careful enough to not push these racks out of place. Luckily, I mostly only use these for light in house workouts. I save the heavier lifting for the gym.Another reason I bought these is because I wanted to use the stoppers as a dip station. Although it works fine, the paterial they have on it hurts your hands. So I recommend cutting a PVC pipe to place around it to make it more comfortable.The biggest issue I have with these racks is the method they have for changing the height. The pin that goes in does not stay in too well because it is too short. It kept sliding out of the one side when I was in mid workouts. I ended up having to get a wire tie to strap it in place. Also, the stoppers are not a through and through pin. Its a screw. And you cant adjust the top height of the racks without unscrewing the stoppers, taking out the pin to adjust the height, replacing the pin and then replacing the stoppers with their screws. This is VERY annoying and takes a lot of time to do. I woudlnt recommend having a workout placing with switching back and forth between rack height if using the stoppers.Another notable mentions...if using a lighter bar be cautious. The distributed weight could be an issue. I had the bar go flipping across the room because I had a 25lb plate on the each side and took the one off. Unlike heavier / thicker bars, Ive never had this happen, but also a big deciding factor is how far apart the rack is spaced. Since these are free standing, this could be an issue. So Just keep this in mind.Also, the one stand I received was bent out of whack and I couldnt get the top bar in. I didnt feel like sending it back and waiting for another, so I just got a hammer and pounded it back into shape myself. Not really something Id expect to do considering the price, but whatever. It worked.I cant say that these are the best, but for the space I have and the ability to more easier move these from room too room, they will do.

I bought this product as a starter for my home gym for my garage, i use it for squats, miIitary and bench press have to say, I'm not totally sold on this product. I mean the instructions are pretty lacking the black side screws dont seem to work as designed, so I have had to make modifications. IN terms of stability its pretty stable, but I see adding some sandbags as my weight increase.....The catch bars dont stay put as excepted, they keep sliding down, but what can you except for under 100.00......I think it will serve its purpose but I dont see using it for the long term..... My advice spend an extra 80.00 and get the upgraded version of this

Serves its purpose. Seems like it might hold true to its 390lb load limit, but it needs sandbags or something to keep it from tipping over. That was disappointing, but it still does what I got it for. So 3-stars.

I bought this for pull ups and to attach straps for rows but this racks is very flimsy, it has no set stability so you really need to be carefull on how you use it. In the end, you get what you pay for and this is why it's $80.

This came with missing nuts and bolts, and the packaged was wet and damaged - we ended up finding some of the pieces on our front lawn. Once set up though, we have been fairly impressed with the quality of this product. It's a bit wobbly, but this can be reduced by using a weight on the back. The bar holder is too short to really hold a standard-sized Olympic bar.

I ordered this because I wanted a freestanding pull up bar. I use it for calisthenics exercises like front lever, pull ups, muscle ups, ect. It can't handle explosive things like clapping pull ups (it will tip over), but it can handle muscle ups as long as you're slow with them. For what I wanted it for, it works decently.

I mainly puchased this for the pull up bar aspect. I also hang rings from it. It seems solid enough as long as you aren't planning to kip or do a lot of swinging. Much like the other reviews, the box was short 6 washers, so I annoyingly had to go to Lowe's and get a bag of 3/8 inch washers to finiah. Also, the top vertical sections are not machined properly. The left side doesn't seat flat against the base and the right side seats crooked. It still bolted together tightly but is asthetically non pleasing. I imagine it'll last a few years, but would never rack 300 lbs on this thing. Great purchase for a nice wide and high pull up bar that you can use to mount rings.

This rack is easy to put together without help. I would change three things. Powder coat instead of paint everything, especially the J-arms which have been getting paint on my rogue barbell, use single piece verticals because you lose about 4in of functional space in the center of the rack, finally the pull-up bar easily bends when you take it apart, but it bends back.Can't beat it for the price though, just don't expect rogue quality.

Only two complaints,but since I only paid $99, I don't consider it an issue. I just accept that you get what you pay for.Im 5'9, and I wish the pull-up bar was higher. I can reach the bar with my heels touching the ground. Next thing that could be better is the J-cups. They seem to hold a static weight of 225 fine, but I wouldn't feel comfortable dropping anything much heavier than that on those brackets from the front rack position without doing it gently. Easy fix, but I'm rating what's in the box and not how easy it is to make it better.In conclusion, if your space is limited, have a budget of less than $150, and not a DIY-er, this is a good deal.

The u-bolt that holds the stands up is pretty slim. I bit to slim for my liking.The hooks at the top are very tight so you must be precise.Good starter stand though.

Barely gets the job done. If you thinking about moving these things around you should not buy these. They have small rubber bumpers on the 4 feet. They fall off ever single time you move them. If your keeping them stationary they do a good job.

Not sure about these 4 and 5 stars, but for someone that does fairly heavy lifting, this just won't work for you. Positives, arrived on time, packaging was well done, and it was very quick and easy to assemble. Cons, most importantly, it is unstable, very. After a somewhat heavy bench set of just 6 reps, the stand is all over the place. Almost impossible to put the bar back on the back pad. Seriously, huge problem. VERY dangerous. I had to gaffer tape the legs to my old bench with a crossbar to make it stable, so I might as well just not bought this. I guess you could load it down with plates, but I don't have extra ones and that still wouldn't sit perfectly. Also for those who bench sets to exhaustion in gyms with racks, you're probably used to rack arms or tall uprights to throw your bar back, not just a back pad. That's a huge detail. I don't have the energy fully extended to wriggle the bar back in place on the small catches just right. Its too much work and dangerous, especially when the thing is already all over the place. Good idea, good price, but sending back for a half rack, albeit twice the price.

Shipping was fast. However, the item was defective. One of the bars was perfect and everything screwed in perfectly but the other side, when we tried to screw the circular knob into the safety leverage, it didnt go all the way in. We took it out to inspect it and turns out, the holes on the right stick were slightly off so even when we set it to the same exact slot on each side, the bar would lay on it crooked. If it werent for this defect, this would have been an amazing product. The money to ship it back for an exchange might as well be spent to buy a new rack.

You really get what you pay for here. They aren't great. There are no set up instructions. I definitely can't see using over 150 pounds on them for fear that they would topple over. If you have limited space and are using limited weight, these might do the trick. Otherwise, save up and get something better and sturdier.

While this product does do the job it is designed to do, it never really felt...right. It felt very light, and as such when wanting to use heavier weights, I always felt like it was going to tip over which made lifting very uncomfortable. Another problem I encountered (which may be unique to myself, but still worth mentioning) is that may need a straight bar longer than 60 inches. Otherwise the stands are very close to each other and you have to carefully step over the stands when handling the bar during squats. This can be every tedious (and in my opinion dangerous becuase you could easily trip) when handling weights upwards of 200 lbs. I've attached some photos to demonstrate. As you can see, my stance has to be very narrow which is not safe squatting technique.

Its okay. Ensure you tighten down all the bolts and nuts or will become a little unstable. My biggest issue is that one of the two upright pins in the back (they stand about 10 inches up) that you should be able to put olympic size weights on (45lb, 35lb , 25lb and etc...) is to big in diameter and totally usually for weight storage. One of them is perfect size for the weights, but the other is totally useless...

Wobbles side to side. Weight hangers move when reracking weights if you're bench pressing. Sqeaking and creaking sound when doing pull ups. Structurally it appears solid, but it just doesnt feel safe...

Missing a bolt and two nuts. So I cant even use it. not sure how to contact customer support

I haven't had a chance to use the product yet but have already had problems with the pieces and assembly.First, remnants of the foam packaging stuck to some of the bars (see picture). My package was also missing one of the longer bolts needs for assembly.The instructions for assembly are horrible. There aren't written step by step instructions. You have to looks at sketches of the pieces and figure out assembly from there. It is also difficult to put together and tighten the bolts. It says you need a wrench but I would highly recommend having a ratchet. The ratchet probably cut the assembly time in half. It took me about 1.5-2 hours to assemble.The product itself seems pretty sturdy (with the exception of the missing bolt) but I would only recommend buying this rack if you are willing to deal with the assembly issues.

Pretty good, I just wish there was an extension for taller people like me. I can't get full extension and this limits many exercises I want to do like abs (leg us and knee ups) and many others. Would be great for short people and young kids. My 16-year old son is already too big for this.

I purchased this for my husband and unfortunately it broke within the first 3 months.

Product was completely different than the one pictured. Do not order. The front safety stops are not included and the portion at the top is completely different. There are also no instructions for assembly. I don't know where this picture came from but it is not what I received.

Horrible product...they forgot to put the instruction manual in the box. How the f*** am I suppose to build this. It also looks very cheap and unsturdy. Do not buy.

DO NOT BUY!!!!! In this case, you ABSOLUTELY get what you pay for, a cheap product. The pads at the top of the stands don't fit and fall off, and the middle holders are not the same as what was advertised. They also wobble and are weak when using it. I certainly wouldn' t trust it with over 50 lbs on my back. Overall, you will likely regret buying this, and have to pay the expensive return shipping, like me.

I was initially happy with the solid metal construction of the rack as I was assembling it, but unfortunately I never got to finish the assembly as there was a defective part. One of the adjustable popper pins had bad thread on it and would not screw into the bar catchers (see attached photo.) This also stripped the receiving thread as well. I am happy to do another review of the product if the company will replace these parts.

I recieved stands different than pictured, with tubing thats not fully welded. I knew these were going to be cheap stands, but I expected to at least get the product they show. The welds look horrible and are not always were the tubes meet, it looks like Stevie Wonder welded these damn thing.

I ordered this product from PopShopDeal. VERY disappointed. The stand is completely different than the one pictured. It is very cheap looking and feeling and all the bolts to hold them together show and are very ugly. Not the same stand as pictured. RETURNED

Item arrived with a vertical support attachment plate bent out of shape and with many cosmetic defects on practically every part. I know it's cheap, but I expected a cheap item in new and usable condition. Absolute garbage.

Missing hardware components. Unable to complete construction. Will contact seller and update accordingly

Had to return it...it looks simple, but it is FAR more complicated to assemble than you might think. It simply didn't work for my home gym setup. We are unable to bolt things to the floor, which this required. No good.

I have tried both the small and long bolts and all of the bolts are too long and the lock nuts won't allow you to tighten the bolts all the way leaving it very loose and flimsy.

Arrived bent so I couldn't assemble it.

Got a great deal on this, but beware. You get what you pay for. ALL of the SCREWS are too big. I cannot imagine putting any faith into this piece of equipment with the flimsy nature of it. I will probably have to go to home depot and find screws that will actually fit the crossmembers and supports. As it is, there is sooooo much play. The locking nuts do not allow you to tighten the screws. I can't imagine putting heavy weight on this nor doing pullups. Ugggggggggh.