Side by Side Comparison of: Best Choice Products vs Marcy vs ProSource 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.

The bench is very sturdy. It is the right length for doing flat bench exercises. It might be a little short if you have an extremely long torso but most people should be fine with it. Its a complete steal at the price they offer it here. Most other benches like this are upwards of $100. I love the leather feel to it, it feels very high quality and is an attractive bench. Putting it together was a breeze. I've had it for almost two years and it has held up great.

Sturdy. I use it every day and even do box jumps on it.

This is a perfect size for a home gym. I have combined this bench with free weights, an elliptical, a roller and ab wheel. This is all I need for a fully body workout. The bench is strong enough to use with free weights but light enough to move around the house. I'm petite and it works great in terms of the size and height. Perhaps for a much bigger person, it could be too small? It was very easy to put together and all I might do is tighten the hardware once a year.

Wow this bench is amazing! I got this bench to work out in using my Powerblock set and I have no complaints at all. I am a small person (5'8" and 150 lbs). It is easy to move around, I keep my sets under the chair to save more room space and it fits well. When I am not working out, I use it as a normal bench at my desk and it works out well for me. One thing to note is that the bench may be a little shorter on the width and length side for someone who is over 6ft and bulkier than me.

Teen Son's ReviewI really like this bench because it supports my weight without wobbling and, because of the type of workouts I do, has multiple uses.PROS: Supports a lot of my weight with little to no wobble at all. It's not huge so it fits almost anywhere. It doesn't keep the smell of sweat after I workout. Very lightweight and easy to carry.CONS: I haven't found any yet.So in conclusion, I have found it to be a very reliable bench and I would recommend that if you're in the market for a bench, this is a good buy.

(For latest update, see update below) I thought I would take a chance on this bench since it was so cheap, and I couldn't be more satisfied. It was packed well and went together in about 5 minutes. It is a testament to the effectiveness of this bench that even during the assembly stage I could already feel substantial gains in my lats. A quick mirror check confirmed this to be true. All the parts were there, and an Allen wrench was included. Just make sure you have a regular wrench for some of the bolts and some bourbon for overall health and well being.I hopped on for a few quick reps to test it out and found that it was incredibly solid - absolutely no wobble at all. My other FID bench has a tiny bit of wiggle that is a constant bother. With the indicated 600lb limit, this should be fine for heavy lifting for just about anybody. Unfortunately my compression socks were at the dry cleaners or I would have tested that limit. Maybe next time I'll update on the max capabilities. Finally, the padding was nice and thick and firm. I couldn't feel any bolts underneath, and it gave nice support - not too spongy.One thing I noticed was that the user limit was 300lb, but the max limit was 600lb. I don't know how the bench knows if you're a 400lb guy lifting 200 or a 200lb guy lifting 400, but you probably wouldn't want to get those two hypothetical scenarios mixed up. If you're 305 and want to a bit of iron hoisting, I would suggest doing a bit of cardio and maybe some sauna first to hit that 300lb limit.(Update: 09/30/2015) I see that some people have been having issues with the durability and/or stability of their units. Maybe some others have purchased lemons, but mine is still rock solid over a year later - no wobbles, no weld failures, and no problems with the stitching. The padding is also still very firm. This is with consistent 3-4x per week of use, unless it is holiday season where usage drops precipitously in honor of the festive spirits - both beer and bourbon. I still have yet to test that upper weight limit, but I'm getting the kangaroo leather inserts redone on my weightlifting gloves. Once those bad boys are back from the tailor and they are properly oiled and conditioned, I'll be ready to max out and give it a go.

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.

So far this bench is living up to my expectations. Easy to put together. The bench pad is solid and hard which has taken some getting used to given my old one had more cushion. However, I think the solidness of has enhanced my free weight work. The height is also a bit higher than my old one which required more focus when doing my step-ups and considering I'm 5'4". Overall, I'm impressed with the quality and price which was less than half in what I could have paid for the exact same bench in a sporting goods store.

This bench does everything you want at this price point. It would be better if it were a few more inches long, as I sometimes have trouble laying on the bench to do presses. You can manage it, but you have to use every inch of the bench if you're over 6 feet tall. The bench was fairly easy to put together, and I managed it in approximately 20 minutes. The pparts are very well constructed, and so far I haven't been disappointed.

This is a starter bench. It's rated at 600 lb max (person and weights). It did not arrive in one day as Amazon estimated. Overall a decent bench for a beginner or someone doing simple dumbbell or body weight exercises. I would buy again. See pros and cons below:Pros:Build is consumer grade and suited for working out at home for most.Simple to put together with some basic wrenchesLight and easy to move aroundSmall footprintCons:The padding is not as dense and comfortable as your high quality gym benches

Very simple, well built, perfect for my purpose. Was easy to assemble. My only complaint is that I am working out because I am fat and need to build some strength. I laid down on the bench to do some lifts and basically had to roll off. It is too narrow to push up off of, and nothing to hook my feet in to help me sit up. Maybe when my core gets stronger I won't be like a turtle!

This bench is pretty much as advertised. You will need to assemble it, but it was pretty easy to do. However, I am one of those people that take everything out of the box and check off that all parts are present before beginning anything. I also read all instructions! :-)It seems lightweight, but it is pretty sturdy when using. I got this for a particular workout program that I started and use it for a lot of step ups and step overs, jump over the bench and some free weight lifting. Have not had an issue with it to date. I am female, 5'5" 170 lbs and not lifting more than 20 pound hand weights, so take that as you will!

I bought this bench to be able to do some basic exercises (dumbbell chest press, dumbbell leg curls, bench hip thrust, etc.) when I do not have time to go to the gym. I find it perfect for home use. The quality seems good and it was very easy to put together, Although,I had to put some muscle strength in tightening the bolts. The only con is that the bench is really light and I found it to tip over when doing dumbbell leg curls or hyper-extensions on one end. I fixed this easily by putting 20 lbs dumbbells over the bench base on the opposite end. So I am very happy with this purchase since I can do the exercises I bought it for.

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.

The bench itself is nice quality, however, The screws that secure the bench to the two "feet" are too long and as a result they extend past the bottom of the rubber end caps on either side of the feet. This results in the bench wobbling wheneve I move it or reposition it. Otherwise, it is suitable for at home workout.

The bench has some unexpected flexibility during use. I am under 200 lbs and not lifting over 70 lbs total. I wonder how it does with big guys lifting more serious weights?

Good bench for the price, a bit bigger than I expected, but perfect for doing dumbbell exercises at home. I canceled my gym membership and bought this + a pair of Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells & an Ab Ball. I'm able to get a complete work out at home on my own schedule and could not be happier. I'm 5'11, 170 lbs, and I the maximum weight on my dumbbells is 105 lbs, so that's what I bench, but if you're looking to do more than that, this might not be the bench for you, since the max load is only 300 pounds.

This thing wobbles but for the price, what do you expect. I have this and 2 of the more expensive Marcy Bench. The more expensive one is worth it when it's on sale at $64. But for this price, you really can't complain. The difference is the legs and the cushion. My major complaint on this one is that no way you can fix the wobble!

The bench is good, so far, but feels slightly wobbly. I'm a big guy (6'4" 230 pounds) and can feel the bench giving under my weight when I sit on the edges. I wouldn't trust it to hold me up if I did bench dips. I can also feel it shifting substantially when I do heavy bench press. I feel like a lot of that could have been mitigated if they threw 3 or 4 steel strips on the underside to distribute the load. So, for now, it works, but I'm not so sure about the long term viability of the bench.

I'm 5'7" and this bench is a perfect fit for me. If you're much taller than I am it may be a little short for you. Width seems standard like the benches at the gym, but length strikes me as a little less. Easy to put together, seems super sturdy, and I expect it will last for years to come in my workout room.

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.

This bench is not sturdy at all. Not lightweight people doing light weight exercise only. I didn't expect much out of it, but i got less than expect on durability. This thing can barely handle 200lbs.

When I put it together it does not sit flat. It wobbles. It's higher than the ones I have used at the gym and my feet do not come close to being in a comfortable bench position. But I suppose for a cheap price you get what you pay for. I would return if I had paid more but it's not worth the time to take apart package and ship back. I'm sure I'll find some use out of it

After about 10-20 uses the middle of the bench will start to bend, this bench has the potential to mess up your posture. 2 stars because it does work other than that this bench is made with horrible, bending plywood.

Not exactly durable... I have owned this for 1.5 years, and typically put a total ~250-280lbs on the bench. It is rated for 300lbs, but that is not the case with mine. After about 6 months, I noticed one of the legs warped a bit diagonally, and yesterday while lifting I noticed for the first time that the entire surface of the bench is very uneven--leaning towards the left side. Time to replace it before I injure a shoulder or worse, have the leg snap in half.Do yourself a favor and get a more expensive bench. Your future gains will appreciate it.

The bolts provided by the manufacturer are about 1.5cm too long. The bench simply cannot be assembled with the provided hardware. I'll have to purchase my own nuts and bolts if I want to assemble this bench...

This bench is completely unbalanced and the screws don't screw in all the way. Don't get me wrong, it gets the job done. I can do my bench presses but it wobbles a lot. Don't recommend this bench.

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

Too short. Needs to be at least 6 inches longer. Made for extremely short people.

Bolts that attaches the base to the upright piece is really hard to tighten and loose on mine. There is nothing to hold the bottom piece in place while you try to tighten the top of the bolt so it keeps spinning instead of tightening which is problematic.

I feel like a complete idiot for buying a $40 bench. My biggest concern was that it wouldn't be level. It wasn't even close. No amount of adjusting nuts and bolts could correct this.

The legs are wobbly and uneven, and this has gotten worse over time. I had to attach pieces of sponge to the bottom to stabilize it, but it still doesn't work. It also slides across a wood floor if you jump onto it. The instability makes it more difficult to workout with this equipment.

This bench was lopsided and slanted to one side. I emailed Amazon to see if they can send me a new one and never heard back.

the parts provided for assembly do not fit. Wobbly and unstable. Not usable.