Equipment Review

[maidenfan]

I purchased some KB's and a fancy sandbag recently and thought I'd share a few photos and my initial feelings. I got a set of "Lifeline" brand KB's from 24K to 40K (a few pairs) and a pair of 48K bells from "Muscledriver". I bought the lifeline bells based on the price (very good) and several positive reviews on the net. A lot of people compared them to the Dragondoor bells. The bells are almost identical to the Powermax bells I had before - roughly casted. One of the 32K bells was so bad I couldn't even make out the 32K markings on the bell itself. Functionally they are just what I wanted. If you are into lots of reps and such, you'll probably need to sand the handles some - they're fine for me. I've never owned dragondoor bells, but I seriously doubt these bells are of the same quality - if they are, you're getting ripped off by dragondoor.

The Muscledriver bells were extremely "pretty" when they arrived. Smooth as a baby's butt and nicely painted. They rode in the back of my truck with the lifeline bells and banged into each other a bit. The result was several paint chips on the bells. Probably not an issue if you're using singles, but if you're using pairs and they bang together, the bells will chip. This might be an issue if the handles chip - who knows, I"ll report back later. I got the 48k's on sale - about $200.00 ea shipped to Oregon - an outstanding price for the best feeling bell so far (compared to powermax and lifeline) in the hand. I suspect the smooth fininsh may be an issue for those you do lots of reps and get sweaty hands - we'll see. Nice KB's

Here are a few photos:

MUSCLEDRIVER VS. LIFELINE

CLOSE UP OF THE MUSCLEDRIVER BELL

PAINT CHIP IN MUSCLEDRIVER BELL

CLOSE UP OF THE LIFELINE BELL

I also bought one of the fancy sandbags being sold my Elitefts, Crossfit and others. Very expensive - they're selling the large bags (advertised to up to 160lbs) for $80.00. They also sell inner bags for mucho bucks too. I bought one of the large bags on sale thru the crossfit store for $50.00. When it came, it looked very small. The canvas seemed pretty nice - it has all sorts of handles and grabbing spots. All the seems were double stitched. I used a 30x50 side zipper military duffle bag as an inner bag and filled it with pea gravel (I ususally use sand). I filled it up, but left a little room for the gravel to move. Its been my experience that if you pack them tight they'll bust quick. I put it on the scale and it came out to 135lbs - theres a 24K KB in the photo for size comparison. I'm taking it to trainging this week and I'm going to torture it - I'll report back at the end of the week. I've been told they'll hold up to throwing - we'll see

Heres a photo:

SANDBAG FROM THE CROSSFIT STORE - LARGE SIZE

CLOSE UP OF SB MATERIAL AND STITCHING

Edited May 12, 2008 by maidenfan

[bigmatt]

WOW! Thanks for the wright up!!

[big nasty]

Cool stuff I love my kettlebell have fun with them.

[Bob Lipinski]

I made a sandbag a long time ago with an army surplus bag and trash bag liner. Damn thing held up till I got rid of it.

[maidenfan]

Update - the end of the sandbag blew out on the "THIRD" drop to the grass from shoulder height - maybe I got a lemon. The ends are only single stitched and I was able to almost pull it apart with my hands only. I've contacted the store I bought it from hoping they'll rectify the problem. Until then, stick to military duffle bags as these wont last as they stand right now.

[maidenfan]

The company (crossfit store) is sending me a new bag no questions asked - cant complain about that service. They told me it should not have happend. I suspect the new bag will be just like the old one. I like the design, so I'm going to have it reinforced where it needs it. As it stands now, I cant recommend the bags as they're very pricey ($80 new) and dont hold up to the cheap duffles. Maybe the new bag will be better.

[maidenfan]

Sandbag update - I finally got my new sandbag from the supplier. They requested photos of the ripped seam - I assume to let the factory know. I suggested that they at least double stitch the areas where my bag ripped - They replied that the single stitch should be enough. My new bag was stitched exactly the same as my old one, which isnt good. I took my old, ripped bag to an upholstry shop and had them reinforce the seams - hopefully that'll help as I really like the design of the bag. Just dont spend $80 unless you're willing to have the stitching reinforced on your own.

Kettlebell updates - the Lifeline KB's are very similar to the Powermax bells (I just got a Powermax 24K from Chris). The Powermax handles are a tad thicker and feel a tad rougher (not much though). The Muscledriverusa bells are nice, but the paint will chip if you bang them together or drop them on concrete.

[Matt Brouse]

Good stuff Morgan. We used the MuscleDriver one at Strongman Nats last year and those are identical to the ones we had.

A large bag to hold up to 160? We got about 330 into the large Army duffle. Packed to the gills however and she busted but the point still remains. That is not a large bag. Looks nice however.

Thanks for the info, man.

The sporting goods store right next to my apt. started selling KBs (can't remember the brand). Might have to buy one or two just to avoid shipping.

[maidenfan]

I use a 30" x 50" toploader army duffle for my 300lb sandbag. These "ultimate sandbags" are advertised to up to 160lbs - I've currently got 180lbs of sand and pea gravel in mine.