Good Bumper Plates?

[mcsquared]

Hey guys, so I apologize if this question had been asked before/ if this is a dumb question. I'm looking for a good place online to buy bumper plates. I've got a gift card to amazon so I've been looking for bumper plates. These are the ones I've found. I dont really want anything over 10-25lbs. Thoughts on these?

http://www.amazon.com/Solid-Rubber-B...477139&sr=8-10

http://www.amazon.com/Kraiburg-Premi...2477139&sr=8-7

http://www.amazon.com/Kraiburg-Premi...477139&sr=8-15

I'd appreciate any help you guys have. Thanks!

[RobertFontaine]

The 10 pounders generally won't hold themselves up.

I've got about 450 pounds of the wright rubber bumpers and I like them except that I find that they are too thick to get more than about 405 on the bar. I'm likely going to pick up a few GarageGym 25kg bumpers to try to solve this problem.

I bought a set of 5 pound technique plates for technique practice and although they were expensive they are bullet proof.

If I were to start again...
I'd keep the 5 pound technique plates and use metal 2.5's and 10's
I'd buy 2-25's, 2 - 45's and just keep buying 25kg / 55 pounders as needed.
don't bother w/ 15's or 35's (although 15's are almost stable enough to be a technique plate)
I've got micro load plates from ironwoody for fun but they aren't necessary.

I'll probably sell off my 10's. 15's, 35's and extra 45's locally as I get the narrower garagegym 55's.
live and learn.

[gman]

I have the Hi-Temp bumper plates and have no complaints, the 10 lb plates tend to keep their form and don't bend very much. According to the crossfit website where there was a post about this recently, the Wright and Kraiburg 10 lb bumpers tend to bend like pretzels if used alone (65 lb total). I don't own them and can't comment on them. but here's the link so you can judge for yourself:

http://www.board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=54162

[gman]

Another option, if you are looking at technique plates but don't want to fork out $150 (and this is for home use) is to make them yourself.

This is as easy as buying some 3/4" plywood, tracing a 45lb metal plate onto the plywood, then cutting it out with a jigsaw or router. The center hole can be cut with the jigsaw or a 2 1/8 inch bit. One set weight in at roughly 8 lbs. This is very cheap, and my set has held up well for the last year. I don't really use it much anymore, and don't tend to drop my bar from chest high, so I'm sure this helps keep them from getting beat up.

If you wanted to make a 10 lb plate, you would take 2 wooden plates and build a "sandwich" with a few 2 x 4's in the middle. Again, very sturdy, reliable and cheap.

[JAM]

I've got the Wright bumper plates. Work just fine, but the 10lbs will distort with repeated drops.

[Sal Webber]

I went with York. I asked for and got a crossfit discount and it's all made in North America (some in the USA and some in Canada). I can highly recommend the York stuff. It's a great american brand and my stuff has held up nicely over the year. If you tell Allison you are a crossfit person looking build out your home gym she will give you a good discount. Here's the contact info I used:

Allison Foreman
Commercial and Vertical Markets
YORK Barbell
(614) 785-9266 office
(614) 785-9322 fax
allisonforeman@aol.com
www.yorkbarbell.com

[MAD9692]

I have the wright bumpers as well. Good plates- no issues and I have had them for over a year and a half. If I had to do it all over again I would have just purchased standard plates a rack and a good bar. Unless you are training specifically for OLY lifts- Bumpers are over rated IMO.

[KJ43]

I just got the 160lb set (2x 10, 25 & 45) of Rogue Bumper Plates by Hi-Temp. Not too crazy expensive and they seem to be pretty rugged.

The 10lb plates bend a bit on the bar but keep their shape well, especially if you have a non bumper plate next to it.

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

Great thread! I want to get some bumpers this Spring to work on my power clean.

It looks like I can skip the 15s and 35s.

[stef]

It's best to avoid dropping anything less than 15 kg plates. And really, except in cases of catastrophic failure, you shouldn't.

You guys do know how to correctly drop plates, right? Because even if you have the best bars and bumpers in the world, you'll fuck them up if you're dropping them wrong.