Is it time to pick up some Olympic weightlifting plates for your garage gym? What type do you buy? Rubber bumper plates or steel plates? Where should you get them? Should I buy new plates or should I look for used skid plates? Are they expensive to ship or should I expect free shipping? I’ve been through all of this myself. I already did all the research for my garage gym, but I’ll do it again for this article. So let’s see if I can make it easy for you guys and gals to buy Olympic plaques.
What are bumper plates?
bumper plates (or alone bumper) are Olympic weightlifting plates, usually made of rubber, so that a loaded barbell can be safely dropped without damaging the plates or the lifting platform (or just the floor in most gym situations in the home and in the garage). Bumpers are available in pounds and kilograms in the same weight range as normal cast iron or steel weightlifting plates. Competition bumper plates are color coded by weight, while training bumpers are normally just black.
Bumper plates or steel plates?
So do you choose skid plates or classic steel/cast iron plates? Well, that depends. If money is really tight, steel dumbbells might be the way to go. Steel plates are less expensive and much easier to find second hand. Check craigslist and you’ll be amazed at the number of people selling their used plates and bars at local sporting goods stores. Many times, the weights are practically new. Prices for new steel plates are already around 60-70% of the price of decent bumpers, so finding used plates can mean big savings. You may also get lucky and find used bumper plates.
Another option for a tight budget is rubber. coated department. The cost is on par with steel, however don’t think for a second that they are similar to bumpers. They are still just steel plates, only they have a protective coating. Rubber plates are typically what boxing gyms have these days, probably because they are quieter and look less like old-school iron. They’re not designed to be dropped from above like a bumper plate is, so if Olympic lifts are going to be a part of your training, I’d avoid steel and rubber coated plates as an option.
So why are bumpers better than steel? First of all, they are safer. It’s safer as they won’t go through the base or crack or splinter if you accidentally drop them. Consider that if you can’t safely drop a 45 pound steel plate while transporting it to and from the bar without having to worry about what it would do to your floor, you obviously can’t drop it from the top of a vise or from the shoulder. -height on a failed boot.
With so many people these days using Olympic lifts in their workouts (even Crossfit uses cleans and snatches), it makes sense to opt for bumper plates initially so those lifts are an option for you later, even if you’re fit. the level does not need them immediately.
There is another reason many prefer skid plates over steel. It may seem a bit silly, but those who have worked with steel (or still do) will understand. is the noise. The steel is crazy in the bar. Even in relatively smooth motion, those giant plates hitting each other are definitely loud. When you lower that bar from even a few inches above the ground or rack, it’s loud as hell. The bumpers don’t rattle or knock like that. Just something else to consider.
mix and match dishes
You don’t have to go with 100% bumpers. I have a combination of steel and bumpers in my garage gym. While my 35’s and 45’s are all skid plates, I still use smaller steel plates. 25 and smaller steel plates never touch the ground, so it doesn’t matter what they’re made of. Also, the standard 10 lbs. and 15 lbs. bumpers tend to warp (stuck) if allowed to take the brunt of a fall too many times. They’re too skinny to take the same abuse as the big 45lbs. department.
Another option for Olympic plates are Technical Plates. These are one piece solid plastic plates really meant to be abused. They are mostly available in 5, 10 and 15 pound plates. If you’re new to the Olympic lifts, these allow you to drop your form with very little added weight, but still get the feel of plates on the bar. They’re not cheap per pound, but you shouldn’t need more than a pair or two of tech plates.
“I want shield plates!”
I’ll go over the different types and brands of bumper plates and also go over what I’ve found out regarding the best places to buy each type based on price, shipping cost, and overall reviews and feedback.
Standard black bumpers. There are several manufacturers, but I’ve narrowed it down to three different brands: Rogue HG, Troy VTX, and HI-Temp skid plates.
-Troy VTX Bumper plates are probably what you’ll find most of the time at a sporting goods store or used equipment store. They’re reasonably priced, and the reviews are generally pretty decent. It is one of the few options in that price range available in color. Search Amazon for a deal on these. There are plenty of vendors selling Troy VTX products.
-High temperature bumper they are solid and the price is also excellent. They are on the thicker side of the bumpers available, but unless your lifts require 400+ pounds on the bar, I think you’ll be fine with the thickness of the plates. Many sites sell Hi-Temp. Rogue has them cheaper than you could find anywhere else, and shipping was included in the price. These are the only basic bumpers that I know of that are made in the USA. FYI, HI-Temp skid plates are the most sought after skid plates by brand.
-Rogue HG bumper they are my favorite choice for a basic black bumper. I have some of these dishes and I love them. They’re a little less expensive than the Hi-Temps, but they’re a little thinner and they look a lot cooler. They have a 3-year warranty (25 and up) and shipping is included in the price. Read some of the reviews here. These are without a doubt the best option for setting up bumpers.
Competition (and training) protective plates: Competition guards like the Eleiko Olympic Plates, Pendlay Elites, or Rogue Crossfit Competition Plates are thinner, more durable, and significantly more expensive. The “training” versions of these bumpers mean they are the same plate, just not calibrated. So either way compared to a standard bumper they are much more expensive.
I woke up with competition dishes so rarely that I don’t have to review them. Eleiko is used in the Olympics, Crossfit uses and abuses Rogue competition plates, and SuperFit uses Pendlay Elites. The weight deviation tolerances on these are so tight you know you’re lifting the stated weight on the plate…unlike super cheap brands (of whatever plate, bumper or otherwise) where the tolerances are in the form of percentage instead of grams.
If you have the money to spend on bumper plates this nice, I’m sure no matter what brand you buy, you’ll be happy with them. While I won’t be reviewing them, I’ve looked up the best prices online for all three brands for you to check out in case you’re considering one of these options. Simply click on the links for each name in the paragraph above. (Please research the prices yourself as well. These best prices are at the time of this writing, and I didn’t google page 10 when comparing.)
Price summary
Below are just a few prices to give you an idea of what you’ll spend to get your hands on some new bumper plates (again, at the time of this writing).
Cast Iron/Steel Sheets: Approximately $.90-$1.20 per pound. Definitely look used.
Rogue HG Bumper: Approximately $1.50-$1.75 per pound. The best deal I could find.
HI-TEMP Guard Plates: Approximately $1.60-$2.00 per pound.
Training Bumpers: Approximately $3-$5 per pound.
Competition Skid Plates: About $4-$8 or more a pound.
Technical Dishes: About $14-16 a pound (ouch).
I hope this article has been helpful. I realize there are a lot of other brands and places to buy bumper plates. I’ve looked at many of them both online and in local stores, and have been exposed to several of them at gyms. I wanted to narrow it down a bit. If you want to add your two cents on the type of dishes you have and love (or hate), go for it. You can also check out my weight bench review or my power rack review, both done in a similar way and available at www.garage-gyms.com.
