Pepin Fast Series Adjustable Dumbbells Review
Introduction
Hey guys welcome back to The Jungle Gym Reviews and today, I am going to be reviewing one of my favorite home gym purchases of all time, and I will go into all the reasons why – the Pepin Fast Series adjustable dumbbells. So I have owned the 120LB version of the Pepin Fast Series adjustable dumbbells for 9 months and since dumbbells are a staple in my training sessions, these have gotten put through every movement you can imagine. Bench press, rows, military press, shoulder flys, bicep curls, tricep extensions, lunges, goblet squats, RDLs, and even some specialty movement like this hammer curl, and overhead tricep extension. There has yet to be a movement that these dumbbells don’t work for.
Price
These are the original made-in-Canada version ordered from Pepin (show 091/500 sign) which cost about $2300 shipped to my door last year. Even with the high price point, I can comfortably say they are worth every penny. After 6 or so various other brands and types of fixed and adjustable dumbbells over the last four years, I believe these are without a doubt the best adjustable dumbbells and potentially even certain fixed dumbbells, especially if space is of any consideration, that someone could have in their home gym.
Functionality
When I purchased these I sold my full set of urethane dumbbells because these feel nearly 99% as balanced but take up significantly less space. In other ways they are even better: thicker handle diameter, knurling is perfect and slightly more aggressive, more compared to an Ohio Power Bar. And the weight distribution feels completely even in and around your hand. The cage and weight selection bars have plenty of space between it and your hands. And best of all and the speed of change is literal 5-10 seconds compared to something like Ironmasters or other alternative options.
Dropping/Durability
I can’t honestly speak to dropping these dumbbells as it’s just not something I do or have ever done. I understand why people want to know for durability sake, but if you are asking that question I would really suggest you stay with your fixed dumbbells or find a brand that advertises for you to drop them, like Ironmasters. Feel free to lookup Basement Brandon and some others on YouTube who have done similar drop test with their Pepins.
Rep X Pepin Collaboration
Anyways as if I couldn’t recommend these enough for the original price I bought them at, now with Rep Fitness just releasing their own mass produced collaboration with Pepin and a nearly halved price point for the 120LB set. They are not offering preorders for a July release but in a few different sizes 85, 105, 120LB pair. From everything I have seen Pepin is pairing up with REP for their manufacturing infrastructure and distribution, while maintaining much if not all of the original design and functionality. For the price point, it’s a no brainer for me for anybody previously on the fence about getting these, due to the price, to not jump on this REP version.
If you’re looking for specific technical details, like weight increments, warranty, dimensions, etc. please head to either Pepins or Reps website to find more info on the corresponding design. Now so after almost a year of daily use, and considering everything I have mentioned to this point here is my overall rating for the dumbbells:
Overall Rating:
Functionality: 9.5
Feature/Design: 10
Fit/Finish: 9.6
Value: 9
Overall: 9.5
The functionality of these dumbbells is everything you would obviously want and need in a premium dumbbells, they are perfect as as dumbbell and feel comparable to a premium fixed one. The features and design on this dumbbells were knocked out of the park, and I wholeheartedly admire the thought and engineering of the interlocking weight plates, the cradle, and the integrated weight selector in the handrails. The overall packaging size, fit and finish is perfect. The knurling is a chef’s kiss, the weight selector is buttery smooth, and the overall dimensions of the dumbbells is essentially the same or smaller than a comparable 120LB urethane dumbbell, and in some instances like bench press or rows may allow for an even better range of motion than the corresponding fixed, due to the relatively small diameter of the weight plates. As mentioned previously, the value at the original price point was already good in my option but with the REP x Pepin release is absolutely fantastic. If you’re in the market for an adjustable dumbbell they blow all the competition out of the water.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, I would recommend these dumbbells to literally anyone home gym owner who need dumbbells that even will occasionally only go to 80LBS, their lowest weight offered. The only limitation is the same of any adjustable dumbbell in that you can’t have multiple people using at same time. Rep fitness with their manufacturing and distribution should help with the previously longer lead times direct from Pepin while keeping the price incredibly affordable. My only feedback to REP and/or Pepin would be to offer an option with smaller diameter handles for those with small hands, and at the time I ordered had actually inquired about such, but even myself with hands on the smaller side had have 0 problem or regrets and am actually retrospectively happy that I was quote forced to get the default 34.5mm grip.
After using these dumbbells day in and out for so long I can’t speak highly enough about how you definitely get a premium product for that premium price. If anybody is on the fence about swapping/upgrading/buying the Pepin Fast Series, I can vouch that it won’t be a decision you will regret. I plan to keep these dumbbells for my lifetime, and as weird as it sounds, I am excited you use them every time I do.
Michael – The Jungle Gym Reviews
