Can I drop them?
SteelPac dumbbells are highly drop resistant. Depending on height, angle, and floor material, they’ll endure repeated drops without damage. The structure of the SteelPac dumbbell is entirely made of steel. The bar is made from the same high-strength material used for leaf springs on heavy trucks. The hexagon weight plates are solid ¼” thick 44W steel plate and are retained by 44W steel sliders. They handle drops better than any other selectorized adjustable dumbbell.
Why does the bar stick out both ends?
Because a solid bar provides a strong backbone for the plates to connect to. Some other adjustable dumbbells avoid this by using plates that connect to each other, but this makes them rattley and vulnerable to damage. SteelPac plates are dead-simple one-piece laser-cut steel parts.
Resting a dumbbell on your thigh after a set of chest press is no trouble: the flat surface to the side of the bar is enough for comfort.
Why are the hand grips not made of metal?
Thanks to the material we use, there’s no real advantage to using metal for the hand grip. SteelPac hand grips are made of an ultra-tough polycarbonate material that is guaranteed to last a liftime. Polycarbonate is used where immense durability is required, such as safety glasses, motorcycle windscreens, and bulletproof glass. It also works great for interfacing with fleshy human hands. The SteelPac dumbbell has only three plastic parts, and none of them are involved in holding things together.
The complexity of our handg grip makes it impractical to make out of metal; it incorporates the weight change mechanism, weight setting indication, and knurled texture into a single part.
Why not black?
SteelPac dumbbells are weatherproof. Go ahead and leave them outside for a month! SteelPac dumbbells are zinc plated, just like most of tools in a typical toolbox. Zinc plating is the best option for durability and rust prevention. Paint is vulnerable to scrapes and chips. The tight fit and sliding action between parts would cause paint to wear away before long.
Why does it need a pin for locking the weight setting?
Just like commercial gym equipment, SteelPac uses a pin to lock-in the weight selelection because it’s reliable. Other methods create complexity and addituional parts. Every fiddly little part is a potential point of failure. As a famous billionaire technology manganate likes to say, “the best part is no part”.
For safety, the pin is not tethered to the dumbbell. You wouldn’t want your fingers to get snagged in it.
Are they noisy/rattley?
No! Thanks to laser cutting, we’re able to produce precision-fit parts with tight gaps measurable in thousandths of an inch. There’s very little room for parts to rattle. Pick one up and you’ll almost think you’re using a solid fixed-weight dumbbell.
Where are they made?
Unlike every other quick-adjust dumbbell, SteelPac dumbbells are proudly made in North America, specifically Saskatoon, Canada. It costs considerably more to manufacture domestically vs. overseas, so vote with your wallet if you agree it’s worth it for your possessions to be made by people who enjoy the same rights and freedoms that you do.
Steel parts are laser-cut and machined by Lean Machine Metal Manufacturing in Saskatoon, sent to Cadorath in Winnipeg for zinc plating, and back to Saskatoon for assembly, final quality check, and packaging. The hand grips are 3D printed in Saskatoon using polycarbonate filament from Prusa 3D in the Czech Republic. Screws, nuts, and lock pins are sourced from McMaster-Carr in Illinois.
Are they recyclable?
Ok nobody has ever asked this question… but yes, they are! We can’t imagine you’ll ever want to since they’ll most likely last multiple generations, but SteelPac dumbbells can basically be tossed directly into the arc furnace. Just jackhammer the hand grip off and chuck it in.