Best Adjustable Dumbbells (Reviews & Guide)

I compiled this list of reviews so you can find the perfect set of adjustable dumbbells that will work for you. There is a wide range of them to choose from them and I thought I would save you time and point out the most popular ones that. If you are still unsure of what to buy leave a comment below.

If you are even considering buying a pair of the best adjustable dumbbells, that tells me you are working out at home to save money on a monthly gym membership or you have a home gym you want to expand.

I wanted a pair myself so I went out looking at all the different types out there and documented what I found below. There are various types to choose from and the price range of course is all over the place.

My hope is to help you find a set you can use for your own personal use at the best price. Don’t do what I did and buy each individual dumbbell and spend a ton of money. There are plenty of options now to do your workout and not take up a whole side of a workout room with dumbbells.

Why Should I Buy Adjustable Dumbbells ? – Save Space!

Most of us are lucking to have a small dedicated room for working out. For the rest of us I bet the kids have not taken over or it’s dedicated to a spare bedroom. So you are forced to workout in your living room!

As of right now, I’m winning the battle with my wife and I have a fitness room that I can call mine. 🙂 I’m sure that will change as the kids get older and want to move one of their bedrooms downstairs. ugh……

With this small dedicated room I have or for others, it could be your living room or garage, I have to be very conscious about what I put in there. It’s such a small space that if I put too much crap in there I can’t even do my workout.

Adjustable dumbbells have to be the biggest bang for your buck in any piece of home gym equipment you buy because of the 100’s of exercises you can do with them and the small amount of space it takes up. You combine these with an an adjustable weight bench and you dang near have everything you need to get after it.

I’m going to list the most popular models so you get straight to the point of looking at what you need to buy that is not a piece of crap. 🙂 I have the top models separated into each different type to further help you narrow your choices down as they are different.

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Adjustable Dumbbell Reviews 2021

In a hurry? Check out the bestseller:

#1 Bowflex SelectTech 552

This model has been extremely popular for years. I have used these personally and they absolutely work for any exercise you can think of. They do use a dial system to select the amount of weight in 2.5 pound increments.

This is really cool because with that small weight increment you actually have 15 weight settings that start out at 5lbs and go up to 52.5 pounds. This will honestly cover probably 80 percent of you looking for a set.

The plates are covered in plastic, so you definitely can not drop these at all. We have dropped them on accident and they didn’t break but, if it’s done enough times, you won’t be happy with the results.

If it happens you can send them into bowflex to get replaced or fixed based on their warranty.

You can purchase the Bowflex dumbbell stand for these which is optional and it’s a best seller on amazon so there are many satisfied customers out there who love this set. If you want more information read my review here.

#4 Core Fitness Adjustable Dumbbells

The core fitness dumbbells allow you to switch from 5 to 50lbs of weight by turning the dial on the inside of the handle. This is direct competitor to the bowflex 552 set we talked about.

The weights are covered with a high impact plastic for durability, but I would not recommend dropping them like you do with cast iron weights.

It comes with a nice modern storage case that is light weight and made out of aluminum.

The handles are textured for an easy grip and are slightly contoured to hold them secure.

In order to change the weights, you simply twist the dial in 5lb increments to the weight you want and lift up to start your exercise.

Pin Selector Adjusted Dumbbells

#6 Powerblock Adjustable Dumbbells (Gym Quality)

So, there is a classic, sport and elite model here to choose from. Their is a small difference between the sport and classic that should be noted. The powerblock sport has a bit more room in the grip area, handle is rounded and is not padded.

The classic has a padded handle and the handle is straight. The powerblock sport adjustable dumbbells come with a 15 year warranty and the powerblock classic comes with a 10 year warranty.

These are coated with a urethane coating. They are a bit more durable than the SelectTech 552 but I would not drop them either. One major difference is that the are square where the SelectTech 552 have rounded plates.

The cool thing about powerblock is that they have kits you can buy to add more weight so you are not limited on your weight you bought originally. There is also a powerblock Elite model that is for heavy weight. Some of you will want to start out with that.

You can literally buy the 50 pound elite set and expand it to 70, 90 or 130 pounds! No excuses with these guys you can jack up the weight here. You literally replace 16 pair of dumbbells with these bad boys.

Read Review: Powerblock Dumbbells.

Dumbbells That Are Collar Clamped

#9 CAP Barbell 40 lb. Adjustable Dumbbell Set

Cap barbell is one of the best fitness makers in the industry and it’s not surprise that their dumbbells are a really popular set that people are buying to workout at home.

This is a standard 40 pound set that is perfect to get started, cheaply priced but made with quality products you would expect from Cap Barbell. They do have larger adjustable weights if 40 is not enough.

The set comes with a sweet storage case that you can put your dumbbells in so that they are not lying around on the floor keeps your workout area clean. The plates are solid cast iron with a nice semi gloss coating that looks great, will take a beating and is rust free. They are nice and durable!

The handles are steel with a knurl pattern that makes it easy to grip. The collars are threaded so they lock in the weights very secure and won’t move around on you like other dumbbells do. This is a big bonus!

Here is what comes with the kit:

• 2 – 4lb handles
• 4 – 1/2lb threaded Collars
• 4 – 2.5lb weighted plates
• 4 – 5lb plates
• Plastic Carrying Case

This is a great beginner set, especially for women you don’t need a lot of weight for your workouts to get started. Now, I do want to mention that you can buy extra plates for this that will allow you to increase the total weight that you can use with it. So, it is expandable and overall a really nice set for the price point. Ok, honestly at this point you seriously have a great list of the top rated dumbbells you can buy.

Cost Of Adjustable Dumbells VS Regular Dumbbells

This little bit here will help you justify the cost you will have purchasing a new pair of adjustable dumbbells. Solid dumbbells are priced by the pound. So, let’s assume that we can get 11 pairs of dumbbell combinations to workout with. With most sets there is actually way more than 11.

We will keep our example simple and assume the weight increment are 5lbs and our total weight for the dumbbell set is 55 pounds. That means if we were to buy all of these separately we would have the following sets to buy: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55. So, that is 11 dumbbell pairs or 22 single dumbbells.

The complete weight for all 22 has a full weight of 670 pounds. Pay for 670 pounds of iron and let that sink in for a minute. 🙂 The adjustable dumbbell sets we will look at cost a fraction of that, so you will be saving a lot of money by not buying them individually. On top of that you would have to buy a rack to hold them, so add those savings on top of that. Ok, all of that so you could feel a lot better about purchasing the dumbbell weight set for your gym at home. It’s the right decision, so no more worrying about that.

Who Are the Manufactures of Adjustable Dumbbells?

Bowflex is one of the most popular brands you will find as an option when you are searching on the web and rightfully so. The have been making fitness equipment for years and have a great reputation. You will also see a company called powerblock. They have been around a long time as well and I’m betting you might have seen these in your local gym. Next up are three others that I’ll mention as well because they are among the leaders which is Ironmaster, Golds Gym and Universal Home Fitness. There are of course others, but these guys are the main players that have lasted through the years.

Different Weight Selection Types Adjustable Dumbbells

I wanted to spend just a minute here talking about how the manufactures have come up with different styles in adjusting the weight on the dumbbells to workout with. All of them have to have a weight to allow you to select the weight increment you want to do your exercise and of course each manufacture has their own opinion on what is the best way to do it.

I will say that I can’t say there is one that is better than the other. It will come down personal preference. I’ll give you a brief description of each type and how they work so you can see the differences and figure out what you would prefer.

First up is a dial used to select the weight increment on the dumbbell. You literally turn a dial to say 15lbs on each dumbbell and then lift up on the dumbbell bar which in turn brings 15 pounds with it and leaves the rest of the weight behind. I can’t say there is any real disadvantage in this. My personal preference is that I don’t like the fact that the dumbbell is half packed together. (personal preference). They are sensitive to dropping though. You cannot just drop these things. If you do, you risk breaking the dial system.

Second up is a selector pin used to set the weight on the dumbbell. The best example of this is power block which is a square dumbbell. You literally move the selector pin to the weight you’re wanting and it instantly locks in that weight on the dumbbell. So, that the weight comes off when lifting the dumbbell, which is very similar to a system that uses a dial.

Last up is a standard collar clamp or clamp that spins tight on the dumbbell bar next to the weights. This is more traditional and locks the weights in place. It’s a normal dumbbell, with normal plates secured to the bar to lift with. This is my personal preference and is what the Pro Iron offers. It also allows me to throw them around and drop them when I’m using heavy weight.

Take 5 Steps Now To Pick An Adjustable Dumbbell Weight Set

I’m going to give you the 5 main things you need to consider to pick out the perfect adjustable dumbbell set for your gym at home. I promise we will make this short and sweet and you will have enough information to make the right selection for your budget. So, let’s get started and dig into why you really should be looking into buying a set for yourself. Let’s find a set you will love and get rocking below!

Step 1: What I would like you to do next is to figure out what is the most weight you will need for a single exercise. Most likely this will be dumbbell bench press, squats or lunges because of the large muscles being used. For me, I will get into the 70-90 pound dumbbell range on my press (on the bench). Big deal right. Well, it is when you are selecting which set to buy. Most of these go up to 50-55 lbs and that is it. In my case that limits my options to pick from. On the other hand if you need less than 55 pounds you are golden. You have a lot of options. Write that done on scratch piece of paper on what you need.

Step 2: Ok, is storage going to be an issue? I’m asking this because some of the sets have a stand that they come with or case, where others don’t. The dimensions of the weights might matter as well. Not a huge deal here but something to think about.

Step 3: In the exercises you will be doing at home, what type of weight increments do you need. It ranges from 1.5, 2.5 and 5 lbs. This could make a difference in the lower range of weights when you want to be able to have weight ranges in between 5-15 lbs. Some of the shoulder exercises I do require light weight. I’ll find myself needing an 8 lb weight instead of a 10 lb weight for example.

Step 4: Remember the weight selection systems we talked about earlier. Think about which style you would prefer and right that down.

Step 5: Lastly, right a price down that is the most you can afford without breaking your budget so you can keep yourself honest.

I would love to hear your feed back or questions regarding which best adjustable dumbbell to buy for your home gym. Feel free to comment below or contact me.