Vulcan Strength Prime LB Competition Bumper Plates Review
Recently I picked up a set of Olympic bumper plates by a company called Vulcan Strength or as the industry likes to say Vulcan. The Vulcan Strength Primes LB Competition bumper plates are what you typically see in Crossfit gyms (i.e. boxes) and weightlifting competitions.
Bumper plates are designed to be tossed to the ground after performing strength exercises such as deadlifts, clean and snatches, and clean and jerks. Competition Bumper Plates usually have an exposed metal center with a rubber or Urethane coating that helps protect the floor and plates from damage when dropped or thrown to the ground.
OUR VERDICT
There are a lot of companies producing Olympic bumper plates these days including Rogue Fitness, Rep Fitness, Titan Fitness, American Barbell, and others, but Vulcan seems to have created a great all-around product. The Prime series is very professional looking and stands at the top of what I consider to be a fantastic bumper plate.
POSITIVES
NEGATIVES
- Good Value ($168 Shipped for a pair of 25 lbs)
- Vibrant Color Palet
- Well Made
- Laser-etched rubber for a great texture feel and grip
- The use of steel discs lessens unsightly surface scratches and scuffs.
- Choice of Kilos or lbs.
- The circular inside edge of the plate is sharp and bites into your fingers.
- Made in China
Note: These plates would be awesome if Vulcan fixes the issue with the circular edge biting into your figures when lifting the plate with one hand.
Unboxing The Vulcan Prime Bumper Plates
The Vulcan prime plates came in a standard plate box that is typical for the industry, i.e. poorly padded and wrapped. The box arrived torn up and looked like it had been thrown around. While my plates arrived in good condition, I fear to say that based on the packaging, if this is the norm, I am quite certain some arrive damaged.
VULCAN STRENGTH PRIME COMPETITION BUMPER PLATES REVIEW
As I build out my garage gym empire, I of course needed to get some Competition plates and I was really interested to see what Vulcan Strength had to offer. I decided to try out their Prime series plates and for the most part I was very impressed with what they have achieved.
Prime Plates Textured Surface and Raised Lettering
What makes the Vulcans a little different over say the Rogue competition plates is the cool texture feel. It adds a bit more grip to the plate as well as helps to hide dirt marks.
Vulcan also use applies texture to the steel center which lessens unsightly surface scratches and scuff. Another noticeable difference is Vulcan uses a steel insert to hide and protect the split the to steel halves.
Below is an example of the Rogue compition plates without the steel center piece. You can see how the 2 halves of the plates are exposed.
Sharp Circular Edge
The only real negative to the Vulcan bumper plates is the sharp circular inside edge of the plate. The rubber ring has a significant drop-off that isn’t rounded, so it bites into your fingers when picking up the plates with one hand. If Vulcan smoothed this section the plates would be just about perfect.
Vulcan Vs Rogue Competition Bumper Plates
Comparing the Vulcan to the Rogue competition plates, you really have to give the win to Vulcan. Overall the plates have a more vibrant color of green, have a better selection of metal that doesn’t show smudges and fingerprints, and is less expensive.
Bumper Plate Specifications:
Plate Diameter: 450 mm (IWF Standard is 450 mm) Weight tolerance: Within 10 grams of claimed weightShore Hardness: 85-87 Collar opening: 50.40 mmInsert type: Steel disc – Bright Zinc Plated, Shot Peened Virgin Rubber Plate Thickness:
- 25lb (Green) – 35 mm thickness
- 35lb (Yellow) – 43 mm thickness
- 45lb (Blue) – 54 mm thickness
- 55lb (Red) – 66 mm thickness
* 5 Year warranty. Warranty covers steel discs departing from or rotating within the plate or plates breaking. Absolute Training Plates should not be used outdoors, on bare concrete floors, or dropped on rubber flooring less than 3/8″ thickness. Intentional misuse, neglect or abuse will void warranty.
Bumper Plate Set Configurations:
The Vulcan plates can be ordered in pairs or in sets.
- 210lb Set includes one pair of each of the following: 25lb (Green), 35lb (Yellow), and 45lb (Blue)
- 250lb Set includes one pair of each of the following: 25lb (Green), 45lb (Blue), and 55lb (Red)
- 270lb Set includes one pair of each of the following: 35lb (Yellow), 45lb (Blue), and 55lb (Red)
- 320lb Set includes one pair of each of the following: 25lb (Green), 35lb (Yellow), 45lb (Blue), and 55lb (Red)
