PowerBlock Elite Adjustment 50 to 90 Pounds Dumbbell Review: All-in-One Dumb-bell

With home workouts being more popular than ever right now, having efficient equipment in your home is key—enter the PowerBlock Elite EXP. Like other adjustable dumbbells, these PowerBlock units help you save both money and space, as they easily replace the need for a complete dumbbell set and storage rack at home. Done working out? Tuck them in a closet until it’s time to train again. One of the big wins with these adjustable dumbbells is their ease of use—simply set the weights down, move the locking slide pins to the desired location (like you would on a weight stack on a machine in the gym, more or less), and pick the weights back up.

These dumbbells aren’t perfect, mind you, as their boxy design can be a bit cumbersome depending on the lift in question. Rows, curls, and presses of all sorts aren’t really an issue, but things like overhead tricep extensions, or other moves where you would otherwise grip the end of the dumbbell are basically out of the question. That said, you could turn some of these movements into single-arm movements as a workaround. Durability is pretty solid on these, though users have to be cautious with the locking pins. The way they slide in and out, you’re going to need to make sure not to misalign them and risk damaging the mechanism.

Unloaded, these dumbbells start off at 5 pounds, and cap out at 50 pounds each. This makes for a nicely rounded set that can be adjusted in as small as 2.5-pound increments. They aren’t necessarily meant for heavy lifters, that’s for sure, but if you’re on the novice/recreational end of the workout spectrum the PowerBlock adjustable dumbbells will work just fine.

Pros And Cons

Pros

• Short change time, usually less than five seconds, reducing the much time required in switching in between different exercises.
• Selector pin and lock system provides the much needed safety that comes with handling of gym equipment.
• Perfectly padded handles provide room for equal distribution of weight on the hands up to the shoulder, increasing comfort on the wrist.
• Smartly priced, and more affordable than the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells.
• Lengthy warranty, guaranteeing users of long lasting or durable gym equipment in the first place.
• A sturdily built storage tray, providing easy and safe storage of dumbbells.

Cons

• Being a significantly heavy dumbbell, it may be an expensive gym equipment for beginners or first time buyers of gym equipment.
• The equipment is not compatible with other PowerBlock product series and models. This limits its capability to be used along with other lower versions of the PowerBlock Dumbbells.
• Although they come with a warranty cover, note that the warranty does not cover for drops. They cannot survive drops unlike the traditionally fixed dumbbells.

10-Year Warranty

We always love to see a good warranty, and PowerBlock definitely delivers here. A 10 year warranty is huge, but given how few moving parts there are on these, it’s understandable. Please note that the warranty becomes void if the equipment is dropped from a height of 6 inches or higher. It is an indication of carelessness or negligence in handling gym equipment in the first place.

Conclusion

All told, these adjustable dumbbells deliver good bang for buck, but are still outmatched by the likes of Bowflex and a few others.