XMARK Black Diamond Olympic Weight Plates 2-Inch, Rubber Barbell Plates with Tri-Grip Handles for Home Gym Strength Training

In the gym equipment apocalypse, XMark is the sawed-off-shotgun-wielding, attractive female lead, blasting away the "zombies" of weird, generic off-brand equipment and "Temporarily Out of Stock" notices. Ordered the 205lb set - as with the bench I ordered from XMark, the set shipped and arrived faster than the estimate. I consider that a win these days. 45 lb plates came in one package and the rest in another via FedEx. Although they were shipped simultaneously, I received the 45lb plates a day after the rest of the set. Pros: - Plates that were not out of stock and seem to be in-stock more often than not...get them while you can - Build quality feels solid, rubber coating is even and forgiving on your floor - Diamond design is unique and actually quite ergonomic - Randomly weighed a few plates - most were accurate, one of the 45s was off by 0.2. I believe this is quite good for non-calibrated competition-style plates - Handles allow for usage like kettle bells...kettle pancakes? I find myself reaching for these over dumbbells for certain exercises where I want the weight to stay perpendicular to the ground. - Packaging - plates were well packed in their own boxes. Some hero at XMark even taped on cardboard tube handles so that the smaller boxes would be easier to pull out and wouldn't rattle around. Next level stuff. - No 35lb plates - who uses 35lb plates? Cons: - Some may not enjoy the rubber smell; personally don't mind it and it has already faded substantially

I purchased these during the peak of the pandemic. I really do like them the rubber coating makes them quiet No Clanging while lifting. The handles make them easy to pick up and put them on the bar. I thought they were a tad pricey but once I seen them and started to use them I believe I got good quality for my money.. Xmark delivered them pretty quick which was a big plus.. I used them 6 days a week for about 4 months and no issues at all. They did have a slight odor but dissipated quickly. I like them so much I purchased the 45, 35, and an extra set of 25s. The octagon shape helps keep them from rolling all over when you set the bar down👍🏻 All in all I believe I have a Fantastic set of weights that will last me years!

Great quality, service and communication. One item in my order was missing. The issue was quickly resolved with the week and I had my piece in hand. Thanks.

Awesome weights! Just wish that weights themselves weren’t so damn expensive, especially really nice weights like these! The sound of 45’s hitting each other as you pack them onto the bar sounds so good but… you just can’t go wrong with the rubber coated when they’re this nice!

I was luckily able to first purchase a 185 pound set about 6 months ago as COVID had shut my gym down. My gym is open again, but I’m still working out at home instead. I decided to pick up another 115 pound set to give me more dumbbell options since it’s still hard to find dumbbell sets. I’m very happy with the build quality. It’s better than many gyms and quieter for at home use. My only complaint is that the 25 pounders are a lot wider than necessary. This doesn’t matter for barbell use, but for dumbbell it makes it a bit awkward for some exercises. Some complain of the smell. I think it’s very minor. I also wiped mine down after opening with disinfectant wipes which probably helped with the smell and to remove some of the leftover manufacturing residue. I also feel like my more recent set had been wiped down more by xmark than my first. Sure these are a bit pricey, but it’s worth it. Especially since it includes shipping. My recent set took about a week to deliver from Louisiana to Ohio via FedEx. They’re double boxed to avoid shipping damage.

XMARK is awesome. Saw the 10% discount and jumped on a second set. Honestly the only place i want to buy plates and bars from going forward. These things have taken a ton of abuse and still look new. Fit is perfect, great value for the price, have a nice grip for other workouts, very little smell, super versatile for a number of workouts, and most importantly they function the way they should. In my opinion, best plates on the market. Better than anything i used when i was going to a commercial gym.

First of all, I like the smell. It is just a normal smell of rubber, it smells like a gym with quality equipment. The plates are very well made and easy to handle. I'm happy I was able to buy a 275 lb set for actually less than I'm seeing used offerings of rusty plates in the local market. They do have a slight problem. It seems some people like that the 12 sided weights don't move on the floor. However when you deadlift the bar shifts a couple degrees (just like the other reviewer mentioned). Even setting up a pull I found I couldn't get the bar square. Then every landing it shifts one way or the other. Considering deadlifting is a heavy lift of hundreds of pounds these shifts are significant. Sure, it doesn't roll, but it does move/shift when put down? I'd rather be able to get my setup and roll the bar into optimal position. I had to order since there were no other 275 pound sets anywhere to be found world wide. My preference would have been for the xMark Texas Star plates. The Black Diamond do appear to be a little better quality than my friend's Texas Star plates but at least they don't shift. I have ordered a second pair of 45s. I hope that two pairs of 45 plates (225+ lift) will even out the shifting. I still have to warm up between 135 to 225 but stability becomes more important at 315 and over. I'm considering getting a pair of bumper plates since these are slightly smaller in diameter than regulation. I may also try rotating one side of the plates into alignment, but there is no guarantee the sleeves would spin evenly. Despite this one issue, I do like the plates.

Love these plates, they will last me the rest of my life. My only regret is not acquiring them sooner - major price gouging going everywhere on due to COVID; ~$3/lb seems to be the going rate. Whatever ... can't really put a price on good health and the convenience of having a decent home gym, and this is a lot of weight for shippers to move around. Nice alternative to the more expensive boutique brands like Rogue etc. Some folks complain about the off-gassing smell of the rubber coating ... these are out in my garage and among all the plates I got, the smell was never overwhelming. Perhaps if they are in the confines of a smaller room inside a house, it'd be offensive - but that wasn't the case for me. It's been about a month now and there is no discernible smell. Happy with this purchase.