Customer Reviews

Stamina 50-Pound Versa-Bell II Adjustable Dumbbell

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This adjustable dumbbell set fell apart the very first time I used it. I set the weight to 20lb for each dumbbell to get ready for a set of military press. I lifted the weight to my shoulders and then up for the first rep. The internal mechanism snapped while the weights were over my head. Fortunately I was not harmed. The weight missed my head and feet and slammed to the floor. There is minimalStamina 50-Pound Versa-Bell II Adjustable Dumbbell Pair damage done to my wood floor and the crashing sound sure did startle the heck out of me, that was the extent of the damage. I called Amazon, they were very helpful - I will receive a full refund plus a gift card for my trouble. Stamina (the company that makes this product) has proven to be very difficult to deal with. I called several times to report this issue. The customer service representative seemed annoyed with me. The manager was also supposed to get back to me but has neglected to do so thus far. I checked the BBB; there are multiple similar complaints with the company's products and their lack of professionalism and follow through in regards to dealing with unhappy customers. I certainly do understand looking for a bargain, especially during these trying times. For safety's sake I would invest in a better quality product. Good luck.

I am using these weights with the P90X program, and it works great. I can't change weights as fast as if I purchased individual dumbbells, but it is still easy to dial in the weight that you need. I don't have the room to purchase multiple dumbbells, so this option makes sense for me. I have no plans on bulking up, so using weights up to 50 pounds works great for toning muscles. If I wanted to bulk up, I would have purchased the Bowflex 1090 for $600. Considering these weighs are at least $150 cheaper than the Bowflex 552, it's a good deal. I can't comment on the long term durability, but once I finish the P90X program, I'll be sure to add more to the review.

They look good. (better in person)

Theyre flexible, ie adjustable.

They are a fraction of the price of some of the name brand wieghts.

They are high quality.

If youre looking for modular weights and dont want to break the bank on em, get these.

I was thrilled when I got my Stamina dumbbells in the mail. They are the same quality as the leading adjustable dumbbells at half the price. So far, I only have two minor problems with them: 1) the base tends to cling to them when you lift them up. This has to do with the fact that the base has individual slots for each weight plate, so if you do not lift them straight up, the base will come with them when you pick them up. 2) the adjustment knob on the side lends to being accidentally turned fairly easily. I find myself grabbing the wights by the side with my backup hand. when I do, it is very easy to accidentally spin the adjustment knob. I haven't dropped any weights because of it, but it does make me a little nervous at times.

Other than that, these are high quality dumbbells for a great price and I highly recommend them to anybody. And the free shipping on 100 lbs made them an even more amazing bargain!

There are only about 4 models of adjustable weights on the market, and if you ranked them 1 to 4 in quality with 1 being the best (the Bowflex models), these would rank 2. They are good quality and are at a reasonable price. However....shipping dumbbells by UPS, Fedex or any shipping company is sheer madness. Package handlers simply loathe the heaviness of these packages, and drop and slam them all around in the loading docks and trucks, and figure what the heck, they're just dead weights, they can take it. Your chances of having a dumbbell arrive at your chosen address without damage are near zero. Most common areas of damage are the trays the dumbells sit in and the adjustable end-caps on the bars, along with a broken weight or two on the end plates where the impact occurs. It doesn't make any difference what brand or model you order. Though you can find cheapest prices online, you won't be able to fix the shipping hurdle, and you will be driven to madness shipping, returning and reshipping these things until you finally get a complete unbroken set. Unfortunately, I'd recommend pay the extra few dollars and just pick them up in a retail store, where you can check and see what you have before you leave the premises.

Pros:
-Adjust from 10 to 50 lbs in 5 lb increments
-Price
-Take up little space
-Nice, comfortable grip--maybe even a bit wider than standard dumbbells, which I prefer to increase grip/forearm strength.

Cons:
-There is a window for each side of the dumbbell. This may or may not have been mentioned, but I did not notice it. Therefore you have to change each side and add the total. I do not mind this, but I did not expect it.
-Sometimes I have minimal difficulty getting the bar back into the weights, but this adds around 5 seconds--not a big deal.

Other comments:
-The handles have a plastic smell, much like a new duffel bag. It does not bother me and will most likely go away.
-If you touch the weight plates on the side near the inner 'eye', there is a little bit of silver grease (what it looks/feels like) to keep the weights sliding smoothly. Again, not really a con but worth noting.
-Not as good as having the whole set of true dumbbells, but I do not have the money or space for that.

I've had these weights for about 3 months now and I'm very satisfied. They are durable, well balanced, and don't take up very much space. They come with a plastic tray for each dumbbell, which I don't think is mentioned in the product description. There is also a little window beside the weights (two windows per dumbbell) that show how much weight you're lifting.
The only drawback is that the hand grip is very thick, even thicker than a bench press bar. It works ok for me because I have large hands, but people with small hands might have difficulties.

I had been looking for an adjustable set of dumbbells for a while, I nearly bought the bowflex product but when I tested in a store, the plates had jammed up, then I read online about bowflex problems due to the use of plastic.
I did more research on other products and then read the reviews here of the stamina dumbbells and decided to give them a try. For the price, the quality is great, far better than more expensive bowflex and then are adjustable in 5lb increments.

I can't be anything but pleased about being able to purchase a pair of 50 pound adjustable dumbbells for $177 with free shipping included since most similar products can cost you over $400. I received the product within 7 days of placing my order so that was also a surprise as I expected it to take a little while longer. The dumbbells arrived nicely packaged and unharmed from the shipping process. They are easy to adjust in weight and they have the appearance of being a nice quality product. My short time with the dumbbells thus far would confirm my initial impression about the quality of these dumbbells. I don't get the sense that they are going to fall apart on me anytime soon (hopefully never!) My only small complaint (very small) is that it almost always takes two hands to put one dumbbell back into the stand that is specially designed with slots to hold each plate. The reason why it takes two hands is because you will need to slightly separate the plates, that are currently not attached to the dumbbell, with your fingers. This isn't a difficult process, slightly separating the unused plates with your fingers so that you can slide the dumbbell through, but its worth mentioning as a minor nuisance. If you are looking for some adjustable dumbbells and you don't feel like forking over the big bucks for similar products that may or may not be better, then I think you just landed on a good deal here if you can still purchase these dumbbells for $177 or thereabout. Happy Training!

I got these in early April 2010. They arrived in good condition with no apparent damage outside the package.

As someone else mentioned, there is a little window on each side that shows the weight for that side. So, if one windows says 15 and the other says 15 (two plates on each side) then the total weight of the dumbell is 30 lbs.

If you want 25 lbs, then you'll have one plate on one side and two on the other. That makes the weight a bit off-balanced, in my opinion. So, I think most will want to stick with even multiples of 5 lbs, rather than old. It won't be a problem to use them off-balanced, but I'm guessing that some may not like it.

They come with two little stands with slots. These hold the weight plates that you are not using. I suggest you set the dials for the weight you need, then lift the dumbells off the stand to another location. Don't attempt to replace them to the little stand at the end of your lift -- the plates won't align with the slots easily. Put them on the floor. Then, after you're done or when you want to change the weight, carry them back to the little stand.

The dumbells are rather wide, which makes them a bit awkward in certain lifts. A good bit of twisting is required to change the amount of weight on each side. The windows showing the weight is not exactly easy to see, at least in the situation where I use mine.

Still, for the price, these get the job done.

I'll update if I should ever encounter a problem with the plates falling off.