Top 10 Rogue Power Racks: Are They Worth The Price?

And it is worth every penny if you have the budget for a rack that will last you a lifetime and never let you down. Rogue calls it both their Rolls Royce and monster truck and honestly we could not agree more. The finish on the RM-8 is Cerakote, a tough but thin ceramic coating usually used in firearms. It seals the metal, making it durable so it can stand up to your harshest lifting sessions.

This is a squat belt rack. If you aren't familiar, that means it has a built-in lifting belt that lets you attach weight plates to your trunk and perform a squat without a bar on your shoulders. It is an old lifters' secret that adds muscle and power to your legs with less pressure on the spine. Rogue has now made this shortcut available to everyone.

Construction of the frame and uprights is 3x3 inch 11-gauge steel, with assembly and mounting hardware bolted by black zinc bolts and connectors. Numerous attachments and perks include a Diamond Tread foundation for belt squats, a weight trolley with textured loading arms, a knurled grip bar for pull-ups, 10 weight plate storage pins, and more.

The Rhino is designed to give you all the results of a belt squat routine while letting you easily perform standard barbell exercises from a stable and sturdy steel frame base. It is an upgrade to the standard RM-3, which does not have a squat belt. If you are interested in belt squats but don't need the extra Monster features, Rogue sells a standalone rack that only includes the belt and platform.

The Rhino Belt is also compatible with the Fortis series and other Monster racks. It is not compatible with any of the other series in the Rogue rack family.

Crossmembers and arms are of are made of 3x3 steel. The weight trolley hs a cable for raising and lowering under load. The cable is quarter-inch braided steel, strong and flexible. There's no pull-up bar, though you could DIY the square top cross members with a good pair of lifting gloves. Rowing handles are adjustable and let you use over, under, and neutral grips.

High school gym teachers, college coaches, and even NFL or NBA trainers will get a lot of mileage out of this rack. With a footprint of 80x53 inches, it will fit your home gym if you can contend with transporting it and setting it in place. It is compatible with the Rogue Monster Lite family of squat stands, too. Monster Lite stands are designed to take up less space than other Rogue stands and at cost savings.

The RML-690C has Westside Hole Spacing on the barbell uprights. We'll talk more about this spacing in our FAQ section. In a nutshell, it means the holes for the J-cups (what holds the loaded bar in place for start position) are spaced closer together near the bottom of the post, moving farther apart as they go up. It is a safety feature that helps prevent pinning accidents if an athlete loses control of a barbell. That makes the whole rack ideal for serious athletes as well as beginners who need to challenge themselves for sport conditioning.

The package also ships with band pegs, places to attach heavy-duty looped resistance bands for extra training. There are also eight permanently installed bumper plate storage pegs. Pin and pipe safety hardware makes for increased peace of mind and injury prevention. A 43" skinny pull up bar comes standard, plenty of length for any grip spacing while working the upper body. The entire rack is 90 inches tall, so there won't be any folding of the legs to allow a full range of motion during pull up bar use.

The frame is of the same 11-gauge steel that is standard issue for Rogue racks. It's 2x3 inches and can withstand a natural disaster just as easily as it can take your harshest lifting sessions.

What sets the R-6 apart from the other R racks is the storage capability. You get 6 plate pegs--two hold a pair of plates each, and the other four hold a plate each. In addition to the plates, you get 6 narrower pegs made for heavy-duty bands and a few lifting chains.

Base hardware includes a multi-grip front bar for pull-ups and more. It looks like a mini jungle gym. A fat/skinny bar, designed for ergonomics, runs between the left and right back posts. Pin pipe safety hardware and Rogue's indestructible J-Cups hold loaded bars in place. The rack is 90 inches tall, 80 inches deep, and 53 inches wide. It weighs 300 pounds fully assembled without any weight plates. There's plenty of room for you to add a bench and get a full range of movement for your bench presses.

Both units are compact answers to the standard, full-size Monster rack family. Neither the half nor double rack skimps on features. Those include a pull up bar (2 for the Double), 4 or 8 band posts, 8 bumper plate pegs (the Double still has 8, not 16), and the Rogue nameplate, in bright red, to strike awe and respect into the hearts of any athlete entering your home or training facility.

Pull up bars are optional and cost extra. You can also add on pin and pipe safeties, a two-foot-long safety strap, and/or safety spotter arms for heavy squats. Since the half rack is meant for solo athletes, those safety arms are especially important to prevent injuries or damage to equipment. For other compatible add-ons, check the Rogue website or contact their helpful and efficient customer service department.

The Monster Collegiates are made in the United States, at Rogue's manufacturing facility in Ohio. The finish is black powder coat with the red Rogue nameplate and strong 1" mounting bolts throughout. The Collegiate does not have to be floor bolted, and it has front angled rocker arms to strengthen its foundation. Both racks are 100" tall at their highest point outside the working area.

The special appeal of the RML-490C is the customization options. You have a choice of configurations that can facilitate squats, bench presses, band and plate storage, and permanently installed lateral safety straps. This rack borrows DNA from the Rogue R-4 rack, so it has the same 3x3" uprights, powder coat finish, Westside holes, 5/8" mounting hardware, J-Cups, and pin/pipe safety hardware.

You get two pull up bars, a regular and thick one, each 43" long with plenty of grip options and height. The entire rack is 90" high, letting even the tallest lifters get their squats on. Though it tops the scales at 340 pounds, the RML-490-C has a petite 53x53 inch footprint with the extra-large metal feet included.

The RML-490-C can be configured for plate and band storage. Though there is no dedicated chain storage, we're sure you can get away with using any of the pegs without worrying that your chains will scratch this workhorse's steel hide.

Before we go any further, we'll note that this rack has to be bolted to your floor. According to Rogue, it won't be safe or stable enough otherwise. Although the R-4 weighs "just" 250 pounds, the four-cornered metal foot foundation won't be sturdy enough on its own. Rogue does offer a concrete anchor kit, for about 20 dollars, on the website. The kit includes 12 anchors, 3 for each footplate, so be prepared for an afternoon of work drilling holes in your basement floor.

Another difference between this and the Monster and other lines we looked at is the total height. Instead of the typical 90 inches, the R-4 tops out at 78 inches for the fat/skinny bar in back. The lone skinny bar up front gives you 86 inches of height. If you prefer the wider surface of the fat bar, and you are over six feet tall, you may run into problems because of this.

There's no plate storage included in the basic package. You can order stabilizers, bars, and plates, in addition to benches, but we could not find an option for storage pegs. Other upgrades include a safety strap system and a cross member with multiple grips. The R-4 gives you a greater working depth than the R-3, and the entire rack has cross-compatibility with the Rogue Infinity line of racks.

Reliable Rogue engineering gives you 90 inch tall, 3x3 inch, 11-gauge steel uprights. Mounting bolts are 1", not 5/8' like some of the other racks we've written up. The extra thick bolts provide stability and guarantee the half-rack won't work loose after you drill it into wall studs or brick.

The design also means you can fold the unit nearly flat against a wall, like a Murphy bed for your gym. The thick steel, combined with Rogue's proprietary folding hinges, keeps the unit immobile whether you perform squats, pull-ups, or bench based lifts using the uprights as spotter assistance.

The rack comes with everything you need for wall mounting. Still, Rogue recommends getting the top and bottom stringers, which cost extra. Like the stringer board on an outdoor deck, these long metal pieces add an extra layer of stability and immobility. Rubber feet on the two uprights prevent floor damage. You can choose between two depths, 21 inches and 41 inches, which would require removal and reinstallation should you ever decide to change them. The 21-inch version will be fine for most users. The wider 41 inch option is for gymnasts and others who need more space for their training.

We don't say this as a deal-breaker or a warning to steer clear of the Bolt Together. It absolutely delivers on the Rogue promise of durability and dependability. And since it isn't a wall mount, you get a working space similar to most other Rogue racks. According to Rogue, the bolt-together is ideal for military barracks, apartments with tight stairs, or low-ceilinged rooms. The reduced height (7'6") is shorter than the standard 8-foot ceiling one finds in most residential homes.

Construction is of 2x3" steel, still 11 gauge but a bit less thick than the typical 3x3". Mounting hardware is 5/8" including fasteners and bolts. This unit has to be floor mounted for safety and immobility. You get two pull up bars, a 2 inch and a 1.25 inch, both 78 inches from the ground.

Finally, the Bolt Together has no welded joints. It is meant to be dropped in place unassembled, then put together for permanent installation. This also makes it slightly easier to transport, should you ever move or sell the unit secondhand.

The Echo R-3 is 90 inches tall. It features 2x2" 11 gauge steel framing. A 43" fat/skinny pull up bar comes standard.

The unit uses J-Cups for racking loaded barbells. It has band pegs, but no plate storage. The unit has to bolt to the floor, and you can order the concrete anchors from Rogue for about $20. Pin and pipe safeties cost extra. Instead of the Westside hole spacing, the rack has 2" spacing through the bench area and 6" spacing otherwise.

The rack weighs 160 pounds, making it the lightest on our list. Its larger sibling, the R-3, weighs 200 pounds. Mounting hardware is 1/2". The rack is a full 90" tall, with a light footprint of just 32 by 53 inches (depth and width).