Last week we had:
Bare Steel vs. Stainless Steel
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Round 1 of Good or Bad Idea
Last week, we tried a new game via Instagram Stories. It was called “Good Idea or Bad Idea,” where you needed to pick whether each product idea was “good” or “bad.” These are all ideas that do not exist today or are not well known by the vast majority. It’s also important to note that many of these ideas may be more difficult and cost-inefficient to produce, but it’s a fun way to think about what’s possible. 87% said that this concept was a “good idea,” so there will definitely be more of these.
Below is a list of the ideas with results from last week.
| The Idea | Good Idea | Bad Idea | % Good Idea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plyo Box / Crash Cushion Combo | 4,867 | 1,162 | 81% |
| Some sort of SkiErg x Lat Pulldown Combo | 3,977 | 1,507 | 73% |
| Collapsible Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar | 4,358 | 1,830 | 70% |
| Collapsible Deadlift Platform | 4,135 | 2,299 | 64% |
| Bench Press Bar | 3,618 | 2,602 | 58% |
| Foldaway Yoke | 2,954 | 2,732 | 52% |
| Ceiling Mounted Lat Pulldown | 3,334 | 3,107 | 52% |
A few additional notes include:
- Plyo Box / Crash Cushion Combo wins by a decent amount. It’s always nice when a product can serve multiple functions without taking up too much space.
- Speaking of serving two purposes, some sort of SkiErg x Lat Pulldown combo came in as the #2. With space as a limiting factor, it would be tough for most home gyms to have both as a standalone unit, but combined?
- Collapsible is good. It is what makes the Scout Hyper so appealing to most home gym owners. Collapsible wall-mounted pull-up bars (70%) and a collapsible deadlift platform (64%) were seen as mostly good ideas. The “foldaway yoke,” while still appealing to about half, came in towards the bottom.
- A few people did mention that “bench bars” have existed in the past, but they are very tough to find when doing a simple Google search. Nevertheless, Texas Power Bars did announce that they’d be releasing one soon on an April 21, 2021, Instagram post. 58% said this was a “good idea.”
Stainless Steel vs. Bare Steel
In an IG Post, it was basically a 50/50 split with Stainless eeking 51% of the total votes. Those who voted for stainless stated that they wanted a bar with more longevity and didn’t want to maintain it.
However, those who went with a bare steel bar made some good points and brought more energy to the conversation. Here are a few quotes that stood out:
- “Have both Rep Deep Knurl SS and Rogue Ohio power bare steel. Love both equally, I would say if you can keep up with the maintenance then go Bare Steel especially if you can go boneyard. I do live in Florida and have a garage gym with a dehumidifier constantly going to help. To me depends on where you live and if you’ll take care of the bar, SS let’s you lift and forget while Bare has feel like no other/ cheaper/ but requires more maintenance” – @americas_quads
- “Bare steel. So long as it’s maintained like… once a month at the most, it’ll be fine.” – @ilooklikejames
- “Bare steel. Cheaper, better feel imo and holds up fine if maintained properly” – @thekoshermc
Another survey done through the survey asked, “With cost in mind, what barbell coating is for you? Stainless Steel was followed by “Other,” and Bare Steel came in “last.” Only 11.5% did not know which one was best for them.
To conclude, bare steel barbells are not the #1 option for most. However, it’s the top choice for those prepared to perform regular maintenance (to avoid rust), want the best “feel,” and want the cheapest option.
Stainless steel is pricier, but is most likely the better long-term option for most.
Sunday Survey Results from 5/23/2021
- 59% say that they do indeed save money by owning a home gym.
- Imagine this. It’s 65 degrees Fahrenheit at noon. Is the garage door open or closed? Just under 80% say it’s open.
- The garage is the most likely spot for the home gym (65%) with the basement making up less than 17% of total responses when asked where your home gym is.
- Next up, was a number of head-to-head matchups where you simply had to choose which one. Highlights include:
- Outside of podcasts over audiobooks, dumbbells beat the hell out of kettlebells, gaining 4 out of 5 votes.
- Horse stall mats are the gym flooring choice of most and it gained 70% of the votes when matched up against the deadlift platform.
- Rogue was dominant again with nearly 2/3 votes when paired against “the Field.”
- Leaf Blower > Broom
- Running lost in a head-to-head matchups with air bikes and “all cardio machines.”
| Winner | Loser | % of Winner Votes |
| Podcasts | Audiobooks | 83.3% |
| Dumbbells | Kettlebells | 80.2% |
| Horse Stall Mats | Deadlift Platfrom | 70.7% |
| Bench Press | Power Cleans | 69.0% |
| Rogue | The Field | 65.7% |
| Leaf Blower | Broom | 63.1% |
| All Cardio Machines | Running | 60.4% |
| Air Bike | Running | 55.8% |
| Squats | Deadlift | 53.7% |