Best Weight Plates to Use – Bumper or Iron Plates?

Buying the wrong weight plates is the fastest way to overspend on a home gym.

They come in all kinds of varieties and you need to avoid over-paying for features you’ll never use. To that end, we’re discussing the best weight plates to use – bumper or iron plates?

In a few short minutes, you’ll know what your home gym is missing, and what to look for!

Different Kg for plates

Kg vs lbs

You should get kilo plates if you want to compete in Olympic Weightlifting, primarily. They’re color-coded and calibrated for the same weights as competitive plates, which are in Kilos.

Lbs plates are more common in the United States but remain less relevant across the world. Lbs plates are more common for older lifters who still use lbs as their main measure but are not used in competition for Weightlifting or Powerlifting plates.

For most people, the number to focus on isn’t Kg or Lbs – it’s dollars. Get whichever you’re comfortable with, and/or whichever is cheapest.

Color-coding

Olympic weightlifting color-coding is used in all high-quality bumper plates. The system goes like this:

Most manufacturer’s mid-upper quality plates will use a stripe or similar method of color coding. You can also get ‘crumb plates’ with flecks of these colors in, but crumb plates are reliably terrible. Avoid.

Size-coding

Iron weight plates typically code by diameter and not color. Smaller plates are just smaller circles, while bumpers are a consistent size (diameter) and shape.

The differences between sizes depend on the manufacturer and aren’t standardized.

Bumper plates vs iron plates

Bumper plates are better than iron plates for almost every purpose – but they’re also way more expensive. You can typically buy iron plates at a few dollars per kg, while bumper plates are typically around 50-100% more expensive.

For some specialist items – like personalized or competition quality bumpers – rubber plates can be incredibly expensive.

Always buy bumper plates if you plan on lifting from the floor and can afford them. Otherwise, iron plates work completely fine for most purposes, but you won’t want to practice Olympic lifts or power exercises with them.

Technique bumper weight plates

Technique bumper plates are hollow plastic casts that have the same diameter as the larger ones. These are typically 2.5 or 1.25kg per plate so beginners and teenagers can use them to train weightlifting.

Technique bumpers are easily the most expensive item on this list by weight, costing dozens of dollars per kilo. Obviously, these are a specialist purchase, and not important for most adults.

Best plates for beginners; cheap bumpers

The best plates for beginners are pure-rubber bumper plates, if possible, like the Rogue Echo bumper 2.0.

These offer a good mid-ground for beginners that offer a competitive price for kitting out a home gym but won’t fall apart.

Avoid crumb bumper plates – they’re usually terrible. They have an odd bounce, are incredibly wide, and may limit what you can do with your barbell. They also damage very quickly.

Best iron plates for beginners

The best iron plates for beginners are Fitness Factory’s rubber grip plates – a rubberized plate with an iron core.

This reduces the degradation of the plate and makes it easier to handle, as well as reduces the risk of damage from the elements.

The hand-grips are super convenient and make loading the bar a lot easier for most people. This is a great feature that you can also use for shrugs, farmers walks, and more. It makes the plates a lot more useable for almost no extra cost.

Using weight plates at home

Using weight plates at home means taking care of the space. If you can, apply a rubber flooring to your home gym, or invest in light rubber mats for deadlifting. Making contact with the floor is where damage usually happens – so insulate your plates and/or floor.

Bumper plates are safer for home use, so try and get at least one pair for deadlifting super heavy – even if you’re lowering onto a mat. This will prevent damage to the floor if you’re lifting in a basement or garage.