My husband and I bought a set of these weights when we moved further away from the gym where we had a long-time membership. It became inconvenient for him to workout and with gas prices so high, I didn't drive in that often either.

We love these weights. First of all, you get a complete set of free weights ranging from 5 to 50 pounds each in one set of dumbbells that take up about a 2"x3" area on the floor. Instead of having a whole ugly weight rack disgracing the length of an entire wall in our bedroom, we have a pair of dumbbells in a corner on the floor. Furthermore, you spend almost the same amount of money on a complete set of ugly weights and the rack to store them on as you do this set. If you want more iron bars hanging around your room to have volume of stuff to show for the money, this set may not be for you. We really liked the lack of clutter. If you don't have a specific exercise room in your house (and we don't), your workout equipment is likely consuming space and detracting from the decor in a bedroom or living room. These are small enough to be fairly inconspicuous in a corner somewhere.

The Bowflex design is ingenious. The dumbbells rely on weight plates that fit together in a puzzle-piece type pattern, specifically set according to how heavy you want them to weigh. You don't have to configure the weight plates at all, beyond dialing a knob. The bars themselves weigh 5 pounds. The weight increases at 2.5 pound increments until 25 lbs, and then increases in 5 pound increments. The plates and the bars rest in a specially designed tray. There are knobs on either end of the dumbbells with weight increments on a dial. Simply adjust the dial to the desired amount of weight and lift up. To change the weight, replace the dumbbell to its tray, adjust the dials to the desired weight and lift up. You even have the option of lifting uneven weights, which is excellent if you want to work a different part of the muscle group harder or if you want to control one part of the exercise movement more than the other. For example, one end of the dumbbell can be set for 20 lbs and the other end for 25. With these, you are not always having to unscrew a cap, remove a clip, etc to change weights like other adjustable dumbbell sets. You don't have to keep up with how many plates you need, how much each one weighs, etc. Not like counting plates and poundage is a big deal, but with these, you twist and lift and you're good with however much weight you want. The tray makes that easy because they're self-storing.

The weight plates, bars, dials and tray are all made of sturdy, quality materials. That and the design would make these weights difficult to break or ruin. I can't see anything breaking off, or a dial coming apart when used correctly. We've had ours for 2 years and use them on a weekly basis. They look new. They are ergonomically designed to fit comfortably in your hands or even held on shoulders for leg work. The rubber grips for comfort are imbedded in the metal of the dumbbell. I suppose that's an odd way to describe it, but the aren't flocked or covered. It is constructed in such a way that it would take a very long time to wear them out. The grips will not peel or flake off, and you aren't holding solid slick metal that could be easily dropped, or texturized metal designed to help grip, but actually cuts into your hands. I use weight lifting gloves most of the time at the gym, but I'm comfortable without them using these weights.

I think the only way you could damage this set of weights is perhaps dropping the weight, if children played with the plate pieces and lost them, or if you turned the dials too hard, but the torque it would take do that seems pretty unlikely. We're usually easy on our stuff, especially that with the hefty price tag this set carries. I wouldn't recommend slamming the dumbbells back into the tray or dropping them on the floor when an exercise is complete, but that doesn't detract from the quality of this product.

We did not buy the stand that goes with them, but Bowflex does offer one, and it is probably worth the money, because you wouldn't have to bend down to replace the weights to change the poundage. We just figured we'd be using them to exercise, and bending over a few times in the course of working out would probably just benefit the workout. The only time it's a pain for me is when I'm doing heavy for legs and have to heft the weights to my shoulders from the floor. All in all, for us, it wasn't worth the $125 for the stand and the $99 for shipping it.

Included in the set is a very informative video about how to workout for maximum effectiveness and results, and how to use these weights. The information is instructional, but not boring, and I didn't find it hokey, either. The exercises are well explained and fairly traditional. Doing the exercises with proper form as they suggested or with your favorite videos 3 times a week will either change your body for the better, or help you maintain a healthy body if you already have one.

I can only think of two drawbacks to these weights, and one kind of related. First, if you need more than 100 pounds, you might want to consider a weight machine instead of these free weights. Having said that, from what I've seen at the gym, the free weights don't go much above 50 pounds--beyond that you're dealing with a bar.

Secondly, they are a little bulky if you are using them with certain workout videos. Straight strength and weight-lifting videos have no problems. I like The Firm Series, which combines strength and aerobic in the same workout. In workouts where cardio moves are combined with weight-lifting moves, these are a little unwieldy and require getting used to, or changing the move to accommodate the weight because these are quite a bit bigger--longer and thicker than traditional free weights. This does not bother me, but I did have to learn to adjust when doing my videos.

Thirdly, if you don't already workout at home or walk/jog/run in your neighborhood, buying these weights may or not motivate you to start working out at home. This is a great set, but it's as expensive as an entire exercise machine or complete set of dumbbells. If money is an issue for you, I strongly suggest you evaluate your level of commitment to exercise because this is an investment. This is a complete set of weights, costing over $500 plus shipping. If you are not already working out at home, spending $50 on a video and 2 sets of free weights, or a video set with them included, to see how often you use them might be an option. I don't mean to discourage anyone from exercise; I think everyone should exercise and having these does motivate me to workout if I can't make it in to the gym.

I shopped at several sporting goods stores for free weights and even knock-offs with the dial a weight feature similar to these. The others out there are cheaply made--especially the dials and weight indicators. On one set, I could flick with my finger a tiny plastic piece that was suppose to hold the setting for the amount of weight you wanted. Even though we're easy on our stuff, that thing was so cheaply made, it would have been history in 6 months. The other sets do not offer the range of weight increments, the warranty, or ergonomics this set has. I shop around before I buy anything. I generally don't buy name-brand everything for the sake of the name because sometimes the competition is just as good or better for less money. I did not find that to be the case with these weights, and we considered this to be an investment because we do workout at home as well as at the gym.

The drawbacks to this set are minor to me. I only mention them to help others be aware of what I noticed before they plunk down several hundred dollars. I won't ever need more than 100 pounds, and since my husband is not a body builder, he can get a good workout at home with this set. I love this set and highly recommend it.

Recommended: Yes