Home Gym Gear • 8 Min Read
My Wife Curls 15s And I Press 65s. We Own One Pair Of Dumbbells.
We priced every way two people can share dumbbells. A rack. A second dial set. A pair of fixed weights each. Every route cost $375 to $1,147, and every one of them left one of us either waiting or stuck. The pair we ended up with cost $49 and runs on the plates that were already on our barbell.
Two lifters, one corner, and a set that only worked for one of us
My wife and I train in the same 8 by 10 corner of the garage, usually on the same evenings. She curls 15s and rows 30s. I press 65s and row 70s. That 50 pound gap is the whole problem, and no dumbbell set we owned or priced could cover both ends of it.
For two years the gap was covered by a Bowflex SelectTech 552 we bought when we moved in together. It is a good set. It is also a set for one person. It runs from 5 to 52.5 pounds, so my presses outgrew it the week I got to 55. Its 15 settings work out to 2.5 pound steps up to 25 and 5 pound jumps after that, so her rows sat at 30 for months because the next stop was 35. She would grab the dials. I would go find something else to do. On the nights we were both out there, one of us waited.
So I did what I always do. I opened a spreadsheet and priced a second set for me.
Six hundred and sixty eight dollars, on top of the $479 Bowflex she already had, to end up with two sets and two stands in a corner that barely holds one. I closed the spreadsheet.
Why the obvious fixes fail when two people share
Every fix I priced solves one person's problem and hands the other person a new one. Here is the honest version of each.
A second dial set. The PowerBlock Elite USA starts at $469 for 50 pounds a hand and takes a $199 kit to reach 70. That is $668, and it is a very good set for me, with real 2.5 pound steps. The NÜOBELL 80 is $845, changes weight in about five seconds, and only moves in 5 pound steps. The Ironmaster 75 is $699, moves in 2.5 pound steps to 75, and every change is a screw and a stack of plates. Any of them fixes my ceiling. Two of them would fix her jumps too. All of them are a second set and a second stand.
A rack of fixed pairs. REP sells a 5 to 50 pound rubber hex set for $1,099.99. Grab and go, nothing to change, and it wins that category outright. It also stops at 50 and moves in 5 pound steps. My 65s are another $299.99 on top, and her 15s are the $74.99 pair of that rack she would use for about six weeks.
Keep sharing the Bowflex. Free, and it fixes nothing. The dial is the fastest weight change on this page. It is still 52.5 at the top and 5 pound jumps past 25.
Then there was the thing I kept stepping over to get to the spreadsheet. Our barbell. It lives on the floor of the same corner with about 200 pounds of 1 inch cast iron plates on and around it, most of them bought years before we met. We already owned every weight either of us would ever need for a dumbbell. We just owned it in the wrong shape.
What a shared pair has to do
Once the problem was "two people, one set" instead of "which set is best", the shopping list wrote itself. A pair we could share had to clear four bars, and I checked every option above against them.
Bar two is where the dials split, and it is the bar nobody talks about. The lighter lifter in a household is the one who needs the small steps most. The 552 gives her 2.5 pound steps only until 25. The NÜOBELL gives her none. The PowerBlock and the Ironmaster manage it with adder weights and a screw. The plates on our barbell already came in 2.5s and 1.25s.
Bar three is where plate loading usually loses. Sliding plates on and off a handle is slower than turning a dial, full stop. I wanted a number rather than a feeling, so I timed it once we had the pair. More on that below.
The pair that passed: a $49 handle and the plates we already owned
The answer was a pair of plate loaded dumbbell handles called the Kensui AdaptaBELL. The PRO version costs $49 a pair and carries 140 pounds across the pair, which is 70 pounds in each hand. Each handle is a reinforced polymer bar with a 34 millimeter grip, a 3.3 inch loading sleeve on each side, and a flat end cap that locks the plates on. You slide on whatever plates you own, tighten the cap, and lift. There is no dial, no proprietary block, and nothing to buy again when one of you gets stronger.
It takes 1 inch standard plates straight on, which is what our barbell runs. Olympic 2 inch plates fit with a centering adapter that holds them seated, sold separately. It accepts anything from a 1.25 pound plate up to a 45, so her 2.5 pound steps are just two of the smallest plates we own.
Against the four bars: 65 in one hand, yes, with room to 70. 2.5 pound steps, yes, down to 1.25 a side. Under a minute per change, yes, and I timed it at about 35 seconds from my 65 down to her 15 once I stopped fumbling. Under $668, by $619.
- One pair covers her 15s and my 65s, because the weight is the plates you own, not the set you bought.
- Steps of 2.5 pounds at her end and 70 pounds of ceiling at mine, on the same two handles.
- $49 a pair, compared to $668 for the cheapest adjustable second set that reached 65.
Where it loses, in writing. It is slower than a dial. A NÜOBELL changes in five seconds, this takes me half a minute, and one four star reviewer on the product page put it plainly.
"I am using it with cap standard plates and it comfortably allows for 3 plates or 60 lbs. Not as quick to change as I hoped. Grip feels good, thicker than twist lock dumbbells so getting used to it."
Brian N., verified buyer, 4 stars
You need plates. If you own none, CAP's own store sells standard cast iron at $43.99 for a 25, $17.99 for a 10, $9.99 for a 5 and $4.99 for a 2.5, which makes a full 65 pound pair from nothing about $236 in iron plus the $49 handles. That is still less than the $299.99 fixed 65s alone, but it is not $49. The PRO stops at 70 pounds a hand. And check the hole in your plates before you order: the sleeve is 28 millimeters, the modern 1 inch standard, and eight of the 47 one and two star reviews on the product page are from people whose older plates had a tighter hole and would not slide on.
What it looks like on a Tuesday night
Our corner now holds one pair of handles on a hook, the barbell, and the same pile of plates. She loads a 5 and a 2.5 on each side and curls 15s. When she is done, I add a 25 on each side, which puts me at 65 with the handle, and I press. When I finish, the 25s come off and the handles go back on the hook at 15, ready for her Thursday.
Six reviews on the product page mention a wife, a husband or a girlfriend sharing the pair. One five star reviewer described our garage exactly.
"My wife and I have a home gym and buying DBs in 5 pound increments is incredibly expensive. These are easy to setup easy to switch out a plate or two and fit in very nicely with our existing equipment."
Clinton J., verified buyer, 5 stars
Another bought a second pair for exactly the reason you are thinking of.
"I purchased a set of AdaptaBELL Pros a few months ago and they worked so well I bought another pair. I currently use one set for heavier weight and another for lighter weight to reduce changing plates between sets."
Cal Y., verified buyer, 5 stars
That is the one upgrade I would point a couple at. A second pair is another $49, so hers stays loaded at 15 and mine at 65 and nobody unloads anything. Two pairs come to $98, which is still $381 less than the one Bowflex we started with, and there is no second stand.
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| Priced this week | AdaptaBELL PRO | Bowflex 552 | PowerBlock Elite USA 70 | NÜOBELL 80 | Ironmaster 75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price, pair | $49 | $479 | $668 | $845 | $699 |
| Top weight, each hand | 70 lb | 52.5 lb | 70 lb | 80 lb | 75 lb |
| Smallest step | 2.5 lb | 2.5 lb to 25, then 5 | 2.5 lb | 5 lb | 2.5 lb |
| Weight change | Plates, 30 s | Dial, seconds | Pins, seconds | Twist, 5 s | Screws, 30 s |
| Weight included | No, uses your plates | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Covers her 15s and my 65s | Yes | Stops at 52.5 | Yes | 5 lb jumps only | Yes |
| Learn More |
Three things to know before you order
Which version. The PRO at $49 a pair is the one this whole story is about, and it is the one in stock. The MAX, a metal handle with a higher ceiling, was sold out when I checked. If your plates are Olympic 2 inch, the $99 PRO bundle adds the centering adapters and four extension sleeves for longer loads. If they are 1 inch, the plain $49 pair is all you need.
The 100 day trial. Kensui gives you 100 days to send them back for a full refund, no questions asked, and shipping is free over $100. The only complaint I could find with any count behind it is the plate hole issue above, so measure yours: 28 millimeters, about 1.1 inches, is what fits.
What we actually saved. Her Bowflex stayed. My $668 second set never got bought. One $49 pair covers both of us on the plates we already had, and the second $49 pair we will probably add costs less than the cheapest fixed 15s on that REP rack.
One Pair, Two Lifters, $49
Her 15s, my 65s, and every 2.5 pound step in between, on the plates already in your garage.
Get the AdaptaBELL15% off with code SMGPAIRVIP at checkout.
15% reader discount, applied automatically at checkout.
15% off with code SMGPAIROCT at checkout, through October 14.
$8 off with code SMGPAIR8 at checkout.
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