CAP Barbell RSWB-40TP 40 lb. Dumbbell Set

My carrying case came in perfect shape. I didn't get any funky smell with my set. There are no clunky noises when using these weights because there are rubber washers for both sides of the weights. They're a good quality set, especially for the price. The product looks exactly as advertised. I'm probably going to end up buying gloves because I'm used to covered weights. I would recommend this set for anyone who is working on low weight, high rep type exercise.

When originally considering this product I was very concerned with the number of negative reviews/comments that people were leaving about these dumbbells. After deciding to take the risk, I felt the need to write a review since I believe that the negative reviews are overblown and overly dramatic. I will hopefully address the main concerns that you as the prospective buyer are having while considering this product. If you don't care about the details I have a TLDR at the bottom =)1. Smell: These weights do not smells like daisies; no dumbbells do. However, the smell is NOT as bad as people are saying. I would highly recommend leaving these weights outside (and/or washing them) to let them air out and control the smell, but it is not immediately overpowering. When the package arrived I slowly opened the box waiting for a toxic stench to explode out, but it never came. It was not until I lifted a plate out of the box that I noticed the smell people mentioned (the chemical applied to prevent rust), and it was not very strong. I left mine in the garage to air out and noticed a slight change in the smell of the garage, but nothing extreme. I would certainly keep them out of the house to be safe, but for $40 a quick wash or airing out was worth it to me.2: Quality: If you are looking for professional dumbbells that are made of top quality materials then look elsewhere. But if you are looking for a solid set of starter weights, this is your product. I will say that the first time I removed a collar a small piece of metal broke off, but it did not affect the functionality of the piece. Also, I noticed someone mentioned that the collar lets the weights slide...this was incorrect in my experience. The collars seem to hold the weights snugly in place, so there should be no problems there. The quality is by no means great (unbeatable for the price though), but it is good enough that I trust it will last and serve its purpose.3. Case: I saw a few people talking about how the case broke easily. The case seems fairly sturdy if it is treated well. A case breaking or not will depend on your delivery man. The weights are packaged very well inside a few boxes (Amazon ships it out in an excessively large box), and in my experience there were no cracks. The sliders to keep the box closed seem pretty lame, but I'm one of those people who isn't going to sweat it if the case breaks.I hope I covered the main concerns that most people were having. My honest review of this product is that this is unbeatable for the price. $40 with free shipping (mine came in 2 days) is great, and these are exactly what I was looking for. And NO I was not paid for this review and think Amazon should be ashamed of including paid reviews.TLDR: Does NOT smell that bad (easily fixed), decent quality, best bang for the buck for somebody looking for starter dumbbells.UPDATE 1/25/14: I now have two sets of these (it was cheaper than buying weight individually), and they are holding up great after over a year and a half of use. I've noticed the collar shifts slightly when you get over 30lbs, but never enough that it's a problem. Be confident in purchasing these as starter weights.UPDATE 7/31/16: My original bars are still going strong. The collar shifting still happens on occasion, but not to the point where it interferes with my workout. I've purchased additional plates for it and added them just fine - any 1" plate should fit just as well as the originals. So these have held up strong for 4 years...zero complaints here. One thing I forgot in the original review - you may want some lifting gloves. The metals isn't forgiving on your hands, so if you don't want big calluses, invest in a cheap pair of gloves.

I was super excited to receive the product. And at first glance, it has great build quality. I was ready to love it. Had one or two good workouts with it.But I started to notice SPLINTERS OF METAL in my hands and my feet. Very painful ones! And I traced it to be coming from the weight fastening bolts. There is apparently some kind of metallic paint on these which is chipping off in large and small chunks and making their way painfully into my hands and feet.This is completely unacceptable. I would have given this item 5 stars but not only does this completely defeat the purpose, it's an absolute train-wreck of a safety hazard. What if one of those metal splinters got into my eye? The stick VERY easily into soft tissue. How about if I have my baby crawling around and she gets stuck with any residue I might have tracked in?And what is my recourse? Go through a bunch of effort to send the product back. Meanwhile, I have to spend even more money to repackage it, etc.Terrible experience.

I bought this set over the Yes4All dumbbells for the storage case, so I could stow the weights neatly and out of the way when not in use. My brother-in-law has the Yes4All set, so I had a chance to compare the two closely. The overall neatness of the casting and machining of the bars and collars is slightly cleaner on the Yes4Alls, but only a pretty fussy bodybuilder would notice. Functionally, they're about the same and in use I doubt anyone could tell the difference with their eyes closed. However, I REALLY like the plates on the CAP set much, much better. The edges are smooth and rounded rather than squared off like the Yes4All, with a much more comfortable feel when handling. If you'll be swapping plates a lot, then I really recommend the CAP set. Also note that the CAP set includes 2.5 pound plates which let you increase weight in 5-pound increments, while the Yes4All set has 3 pound plates which means you must increase in 6-pound increments--a little odd.The storage case is handy enough, but the weights and bars only fit inside disassembled. I was hoping to be able to stow the assembled dumbbells inside, though looking at the case design realize that this probably would not have been possible. I don't mind an extra couple minutes to disassemble and stow when needed, and if storage space is a factor this is definitely the set you want. I'm pretty happy with the set. I'll be buying a barbell set soon, and have decided it will be a CAP set too. Recommended.