A rig is not a rack. They're not metaphorical twins or even siblings, but you could think of them like cousins, in that they share a lot of functionality and attachment options. But a rig's added height and various pull-up connector lengths and styles allows for more modularity than a power rack.
If you're shopping for a gym rig, here are five characteristics to look for.
How Do You Pick a Gym Rig?
There are five key areas to consider when comparing rigs: construction, design, consistency, attachments (the “ecosystem”), and value.
Here is how to compare rigs on the market to pick the right one for your home or commercial gym.
Construction
Construction refers to things like the thickness of steel, welds, and paint. REP uses state-of-the-art robotics in a brand-new facility to construct its rigs, including laser cutting, robotic welding, and robotic painting all under one roof. This helps ensure a consistent, high-quality product and sets the standard for precision manufacturing.
Design
Look for high-end details, like plastic liners on all attachments.
Plastic liners are standard with REP rigs. This is a high-end feature that helps protect the paint on your rig and keeps it looking new. Most competitors don’t offer this, or if they do, it’s inconsistently used.
REP doesn’t use stickers. Every number and logo on the rack is laser cut or stainless steel to look great for years.
In addition, REP pays attention to accessory details and upgrades, including chromed weight horns (competitors use a powder coat that immediately chips and flakes away as you slide plates on/off), angled grips on the multi-grip pull-up bar, and many other fine details.
Consistency
Go with a company known for consistency.
REP strives to deliver a great product to your door with no hassle. REP ensures this by employing its own quality control team that is on-site daily for both inspections and training to improve production methods, such as welding (even the robots need help sometimes!) and packaging. REP also ensures its packaging is designed to survive any beating it takes during delivery, so you’ll notice our boxes are reinforced and the parts within are further protected with internal packaging.
Competitors that import often don’t spend the money for quality control, and competitors who manufacture domestically often don’t spend the money for great packaging -- both of which lead to hassle for you as you try to get credit for damaged parts or new parts sent.
Ecosystem
A rig's attachment ecosystem is one of the biggest reasons to choose one over another. Other companies that import typically do not have a dedicated engineering team to develop new products; they simply copy what already exists. If it’s patented, they can’t copy. For domestic manufacturers, they rely on high accessory prices to make up for a lower margin on the initial rig purchase, which means any new attachments cost an arm and a leg, while our global manufacturing advantage keeps costs lower.
Value
Consider the value of a rig.
Value is subjective, but REP is at the sweet intersection between price and quality. Spend more, and it’s likely just for a name or minor, nonfunctional details. Spend less and you’re likely rolling the dice or giving up future attachment development.
REP attachments are developed with value in mind, and that’s an area many people ignore, to their later regret. It’s not just the base cost of the rig to consider; it’s the full attachment ecosystem and what you expect future attachments to cost.
The benefit of REP's scale is that we can employ the most modern manufacturing methods, including laser cutting, robotic welding, and robotic painting, resulting in a consistent, high-quality product.
