POWERBLOCK Pro 50 Adjustable Dumbbells

Very convenient

At first glance these look amazing and convenient.They're well structured, fairly compact and practically indestructible. For someone looking for JUST weightlifting these are probably your best options and on par with the bowflex's.I've had both for a lengthy period of time so will compare them below if you're on the fence with which one to go with.Sturdiness/reliability.This goes to the powerblocks. They're solid! The bowflex's can feel a little flimsy and have a lot more play in them than the powerblocks. As these are solid iron frames they won't move around and give a good base of support.Function/ ease of use.Bowflex's have this hands down and this is one of the reasons that I wish I'd have kept my bowflex's. The increase of weight for the flex's are (if memory serves) around a kilo or so when you adjust the dial.The powerblocks you can do this also but it means dropping the weight, taking out the bar support, moving the lever to get access to the 1kg weights inside the main housing and then putting all back together to change weight again. It's a right faf!!Bowflex will take 2-3 seconds tops. The powerblocks you're talking about 20 seconds or so.Doesn't sound like a lot and is a little bit picky but when you're having to do this EVERY set it just adds more and more time on there and can hinder your gains when doing drop sets, supersets etc.Not only that but if you want to do circuit style training it just becomes a right pain.You could leave the weights in there but then you're talking about a 4kg gain if you want to move up in weight for the next set. Not so bad for bigger muscle groups like chest/back but for smaller ones like tri's and bi's it can be a case of the weight being too heavy or too light so you're stuck in the middle with what to do!It'd be better if the internal weights came out externally from the bottom or top somehow so it would make changing it quicker.One thing the powerblocks are good for are things like renegade rows / plank walk with db's as they're much more solid than the flex's.Size/feel of the weights.I'd probably give this again to powerblocks but only slightly.They're smaller than the bowflex's and can be stored away better as there isn't a great big base to put them in. The handle sticking out the side of the blocks though can become a little bit of a nuisance as one side you've got the plastic handle that sticks out a bit too much so doing things like bent over rows etc you find you end up pulling your shorts up with each lift, try turning it the other way and you're faced with 2 metal spikes that catch anything and everything when it comes to clothing and if you catch your leg on a deadlift you're gonna end up cutting it for sure.Having said that the bowflex's seem to just be massive in contrast, they're safer in terms of cutting yourself with metal spikes but one thing that made me get rid of mine was the plastic disk moulds that hold the plate in place on the bowflex's. If these become warped/damaged or cracked, the weights will fall out! Not safe if you're doing this bare foot or half way through lie down skull crushers!There is no way to remedy this except getting it stripped down and replacing the parts but you need to know exactly the right position for doing this or the weights won't line up and you will have just wasted the money you spent.To summarize, for small increases in weights, fast style workouts including drop sets, circuits, full body workouts etc then go for the Flex's.For someone just wanting to work one body part at a time, where time isn't an issue and you can go at your own pace. And that prefers a smaller more robust DB then go for the blocks. ☺️