Comparison photos: Rogue Fitness and Kettlebell Kings

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dariusc93

New member
Howdy y'all,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I recently got into kettlebell training and have been acquiring some heavy things to pick up and set down. I was torn between buying a Kettlebell Kings (KK) powder coat kettlebell or Rogue Fitness (RF) kettlebell. Well, I have both now, and I thought it might be worthwhile to post some photos comparing the two. They're not the greatest shots in the world but I think they adequately illustrate the differences.



Meet the contenders

https://imgur.com/l53HRcOh

The two kettlebells side-by-side. That's the 20 kg/44 lb KK kettlebell on the left (purple striping), and the 24 kg/53 lb RF kettlebell on the right (green striping). In all of the following photos, the KK bell will be the one on the left, or the first image posted if there are two separate photos.



Profile shot

https://imgur.com/hY8jpJkh

The difference in finish between the two is pretty dramatic to the eye (and hand). The KK bell is not only incredibly even in terms of the casting itself, but also the coat, which is smooth and even. The RF bell is less cleanly cast, and the coat has a far rougher texture.



Logos

https://imgur.com/IQ9RJu4h
(KK)

https://imgur.com/1b2hWFgh
(RF)

The difference in the quality of the casting is pretty obvious here. There are some incredibly fine details in the KK logo, and they're rendered with amazing sharpness. The RF logo is a little lumpy and uneven.



Weight markings

https://imgur.com/URbPnEFh
(KK)

http://i.imgur.com/DaF9mKah.jpg (RF)

Similar story here. The KK weight markings are so cleanly cast that they almost look machined. The RF kettlebell isn't nearly as clean. Also worth noting: look at the flat part of the kettlebell that the numbers are molded into. The edge of that flat portion is super crisp on the KK kettlebell, which speaks to the quality of the mold they use when casting.



Bases

http://i.imgur.com/VEJ0VUjh.jpg

KK claim on their website that they machine the bases of their kettlebells to make them perfectly flat. They aren't lying. They're perfectly flat. RF doesn't say whether their kettlebell bases are machined (my guess is no), but the base on mine is plenty flat to sit on the floor without wobbling.



Handle texture and striping

http://i.imgur.com/nPA4Qqxh.jpg

This really gives you an idea of how different the feel of the two kettlebells is. The KK kettlebell is incredibly smooth, while the RF kettlebell is definitely rougher. The paint stripe on the KK bell is more opaque, thicker, brighter, and more even than the RF kettlebell—it almost looks like someone wrapped electrical tape around the handle.



Final thoughts

Having swung both kettlebells around for a while, I can say that both of them are certainly up to the task. I don't use chalk on my kettlebells, and some folks say that's where the rough texture of the RF kettlebell really shines, grabbing onto the chalk and improving grip (that same roughness apparently tears some folks' hands up, but my callused mitts have done so many deadlifts that it'd probably take a kettlebell made of broken glass and 80 grit sandpaper to do much to them). Even without chalk, the texture of the RF kettlebell provided ample grip and didn't tear my hands up at all. That said, the KK bell never felt hard to control, even with sweaty hands.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions about which product is superior, but long story short: one of these kettlebells is being sent back and replaced by a kettlebell from the other brand. Yeah, it's a hunk of iron, and yeah, it's only pretty the day it comes out of the box, but for the money I paid, I'd personally prefer something that really communicates quality and attention to detail.
 
@rmarie2020 My pleasure. Happy it was helpful. I honestly believe both brands are great (and both have, in my experience, excellent customer support). But, as I wrote above, attention to detail and quality of the product matter a lot to me, and that made my decision pretty easy.
 
@dawn16 Powder coats are pretty thin (few thousandths of an inch), and when you have two giant hunks of iron knocking into each other, it's sort of inevitable. Just keep an eye out that the exposed iron of the kettlebell doesn't start to rust.
 
@rocvisc17 In terms of the diameter or the size of the window? They feel really, really similar. I don't know that I could tell you a difference without busting out a ruler.
 
@dariusc93 I highly recommend people stay away from KK.

I have two of their bells. A small piece of plywood fell over across one of the handles (we're talking maybe a foot higher than the handle) and scraped the coating off down to bare metal.

This shouldn't happen to properly applied powder coat under any circumstances.

I contacted their customer service and while they did offer me a discount on future purchases they did not offer to replace the bell. I can understand their position that they don't know if I'm lying or not. However, if complaints were a rare occurrence that shouldn't be an issue.

Take that for what you will, but I passed on their discount offer and started buying elsewhere.
 
@winterwonder We really appreciate all feedback both positive and negative, so thank you to everyone who has posted here. This conversation is important to us because we have built our business based on customer feedback about the products customers need as well as striving to provide the best customer service in the form of fast, free and pristine shipping. As for the circumstance mentioned here specifically, we admit it was highly regrettable and we deeply regret any inconvenience it caused for you as the customer.

We have built our business on customer service and trying to do what is right for the customer, if the Reddit community has any suggestions about how this could have been handled or should have been handled we are certainly open to suggestions about how to improve our experience for anyone who purchases from us. We welcome any feedback.

This is an extremely rare scenario and here is why we felt we could not replace the kettlebell in question. We shipped the kettlebell on June 3, 2016 and according to UPS it was delivered on June 6, 2016. We were contacted about this order on July 10, 2016 and replied within 5 hours. In our correspondence about the order in question we expressed how we were deeply sympathetic to the situation but as a business that wishes to continue operating we simply cannot provide free kettlebells to customers one month after purchasing as replacements.

Here was our reply:

"Thanks for sending this over (this was after the customer sent an image we requested). Trying to rack our brains here about the best way to help you out and work with you in this case. While it certainly does not seem that powder coating should chip or scrape off in the manner you described, it is an equally tough position to be in as a business because when our kettlebells get in the hands of customers there is simply no way to verify a series of events if nothing was brought to our attention at the reception of the product. In this case no way to verify the sharpness of the angle or height at which the board fell on the bell.

So, that we can continue operating we simply cannot adopt a policy of replacing kettlebells after purchase based on what people say in the same way a clothing company could not accept a return on a stain after a pair of pants has been in the hands of the customer for a couple of weeks.

We know you have purchased from us before, so that should give you an idea about the durability and quality of the powder coating on the bells. We want your experience with our products to be perfect and highly regret the situation. The important thing to determine is if you feel like this chip has hampered your workouts at all, is it peeling? You could consider applying a small amount of primer and redoing the chip if it is mainly cosmetic. For your trouble we would like to credit you 30% off your next purchase from Kettlebell Kings by using coupon code 'xxxx.xxxx.' at checkout."

If you check our shipping and returns policy on our website and read our reviews you will see that we IMMEDIATELY replace any kettlebell that is received in less than pristine condition and will do so within 7 days of reception. We have worked really hard to achieve over 1,000 five star reviews between our website and our Google page and that has been done by striving for the best customer experience in providing high quality products as well as correcting any unforeseen circumstances. We are not aware of any competitor, even the other one mentioned in this post who will replace a kettlebell almost a month after purchasing and because of the rarity of the request we felt like we had to adopt this position. After shipping out thousands of orders and not having one chip in the way this one was mentioned, we suppose you can look at it two ways. 1) if this is so rare the powder coat was not done well and we should replace it immediately or 2) this issue has never come up from a customer after one month of use and we have to have standards and policies we follow so however regrettable it might be and we do not doubt your story on how it happened we have to find a middle ground that we think is best for both.

Again, we have built our business on customer service and trying to do what is right for the customer, if the Reddit community has any suggestions about how this could have been handled or should have been handled we are certainly open to suggestions about how to improve our experience for anyone who purchases from us.

Again, we deeply regret this situation and this is not what you or anyone should expect when purchasing from Kettlebell Kings. Let us know how we can help.
 
@winterwonder That's an unfortunate situation. Sounds like customer service did a good job trying to help you out.

For what it's worth, both of the Rogue kettlebells I ordered (the 53 lb and a 35 lb I ordered as well) arrived with their coatings chipped and scratched just from the inside of the box. Powder coating is meant to keep rust from attacking metal objects, and while it's durable, it's still an incredibly thin polymer later. It's bound to chip eventually just by virtue of being used.

If you wanted a more forgiving finish, you could try a rubber coating. Or maybe pickup truck bed liner material. Wonder if anybody's tried that one before.
 
@dariusc93
Sounds like customer service did a good job trying to help you out.
Click to expand...

I actually don't see it that way. If this were a rare occurrence and they stood behind their product they would have offered to replace it immediately. It would have saved them more money in the long run because if I took them up on it I would have immediately bought $1k worth of bells and saved $300 on them. I have zero faith in their product so I walked away. YMMV.

Powder coating is meant to keep rust from attacking metal objects, and while it's durable, it's still an incredibly thin polymer later. It's bound to chip eventually just by virtue of being used.
Click to expand...

Not to this degree and not this quickly. We powder coat motorcycle parts. Done correctly it's a strong finish.

I'm definitely not saying you shouldn't be happy with yours, but I can't not provide my story for anyone shopping around.
 
@winterwonder Definitely glad you're sharing your story! Always good to hear everyone's experiences.

I'm having a little trouble understanding why you think the way they handled it wasn't sufficient. Putting aside the issue of how difficult or easy it was to chip, would you have felt the same way if it'd gotten chipped during use instead of during storage? Feels like a slippery slope for a company. Where do they draw the line?

As for the coat itself, I haven't had my bell long, but it's wearing okay so far. I hear what you're saying about motorcycle parts, but you're usually not hitting 50+ lb motorcycle parts together and against other stuff. Don't know that they'd fare much better.
 
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