Stamina Versa-Bell II Adjustable Dumbbells Review

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Whether you want to compliment your gym membership with some exercises from home, or start setting up your very own home gym, adjustable dumbbells can be an excellent addition.

Not only do they save you money by not having to buy multiple sets, but they also take up far less space and don’t require a bulky storage rack.

In this review, we wanted to take an in-depth look at the Stamina Versa-Bell II dumbbells. This includes the system for adjusting the weight plates, customer reviews, and a price comparison between some other similar options.

Weight plate adjustment system

Whether you are interested in buying a pair of 25 lb or 50 lb dumbbells, both sets of Stamina Versa-Bell II’s offer the same weight plate adjustment system.

Instead of using a sliding pin or rotating handle, both dumbbells have a rotating dial at each end. When you need to increase or decrease the weight, you can simply rotate the dial until you see the weight you want to use displayed on top of the handle.

If you don’t want to use the full weight limit, then there will of course be a few weight plates that remain when you lift the dumbbells out of the storage trays.

A common issue among some adjustable dumbbell sets is the difficulty in lining up the dumbbell with the plates that remain in the tray when you finish your workout.

Stamina have been able to overcome this problem by increasing the depth of the slots the weight plates sit in, helping to keep them upright until you return the dumbbell.

Although the width of the dials does add to the length of the dumbbells, the reduced size of the uncoated weight plates mean it doesn’t impact your range of motion during the exercise.

Handle design and weight increments

The different weight increments will vary depending on whether you opt for the 25 lb or 50 lb set, but will increase as follows:

25 lb: 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25
50 lb: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50

By choosing the lightest weight option in each case you will only be lifting the handle, with none of the weight plates attached.

Although the 50 lb dumbbells don’t offer the same 2.5 lb increases as the 25 lb set, it does start with a lower weight option than many similar 50 lb sets.

As you might expect, the handle design is kept the same across both sets, with an easy-grip, non-slip coating applied.

This helps to prevent any damage to your hands that can occur when your grip starts to fail using heavier weights. Specifically those that have knurling applied to the bar.

Price comparison and sets available

One of the great benefits of the Stamina Versa-bell dumbbells is that they are available as a range, allowing you to choose between buying a single dumbbell or a pair, and with varying weight settings.

You can currently expect to find the following packages available to buy on many online shopping sites:

It’s important to bear these in mind when considering which combination will be most cost effective, at the same time as meeting your workout requirements.

In terms of price, we found that this can vary greatly for the same product, even on the same shopping site.

We were actually able to find the same set of Stamina Versa-Bell dumbbells (50lb pair) for $290 on the same site that had a separate listing for the same set at $400.

It really does pay to shop around, but this lowest price was found on Amazon, listed by the company that makes these adjustable dumbbells.

If you’re able to find a set for under $300 then this makes them around the same price point as the Bayou Fitness set (50 lb pair), and the popular Universal Power-Pak 445 dumbbells (45 lb pair).

Each of these sets offers a similar style of weight plate attachment, where you can lift the dumbbells out of their storage trays with only the weight you want to use attached.

There is a slight difference in the way the Bayou Fitness set adjusts, where you use a sliding pin to change the weight, instead of a dial.

Customer reviews

One final important part of any adjustable dumbbell review is taking a look at the reviews left by other customers who have already purchased the set.

A quick look on Amazon shows that the 10 – 25 lb set has the most reviews, together with a number of answered questions.

We’ve put together a quick summary some of the most frequently mentioned pros and cons of the Versa-Bell sets, based on these customer’s experiences:

Pros:

Cons:

• Not as quick to change the weight as designs that use a handle twist adjustment
• Handle length is fixed, meaning that the dumbbell length remains the same, regardless of the amount of weight plates attached. (A common design feature of many adjustable dumbbell sets, but one which does not apply to the Rocketlok sets)