Select-a-Weight Adjustable Dumbbells

The NordicTrack adjustable dumbbells are a real winner that are working out well for my wife and I. Pros: 1) Nice weight range (10-55) and sufficient increments for me. We have a small set of 2.5 to 8-lb individual dumbbells to fill in on the very low end. 2) Compact dumbbells. The dumbbells are no longer than needed for the weight you are using. The 10-lb configuration is narrower than the 20-lb, which is narrower than the 30-lb, which is narrower than the 40-lb, which is narrower than the 50-lb. DO NOT DISCOUNT this when shopping for adjustable dumbbells. You do not want to be swinging around a 2-ft long bar in each hand when simply using a 10-lb dumbbell. It gets in the way and limits the range of motion for some exercises. These incrementally add plates to the end as the weight goes up. So they are compact at low weights, and very much the size of a fixed dumbbell of similar weight at heavier weights. 3) Easy to adjust. The adjustment system is low effort, but locks solidly and seems unlikely to fail long term, normal use. 4) Value. Not the cheapest, but give a great bang for the buck. Cons: 1) Slower to adjust, relatively. Some changes require moving 4-adjustment levers on each dumbbell, depending on what weight you are switching between. A single or double dial is quicker, no doubt. But, note that I said "relatively". They really only take a couple of seconds to adjust, and it has been a non factor in my workouts. 2) Missing some weight choices. You can add 2.5-lb or 5-lb to the coarse 10-lb, 20-lb, 30-lb, 40-lb, 50-lb settings. So you can do 12.5-lb & 15-lb, but not 17.5-lb, etc. The next increment after 15-lb is 20-lb. You could fudge around this by selecting an uneven amount to each end of the dumbbell, which would make them unbalanced by 2.5-lbs and give you a 7.5-lb increment. But I don't suggest doing that. For me, the increments are fine enough for what I do, and I move up and down in 5-lb amounts anyway. 3) maybe more fragile than fixed weights? This is actually a comment that applies to probably all adjustable dumbbells, simply because they have a selection mechanism added to them. These do not appear fragile in the absolute sense, but I have no plans to drop them the way you see some guys do with fixed weights at the gym. I researched buying these quite a bit, and narrowed it down to several contenders. The Bowflex dumbbells were one finalist, and are undeniably slick, with the one-knob adjustment system. But, they (and some others) have a disqualifying flaw (in my opinion) where the dumbbell bar is always full length, regardless of how much weight you've selected. Even at whatever their minimum is, you are swinging around like a two-foot rod with each arm. Anyway, I'm a happy customer, and these are working great. 5/2/2025 UPDATE: 15-months later, and these are still going strong and doing the job. One annoyance is the lack of labels indicating which way to move the 2.5-lb/5-lb levers. But I solved that by putting a small dab of silver automobile touchup paint on the 5-lb side (SEE photo). Seems like an obvious issue that the manufacturer would address, but it only took a couple of minutes for me to fix it permanently.

So much quicker to change weights, real game changer. Great quality.

Why buy this product over the Bowflex 552 model and other types such as the Core Fitness? Most adjustable dumbbells can change weights easily. There are videos comparing the time it takes to change weights. Deciding to buy a particular type just because it is 1 second faster is silly. All are quick. You should decide to buy based on the following criteria: (1) handle feel and grip; (2) incremental weight options; (3) max weight needed; and (4) size of dumbbell. 1. handle feel and grip – the Bowflex grip is made of rubber and textured – no slippage. The Nordictrack (orange model) has a metal grip similar to grips found on regular dumbbells. I have handled both and I think the Nordictrack is better in this area. 2. Incremental weight options – be careful in choosing. Some adjustables like the Core Fitness which use the twist handle to increase the weight – will increase it by 5 lbs. That is a lot of weight to add when you are doing bicep exercises. This is where the Bowflex and the Nordictrack adjustables are superior. The Bowflex starts at 5 lbs and increases by 2.5 lbs until you get to 25 lbs (5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5 20, 22.5), then it increases in 5 lbs increments (30,35,40,45,50,55 lbs). The Nordictrack starts at 10lbs and can increase to 12.5 then to 15 lbs then it jumps to 20 lbs. After 20 lbs you can increase it as follows ( 22.5, 25, 30, 32.5, 35, 40, 42.5, 45, 50, 52.5, 55 lbs). This means that the Bowflex has more adjustable increments between 5lbs and 25 lbs, while the Nordictrack has more adjustable increments between 20lbs and 55 lbs. So if you are going to always use the smaller weight amounts and need that lower increments there – maybe the Bowflex is better for you. For me, I didn't mind that the Nordictrack started at 10 lbs and I wanted the more adjustable increments at the mid to higher weight ranges. My opinion is that the Nordictrack adjustables are better because of the continuous incremental weight adjustments all throughout the weights. 3. Max weight needed. Most of the adjustable dumbbells only go up to 55 lbs. If you need more then look elsewhere such as the Bowflex 1090. For most people, the 55 lbs max limit is probably more than enough weight to do all of your dumbbell exercises. 4. Size of dumbbell. Take a look at videos of the Bowflex adjustables. Even if you are using them as a 5 lbs weight you are picking up the entire outer portion of the dumbbell which states the length is 15.75 inches long. If you are using them to do a chest press – you cannot bring your arms close together at the top of the press because of the length of each of the dumbbells. Here is where the Nordictrack dumbbells shine. If you are picking up the lightest weight (10 lbs) you are only picking up the inner most weights and each dumbbell will measure about 9 inches. The Nordictrack design makes for a superior compact and usable dumbbell. In my opinion the Nordictrack adjustable dumbbell is the best adjustable dumbbell out in the market at this time. I bought mine for $325.00. Don't know why they jumped in price. But at the price I bought them, they are well worth the price.

I looked long and hard for a high quality adjustable dumbbell that would feel like one in the gym. I watched many online reviews and read a lot of articles. This one checks a few boxes for me, but has a few downsides. Pros - compact: it is much more compact than something like the bowflex - quick change: only takes a couple of seconds to change the weight - flat ends: no issues putting these on your knees when getting set up - pretty low cost all things considered. Cons - weight selection mechanism on one of them doesn't like to engage the small 2.5 or 5 lb weight. I've had these fall out on me once I picked them up. - cradle: have to be careful dropping the weights back in. They can get out of alignment and it's not obvious how to get it right 100% of the time - max weight: at 55 lb, these are good enough for some lifts, but I've maxed them out for others. However, I knew that going in. - these don't really seem that sturdy. They're holding up so far. I've used them probably 20 times, but the amount of plastic and kind of wobblyness of them doesn't inspire confidence. In the end, I compromised getting these because of their cost and the design. I'm happy about that. I can live with the cons so long as they continue to hold out. Something like a Nuobell may last longer, Ironmaster be super durable, or powerblock heavy and fast, but they also have tradeoffs and are much more expensive.

This was the 3rd pair I purchased and am happy and relieved that they arrived intact. The packaging was excellent and protected the product very well (pics 1-5) I am convinced that the first set I bought around 4.5 weeks ago was a returned/damaged/defective set (pics 6/7). It arrived completely destroyed and missing pcs. The second set was lost by UPS. I will say that Amazon Customer Service was excellent to deal with. They refunded me in credit within an hour of speaking with them the first time which I used to purchase the second pair. The second time they just issued a replacement order. Onto the item: The dumbbells themselves are very solid. When I first unpacked them and moved the sliders I did experience a little bit of stiffness and jamming on one of them but after sliding the selector back and forth a few times I haven’t had any more issues. They are easy to use and I can change weights much faster that unspinning a color adding/removing weight etc. I chose these over similar models for two major reasons: 1) you can increase weight by as little as 2.5 lbs. most of the other brands are 5 and 10lb. increments. 2) the weights are a reasonable size at their lowest weight and get bigger/longer as you add weight unlike some brands like the Bowflex that are super long despite not having the additional plates. For these reasons I was willing to pay more money. I also looked at SMRTFT Nuobell but they were $250 more for the 50lb model and $450 more for the 80lb model which both adjusted in 5lb increments. So in my opinion this set was the better value. I have only used once (today) but I already love them

Unboxing The package contains TWO 55 pound dumbbells. It is going to be heavy ! I opened the package outside and brought the dumbbells in the house individually, since i had no intention to manage the uncomfortably heavy box alone. The dumbbells were neatly packaged and look very sturdy. Great value for the money. Wife and I are doing the Beachbody LIIFT4 workout. Need to change weights often during the training sessions. These are great because 1) truly replace 30 pair of dumbbells 2) take little space and look great Positives We own both Bowflex 552 and this nordictrack set . I like that the nordictrack dumbbell gets shorter with a lighter weight! A selecttech dumbell set at 10lbs-15lbs , for instance, has a funny long appearance and is less practical than the equivalent nordictrack. The handle feels great. The selection mechanism has five control with +5 and +2.5 options in addition to the mainselection. Negatives While the selection is finer, sometimes sliding the main dial takes couple attempts. if the are not perfectly aligned with the empty weight the mechanism can feel harder to move( jams) . A little wiggle resolves it, placing the weights back correctly prevents it. Be aware. Overall Amazing value! Approved it and I would purchase again!! Lost 13lbs in 5 weeks and building big muscles. What are you waiting for? Grab yours

I ordered these a few days ago on 2/8, they were delivered early this morning (6:30am) on 2/11. Firstly I am very impressed with the shipping of these! The product box is over 110lbs and there was NO physical damage to the exterior or interior, I have no idea how they handled this dumbbell box so carefully. I fully expected tons of damage inside and out, so 5 stars there. Now I haven't put these through their paces just yet, but wanted to give an initial impression after playing around with weight selection and doing a few quick and light exercises to see how they feel. Bear in mind this is my first ever set of adjustable dumbbells, and if you are reading this in this future, we are still in the middle of the covid pandemic and finding any weights at all is difficult, much less a set like these and at MSRP no less ($329). 1) Weight Selection - First impressions here is slightly mixed. The selection itself is obvious enough though, the outside pin you pull up and drag and drop to wherever you want your heavy weight (10lbs, 20lbs, 30lbs, etc). The inside pin you pull up and drag to the front for 5lbs extra, back for 2.5 lbs, or middle for no extra. So getting from 10lbs, 12.5lbs and 15lbs is very obvious and straight forward. My concern is the selector pin handle is just a plastic piece, so I'm interested to see how this holds up over time. But the pin itself is metal so hopefully that lasts. Also when selecting your base heavy weight, the pin tends to get stuck sometimes when moving back and forth. Not a huge deal, but again I haven't gone through a full workout to see if this becomes annoying or not. 2) Dumbbell Feel - As stated this is my first set of adjustable dumbbells. I've used plenty of standard hex dumbbells in the past and have always enjoyed lifting those. These definitely feel a bit different when lifting versus standard hex dumbbells. There is a slight wiggle to the plates and some click-clacking sounds when lifting. Very slight, but noticeable. The metal handles are nice though, they have a nice knurling and good grip, so solid marks there. So far I think they seem perfectly fine though, especially considering these 2 dumbbells are replacing like 10+ pairs of normal ones. 3) Durability - Only time will tell here. I am concerned that there is only a 90day mfg warranty... I never like seeing that for any product ever. If you don't want to guarantee your product for even 1 year, that's a straight red flag. Especially with something like this, that costs $$$, I would hope to get many years of use out of them. I will certainly treat these with kids gloves, make sure I am gentle with the adjustor pins, definitely not dropping these or tossing them around, not going to use them for pushups, etc. I should mention that the plates themselves are a heavy plastic, not metal or rubber, so I don't think they would survive much impact. I'll come back and update this review after 30 days. I felt it was important to give an early impressions of these. When I bought these dumbbells, they literally sold out just later that day, and I see 3rd party resellers (SCALPERS) selling these things for $500+... DO NOT BUY THOSE!!! I paid $329 shipped, so PLEASE do not buy from any of these scalpers, they bought the product, so maybe they can use them as intended instead of taking advantage of this screwed up global situation were all in. Those a-holes are ruining many peoples hobbies and interests by doing that crap, so do not support them. Lastly, I have no idea if this is a genuine NordicTrack product. I've seen people on this page say they are brand new, and others say they are old and discontinued. The packaging doesn't really indicate much. There is NordicTrack branding on the shipping box and on stickers for the dumbbells. They are manufactured by the company that makes NordicTrack products though, so at least that's something. Regardless, I think the value for money is there if you can buy them at MSRP. EDIT (39 days later): After having used these dumbbells about 4-5 days a week since I got them, I can definitely say this was a solid purchase. Super convenient, weight selection is very nice and quick, no major gripes at all. However, as I stated some concerns in durability above... that is still very much a concern. There's been a couple of times where the inner 5lb weight would not attach to the pin, had to pull the dumbbell out and reset it to get it working properly. And I would still caution against using these for exercises like man makers or anything similar. I almost want to try it, but have the feeling these things would be toast in a couple of months if I did that. So these are not perfect for all workouts, but for general purpose lifting I definitely recommend. P.S. DO NOT BUY FROM SCALPERS!!!

We’ve only been using these for a few weeks, but they’ve been awesome. I wish I had invested in a pair sooner. The NordicTrack adjustable weights are quick and easy to adjust, and they really do replace the need for multiple dumbbells—you can essentially swap out 8 weights with just one set. One thing to be aware of: once a plate is removed from the main holder, it can drop if you’re not careful. Because of that, you shouldn’t adjust the weight while holding the dumbbell—always make changes while it’s in the cradle. I’m not sure if all adjustable weights work this way, but this set definitely does. Overall, I’m very happy with them and hope they hold up well for many years.